After two weeks of renovations, the Berkus Gym in Berkus Hall reopened March 18 and is now a cardio-only gym and half the size, according to an email from Residential Education and Housing Services (REHS). In comparison to the larger 1,600 square-foot Alumni Gymnasium, the original Berkus Gym was a smaller fitness facility with a selection of cardio machines, free weights and weight machines.
REHS sent an email to Berkus residents Feb. 29 stating their plans for the Berkus Gym renovations taking place March 4-18. In their email, REHS said Berkus Gym would be converted to a cardio-only room, keeping only the cardio machines.
Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Education Isaiah Thomas said via email that the work being done to Berkus Gym is part of a larger two-year plan that will accommodate more residents in Berkus Hall. According to Thomas, part of the plan is that the REHS team will move their office into a smaller space so that their current office space can be used to create more dorm rooms. However, according to Thomas, this move will create a lack of storage space in the new REHS office.
“Part of the Berkus Gym was identified as a potential storage space, due to the overall usage of the space,” Thomas said via email. “Due to this, half of the Berkus Gym was decided to be converted into storage space, and the other half will remain the gym space with cardio equipment.”
According to Thomas, the REHS team spent time considering the renovations to Berkus Gym, including the removal of the weight section, were essential for the continuation of the larger two-year Berkus Hall renovation project.
“REHS strives to include student voices in as many of our processes as possible, and one thing we consistently hear is how popular Berkus Hall is as a residential space for students,” Thomas said via email. “As such, this renovation project will result in 14 more spaces available to upper-division students at the college.”
Sareen Armenian (sophomore) said that she goes to Berkus Gym a few times a week to use the elliptical machine. According to Armenian, the small size of Berkus Gym allows its users to escape the hectic nature of the Alumni Gym.
“I think a lot of people can be overwhelmed by the fact that there’s a lot of people in the Alumni Gym and you run into more people there,” Armenian said. “Usually when I go to Berkus Gym, I’m literally the only person there.”
Lauren Chin (junior) said that for many reasons, she prefers to do a few workouts a week at Berkus Gym.
“It is so convenient because I live at the top of the hill,” Chin said. “But other than that, I hear lots of people wanting to use Berkus Gym specifically because it can feel less intimidating because there are less people there and also there are definitely more women using [Berkus] Gym.”
The renovations to Berkus Gym, according to Thomas, will transform the space into a cardio-only fitness facility.
“The cardio equipment in the Berkus Gym is by far the most popular used equipment, and the weight machines and free weights are less used,” Thomas said via email.
Chin said that what she knows about the planned changes will not greatly affect her workout routine.
“I feel like for me personally, it might not make a huge difference, but for people who are wanting a more accessible convenient gym, I think that might be a bit of a loss for them because all of the facilities won’t be available anymore,” Chin said.
Similarly to Chin, Armenian said she does mostly cardio exercises in Berkus Gym. However, according to Armenian, the new renovations may deter her from doing weight-based training, as the free weights and weight machines will no longer be accessible.
In addition to the expansion of residence spaces, Thomas said via email that changing Berkus Gym to cardio-only will be safer, considering that Berkus Gym is unsupervised and the cardio machines are equipped with emergency safety features.
“We hope that the removal of the weight machines and free weights cause minimal disruption to current students that use the space,” Thomas said via email.
Contact Nora Youngelson at youngelson@oxy.edu.
