I must respectfully disagree with Peter Baldwin as he currently endeavors to make the Armory and/or the ’87 Gym open for the entire student body during “peak hours.” While this effort is well-founded and will undoubtedly provide the average Rensselaer student with more accessible usage of the RPI athletic facilities, it will put an undue burden on the backs of the already overloaded Rensselaer athlete. Mr. Baldwin should adhere to the right of the student majority, but at the same time he must respect and protect the rights of the minority.
Creating a two-hour block of open gym during peak hours would generate a multitude of problems for both RPI athletic squads and the general student. First, athletic teams whose practices demand gym time would be forced to reschedule their practice times around this prime time block. Teams would be forced to either train early in the day, forcing players to either miss practice or classes, or practice later at night when already-exhausted players will be forced to perform at high levels when their mental and physical strength is lacking. The result of either of these scenarios would be less efficient practices and therefore poorer game-day performances for teams, a picture no one likes painting.
One also has to consider whether this open gym time will be utilized efficiently by the student body. Hopefully, if Mr. Baldwin secures this block of time for the students it will be used productively, but this author has his doubts. Too many times during other open gym periods, substantial problems have occured that take away from the experience. Basketball hoops are not down, the courts are not clean, or quite frankly, there is no one there! Some may argue—and have a legitimate point—that this could be because of the timing of the current open gym sessions. But, if these individuals truly want to use the resources of the Armory, why don’t they come to current open gym periods? Why must they have their prime time slot? The PU should not be forced to sacrifice practice time for athletes because he knows they will come back to gym, no matter what time slot they are allotted, where regular students might not.
Furthermore, let’s be realistic about this “two hour block” that has been guaranteed to students. While it may say two hours on the Armory building schedule, it will certainly be far less in reality. The two hour gym period will most likely be nestled in between two varsity practices; the coach of the afternoon practice will undoubtedly run his or her team over and the coach of the night practice will want to get started early and will invade the gym prior to the end of the open gym session. And again, realistically, what can the average RPI student say to these athletes or coaches? “Excuse me, I’ve got this court?” Good luck to whoever tries that one.
Hopefully Mr. Baldwin has considered or is considering these issues. This writer would love to have an extra two hours at a reasonable hour to play some basketball, but also does not want the will of the majority hindering the performance of a valuable minority. RPI athletic teams are a proud part of this school and we should treat them like one.
