Op-Ed: Grinnell College Slashes Gym Hours

We have a great gym here at Grinnell. It’s airy, it’s spacious, it has good machines and equipment and plenty of dumbbells. Most gyms are lucky to have two squat racks. We have six. The fitness center is part of our $90 million Charles Benson Bear ‘39 Recreation and Athletic Center, which was dedicated in 2012 thanks to generous gifts from alumni. Thanks to the College, the fitness center, and the generosity of our alumni, is being wasted.

This fall, the College slashed gym hours by half on the weekend and by about two hours on the weekdays. Monday through Friday, the gym closes at 7 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, the gym is only open between 12 pm and 4 pm!

At a minimum, the fitness center should be open just as long as the Bear was last semester: from 6 am to 9 pm on the weekdays and from 7 am to 9 pm on the weekends. Even though our gym would still be open for fewer hours than comparative colleges, it’s the first step. The hours of the Bear have also steadily decreased since 2018—but that’s another story.

In a student’s busy schedule, the only time away from classes, activities and work might be on the weekend. Imagine a student who gets to Saturday’s lunch right when the Dining Hall opens at 11:30 am, faces no line for food, and then eats a quick 30-minute lunch. (Usually the lines are very long—but let's be conservative.) After waiting the recommended two to three hours to allow their food to digest, it would be around 2 or 3 pm. They would only have one or two hours before the gym closed at four! Hopefully they're not busy during that narrow window (like with a job or a club). Even in this ideal scenario, getting in a full workout would be difficult.

Strength training on the first floor mixed with cardio upstairs can provide the basis for good physical and mental health, especially for non-student-athletes. Students use the gym to relieve stress, become better at their sport, or simply to improve themselves. As the weather cools and we spend more time indoors, the gym will only become more valuable as a resource. In an age where wellbeing and mental health should be a focus, making the gym less accessible blatantly disregards students’ health.

I value and enjoy my time at the gym—as most people do. When I have too many pages to read, too many math problems to solve, and too many papers to write, the gym allows me to leave everything else behind. Whether I am trying to lift a heavier weight or run a faster mile, the only thing that matters is pushing myself. I always feel happier, more energetic, and more confident when I leave the gym. Making an effort to stay healthy and in shape always feels good. If I’ve had a bad day in every other possible way, at least I went to the gym. Unless of course it’s closed.

To keep the gym open, the College only has to pay one student to sit behind the check-in desk. And although the base student wage has increased this year, $5.75 more an hour is still an insignificant cost for a school with a $2.5 billion dollar endowment. Carleton College, with an endowment a third the size of ours, maintains reasonable gym hours with a base wage of $16. Carleton’s gym is open from 6:30 am to 11 pm Monday through Thursday and for a total of 25 hours on the weekend compared to our eight. If they can do it, so can we. In short, one of the most essential services of our $90 million facility is being squandered for $5.75. That’s less than the price of a latte at the Global Cafe. And that seems to be the value of student wellbeing to Grinnell: the price of a cup of coffee.

Tuition increased by five percent this year. Students should expect a corresponding improvement in the quality of life at Grinnell—or at the very least, they should expect for things to be the same. Reducing gym hours does not make a difference to any budget, but it does make a meaningful difference to student wellbeing. The cut in gym hours sends a troubling message that the College expects us to pay more and accept less.

Alumni who gave money to build the Bear should be concerned about how the College is honoring their generosity. Prospective students who see the posted gym hours during their tour will certainly have concerns as well. Current students are just disappointed. The College needs to respond to these concerns by restoring reasonable gym hours and reflecting on institutional values. It’s the right thing to do.

The athletic department told me that they were evaluating the cuts based on community feedback. I would encourage the community to respond.