Modern Life with Kelly Bacon: Check yourself. Rec yourself!

It’s the in place. Every university’s got one. You know, that one location where everyone who’s anyone goes. For Western Michigan University students, I would venture to say that place is none other than our Student Recreation Center.

Maybe it’s the result of a lingering cabin fever that seemed to last for months on end, or maybe everyone’s trying to shape up for spring break in Florida.
Maybe it’s the freshmen trying to compensate for a first semester of stacking on the freshmen 15. Whatever it is, welcome to Western Michigan University’s new Mumbai.

Upon realizing this sudden boom in population density, which only seemed to have started this semester, the guy I sat next to in the sauna had his own proposal: “I think because of the recession, students aren’t going to the bar or spending their money on alcohol as often; they’re coming here instead.”

Huh. He saw it as a place to not only burn calories and stay fit, he saw it as a place to meet people (sure, as long as people aren’t deafened by the earplugs of their iPod, you might get a word in).

Now, I hardly ever go to the rec center to be perfectly honest, and gossip is something I try to limit, but I can say that in all of 20 minutes of my last visit to the Student Rec Center, I embarrassed my friend in front of others to the point of causing her face to turn an odd shade of red (accidentally, of course).  I witnessed and briefly partook in a conversation about cheating boys.

I contributed in a discussion in the locker room of a consented obnoxious individual that we all happened to know.  I walked straight past the guy I dated sophomore year while he unnecessarily pretended not to see me and I conversed with a dude I know about the status of his former girlfriend (I even met a girl who’s picture was on the first page of last week’s “Weekend Scene”).

Can you say high school? I laugh to say it, but the Rec may win the Campus Oscar for “Place Most Likely to Breed Drama.” Of course, with all those endorphins running around all over the place, nothing should get too terribly crazy.

In a Jan. 23 NBC television broadcast, we learned that today’s young men and women are being turned away as potential recruits for service in the U.S. Army because they are physically unfit. “In four years, more than 47,000 have been turned away because of their weight,” the program said.

The Fayetteville (N.C.)Observer said that sedentary living is growing into a “national security risk.” But, it’s probably safe to say that most Western students won’t be among these.
A pool lifeguard said this semester is the busiest she’d ever seen at the rec. “Enrollment is up, and it’s off season for the football players,” said a facility manager.

The rec center condenses the school down to one building that is “fit” for everyone. Some may call it the “high school” sector of our school. And whether you’re there to socialize, lose weight, stay trim, keep healthy, work on your biceps, or just to unwind with your friends; the rec has something for everyone.

Not athletic? Sit in the pool. Not coordinated? Ride those bikes. Not toned? Lift weights. Not graceful? Try turbo kick (I hear there’s a class this semester called “butt and guts”).

Whatever your forte, our student rec center may be the perfect cure for a bad case of cabin fever.

Kelly Bacon, a Western Herald Arts writer, is a junior majoring in creative writing and can be reached via e-mail at ktbaconster@gmail.com

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=3506

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Jan 29 2009. Filed under Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com