By Daniel Pagan
Uproar from both students and gym members forced Kinesiology Client Services to reconsider its new locker plan last week. The plan would have meant charging students and members two dollars for renting key locks for day locker usage.
Posters and stickers in the locker rooms announced Thu., Nov. 15 that users would have to rent key locks, starting Sat., Dec. 1. The change was dropped in face of students’ and members’ outrage and concern over the policy.
The proposed changes were greeted with confusion by gym users such as computer science system administrator Matt Lonslade.
“I prefer the new plan to the old plan,” said Lonslade. “It doesn’t have this extra fee for students and members of locker rental costs. And it keeps the gym “free” for students–well, built in to their tuition anyways. “I am curious to see how the lineup of people getting and returning keys for day lockers goes though.”
Under the revised plan, students and members would not have to pay a fee to rent locks, but non-members will have to shell out two dollars if they want to take advantage of the locker rooms. Both members and non-members face the penalty fee of five dollars if any damages occur to the locks.
Cameras will also be installed outside the locker rooms at a cost of $30,000, to deter criminals from vandalizing the locker rooms.
Kinesiology Client Services financial officer Karen A. Baldwin explained the changes to the lock plan have made students, members, and staff satisfied, especially after much opposition to the original plan.
Baldwin noted the reason for the new locks and cameras was security–locks brought from off-campus are broken easily and there were concerns about lock vandalism and personal items being stolen.
“There has been an ongoing battle to secure our environment in order to make our location less desirable to vandals,” said Baldwin. “We want our members to feel safe and know what we are doing what we can to keep their locker room safe.”