William Paterson’s Recreational Gym Center is intended to be a place where everyone can enjoy access to the very gym their tuition pays for. Nevertheless, after multiple visits and a conversation with the gym staff, some concerns have been raised about the gym’s cleanliness.
During my last visit, I spoke with two workers at the front desk and asked “if there were any protocols that are supposed to be taken to clean the gym during their shifts.” The conversation revealed that many tasks fall onto the students.
Aurora, a master’s in chemistry, stated that “there are two custodians that come in the mornings, um, and evenings, and they do most of the cleaning for it. Every day he’ll sweep the floors and rugs and clean the equipment.”
However, for students who use the gym throughout the day, those morning sweeps are not enough to maintain consistent conditions.
Additionally, she goes on to say that the workers use “simplegreen. It’s like an industrial cleaning solution. We’re supposed to clean all the equipment that was used with a rag. And then obviously we hope that people would also wipe every equipment they used afterwards.”
Another worker, Cakeira, in the master’s program, had added that “most of the time when people are leaving their weights or they’re not cleaning right away, we’ll usually make an announcement just to remind them.” However, announcements can easily be missed, especially for students who use headphones during their workout.
Despite these efforts, after consistent visits, people often leave their machines behind after u
se, leaving students, including junior and digital marketing major Emma, uneasy. During our conversation, she described the extra lengths she takes while working out.
“I sometimes wipe the bars down four or five times just to feel safe. I don’t care what kind of chemicals this is—it takes a while for the brown to stop poppin’ up,” she exclaimed.
“Does the cleanliness of the gym affect your workouts or how often you come?” I asked.
“It doesn’t necessarily affect how often I come, but sometimes when wiping down the bars, there’s so much rust residue that gets on my hands; I’ll touch my clothes or face, and now it’s on me. “It even stained one of my shirts,” she replied.
The issue highlights a broader tension between student expectations and institutional resources; the general student body is left to share a facility that many feel falls short of hygienic standards.
As more students voice concerns, the debate over the Recreation Center’s cleanliness raises a pressing question: Is “good enough” really adequate enough for a campus gym meant to serve the entire student body?
