By Owen Russell
On Mar. 1, Brooklyn College announced that the Fitness Center in the West Quad Center would be open for the first time since 2020. With the recent lift of CUNY’s mask mandate, Brooklyn College students find the school inching out of COVID limbo and perhaps back to normal.
“Students can reserve a spot by going to their WebCentral account,” BC Media Relations Manager, Richard Pietras, told the Vanguard. “Once there, they should click on E-Services and then schedule an appointment.”
The Fitness Center will operate on a reservation system for all vaccinated BC students. Reservations can be made 12 hours in advance, and students can reserve two half-hour slots per day.
After nearly two years, students can finally exercise on the Brooklyn College campus, though the decision may have come later than expected. Student-athletes have been competing since the start of last fall, using the West Quad Center to practice. Not to mention, students have been attending sporting events since the end of this past January.
According to Pietras and the school, the Fitness Center was not open because “the college and the Athletic Department were focusing on safety.” Private gyms in New York have been open since Aug. 24, 2020.
For now, students can rejoice in the return of Brooklyn College’s cost-effective alternative to the Planet Fitnesses of the world, but they will have to wait a little longer for the school’s other amenities.
“The track and tennis courts will open on time,” Pietras shared. “The College typically opens those facilities after a week of 50-plus degree weather. As the campus moves forward with the reopening of the Fitness Center and COVID-19 numbers around the state stay down, other facilities will be opened.”
As winter turns to spring, students can expect Brooklyn College to resemble a pre-COVID campus.