Jumbo gym bums, listen up: Exercise equipment is coming to a dormitory near you.
Thanks to a project worked out by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's Administration and Policy Committee, next fall South Hall will boast six new exercise machines in its basement. Installation of two treadmills, two elliptical machines and two stationary bikes will begin this summer.
"We tried to find areas on campus in which we could provide maybe a few more [machines], and South Hall, after looking around, seemed like a place that would make sense," TCU Senate President Mitch Robinson said.
After being elected last year, TCU Senator and sophomore Pooja Chokshi saw very shortly that exercise space emerged as a top student concern.
"The gym was kind of a hike, especially in the colder months. There isn't that much equipment, so there are a lot of lines," she said. Chokshi co-chairs the Administration and Policy Committee with fellow sophomore and TCU senator Matt Shapanka.
"It's something that students have approached us about last year. That's how the project came about," Shapanka said.
As Chokshi investigated the possibility of a second workout location, she found that a room in the basement of South Hall had originally been intended for gym equipment, but that the gear there was broken and out of date.
To advance the project, senators met with Tufts Athletics Director Bill Gehling, Dean of Student Services Paul Stanton and Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman.
"We agreed that the space should be utilized and would benefit the whole student body," Chokshi said.
But the process wasn't easy. While the proposal received early clearance from the Office of Residential Life and Learning, senators ran into two roadblocks: the first, money; the second, liability issues.
Namely, Tufts would need to avoid liability for any injury incurred on machines.
After further conversations with Reitman's office, senators and the administration reached an agreement that Tufts could use the same standards for liability that hotels, which often supply unmonitored workout rooms on the condition that patrons exercise at their own risk, employ.
Reitman also recently agreed to help fund the project, in conjunction with the TCU Treasury. Neither Shapanka nor Chokshi could specify the cost for the project.
Chokshi said the project is a prime example of how the Senate could help improve student life. "Based on student feedback, the Senate thought [it] was an important project to do, and it happened," she said. "I'm really excited about it, because I have been working for two years."
"Hopefully that will be a sign of even better things to come," Robinson said.
South residents said they'd be interested in the new facility.
"I would use [it] because I like going to the gym every so often," said freshman and South resident Alex Khan. "But it's sometimes too far away. I'd be even more interested if they had like a Bowflex [Home Gym] - not only aerobic equipment, but weightlifting as well," he said.
"A TV would be good to keep you occupied," freshman Missy Ricculli said.
