The Student Government Association is scheduled to vote on an appropriations bill that will give Campus Recreation $1,800 toward a new free-standing squat rack for the Recreation and Convocation Center tomorrow.

The $1,800 sum will cover only a part of the total cost of the squat rack, which will cost $2,300.

The other portion of the bill will be covered by Campus Recreation — they are trading in old equipment not only to raise money to cover the cost of the new squat rack, but to make room for it, too, SGA’s Chief of Staff Kyle Thomas said.

If approved, adding a squat rack to the fitness center will pose financial and logistical problems. As Thomas said of the existing equipment: “something will have to go.”

“Campus Recreation institutional funding is so low that we cannot afford regular equipment replacement,” Director of Campus Recreation Andy Lemons said.

The main concern that students using the fitness center have — aside from the fact that the weight room is too small — is the lack of squat racks, Lemons said.

“Equipment wise, the No. 1 request that we get [from students] is a squat rack,” Lemons said.

He later added that the weight room is approximately one third of the size it should be to properly serve an institution the size of St. Edward’s University. 

“Our most pressing need is space,” he said.

Currently, there are no free-form squat racks in the fitness center; the only ones on campus are in the NCAA weight room, which is only accessible by student athletes.

There is an “assisted squat machine” in the fitness center, called the Smith machine. However, students prefer free-form squat racks, Thomas said, because they allow for “more natural, free movement.”

“[Many non-athletes] want a free form squat rack,” Thomas said.

Students signed a petition Monday night in the RCC in favor of the new squat rack. Thomas said that he got 25 signatures within the first 20 minutes he was there. Only one person in the RCC said that they preferred the old assisted squat rack.

RCC staff member Jesse Thomas also attested to the lack of general weight options in the fitness center.

“When it comes to lifting free weights, [NCAA athletes] have a lot more options,” Jesse said.

He said that he thought part of the reason why the RCC lacked options was a lack of sufficient funds.

“[RCC facilities] are not as nice as they currently could be,” Jesse said.

However, Jesse also pointed to another important reason why there aren’t many free weight options in the RCC Fitness Center: structural preservation.

He explained that the NCAA weight room, which is located beneath the RCC Fitness Center has a more solid foundation. If weights are dropped in there, they are not as likely to cause extensive damage.

“If someone is not [lifting] properly they could drop the weight and cause [floor] damage that would be very costly,” Jesse said of the fitness center.

SGA senators will decide on the fate of the appropriations bill Thursday, which will require a two-thirds vote to be approved.

If approved, the squat rack should arrive within a month, Kyle said.

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