Students sweat in hot Hutch

Dents, dirt and scratches cover the otherwise bare walls. The hot, thick air makes it difficult to breathe, much less exercise. The floors remain covered with ripped plastic while concrete cures beneath it. A prison-like atmosphere has filled the Hutchinson Gym weight room -- now undergoing renovations after years of poor ventilation, worn floors and a generally unbearable atmosphere. Even the hallway leading toward the Hutch basement's exit has poor ventilation, stained and worn flooring and uncomfortable and crowded conditions. Yet that hallway is Hutch's current space for free weights while the weight room is under renovation. Those who want to work out in Hutch can do so only in that space. "Be prepared to sweat a lot and drink a lot of water," Recreation Assistant Director John Hamrick said, pointing at the one water fountain in the hallway. The conditions have forced many students to join fitness clubs -- ranging from those in Center City to the Penn Fitness Center located in Hutch, where a student membership costs $125. But even the Penn Fitness Center -- located throughout the upper floors of the gymnasium -- has poor ventilation and crowded conditions. The equipment, however, is more organized and in better condition than the free weights in the basement's hallway. "Students shouldn't have to [join clubs], but they don't want to come down here," Hamrick said, adding that the weight room's conditions have remained the same since it moved to that location over three years ago. The renovations first began after Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and Provost Stanley Chodorow became aware of the conditions last summer, and students signed a petition in October complaining of the condition of the gym. But because the concrete needs to cure for 60 days, the rubber floor cannot be placed down until March 13. The Recreation Department has set April 1 as a tentative completion date. In the meantime, students have to deal with the hallway, where roaches crawl along the side walls and students stand in line to quench their thirst at the single water fountain. "I certainly don't enjoy it and at my high school they have better stuff," Engineering freshman Roger Wallace said. Wallace added that the lack of electric fans and radios make the atmosphere even less pleasant. In the Penn Fitness Center, however, fans, open windows and radios are available. Hamrick said these extras, in addition to mirrors and painted walls, are just as important as the basic necessities, although the lack of money makes the facility itself the first priority.