Last night, the Alcohol Team (A-Team), Athletics Department and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) announced that Fitness Center hours will be extended through the rest of the semester. In a campus-wide email, the groups indicated that the Buck Fitness Center will remain open until midnight on Thursday and Friday nights, and until 10 p.m. on Saturday nights, as of last night.
Previously, the operating hours extended to 10 p.m. on Thursday nights and 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The midnight closing time of midnight throughout the rest of the week will remain in place.
Prior to Spring Break, while brainstorming chem-free weekend programming, the A-Team came up with the idea to extend Fitness Center Hours later on the nights when it closed relatively early—Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. After the break, a trial period of late-night gym hours was implemented and the facility was open until midnight everyday of the week through last Saturday.
The A-Team, Athletics and BSG monitered the number of people swiping into the gym during the extended hours over those three weeks. BSG President John Connolly said that there were "tons of people" utilizing the extended hours, "especially on Fridays." Following the success of the trial, the groups determined that closing the Fitness Center at midnight on Thursday and Friday nights and at 10 p.m. on Saturday nights would best suit the demonstrated interest of the community.
Sam Hanson '11, a member of the A-Team, called the change "a small step...but one in the right direction...I've heard nothing but good things."
Hanson and fellow A-Team member Kaitlin Donahoe '13 both mentioned other A-Team programming ideas in the works—including an upcoming three-on-three basketball tournament and the possibility of lighting Ryan Field on Friday and Saturday nights during the fall and spring—that would provide "healthy option[s] for spending your weekend," according to Hanson.
The Athletics Department and BSG are sharing the additional costs it will take to keep the Fitness Center staffed for these extended hours, according to Connolly.
"I take very seriously the role of the Athletic Department to support and promote health and wellness at Bowdoin," wrote Director of Athletics Jeff Ward in an email to the Orient last night. "I hope we can do even more in the future."