SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)– After an off campus party in the first weekend of October, Syracuse University hit a semester high with 80 coronavirus cases. The university proceeded to shut down all in-person activities outside of class.
This included one of the newest additions to campus: the Barnes Center at the Arch, which has been closed since Oct. 6.
For students like Grayson Jenkins, the closure had a major impact on their daily routine.
“I definitely feel a lot better about myself after I work out. [Now] I can definitely feel myself getting smaller, my muscles are definitely losing mass as time goes on I can see it,” Jenkins said, “It’s frustrating.”
However, other students thought that closing the facility was the right decision.
“Given the circumstances it’s obvious that public facilities like that should be limited,” SU junior Tom Benko said.
While the Barnes Center was originally scheduled to reopen on Oct. 14, the $50 million facility remained closed without another target date for reopening.
The loss of a resource such as the Barnes Center left a ripple effect among the SU community.
“It’s one of the first places in the country where they centralize all wellness. So whether it’s counseling, whether it’s pet therapy, massage chair, rock climbing wall, pharmacy, you have a one stop shop. So I think this is really important to the campus community and the students here,” Barnes Center assistant director of aquatics Kyle Chavis said.
Since there is no set date for reopening, SU students are left to find other options to get in their daily workouts.
