UA suggests new weightroom

The Undergraduate Assembly unanimously passed a proposal to create a new, temporary recreational weightroom during its meeting Sunday night. The proposal, written by UA member and College junior Josh Rockoff, calls for $75,000 in renovations to the former Sports Medicine site at 33rd and Spruce streets. According to Rockoff, the site has been empty since Sports Medicine moved to the Presbyterian Hospital at 39th and Market streets. Presbyterian is owned by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, there are two recreational weightrooms and two weightrooms for intercollegiate athletes. Rockoff said the intercollegiate weightrooms are well-funded and state-of-the-art. On the other hand, he added, the recreational weightrooms in Hutchinson and Gimbel gymnasiums are supplied with second-rate equipment and poorly funded. Rockoff explained that Hutch has a cracked and sinking floor, paint peeling off the walls and an air conditioning system that doesn't work. "We don't have quality recreational facilities," Rockoff said. "The focus always seems to be on intercollegiate athletics." Recreation administrators are now discussing preliminary ideas for a new permanent recreational complex. But Rockoff noted that a similar project at Tulane University, where Recreation Director Mike Diorka worked prior to coming to Penn, took 10 years to complete. Rockoff speculated that it would take seven to 10 years to complete similar facilities at Penn. In the meantime, he said, the temporary recreational weightroom proposed by the UA would take about two months to complete and could meet the needs of the more than 28,000 people who use the University's recreational facilities. The proposal specifies several potential sources of funding for the project. These include alumni contributions, earnings from the Hutch Fitness Center that amount to about $144,000 per year and money currently used by the Department of Athletics to entertain alumni. "We are trying to present the administration with an idea to improve recreational facilities and services to students in the short term," UA Chairperson and College junior Tal Golomb said. Copies of the UA proposal will go to Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and other administrators.