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  • Blog

Gym Memberships Should Be Covered By Tuition Fees

19/9/2017

 
Vol 12, Issue 9

JARED MINTZ

From day one of law school, right off the bat, it was made very clear that students should make a concerted effort to maintain their physical and mental health. Upper-year students, orientation leaders, and lecturers all vouched for the importance of taking care of yourself and keeping active. To that end, we have the Enrichment Centre, Academic Support Office, Allens yoga, MULSS mindfulness meditation, LSS netball and more. However, all that being said, there was a conspicuous omission from our health-related resources: a gym membership.
Picture
Courtesy of Wikicommons
What happens if you work during netball Wednesdays? Or if you have an STS tutorial during lunchtime yoga and mindfulness meditations? I think we can all agree that the MLS schedule can be incredibly hectic at times; not everyone can accommodate the great activities that are currently organized.

As someone who attended university in the U.S., the absence of a gym membership was unthinkable. Similarly, Canadian universities readily provide their students with access to gym facilities. For all the talk about health and taking care of ourselves, Melb Uni sure isn’t doing us any favours.

As an international student, ineligible for programs like HECS and Centrelink, I’m scraping by on my (now exhausted) savings, various loans, and whatever work I can get. Frankly I find it a bit insulting that the university would ask for another $65 per month to jog on a treadmill or lift a few weights. Moreover, that’s $65 per month only if you can afford to shell out a lump sum payment of $259 for the semester. If monthly payments are all you can realistically budget for, it’ll cost you $79 per month for a total of $316 per semester.

Now, is that a completely unheard of price? Not at all, but that’s not really the point. If I’m paying north of $38,000 a year in tuition and textbooks, I think it’s fair to expect what most North Americans consider a basic student service.

It might be said that Australian universities don’t do things that way, but as a pillar of the academic community, the University of Melbourne should feel comfortable paving the way for a new and improved strategy for student health. Moreover, it should take pride in putting student health at the forefront wherever possible. The likely outcome is that only a small percentage of students would take advantage of the opportunity, but give students the option.

If you’re concerned with student health then do something proactive to help. Give students a convenient, affordable option for physical activity. Promote it. Make it easy. A healthier student body will only yield better results for the University, both in academic performance and its reputation as an institution.

​Jared Mintz is a first-year JD student

The rest of this Issue:
  • Does MLS Have a Collusion Problem
  • Reclaiming RU OK Day
  • Reflections on the LSS Elections
  • Why We're Probably Wrong About Everything that Matters Most​
  • Negative Comments

Que?
19/9/2017 06:39:12 pm

Why should non-gym users subsidise your gym membership m8? Go for a run

Gym junkie
19/9/2017 08:18:41 pm

Going for a run is a sure fire way to kill all those hard earned gains. I can take it you do not in fact lift?

Not-gym junkie
19/9/2017 09:48:21 pm

Nah I don't. Jared should just enjoy his holiday in Melbourne and not write whiney articles in De Minimis. Lift some VBs m8

Not-not-gym junkie
20/9/2017 01:54:48 pm

You sure like telling other people how they should live. Might I siggest you go lift some VB's and stop whining on the comment sections of De Minimis m9?

NM
18/10/2017 12:01:30 pm

Why should non-library users subsidize your ability to take books out or use study space? Find books off campus and study in your home.

Truth-teller
19/9/2017 06:39:57 pm

Why don't you just lift your own expectations? They're weighty enough.

Jim
19/9/2017 07:52:29 pm

Without passing judgement on the actual merits of the idea, from a practical perspective I don't think this would work.

The Melbourne Uni gym is already ridiculously overcrowded, to the extent that it's really not even worth going at certain times because you'll spend more time waiting for equipment than actually working out.

To say that giving Unimelb's entire circa-45,000 student body free access would exacerbate the problem would be an understatement.

O
29/9/2017 11:24:36 pm

Outside is free

NM
18/10/2017 12:07:41 pm

Going to a public library, reading class textbooks and educating yourself is also free, but paying to go to a university class has benefits. For instance some people may adhere to class schedules better than learning through self motivation? Or perhaps learning from a more experienced person like a professor can accelerate the learning process?

A gym membership could have very similar effects, don't you think?


Comments are closed.
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