One Hour

Freeze time for just one hour in the Student Rec Center next Winter...

The clock hand turns to 6:00 PM on a Tuesday night:

On the 4th floor: In Dance Room 1: The Pacific Islander Club is practicing for their luau. In Dance Room 2: Steps of Rhythm practicing for their dance demonstration at Party in the Parkway. In Dance Room 3: Group X Yoga class students are all focusing on their downward dog.

In the area next to them are 50 students using treadmills, elliptical and bikes, some are walking on the indoor track because of the rain, diligently exercising to lower their blood pressure, fight obesity,
and combat diabetes.

In the weight room below, a single mom is working with a personal trainer to learn how to use the exercise equipment for her new year's resolution -- she's able to because the personal training sessions
only cost her $25/hr instead of the $55hr at her neighborhood gym.

Next to that mom are about 50 other people exercising, some happen to be looking over the pool where a water aerobics class is going on right next to the 20 children learning to swim who are there for the
hour a day dedicated to helping student parents exercise.

On the other side of the exercise room, there are 15 students in the climbing gym, it happens to be the day that the ODP is offering a women's only climbing session and it is packed to the brim.

In the gym, on one court are 20 international students from around the world playing indoor soccer; on another court are 5 wheelchair users and 5 able-bodied students in wheelchairs playing basketball together, and in between them are 24 students setting up badminton courts.

Below the gym in the Rec Clubs Office, 10 members of the snowboard club are meeting to talk about the 'Learn to Snowboard' day while in the other corner, the Cycling Club is working out the details of Bike to PSU month and planning their free bike fix clinics that occur twice a week during that month.

Down the hall in the universal changing room a transgender student is saying thanks because there is a place on campus to change clothes without having to get stared at or made to feel uncomfortable.

Serving all these students are 15 student staff, helping to get equipment, providing towels, doing laundry, selling a vegetarian carrot muffin, making sure the kids don't drown and helping students learn how to adjust the weight machines. Many of these students are trained to respond to major heart attacks and first aid injuries requiring attention.

Also, one of the students is on the kiosk in the lobby, showing a faculty member just how much energy the building is using and how much energy students are producing using the cool system that captures the energy from all the elliptical trainers upstairs.

Downstairs on the ground floor - 5 students are renting out equipment for their camping trip that coming weekend and 10 students are listening to an outdoor trip leader tell them about the Leave No Trace
Practices that they will be using for their trip that weekend exploring the Oregon Coast at Nehalam.

But that is not all - Outside of the Rec Center intramurals is on the Community Rec Field playing flag football on one half while the women's soccer club warms up for a home game on the other side of the
field. In Smith Union, Megagamers are in the Viking gaming area, the Boardgame Club group is in Parkway commons north playing Risk and the Poker Club is hosting a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament in Food for Thought.

Across town, the hockey club is in action that night in Beaverton trying to beat the University of Oregon for the 2nd straight night; one staff member is meeting with Oregon Disability Sports to find ways
to continue to improve the relationship with the non-profit organization while the ODP Coordinator is at the Clackamas River Watershed Council meeting planning the Clackamas River Cleanup.

The clock hands turn to 7:00 and the next hour starts - different student groups go into the dance rooms, new people begin exercising, a different sports starts in the gym...