COLUMN: Campus needs outdoor courts

From Andy Meran's "Meran's Law," Fall '95 So I'm not going to use this last opportunity to further beat to death any of the numerous accomplishments these two teams gave to the onlooking Penn community. I'll leave that to my fellow columnists. Instead, I figured I might as well take a different angle and talk about those issues involving regular Penn students trying to demonstrate their vast athletic prowess. Not the varsity athletes, just the ordinary folk -- the ordinary Joe (not Smith) looking to run around a little bit and have some fun. Intramural sports do a wonderful job of giving students an outlet for their aggression and their desire to actually be part of a team. Although the competition isn't at the highest level, these games are always fun. However, this is the time of year when intramural leagues dwindle down. Yes, some softball teams are still alive in the playoffs and the volleyball league is going strong, but the majority of students simply is not interested in these two sports. There is plenty of real volleyball -- beach volleyball -- going on at a Sigma Chi residence near you. Since most people are not equipped with beaches, those looking for athletic entertainment head to the basketball courts in Gimbel and Hutch. Even on a beautiful 60-plus degree day in the middle of April, these two roundball meccas are swamped with people. And for good reason. There is simply no other place where students can go to play. The University severely lacks outdoor basketball courts. Not only would they cut down on the 43-game waits at Gimbel, they would allow students to take advantage of the balmy Philadelphia climate. Sure, these courts wouldn't be as swamped as Hutch in December, but they would definitely get enough use to warrant their construction. There used to be a set of outdoor hoops right outside of Gimbel, but due to the University's immense desire to construct useless parking structures, these courts are now a distant memory. A few cars of local residents now occupy the same place where students used to pull up for jumpers and slash to the basket. Which use of the land is better suited to Penn's desire to provide students with numerous activities to give them relief from their stressful studies? I don't know. Maybe a parking lot better meets students' demands. There certainly are a large number of people on this campus who truly have no interest in sports. I mean, how is it possible that every single home game of a top-25 caliber basketball team featuring five seniors can not be sold out? If yesterday's nudist demonstration had received as much publicity as one of the basketball team's home games, there is no question this "natural" gathering would have been filled to capacity -- yes ladies and gentlemen, a sold-out College Green. Sorry for that momentary loss of focus. Now back to the game. While Hutch and Gimbel are great places to play, there are not enough courts available to meet the demand. And with aerobics classes and volleyball games taking place during peak hours, students need another place to go. There's a fight every five minutes on the first court at Gimbel. With tons of people standing around waiting for the chance to actually play, conflicts are bound to arise. It always adds to the excitement when 10 different people are under the belief their team has the next game. Sure, all of these problems will still exist even if outdoor courts are built, but without the long lines and so many people milling around, they are bound to be lessened. Students will not have to wait so long to play, and the 100-degree indoor climates can be replaced by the natural air. There are plenty of places where these courts can be built, too. Aside from the original location of the outdoor courts, there are plenty of other parking lots that effectively serve no purpose for the school. The parking lot between Franklin Field and Hutch is never full. Neither is the empty space near Bower Field on the other side of the blue bridge behind the Palestra. If the University is sincere about upgrading recreational opportunities for Penn's students and faculty and improving student life, providing outdoor basketball courts is an easy and relatively cheap way to start. If you build them, they will come. Andy Meran is a Wharton junior from Boca Raton, Fla., and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian. This is the final rendition of Meran's Law. The DP's King Swami will be back in the fall looking to defend his magic carpet.