Michael Colonna
Published: September 14, 2005
PJC’s concepts of life fitness course is a necessity for students who wish to use the college’s L.I.F.E. Fitness Centers, gym facilities comparable to local gyms around town that charge monthly and yearly fees for their use.
The L.I.F.E. Center has nautilus equipment, a free weight room, and a wide array of other machines, including more than a dozen treadmills and strength training machines, as well as a half-dozen stationary bikes and rowing machines. ÿThe L.I.F.E. Center on the Milton campus even has an indoor track.
The college charges no fee to students for the use of the gym, but does require completion of its three-credit hour concepts of life fitness course, to the ire of many students.
“I just don’t understand why we need to take a class to use the gym,” Brenna Foskey, a student at PJC last semester, said about the policy. ÿ”We’ve already poured our money into the school, why can’t we have access to the school’s facilities? ÿWhat is it there for, if not for the students?”
The course, which covers a wide variety of topics on physical fitness, training, and nutrition, counts as an elective credit for most majors. ÿThe course is like most others, with classroom sessions and tests along with lab time in the gym itself, according to LaRita Carter, coordinator for the L.I.F.E. Center on the Pensacola campus. ÿIn the class students design workout programs, learn various fitness assessment techniques, and are educated on various cardiovascular diseases.
There also is an alternative non-credit seven-week course students can take to gain access to the gym, at a cost of $80.
The school’s policy regarding the gym and the class requirement is a topic of debate, even among staff. Many, including Carter, feel the policy is outdated.
“It was started as insurance to liability issues,” according to Carter, “but the program could be shortened significantly to make the gym more accessible to students.” ÿ
However, the cost of the course is more than fair when compared to the cost of using other gyms around town, she said. ÿIndeed, most local gyms cost $35 to $65 per month for membership.
“It is more the inconvenience of having to actually take a class than it is the cost of the class,” Foskey said.
Work schedules and the strain of other classes already cut heavily into many students’ schedules. Arranging to fit the concepts of life fitness course is just not worth the trouble for some.
Butch Branch however, director of the Milton campus’ L.I.F.E. Fitness Center, likes the policy. ÿThe course was a requirement for all general education majors, not just an elective, and Branch would love to see that requirement re-adopted. ÿWith the state of health across the country, from obesity to heart disease, Branch feels the concepts of life fitness course is very important in educating students. ÿ
“I think it separates us from other gyms and health clubs around town,” Branch said. ÿ
Carter feels the course is very important, but would like to see the gym more accessible to students. ÿShe has brought this up with school officials in the past but has not yet been able to change the policy. ÿUntil the policy changes, students are required to take concepts of life fitness as an elective if they wish to gain access to the gym, and because of this many students who just don’t have the time to add another class to their schedule never crack the school’s gym door.