The athletic department's attempt to revamp the gym did not live up to the hype among students. Disappointingly, the specific changes in the weight room were made without the consensus of a wider group of users, thus failing to raise the bar on our new gym.The athletic department should have switched its priorities. Instead of blowing its money on fancy equipment, it should have first provided preliminary education for the greater student body regarding both the advantages and efficiency of free weight training and then later allowed students to offer their opinions on what equipment they would prefer. That way, they'd have had a better idea of what we want and need from this new space.

For those who are new to the space, the old weight room was divided into two adjacent rooms. The first room was a warmly lit, square room covered by mirrored walls and plushy yoga mats on a well-polished wooden floor. This room was popular with many yoga and dance-savvy students.

The second room did not have the same ambiance as the first. Primarily lit by fluorescent lights, this room was closely reminiscent of a prison gym, with rusty Olympic barbells, precariously balanced dumbbells and bunch of odd machines. However, even with the lack of intact, varied equipment, students used their creativity to get the most from both rooms. Despite their size and outdated equipment, each room had its own flair, catering to prospective users.

The "revamped" gym is a poor blend of two older rooms, creating a recipe for disaster. The smaller room, where students used to enjoy yoga and dance, is now a pseudo-gym with a few neglected machines, old dumbbells and a squat rack. It no longer has the capacity for yoga, dance, stretching, or even a proper workout. The second room also lacks specificity and efficiency. Closely resembling a cubicle layout of befuddling machines with cryptic instructions, the machines only confuse avid athletes who are unaccustomed to the new equipment. Although these machines are new, greased and ready to be used, many of these new items are inefficient and expensive additions to a gym that once had an entirely different personality.

Moreover, by demolishing the smaller yoga and dance room, the new gym alienated a segment of the population of Brandeis that enjoyed using that space to exercise in that manner.

In short, neither room is an economical-or ergonomically pleasing-establishment. If each room provided for and represented a specialized purpose, say a stretching and yoga room and a separate workout room, the new gym and its layout would not have been so disappointing. This is not to say that I won't be enjoying the newly purchased free weights, as the efforts of the athletic departments' desire for improvement is much appreciated. However, attaining consensus from the entire student body regarding their preference of equipment before purchasing items and doing significant renovations could have potentially created a more efficient improvement and would have been a bigger contribution to the entire student body.