On campus recreational spaces often difficult for students to reserve

With temperatures rapidly cooling, students are scrambling to take advantage of the various outdoor locations on campus. Teams, clubs and individual students alike are vying for spots on campus to hold events, host competitions, and spend free time before the cold sets in. However, due to the limited amount of space and the ever-increasing demand for those, many students are faced with the challenges of finding available recreational or athletic space.

In terms of outdoor athletic space, students have voiced complaints that none of the three fields on campus are readily available for casual use. The baseball field, because it is composed of real grass that might be ruined by indiscriminate use, is not open to the general public, according to Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Recreations Bill Harrington.

The practice and lacrosse fields are equally as hard to get ahold of. Increasingly occupied by teams and clubs, they are rarely open to the public, and when they are, it is only after a lengthy process of making reservations.

Harrington speculated that the two main reasons for the increasingly cramped sports and recreational spaces on campus are the increase of enrollment over the years and more sporadic class hours. Indeed, he pointed out that classes end a lot earlier than they used to, which meant that teams were able to hold practices earlier in the day, creating a larger window of space for students who weren’t affiliated with sports teams or club sports to play. In contrast, there are more students now, nearly half of which play for a team or a club sport, competing for limited space in a smaller timeframe.

To make matters worth, unfortunately for students who simply want to pick up a game of soccer or a game of ultimate frisbee, there are a slew of groups that get priority of athletic space. Varsity in-season sports get first pick, then varsity-off season sports, followed by club and intramural sports. Moreover, many students are not aware of how to reserve spaces or when the spaces are available. There have been student complaints about reserving spots, which some students say require long waits that are simply not worth it. In response to this Harrington said that he wasn’t surprised that in the past couple of years waits were long, however he said that this is already running are lot more smoothly: “If you call, you’ll be able to get a response in a matter of days.”

However, reservation for student groups and unstructured time for students simply looking for space are entirely different entities. Many students complain that when sports, clubs, or groups are not reserving the space the field should be open. Or, as Victor Oh, a junior who has encountered difficulty finding space remarked, “[when] no one’s using it [the field,] they should open it up . . . If they do end up opening the field, they should also give people an idea of why we had it closed.” Oh’s comment highlights the two kinds of frustration students feel: the first pertains to the fact that it is often unclear when the practice field is available and when it is being used. The second is about the administration’s policy of having the fields arbitrarily closed when they are not being used.

In relation to the first point, because of the variable nature of games and sports events, there is no consistent schedule in which students can know when the practice field is open. Thus, it is incumbent upon students to be able to look up when it is. On the Recreation Center’s website, there is a schedule that indicates when all of the athletic facilities are being used. This schedule is available to all students who are using a University IP address, or essentially anyone utilizing the Hopkins wired Internet. The problem, according to Harrington, is that most students are not aware of this. When Harrington was asked if he’d be willing to publicize this information to students, he stated that he was in the midst of making the website more intuitive in order for more students to be able to access this information. In fact, in a follow-up e-mail, he reported, “[the Recreation Center] will be simplifying the link on our home page to the practice field schedule so that students will be able to see when the field is open for informal recreational use.”

Oh’s second point, reflected by many students, that the field is not open enough as is, was something Harrington also discussed. He said that he was certainly open to the idea of extending the time the field is open, “There’s no real reason it can’t be open during the day.” However, he did mention that he was afraid of all the damage that might be incurred. According to him, the problem is that when teams or clubs are playing on the field, there is generally some supervision of the field at all times. However, when the space is open for all student activity, the fear is that the field will be mistreated or simply open wasting the electricity used to light it. Despite these concerns, Harrington said he was at least open to trying leaving the gate open. Though, he also mentioned that if enough students wanted to use the space, they are always welcome to go up to the Recreational Center and ask for keys to the gates. Whether students are aware of that is unclear.

However, it is not just athletic space that is limited. Recreational space for student groups seems to be a problem for many. Student groups seeking to host picnics or barbeques on campus have continued to hit walls. While some students seem to be entirely happy about the situation, others are quick to point out problems. Max Weider, a  brother of a fraternity who organized outdoor social events this and last year, seemed to find the process swift and painless: “It’s really easy. You just sign up, providing details about the event. You tell them what field you want, and a backup field. That’s it.” Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell reiterated Wieder’s points that the process is relatively simple. In an e-mail to The News-Letter, she wrote that “the BBQ pit is reservable up to 2 weeks in advance and no later than 48 hours in advance. We have never had a conflict with student groups getting the space, unlike some of our other rooms.  Departments have asked for this space repeatedly but we do reserve this space for students only.  As a result, students have never had an issue reserving the space.”

However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, many students voiced complaints. The barbeque pit in front of the AMRs, like the practice field, is a highly coveted spot for student groups looking to host events. SGA president Mark Dirzulaitis said, “I’m not particularly happy that there’s a lack of resources in this area but what can we do this year? Until more places are built, it’ll be difficult to find places and it really depends on what spaces you’re looking for . . . Friday afternoon or weekend barbecues are popular times for student groups because big events can be held throughout the rest of the week. We on SGA lobby for bigger projects to receive space.”

For now, Dirzulaitis offered some advice. “I think the best strategy to get around [the lack of space on campus] is to host things off campus.” Dirzulaitis said. “For SGA, I have barbecues at my house. Using off campus resources is a good approach for upperclassmen in student groups.” He also pointed out that it’s likely more expensive to do events such as barbecues on campus, and suggests that student groups looking for places to host events look into booking space up by the Recreation Center, which is equipped with four picnic tables and is amenable to a grill, an idea that was suggested by Harrington and Boswell as well. In fact, Harrington mentioned there might be a grill in the Recreation Center that could be used. Dirzulaitis, who has had to schedule many evens in the past, also suggested utilizing the quads, especially the Decker Quad.

In the future, Dirzulaitis and the rest of the SGA would like a student union built when the money is available.  However, for now the spaces that are available must be utilized. Dirzulaitis also suggested thinking of creative solutions to host events. For groups of about 20 students, which is the amount most student groups contain, the space available on campus for outdoor events appears to be no problem at all, especially when booked in advance. Weider said that this year he booked Dorm Wars six months in advance in order to ensure he got the spaces he wanted.

As for when the weather gets cold, Dirzulaitis added to Weider’s affirmation that Charles Commons is a good place to use: “Charles Commons was designed for the purpose of providing places for student groups to meet.” He also suggested utilizing indoor spaces such as Shriver, which he said was “such a great space,” or even the Arellano Theater in Levering Union. His main point was for students to get creative, to branch out from the normal areas in order to ensure that they would get spots. The race has already begun.