Imagine for a moment that it is a typical Friday afternoon for you and your friends here at RPI. The excitement and relief due to the arrival of the much anticipated weekend and the freedom, if just for a night or day, from the pressures of classes send you and your posse in search of a little exercise. After much debate you decide a little basketball would be the perfect remedy to sooth the wounds of another painful week of lectures and labor.
However, during your quest for liberation from your stressors you are confronted with only frustration. The Armory is closed for practices, a conference, or a club, while the ’87 Gym is overflowing as every court is taken by people you have never seen on campus before. And so your weekend starts off on a sour note and leaves you and your crew irritated and aggravated as you probe one another for another way to start your weekend festivities.
This dream sequence is all too real for many of those who seek the refuge of a good pick up basketball game, some volleyball, or some floor hockey on Friday afternoons and Saturdays.
With sports teams, clubs, or some conference or seminar constantly taking place in the Armory and the old and undersized ’87 Gym filled bursting at the seams, it is a regular occurrence for individuals to walk away from these facilities bitter and bewildered.
Hours and events for both facilitates are poorly marked, if announced at all. The Armory and ’87 Gym’s random hours and availability make it next to impossible for the average Rensselaer student to schedule a little exercise via basketball, the indoor track, or some other means into their day. These resources are meant for the athletes and the students, and while I have no problem with their usage by our athletic teams, their utilization by other groups that serve non-students or just a small minority of students is unacceptable.
Perhaps the most pressing issue regarding the lack of availability of courts is who is using them. Troy residents, particularly high schoolers, are continuously taking up courts that are supposed to be for use of RPI students only. Signs marking the building declare, “You must have a valid RPI ID to enter,” but they do little barking and certainly no biting. There is no presence anywhere in either the Armory or the ’87 Gym that enforces this “policy.” For those who frequent the gyms regularly, they are all to aware of the reality of losing a court to a bunch of Troylets.
There are several simple and cost effective solutions to these problems. First, post an updated schedule online of when the Armory and ’87 Gym will be available throughout the week. This will allow students to at least know whether they should even bother making there way down to either of the gymnasiums. To address the infiltration of unwanted guests to the facilities, just have a staff member, a work study student, somebody simply sit outside and check IDs! It is a safe guess to say that most RPI students would gladly bring their ID with them to the gyms—which most do anyways—in exchange for a chance to actually get some much deserved stress relief.
