MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Overcrowding at UCLA
used to be limited to residence halls, but lately even the weight
room at the Wooden Center has seen an increase in attendance. But
changes are on the horizon once the UC Board of Regents approves
renovations to increase its size.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Reporter
Ever try to squeeze 120 people into a room fit for 90? Not a
pleasant experience.
Now, add sweat, grunts and gallons of testosterone, and the
experience becomes downright unbearable.
Such has been the situation in the weight room at the John
Wooden center for nearly two decades. The building opened in 1983,
and by 1984 the weightroom had already become crowded.
“The weightroom is too small,” Wooden Center
assistant manager Dennis Koehne said. “When it was being
designed, everyone looked at the plans and said, “˜Why is it
so big?'”
The room is 3,486 square feet, a far cry from the 12,000 set
aside for UC San Diego’s facility. In addition, UCLA’s
larger enrollment contributed to the overcrowding.
Ironically, the original design, which included bicycles and
stretching areas within the existing room, was considered way too
big. Sixteen years later, the weight room is ready for a major face
lift.
Last year students voted to improve the Wooden Center by
increasing student fees $28 per quarter. Ten of that will go toward
the weight room.
“The new design will be L-shaped, going out toward the
Intramural field and toward the north,” Koehne said.
“What we have been asking for was to expand the courtyard,
but the estimates we got were ungodly.”
As enrollment increases each year, the Wooden Center must adapt
to meet the students’ needs. As many as 4,000 students,
faculty and guests visit the building each day, with the numbers
varying based on the season.
According to Koehne, the weight room’s capacity will
increase from 90 to “as much as we need.”
Another concern of some students is the equipment. Many will be
surprised to learn that most of the weights are between two to four
years old. However, there are three machines that exist from the
first days of the Wooden Center.
“Every time we try to get rid of them, people write
letters to the chancellor,” Koehne said. “I guess you
just can’t replace some things.”
The current Wooden Center is about 96,000 square feet. Following
the improvements, this number will grow to nearly 155,000 square
feet.
Some might wonder why UCLA, named the No. 1 jock school in the
nation by Sports Illustrated in 1997, could have such an inferior
weight room. UCSD and UC Santa Cruz both received the funding to
improve their weight rooms within the last six years. But UCLA has
had to make do with one of the smaller facilities in the state.
“It’s hard to get donor money for a building
that’s already named,” Koehne said. “Because
we’re academic, we are not entitled to state money, so our
only option was to go to the students.”
The initiative to improve the Wooden Center failed in 1999, its
first year on the ballot, but perhaps too many crowded nights or
full benches swayed the popular vote.
The overcrowded weight room has an impact on who lifts and when
they go. In fact, some students opt not to work out because they
cannot stand the crowd.
“Some people cut their work outs down,” Wooden
Center staff member Becky Couch said. “Some show up, look at
the crowd, and turn around and leave.”
Couch, a third year political science student, says four to
seven in the evening is the busiest time. Some students try going
to the gym late or very early to avoid the rush. In this way, the
gym’s size affects students’ scheduling.
“I try go to at night,” third-year student Samuel
Slomowitz said. “It just gets too crowded during the day and
it’s hard to find a bench.”
Second-year student Ari Shapiro agrees.
“The crowds are tough to deal with,” he said.
“I want to be able to go and focus on working out, not
beating someone to a machine.”
Couch claims the crowded quarters have not led to conflict
between students, at least not on her shifts.
“I haven’t seen any major problems,” Couch
said. “But size is definitely a problem.”
The center even has a sign outside posted during peak hours that
prevents additional patrons from entering the stuffed facility.
Some students believe that when the gym is packed, it’s
everyone for themselves.
“Sometimes I can’t even get a drink without someone
taking my machine,” second-year student Garrett
“Ogre” Stern said. “It’s pretty
disconcerting to come back and find some guy a lot smaller than me
taking all the weights off the barbell.”
While Stern has managed to avoid conflict, he does agree that
the crowded gym affects his schedule.
“I try to lift around three,” Stern said.
“This way I can avoid the crowds. But it usually starts to
fill up as I’m finishing.”
Shapiro agrees. He says that in addition to dictating the times
he can lift, the crowded weight room controls the length of his
workouts.
“It’s just not worth it sometimes to spend all day
in there and only get a few exercise done,” he said.
But all this will change soon. According to Koehne, the
initiative to improve the Wooden Center needs to be approved by the
UC Board of Regents before it can be enacted. This should be done
as soon as spring and construction could begin by fall quarter
2001.
It will be a huge lift for students once the new weight room is
completed. While there are no promises being made as to the date of
completion, chances are this year’s incoming students will be
able to enjoy the benefits the new facility has to offer.
Until then, UCLA weight-lifters will have to deal with the
overcrowding the John Wooden Center weight room is known for.