This is a picture of UREC, JMU's recreation center. I chose this spot on campus because it is one of those places I, along with many other students, have a love-hate relationship with. Dragging myself to the gym is a brutal experience, but I like nothing more than the feeling I get after being there. Whether you're taking a class, climbing the rock wall, swimming, anything to fulfill the mandatory Health class hours - UREC promotes a healthy attitude. If you look inside, you'll see the masses of people trying to stay active. I think it is one of the few places where JMU students go, all with the same goal in mind. In class, people are there out of priority, because they desperately need the credits, or because they have a genuine interest in the class. You'll see the doodlers, the diligent student taking notes, or even the kid who falls asleep at his desk daily. At UREC, everyone is there to work out or to hang out with their friends while doing something beneficial to their health. It is one of the many spaces that brings all kinds of people together, but the difference here is that while everyone might be partaking in different activities, at the end of the day everyone is there to stay active.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Christine Tedesco's Madison Space for Dr. H 4/7
This is a picture of UREC, JMU's recreation center. I chose this spot on campus because it is one of those places I, along with many other students, have a love-hate relationship with. Dragging myself to the gym is a brutal experience, but I like nothing more than the feeling I get after being there. Whether you're taking a class, climbing the rock wall, swimming, anything to fulfill the mandatory Health class hours - UREC promotes a healthy attitude. If you look inside, you'll see the masses of people trying to stay active. I think it is one of the few places where JMU students go, all with the same goal in mind. In class, people are there out of priority, because they desperately need the credits, or because they have a genuine interest in the class. You'll see the doodlers, the diligent student taking notes, or even the kid who falls asleep at his desk daily. At UREC, everyone is there to work out or to hang out with their friends while doing something beneficial to their health. It is one of the many spaces that brings all kinds of people together, but the difference here is that while everyone might be partaking in different activities, at the end of the day everyone is there to stay active.
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I agree that UREC is a place where JMU students are gathered for a common purpose, to better their health by either hanging out with friends or by simply getting in a good work out, but division and separation are prevalent. There are two very different UREC workout areas. There is the upstairs room where 80% of the people are girls, doing the elliptical, weight machines, or sit ups. Then there is the downstairs, where the population is closer to 95% men, doing free weight activities. Although the separation is beneficial for convenience and space it causes a sense of segregation from boys and girls which does not promote interaction with different people and the diversity we value here at JMU. I know that when I go to the gym I see the same people because we use the same machines and am completely unaware of the multitude of people downstairs. If UREC wasn't set up the way it was, creating division between the sexes, it would promote social interaction with different people which is essential to public space.
ReplyDelete-Casey Burruss (Dr. H.)
Candace English’s comment for Dr. H
ReplyDeleteI most definitely agree with the love-hate relationship most students have with UREC. However, there are a select few students who go to UREC only to receive points toward an assignment for a health or health related class, like you mentioned. These students may simply sit down at the tables in front of the rock climbing wall, obviously not dressed to work out, and completing homework for other classes or listening to music. This is an example of the art of the contact zone because UREC was intended, like you said, to promote physical health and stay active. The students are quietly expressing their opinion that they should not have to conform to the typical activities of a gym and are not actually affecting anyone else.
Justin Halatyn's Comment for Dr. H
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point made that there is a love-hate relationship when one goes to UREC. At least I've felt it many times. Like Christine says, I have gone there many times hating to go, but ended up loving it once I was done working out. I suppose what this may demonstrate is not just being active, or doing something other than its original intention, but to demonstrate many sorts of accomplishments, whether that be in the form of passport assignments, working out for pleasure, or even doing homework. People go there, in large part, to get many sorts of things done. So, it is not simply activity, but accomplishment-oriented.