BY TRENT ZBICHORSKI — zbichorstr@mnstate.edu
The Wellness Center has extended its hours. The center will stay open longer on weekends and remain open during academic breaks and holidays.
“What it came down to was the usage,” Michael Rhea, interim coordinator of fitness and special program. “We noticed that we were busy around 2 p.m. on Saturdays and busy right when we opened on Sundays. There was also a lot of cry about more hours on Facebook.”
Monday through Friday hours will remain the same as previous years. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Wellness Center will be open from 10 a.m.–10 p.m., a substantial extension on previous hours.
“We were kind of playing around with the hours and were trying to see what kind of hours people wanted,” Rhea said. “We realized we should be open more, especially on the weekends.”
The Wellness Center will remain open during the majority of winter break, including Christmas Eve from 7 a.m.–3 p.m. The only days it will be closed are Dec. 25–26 and New Year’s Day.
“If I ever want to do something at the Wellness Center, I know that they are open,” junior Cody Wilson said. “I don’t get to go home often, so it’s nice to know that I can go and workout during winter break.”
Students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the extended hours.
“Community members asked for extended hours because they pay their fee as well and they don’t want to have a half-month membership when they paid for a full month,” Rhea said. “Last year, we were closed for a majority of the break.”
Fall breather will also have its fair share of extended hours. Oct. 13–14, the center will be open from 7 a.m.–10 p.m.
“We are open longer for fall breather this year as opposed to last year, where it was an array of different hours,” Rhea said.
Students who use the center regularly find the change of hours convenient.
“It’s nice to know that I can go to work, do some homework, and still have time to play some basketball and lift weights on the weekends,” Wilson said. “I wouldn’t be able to do all of those things and still have time to go to the Wellness Center before because they would always be closed.”
Wilson isn’t the only student benefitting from the longer hours.
“I like to go play basketball with friends after work to relieve some stress,” said sophomore Austin Sweeney. “Now that they are open later on the weekends, I am still able to go and play.”
Although hours are extended for the 2014-2015 school year, the possibility of a 24-hour gym seems unlikely.
“It would require the student staff to be here in the middle of the night and it would be asking a lot from them,” Rhea said. “They have other responsibilities and classes and we don’t want them falling behind on academics or athletics they are in.”