The availability of sports facilities on campus has developed into a contentious issue for AU students, causing some to question whether the Department of Athletics favors varsity athletes over other students.
The perceived lack of places for students to play sports has led some to encourage the administration to make more spaces available.
The available athletic spaces on campus for student use include six outdoor tennis courts, two outdoor basketball courts, two indoor basketball courts available during open gym hours in Bender Arena, the indoor pool, the turf field and softball diamond at the Jacobs Recreational Complex and the track around Reeves Field.
Varsity students have priority to use the turf field, making it difficult for other students to use it.
“I think it’s just frustrating to use like the turf field at times because you know you’re going to get kicked off,” said Alex LaBant, a junior in the School of International Service.
The turf field is available for the AU community’s use when the varsity lacrosse and field hockey teams, club sports teams or intramural competitions do not have the space reserved, according to Jordan Tobin, director of facilities and operations for the Department of Athletics.
Open gym hours have been another area which some students have expressed displeasure.
“There are not enough open gym hours,” Max Rappaport, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said. “I think it’s just due to the lack of space and the fact that ... a lot of the teams, have to practice there as well.”
Currently, the AU Athletics allows members of the Jacobs Fitness Center to use the basketball courts inside Bender Arena during times that the facility would otherwise be empty — when athletic practices, competitions or other school events are not occurring.
“Every effort is made to offer at least some open gym hours on a daily basis to the AU community, and once open gym hours are set for a particular month and are published online, they are not altered or removed (unless more time is added) except on a rare basis,” Tobin said in an e-mail.
On the Jacobs Fitness Center Web site, there were 194 open gym hours posted for March 2010, an average of just over six hours a day. This total is an increase over last month, which had a total of 85.25 hours, an average of just over three hours per day.
The number of open gym hours offered to the AU community is lower during winter months in part because varsity wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball compete and practice most during those months.
Still, Rappaport said that personal experience makes him think that more hours could be added to open gym.
“I’ve gone in [Bender Arena] like two hours before open gym is supposed to start and there’s nothing going on,” he said. “Those are times when people could be playing on the courts but open gym hours aren’t posted.”
Joseph Muscarella, an undergraduate senator for the class of 2011, said he recognized an issue with the posting of times students could use available spaces. He also noticed the varsity weight room is open to students when athletes are not using it. This observation led him to write a bill on the issue that the Undergraduate Senate passed last November. Muscarella’s legislation called for the executive branch of the AU Student Government to lobby the administration to post all available hours that non-varsity students can use recreational athletic facilities on their Web site.
Currently, AU Athletics posts the hours students can use the Jacobs Fitness Center, open gym and recreational swim. Varsity weight room hours continue to be posted solely on the room’s door, which also indicates that the available hours are “subject to change without prior notice.”
Though the Senate passed the bill last semester, the executive branch of SG might not be pushing strongly to see the issue resolved, Muscarella said.
Zack Solomon, director of Student Athletics and Recreation for the SG, said he was not aware of Muscarella’s bill passing last semester. He also added that he has not received any student input regarding the availability of recreational facilities,
Muscarella said he intends to write a new bill to address the amount of hours offered.
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