The intramural facilities on campus are aging and MSU’s student body has taken notice. From outdated workout equipment to deteriorating aquatic centers, the students of MSU are calling for updates.
Supply chain sophomore Savannah Krull said she “loves the convenience” of IM Sports-West but wishes it was free, “like at other schools.”
“There isn’t a lot of space,” she said, adding that students often have to wait a while for time on the aging exercise machines.
Student-athletes also feel as though MSU’s sports facilities are lacking.
Melissa Vesey is a co-captain of the MSU women’s club water polo team and is infuriated when traveling to other schools for competitions, finding their facilities significantly more modern than those at MSU. She said limitations with the pool at IM Sports-West even prevent the team from hosting any events on campus.
“It’s like comparing an old, dirt high school football field to Spartan Stadium,” she said.
Claire Pilarski is a swimmer for the women’s swimming and diving team and said she feels that MSU has subpar aquatic centers which are having an effect on potential recruits.
“There’s a pretty direct effect on recruits when they see our facilities,” she said, claiming the recruits would prefer to go elsewhere due to the poor conditions of the pools.
Officials at ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, have heard the calls from students and recognize the decrepit state of MSU’s exercise facilities.
Dominique Clemons, president of ASMSU, laments the fact that MSU’s exercise complexes are some of “the worst in the Big Ten,” he said.
“We are being outdone by every university in the state of Michigan,” Clemons said, agreeing with the student body and calling for change “from the structures to technology.”
In comparison to MSU, the University of Iowa boasts recently renovated workout facilities which include a rock climbing wall and pools dedicated to student leisure.
MSU’s IM Sports-West pool was built more than a half century ago in 1950 and the IM Sports-West workout facilities have not undergone a significant renovation since 2005.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison faced similar issues of neglected exercise facilities for students in 2014. Rather than raise tuition or membership costs for students, the university held several fundraisers for the construction of new and improved facilities including lighted turf fields, an ice rink and wellness suite.
A one semester fitness membership costs $85 at MSU, while at University of Wisconsin, memberships cost are half that at $42.
Clemons said he has had multiple active conversations with students regarding the poor state of the workout centers and possible plans for the future.
MSU has recently kickstarted a healthy campus initiative, promoting healthy lifestyles for students by banning smoking, promoting bike safety on campus and promoting ways in which students can better deal with the stresses of college.
Graduate student John Benton also feels the equipment needs to be updated and that the workout centers are severely overcrowded and said he feels MSU could better represent their healthy campus initiative if they upgraded the facilities that students need in order to exercise.
“They have the funds,” Benton said pointing to the recent addition to the north entrance of Spartan Stadium.
This has many students wondering how MSU can promote healthy habits without adequate facilities for students to exercise in.
Clemons acknowledges this and said that ASMSU has passed a piece of legislation that includes a list of how MSU can better promote its healthy campus initiative. The list includes renovations to MSU’s intramural facilities.
