'The Pit' brings exercise home to Hill residents

"The Pit" at Hill House offers a working example of the decentralized option of on-campus recreation faciltities. Psst. Looking for exercise equipment right around the corner? Equipment that funds itself? Come to Hill College House. This is the lure of the University's only resident-financed recreation facility, the Hill House "Pit," or exercise room. The Pit is one of many dormitory-located exercise rooms, most of which are managed by dorm residents instead of the Recreation Department. The Recreation Department's consultants, Brailsford & Dunlavey, will soon finish cost-appraising possible construction of new recreation buildings. In many ways, the Pit and other similar facilities represent the decentralized path Brailsford must weigh against the centralized option of building a new campus recreation center. "[Hill] is a very good model of 'satellite' exercise operations," Assistant Dean Tracy Feld said. "I think it's quite an uncommon approach." While student-managed recreation rooms exist in other dormitories, Hill's financing system is indeed uncommon. Money from its commissary -- one of only two student-run stores on campus -- is funneled back into Hill activities, including the rec room. Although this funding alone could not fully support the Pit -- additional funds come from Hill's University-alloted budget -- students know their dollars are being recycled. "As [residents] patronize the store, they know they will benefit," Feld said. The commissary is "the only thing that's allowed us to make large purchases," Assistant Director for Academic Programs Steve Feld said. But he added that the Hill financing model was "not replicable" and similar facilities elsewhere "would need centralized support." Such exercise rooms do exist, if on a smaller scale. Managers at Van Pelt College House, for instance, are currently looking to use their University-allocated budgetary funds towards the purchase of two or three new exercise machines for their mid-sized rec room, according to Van Pelt House Council member Barbara Duker, a College freshman. With or without its commissary money, the Hill exercise room exemplifies many of the benefits -- and some of the disadvantages -- of decentralized recreation. The facility stays open eight hours a day, seven days a week. The facility recently added a 9-10 a.m. shift, said Pit manager Vishal Shah, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore. Student management helps determine student needs through surveys and peer interaction. "They have their finger on the pulse," Tracy Feld said. A sense of common interest in the Pit has prevented vandalism, she said. And student waivers, the absence of free weights and equipment maintenance contracts forestall liability problems. Shah said he thinks the Pit should be replicated in all residences, especially the high rises. Because location is so important to him, he wouldn't want to walk to a recreation complex "even if it was five minutes away." Shah added that many Hill residents use the Pit late at night -- too late to walk out of doors and feel safe. But Steve Feld said the University needs a new campus recreation center. "The high-intensity workout people are going to want a centralized facility," he said. Presented with a choice between expanding the dormitory model and building a new recreation complex, he said he hopes the University can afford both. Others are similarly torn. College sophomore and Undergraduate Assembly representative Noah Bilenker, a frequent critic of University recreation, said he likes the convenience of dormitory exercise equipment. "It's good because [it's] accessible," he said. "If there was a decentralized facility in the Quad last year I would have used it a lot." But Bilenker notes that off-campus students do not benefit from equipment in dorms. In the long term he would like to see a new recreation complex. "I like the idea of a centralized system because you can get more equipment and better equipment," he said. "In the short term I think decentralizing is all right."

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