After a year of inactivity, the Mezzanine (or Mezz) in the Student Union is currently undergoing renovations to be turned into another on-campus fitness center.
Last semester, Student Government was approached by Capital administration, headed by Vice President of Finances Mike Horan, to approve the possibility of reconstructing the Mezz into a new workout space. After voting three times upon the issue, a bill advocating the initiation of the project was set forth by Senators Megan Lentz and Blake Hillard and later passed.
A couple of factors that caused the bill’s passage to be postponed included rising support from the student body for another place to eat on campus, as well as the issue of what would happen with the prayer space that already resided within the Mezz.
According to Christina Tilton, senator of leadership and management for Student Government, discussion of there being a third on-campus food option in the Mezz had taken place, but Student Government felt that there was a more pressing need for a workout center. At the time, improvements were being made to the food on campus, and a more centralized location was desired for the new workout facility.
When asked why a workout center in the Mezz rather than another place for meals, Horan spoke about the limited space and the necessity for this new center.
“We never thought that three food options in the same building made sense,” Horan said. “So then we really pushed to go off-campus because there’s really not a good space for a third option on-campus here. We also knew that students needed another space to workout, and this was the only space on campus that really fit that, so that worked out perfect, and I think the options we’re working on, letting you take your Capital Bucks across the street and use places like Cosi and Subway and Jimmy John’s, make much more sense.”
As for the prayer space, concern was expressed over what would happen to the room and to where it would be relocated.
According to Blake Hillard, student senator for sophomores, Student Government worked with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to find a better and more accessible area for the prayer space to be relocated to. According to Horan, it has currently been moved to the Kerns Religious Life Center.
Although it was labored on over the summer and initially expected to be finished prior to the fall semester, the project has been experiencing delays due to there being more work than expected in terms of the mechanical, electrical, and budgeting aspects of the renovation.
“That’s why this is going to cost a little bit more than we originally projected. We had to make sure those systems were right, so it turned out to be a much more difficult project than what we originally thought it was going to be,” Horan said.
However, Phase 1 of the Mezz’s renovations has been completed. If the reconstruction of the Mezz continues to progress as planned, the fitness center is anticipated to be open to the student body after Thanksgiving Break.
The new fitness center is expected to serve as an accessible, judgement-free facility where students can come and workout. Horan stressed the importance of the center being geared more toward students who are not on a sports team for Capital. While both athletes and non-athletes alike will be able to use the space, the fitness center will be incapable of being reserved by Capital’s teams, thus providing more opportunity for students who are not in sports to workout.
