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The Rice Thresher
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by Chase Danford thresher staff
At Monday's meeting of the Student Association Senate, Brown College Senator Lindsay Cover announced that as soon as next semester, students, faculty and staff will no longer have to wear the familiar purple and periwinkle blue uniforms while using the facilities at Autry Court. "It's something I've been hoping for quite a while that I could help Rice students with," Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Brian Gibson, a Sid Richardson College resident associate, said. "My biggest concern was that people weren't using the gym because they didn't want to wear a uniform." He said when he became an RA and found out how students disliked the uniforms, he started pushing for their abolition. The time frame for the move to a uniform-optional gym has not been entirely determined. Gibson said gym safety must be ensured before any action can be taken, as mandatory uniforms are supposed to ensure that people not affiliated with Rice are not using the gym. "We would have liked to shoot for January. As it looks now, we would postpone or delay the implementation of the policy for as long as it is necessary to make sure it's safe." Gibson said. "The administration is very concerned with the safety of the patrons of the gym." However, Gibson said even the current uniform system does not necessarily provide sufficient security. "Even with the uniform you don't have constant supervision in the gym," Gibson said. Student opposition to uniforms coupled with safety concerns spurred action on the matter. "We felt like our safety could be improved on," Cover, who heads the SA Sports and Health Committee, said. "That's part of our concern." To replace mandatory uniforms, a series of security measures will be enforced. A staff member will check identification at the door and gym employees will move throughout the facility checking to make sure everyone using the gym is supposed to be there. "Any hour the gym is open, we're looking for supervision that would basically make the uniform unnecessary," Gibson said. "This policy will be much safer than it is now." The committee cited multiple entrances to the gym as part of the security problem. "We're trying to encourage entrance through one door," Cover said, referring to the side entrance on the east side of the gym where the equipment room is located. The committee is looking into having Rice shuttles stop closer to this entrance than the current stop. Gibson stressed that although uniforms will not be required, gym patrons can still use the uniform service. "It's still a great service for Rice to let people be able to use the uniform if they wanted to," Gibson said. Many students echoed that idea, citing the convenience the uniforms and gym laundry service provide. "I kind of like having a uniform and that they wash it for me," Jones College senior Jeff Barroso said. "You don't have to worry, and it's easy." Even with the convenience of uniforms, many students are happy they will no longer be required. "It think it's great that they're optional," Hanszen College senior Lindsay Germano said. A survey by the Sports and Health Committee showed 95 percent of respondents wanted gym uniforms to be optional rather than mandatory. Mandatory uniforms have been a topic of debate among students for years. Gibson said he remembers discussions about this four years ago, when he first arrived at Rice. Earlier this year, Director of the Lifetime Physical Activity Program Daniel McMasters made it optional for LPAP instructors to require uniform use. "I'm glad to see that we've been able to enact something the student body wanted," Cover said.
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