Gym Members Cope With Summer Hours

Every year there is a summertime exodus from the Columbia campus, leaving vastly fewer student residents of Morningside Heights than during the academic year. In response to this reduction in population, many of Columbia's facilities keep shortened hours of operation. This is true of Dodge Fitness Center, which operates with reduced hours of 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. on weekends. Additionally, residents who are not enrolled as summer students must pay a $22 usage fee.

Some summer residents have expressed disappointment in the policy of the usage fee, explicitly citing it as the reason they refrain from making use of the fitness center.

"It's outrageous that they want another $22 from me," senior Lachlan Smith said. "I figured that I'd be allowed in the same as I am during the year."

Speaking on behalf of the fitness center, Building Supervisor Amber Hutton maintained that the usage fee was in fact not a policy change from the academic year.

"There is a regular usage fee that is deducted from a student's tuition during the year," Hutton said. "If a student takes [summer] classes, the fee is included in that tuition." Many students are unaware of this charge because it is automatically deducted from their tuition.

Although there is no specific purpose for the money, such as renovations, Hutton said that the money would be used for general maintenance and upkeep, similar to how the fee is used during the school year.

Other summer residents, having paid the usage fee, at times find the gym's hour of operations to be in conflict with their own schedules.

"Sometimes, especially after long work days, the gym's already closed or about to close when I want to use it," senior Eli Liedman said. "Still, it's a lot more convenient to use Dodge than it is any other gym."

Hutton mentioned that the gym had taken measures to improve its service, especially in trying to accommodate the schedules of students who spend a majority of their time away from campus.

"Last summer, we had some complaints from graduate students about closing at 8 p.m. This summer we extended our schedule by one hour, and now we close at 9 p.m.," Hutton said.

While there is a reduction in the total number of gym users during the summer, Hutton feels that a large proportion of summer residents still make use of the gym.

"We typically get a couple hundred [students], and at one time we might have 500 or 600."

Though some students claim that a usage fee is unreasonable, and that the fee, together with inconvenient hours, deters them from going to the gym, a great number still go regularly.

Expressing the sentiment of many summer residents, Liedman said, "Even with the summer fee, [the gym's] still cheaper than Crunch, and it's always easier to work out where you live."

The Dodge Fitness Center is home to the University swimming pool, a three-level weight room with aerobic machines, four basketball courts, and assorted other facilities used by students, faculty, campers, and other paying members.