OCR Text |
Show THE THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1993 87TH YEAR; NUMBER 51 Circuit weight room draws ire of many on campus BY PAUL SMITH Thunderbird $raff Writer Several faculty members and SUUSA President Jason White have expressed serious concerns about the University circuit weight room including allegations of unsafe conditions, dilapidated stare of repair, and redirection of funds. ·1 think the weight room is obsolete and fails\ to meet the needs of the students," said White. "I have that class and I 1 absolutely hate to go down there." The Registrar's Office reports that student a.nd faculty have been charged $42,343 in fees this year for use of the cirruit weight room through a PE 170 course. These fees are charged to oover maintmance costs of the room. Faculty Senator Kay Cook, assistant professor of language and literature, says that normally she pays the $31 fee for use of the facilities but has stopped doing it because of the "terrible condition" to which the room has deteriorated. Cook says that equipment in the room is in shabby condition, and there are enormous safety risks. "I once was in there when a girl got off a machine and complained of being diny and lightheaded. She a.sud {the attendant;) what to do and he told her to walk around until it went away. I immediately grabbed her, sat her down and had her put her head between her knees. I mean she looked real bad. Can you imagine the liability the college would have had if I wouldn't have been there and she had fallen and hit her head because of that negligence?" she said. we can't hire anyone wbo is qualified we just hire whoever we can," said Eric Houle, track and field coach and the director of the center. Houle said that the room attendants are generally physical education majors or students ·u who have worked in fitness centers before. "We would like them all to have some emergency training, but hey, sometimes we have to hire someone who doesn't" Houle said that the fees go to pay salaries and equipment maintenance, and that he would like to have more money to buy some new machines. Michael Cohen, professor oflanguage and literature, said that in at least three years not one new piece of equipment has been added to the room. "The campus deserves to have continuing improvement, not a fitness center that is teadily ---------11---------- decaying," he said. According to Cohen, the equipment is cxmstandy broken, especially the bicycles, and one bicycle has been broken for over a year. There are also serious questions as to where all the money goes. Some faculty members allege that the residual goes to the athletic department Jack Bishop, athletic directX>r denies his department gets any of the money. "We used to get some of the money from those fees but not anymore. I think it all goes into the general appropriations fund now." Mark Barton, assistant vice president for student services, said he has no idea where the money goes, but at the very least, "some fitne s center is better than no fitness center." "I think I will duck the e questions," said Craig Morrison, physical education instructor, "This is too political." Morrison said he has a pretty good idea where the money goes but said it was in his best interest to refuse comment "Sure, he could lose his job by talking about something like that," said Cohen. Cohen also complained that the room is so small that there is no room for warming up. "Many of the things people do in there, in theory, require stretching before hand, but there just isn't any room." Bishop said that the circuit weight room has been overloaded and admits that they haven't kept pace with the needs. He said he doesn't keep dose enough tabs on the center to answer specific allegations but he has personally heard no romplaints. James Vlasich, assistant professor of behavioral and social science, regards the circuit room as an asset to the faculty life. "I am religious about my workout," he said. "I really hav n't experienced any problems." Houle said the center keeps a file of voluntary information, in case of emergency, on everyone who pays for use of the room. He said the employees are given an orientation ID be prepared to handle crises. "We moni.t or people who have any kind of heart problem," he said. Tebbs Adams, associate vice president of financial affairs, was out of cown. Adams is the administrator with access to expenditu~ and, acx:ording to Vice President for University Affairs Michael D. Richards' office, Adams is the only one on campus who can give out numbers concerning amounts spent on the circuit weight room, 'Cotnedy' threesoDle Datnaj lacks hutnor; costs 3 bucks REVIEW BY JENNIFER MORLEY Thunderbird Eairor Performing for an audience of fewer than 100 people last night-who paid $3 a head Matt and John, two brothers from du: mo Damaj, perform one of their man1 attempts at comedy Wednesday night. The event was sponsored "1 Delta Sigma.Chi and Newman's Deli. for tickets-the skit/comedy trio Damaj was not well received. The "comedy" trio was sponsored by Delta Sigma Chi and SUU's own Troy Meeks opened the show. Meeks' topics ranged from Taco Bell's two drive up windows and '"cool headsets," to Phi Alpha Beta's pledge pins that look like Star Trek's Enterprise pins. His act was, sadly, the only comic relief of the night Damaj, a group of three brothers from Salt Lake City, opened its act with a skit en tided "Obedience School," wherein the punishment system was utilized, but on the owner rather tha.n the dog. Much of the act consist.ed of puns, many of which were typically bad puns that made the audience groa.n and cringe. One member's interpretation of"warming up the audience" was to get up and do aerobics, while another member's idea of'"rap" was Christmas wrap. When introducing himself and describing his "background," one member of the group turned around and began describing what was behind him. John, the biggest down of the group, made several attempts to play "Home on the Range" on his guitar throughout the rambling production. He finally got to play the grating tune and his brother , Dave a.nd Matt, joined in by making up their own words to the song, including the LDS missionary version-·Oh give me a rone, where there's nobody home, where me and my comp play all day"-the student version-"I've got 10 student loans, my major's unknown, my future looks misty a.nd gray"..-and the homeless version-"Oh give me a home... Please." Unfortunately, that was the funniest line of the show. Another skit the group performed involved a sales pitch in which the client sold the vaamm to th.e salesman. "Is that the double-bag suck system?" th.e client asked. "Yeah, it really sucks," responded the salesman. Throughout the entire show I expected the charity rimshot to bash out the cornball rhythm that goes along with such trite and bland jokes as these. All that was missing from this production was an appearance from Bo10 the Clown. |