Northeast Community College has a very small fitness center and very short hours; this doesn’t make it easy for students to exercise. Could there be a better option?
Fitness hours in the Cox Center are from 11:00a.m to 8:00p.m Monday thru Thursday and 11:00a.m to 6:00p.m Friday. There are no hours over the weekend so many students find another fitness center to workout in.
A.J Braban, a freshman at Northeast said that these hours did not leave him much time to work out because of his stretched schedule. He stated that he would like early morning hours or hours later at night.
Amy Ries said that they tried early morning hours in the past, but nobody took advantage of these extended hours. This year they actually added an additional hour in the morning, they used to open the gym and fitness area at noon.
The reasons for these certain hours are mostly because of budget. Everyone that works in the Cox fitness area are part time workers that are paid though Northeast. Hours are paid through student deviation to pay student workers.
Another reason for the hours is that the administration wanted these special hours of operation. Administration decided that these would be the hours that they would get the most students into the gym and fitness area.
Many students actually go off campus to work out because of the hours that are lacking at Northeast. They also go to other fitness areas because the weight room and cardio room are so small and when it is open it is packed full of students.
There have been rumors that there is going to be a new fitness center constructed on campus. Amy Ries told me that this is actually true. This new fitness center has been proposed for the last two years, but this year it was added to the master plan. This means that it is going to happen sometime.
The Cox Center was built in the late 70’s and has not had any drastic change since then.
With this new fitness center there would be new extended hours, and weekend hours. Of course with this new building, a new budget will have to be made.
The dream for this wellness center is that it would not only be a fitness facility, but also have an edition that has a study lab. The center is meant to help the body and mind.
“A new fitness center would be awesome! I would be there every day, all the time,” A.J responded after asked about a new fitness center.
This new fitness area or wellness center would be open to students who go to Northeast. This would give students an outlet and a place to go to help them health wise. A.J commented that this would give him more time to spend with friends and maybe find new friends with the same values.
This wellness center would also be open to the community to help everyone with a place for fitness. Northeast has seen how the college and the community have grown. The community needs another place for fitness.
“I want a safe place that is big enough for students and the community,” Amy Ries said.
A new fitness center would also help students in the fitness programs for work study and internships. They would be able to get the experience they would need without leaving campus.
So students, look to the future, Northeast is trying to help with fitness and health. It may take a little while, but soon Northeast will have a fitness center and hours the whole community can be proud of.