Rensselaer is a jock campus. Some of you may find this statement perplexing or outlandish. After all, we are a technical school filled with engineers and scientists. Instead of playing sports, we develop software and solve mathematical equations, right? While we may do these things, one thing is for certain: We enjoy and take part in physical activity as much—if not more—than any other campus in the country. Approximately 70 percent of our student body lettered in a varsity sport during their high school careers. Of them, 20 percent were captains of their respective teams. Currently, three quarters of our student population is involved in some form of structured athletics, whether it be intercollegiate, club, or intramural. These are impressive statistics, and simply shatter the stigma that we are aloof and ungainly engineers who would prefer to stand on the sideline than engage in physical competition.
I often refer to the Rensselaer Experience, the world class facilities, services, and opportunities that go hand in hand with one’s world class education. These experiences also involve the athletic recreation that we all expect as a right for students, a standard service that we can all recognize the value in. It is no mystery that we have a shortage of athletic facilities, and we have all recognized the problem. Under The Rensselaer Plan and the leadership of President Jackson we have developed the East Campus Athletic Project, bringing facilities that will rival any campus in the country. As it stands now, however, we can do a better job—given the current framework of our athletic facilities and staff—allocating our limited resources to the entire campus population. There are over 6,000 students on campus that are not on a varsity athletic team. These students are left to scramble between different practices and games in the Armory and ’87 Gym to simply shoot some hoops or run laps around the indoor track.
I have proposed a short term solution regarding athletic recreation on campus. It involves three components: extending hours, creating a recreation block for the general student body, and developing an access control measure for our athletic facilities.
First, we are looking for ways to reallocate staff in order to keep the facility open later. Currently the athletic facilties close at 4 pm on weekends and 11:30 pm during the weekdays. We must accommodate the schedules of our students. I am confident there are students that would use the Armory beyond 11 pm, and would certainly fill our courts on the weekends beyond 4 pm. While these will benefit all students involved, there is one part of my proposal that will not sit easy with all parties involved. I propose a two-hour block of campus wide recreation time, between the hours of 4-8 pm, in which students are free to use one of our athletic facilites.
This is not to say that I am not fervently working to improve our varsity programs. I am well aware that our men’s hockey team is fighting to remain a competitive team while their budget falls among the lowest in the nation. I have played on the football team where I have put on equipment that is five or six years old. I know what it feels like to have our students’ talent continue to overcome our lack of resources by continuing to succeed at the highest level.
That being said, this is not just about varsity programs or free recreation, but the entire student body. It is about making Rensselaer a better place for us all and enhancing the Rensselaer experience for each and every student.
