All group fitness classes will be offered for free beginning this semester as part of a decision Campus Recreation Services made in May 2007.
Group fitness classes, such as aerobics, yoga and kick-boxing, traditionally cost about $1 per class. Now, instead of charging students for the classes, gym membership fees will increase by $1.50, Brent Flynn, assistant director of business for CRS, said.
Though CRS has been planning this policy since 2007, this is the first semester students can participate in these classes for free, said Miranda Giossi, coordinator of fitness programs.
The issue arose when some staff voiced concerns that usually male-dominated intramural sports are offered for free while mostly female fitness classes were charged, Flynn said. To make things more equitable between the genders, CRS proposed group fitness classes be free as well. Staff then talked to student groups about making the change and decided to waive the fee after receiving positive feedback, Flynn said.
Female students appreciate this change, because they will have to plan less for their gym trips.
“When I went to the gym to take a class last year I didn’t know it costed anything, so I couldn’t go because I didn’t have a dollar on me, so this is great,” sophomore finance and government and politics major Zina Makar said.
Male students did not seem as affected by the change.
“I’m not really a group fitness kind of guy,” said Michael Luongo, a freshman criminology major.
Though the decision was made in 2007, CRS needed to spend some time rearranging the budget to accommodate the free classes.
The staff hopes the free classes will attract students who formerly had reservations due to the fee. Assistant Director of Fitness Brianne Rowh said she wants these students to try out some classes they had not attended before.
Students’ feelings about the free classes already seem to be fulfilling the staff’s hopes for the new change.
“Last year, I never went before, but I actually went to yoga today,” said Leni Schimpf, a sophomore communication and government and politics major. “And I think we initially went because it was free.”
Because the semester just began, it is too early to tell if class attendance has increased, staff said.
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