By GAVIN MENDOZA, Senior Reporter
Wellness Center staff to host forum Monday asking for input about dress code, equipment
J.R. Holder Wellness Center staff will host a forum Monday to discuss how the university’s gym can be improved.
The forum will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Wellness Center, and it is open to students, faculty, staff and community members.
Wellness Center Director Olivia Yandel said she is excited to hear about what people want to see improved.
“It is really just kind of open for the community to come in and voice their opinions or their concerns, their ideas and things they would like to see and do not like about the facility,” Yandel said.
The forum comes in response to an opinion column written in January by Northwestern News Editorial Editor J.D. Eddy, who said the facility needs new equipment. The column caught the attention of Northwestern administrators.
“I commend J.D. for doing that because, you know, it really shed a light on the facility and actually grabbed our administrators’ attention,” Yandel said.
The Wellness Center is one of the most highly trafficked places on campus, and it is important to keep it up-to-date, Yandel said. Yandel said she expects to hear students talk not only about equipment, but also about the facility’s dress code.
“I know one of the hot topics that we will probably see get brought up is the tank-top rule and the dress code in general,” Yandel said. “That is probably the No. 1 complaint.”
The dress code and other rules have been in place since the beginning of the Wellness Center, and they focus on individuals’ safety, she said.
“I see both sides and how that wearing a tank top is nice in the gym, but then I also see the administration side of, you know, we don’t want this place to be a greasy, sweaty, nasty gym,” Yandel said.
Yandel said she also expects that people will say they want newer, and more, equipment.
“I do not think our equipment is bad by any means because it all works well for how old it is, and I commend the previous staff for keeping that equipment running,” Yandel said. “But I can definitely see how students think it is out of date.”
The hot tub in the facility has also had problems, but Yandel said it should be working again by the end of the week.
Callie Haneborg, a sophomore pre-med major from North Platte, Nebraska, said she uses the Wellness Center a lot and would like to see some improvements.
“To improve the Wellness Center, I think it would be nice to have more squat racks and room around the dumbbell area since that is what most people use when lifting,” Haneborg said.
Haneborg said she does not use the machines too much. But when she does, she said they work well. She said she has no complaints about the rules in the Wellness Center.
“I think the rules are fine how they are,” she said. “There are not very many, so it makes it pretty easy to follow them.”
Connor Gibson, a junior biology major from Emmett, Idaho, said he also would like to see more squat racks.
“I would like to see the Wellness Center add … at least one more bench rack, but other than that, I would not change anything for the equipment,” Gibson said.
Gibson said he uses the machines every time he works out, but he is not particularly fond of the dress code.
“I do not like the rules about not being able to wear cut offs in the Wellness Center,” he said. “But I do like the fact that they allow hats now.”