For a University where students pay very high tuition, you would assume that its on-campus fitness center would be top of the line.
UM’s Herbert Wellness Center has plenty going for it. Its basketball courts, racquetball courts and other recreational spaces are useful and generally well-maintained. However, several minor details — from the towel requirement to cramped lockers and narrow showers — make the facility feel less impressive than it should.
Let’s talk about the towel policy.
To work out, you are required to bring a towel to the gym for “sanitary reasons.”. The Wellness Center policy states you must wipe down equipment when you are done with a workout.
If you don’t have a towel, you have no other choice but to buy a towel at the Pro-Shop, located in front of the racquetball courts. Towel prices range from $1 for daily purchases to upwards of $20 for the entire semester.
The towel policy is ridiculous, considering two things.
For one, there are multiple stations with disinfectant wipes throughout the gym, which would clean equipment far better than a dirty towel would, according to a study conducted by Private University Products and News.
Secondly, the policy that you must enter the gym with a towel or else be forced to pay the University even more money than you have already paid them is absurd in and of itself.
Right next to the Pro-Shop are the locker rooms, which are another issue.
While daily locker rental is free, they are way too small. If you’re a student with a busy day and need a larger locker with extra clothes, shoes and shower necessities, slightly larger lockers are available.
However, despite their larger size, certain duffle bags still need to be shoved inside to fit. I carry a relatively large bag that holds my extra pair of shoes, clothes, towels and other toiletries, and I have had to use excessive force to get it into the locker.
The locker room showers also present a big challenge.
The showers are very narrow and small, meaning you either have to be an average-sized person or, if you’re on the taller side like myself, you are out of luck. You have to angle yourself to get a proper shower, and they aren’t necessarily the cleanest bathrooms on the planet.
Another area for improvement is the room for core exercises. There are not enough mats, the fake grass feels weird and there are only a handful of medicine balls for weight training. This is also not helped by the fact that the room is designed so that sound echoes off the walls, which means that if someone even whispers, everyone working out is privy to a full-on conversation.
The Herbert Wellness Center has the potential to be a great student facility, but its outdated policies and cramped spaces hold it back. For what students pay to attend UM, the Wellness Center deserves a facelift.