Dear Editor,

I am writing to make students, faculty and staff aware that the Old Gym is scheduled to be demolished in the near future. The rationale for its demolition is the need for a staging area while building the new campus center. After the construction, the area will be planted with grass.

We are trading the Old Gym and its many uses for grass.

I am very disappointed with this decision. I do not believe alternatives were strongly considered.

As disappointed as I am with the decision, I am even more disappointed in the lack of consideration given to the Movement and Sports Science Department and the Office of Student Life. No one included these entities when initially discussing the possibility of demolition and yet these entities will be impacted the most.

No one asked about current uses of the Old Gym or what impact the demolition would have on existing programs or Campus Life. There has been only one official meeting with the interested parties, but it was held long after the initial decision was made.

I believe many decisions on this campus are being made with a similar cavalier attitude and process. The experience of the Old Gym decision has me believing the opinions and programs of those affected most often carry little weight with the decision makers.

The decision to demolish the Old Gym will have a great impact on the MSS department, Athletic Department, and on Student Life. The Old Gym serves as the site for regularly scheduled MSS activity classes, as well as the learning laboratory for other MSS courses. Athletic teams (football, baseball, softball, tennis, soccer) use it on rainy days. It is the only place on campus that can accommodate these uses.

I know it is a big part of Campus Life as well. Without the Old Gym there will no longer be a place for dodge ball, broom hockey, indoor soccer, large dances, or pickup games of basketball, badminton, or volleyball when the main gym is in use. One should not discount the need for free play opportunities. They are part of the college experience.

It has been stated that the decision was made, not for our current students, but for future students. The Old Gym has provided great experiences for past and present students and should continue to provide opportunities for future students.

Should future students be denied the breadth of activities and learning experiences made possible by the existence of the Old Gym facilities?
If students want the Old Gym saved, they need to get active immediately and contact President Steve Morgan and Vice President Phil Hawkey.

If we lose this battle, and we might, I think our efforts should be twofold. One, we need to address what we have lost and look for a replacement. There are structures that could be built that would house a similar-sized floor with baskets and volleyball standard’s anchors. The cost would be reasonable.

Many campuses now use steel framed tent-like structures. A synthetic floor would make it useable for all the activities currently conducted in the Old Gym.

Two, we need to keep pressuring the administration of this school to allow (require) those impacted by decisions to be part of the initial decision making process. Without doing so we lose more than a building. We lose influence, respect, and trust. Let’s not let this decision making experience ever repeat itself.

Rex Huigens
Professor of Movement and Sports Science
Assistant Director of Athletics