In 2012, the Baruch fitness center was described as a “high-tech college fitness center” with “state of the art Life Fitness, Universal and Hammer Strength weight training equipment” and “eight plasma flat screen televisions [with] a surround sound stereo system,” according to an online article in EDTech Magazine. The Baruch fitness center boasts around eight treadmills, a variety of upper and lower body machines and many different free weights. 

However, upon closer inspection you’ll find that some of these machines are out of order, dust is accumulating on most of the machines and skid marks are present all over the floor. 

Combined with pasty yellow paint on the walls and a similar hue on the ground, the fitness center offers little in the aesthetics department and even less to the prospective students that pass through it during college tours. 

The fitness center is an area available for all Baruch students and faculty to use free of charge. Physical fitness is an important aspect of one’s overall health and working out has a multitude of physical and mental benefits. For college students especially, it can be easy to forget to exercise in the face of assignments, exams and work. Even among all these, students should still prioritize exercising. 

Many students at Baruch have never stepped into the fitness center and know little about what it offers. One thing students can do with the Life Fitness machines is to track their progress after each workout across multiple devices. However, many patrons of the gym do not bother using this useful resource.

One point of improvement within the fitness center would be the installation of sanitation wipe dispensers. Currently, students can use Lysol and paper towels to wipe down the machines after they use them, but many do not use these resources. This leaves machines unclean for the next user and, overall, fosters an unclean environment. 

Some students use dry paper towels alone, but these don’t always cut it when you have sweaty people leaving a trail of moisture wherever they go. 

Installing sanitation wipes is not much different from spraying Lysol and wiping it down with a paper towel, but this may encourage students to clean the machines after they work out. Most established gyms have sanitation wipes for patrons to use as well. 

While you’re encouraged to break a sweat in the fitness center, it shouldn’t be left on the machines for another person to deal with. The installation of sanitation wipes should be a priority for the Fitness Center to maintain a cleanly environment for both students and faculty to work out in. 

An overhaul is needed for the fitness center as soon as possible. The very least should be a paint job, sanitary wipes and cleanup of the floor. 

Replacing machines can be costly but a bucket of blue paint will do wonders for this outdated space and may even encourage more students to come and work out.