By Abigail Connolly
On February 7 in an email from Officer-in-Charge Dr. Mary C. Toll, SUNY Oswego announced that it will not charge students for use of on-campus fitness centers. The fee waiver will continue until the end of the spring semester.
“We are pleased to announce that membership fees will not reach SUNY Oswego fitness centers for Spring 2022 as the first use of HEERF (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund) funds for mental health and wellness,” the email read.
Two months later, the fitness center emailed students who used their facilities during the free spring semester, linking to a survey to determine the impact of the funding. It is important that they collect this data to understand the impact of having free fitness centers on students’ mental and physical health.
In the February 25 issue of Oswegonian, she questioned why the transition to a free gym membership wasn’t made soon. After the negative financial effects caused by COVID-19, male students lost income and a way to pay for non-essential things.
While it’s inconceivable that fitness centers may not be considered entirely “essential” to living, it would be foolish to ignore the many benefits that exercise space provides for mental and physical health. Campus fitness centers are generally seen as having more than adequate resources, machinery, and support. They focus on creating a community through a variety of classes, challenges, and group events, all of which give students a chance to meet new, like-minded people in a positive environment. Something that may be difficult for students to do in a university environment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that physically active students are more likely to have better grades, school attendance, memory, and classroom behavior. Additional studies confirmed that the higher the level of physical activity and fitness, the better the cognitive performance. Offering gyms as a resource not only keeps students fitter, but also has the potential to improve class structure and student potential.
SUNY Oswego has made a great decision to allow students free access to these facilities. Students who may not have been able to afford the previous fees can now access a health outlet on campus.
The survey sent will help determine whether or not this resource will still be readily available to students. For mental, physical and community health. It is essential for many students to feel as if they have freedom from the daily stresses of college life and for many that place is the fitness center. Now that it’s offered for free, students may be hard-pressed to pay the $65 fee to access it.
HEERF will be well spent at SUNY Oswego fitness centers and will provide students with space to improve their overall well-being.
Kylie Montrose | Oswegonian
