By Brandon Davis
A common dilemma many students face when beginning their college careers out of high school is figuring out how to stay in shape while adjusting to a new schedule.
The Student Activities Center’s fitness center offers a variety of different activities to help keep students in shape, including an accessible weight room stocked with treadmills, free and machine weight systems and other cardiovascular equipment.
“In the Louisville Metropolitan area, this [SAC] is one of the best facilities around,” Ken Carey, gym employee, said. “The vast array of equipment and stuff that this facility has here along with the facilities at the Crawford and Humana, it can’t be beat.”
The SAC is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is free with an active student ID.
The SAC fitness center also provides five racquetball courts, two squash courts and complete locker room facilities along with four multi-purpose gym floors which are used for basketball, volleyball and badminton.
“It offers pretty much everything you want,” Greg Welsh, junior nursing major, said. “They have a gym, basketball courts, racquetball and they’re always open when you need them to be so it’s pretty convenient.”
For those looking to keep themselves occupied in some competitive form or just looking for a way to blow off some steam without all the sweat, the Cardinal Corner might be the answer. Also located in the SAC, the Cardinal Corner provides an assortment of free games for students to compete in, including pool, ping-pong, air hockey and foosball.
The Ralph Wright Natatorium, located on the corner of Warnock Ave. and Floyd St., is one for the newest facilities on campus and allows students a chance to swim in an Olympic-size pool. The Natatorium is also home to the U of L’s men’s and women’s swim teams and is complete with an eight-lane, 50 meter competition pool with depth ranging from four feet, six inches to 18 feet.
“It’s really a great facility,” Matt Blanford, graduate student and lifeguard, said. “It’s brand new and I think students are surprised when they find out that it’s even here and they’re allowed to use it for free.”
The Natatorium is open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and is also open at various times on weekends.
The Humana Gym is another facility available for students looking to work out. Located on Bradley Ave. and Eastern Pkwy., the Humana Gym offers complete weight and cardiovascular rooms, dry heat saunas and gym floors are available when not used for club practices. Free for students, the Humana Gym is open from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
U of L also offers a variety of different sports clubs and intramural league sports which provide students looking for a more structured plan to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, a solid solution while satisfying their competitive juices.
With clubs like badminton, fencing, gymnastics and many others, students are given the opportunity to compete while receiving a chance to learn a new sport or continuing to play a familiar one. There are also many different intramural league sports students can play including football, basketball, and soccer.
After the recent success of student spirit and support at University of Louisville baseball games, the U of L Athletic Department, as well as the Student Government Association are looking for ways to extend the spirit to other sports. One idea which has been looked into is the possibility of regulated sales of alcohol at events at Cardinal Park, more specifically, soccer games.
The Dark Knights
Kirk Laughlin for SGA President and Kurtis Frizzell for Services Vice President, or as students on campus or watching youtube.com have come to know the duo as: Batman and Robin.
Dissatisfied with student government, candidates Laughlin and Frizzell said they seek to reverse the indifference they've seen in student representation.
Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of interesting developments come from the University of Louisville football program. Between the announcements of the Cards' 2009 recruiting class, and the departure of offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm, U of L football has been one of hotter topics as of late.
The Cultural Center at the University of Louisville is open to students of many different walks of life and seeks to provide a safe environment for diverse group engagement, discussion and socialization.
The center opened in August, 2008 and went through a series of image transformations physically and aesthetically. Previously known as the Office for Minority Affairs, the Cultural Center now has new signage on the outside and is full of bright walls and colorful artwork from the Hite Institute on the inside.
Meet and greet with
Louisville Mayor
Volunteers are needed to attend the Mayor Jerry Abramson's press conference on Wed., Feb. 18 at 10:30 a.m.
Student Government Association candidates for the March 2 - 4 elections are officially campaigning and debating for their offices.
Students can vote for the top four SGA positions: Student Body President, Executive Vice President, Academic Vice President and Services Vice President.
As University of Louisville students Nikki Romine and Danielle Zachery sit separately, one in Strickler Hall and the other in Davidson Hall respectively, they study and eat. The difference comes in the fact that one smokes and the other doesn't.
On Friday, Feb. 13, the Kentucky legislature passed a tax bill that increased cigarette tax from 30 to 60 cents.
Louisville's weather is a schizophrenic phenomenon. "It's not anything alarming, it's just kind of amazing," said Tim Dowling, University of Louisville Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy.
Dre Dawson had just returned from a gospel festival held at New Birth Church, as part of the 100th Anniversary week of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at University of Louisville.
Dawson, U of L NAACP president and junior Pan-African Studies major and his group have several events planned for the week. Including the community is part of the plan which includes reading to children at St. George's Community Center from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wed., Feb. 11.
At the end of the February Faculty Senate meeting, a question was asked about reducing crime on campus. To which University of Louisville Provost Shirley Willihnganz said we have to take precautions.
On Wed., Feb. 4 the second notification for the spring 2009 semester was issued from U of L Police Department.
