In an email to students Tuesday afternoon, Holy Cross student government association (SGA) president Bradley Szotko, vice president Joseph Stokes and chief of staff Ashley McDonald announced the Holy Cross administration had agreed to return the cardio room in the Pfeil Center gym to its original configuration.
The cardio equipment had been removed from its original location on the first floor of the gym and relocated to the second floor on Feb. 8. The move elicited condemnation from the student body, who argued the new configuration was cramped and dangerous. Students created a petition calling for the reversal of the move. The petition garnered over 150 signatures.
Members of the SGA met with Robert Pastoor, special assistant to the office of the president for planning and development, multiple times over the past week to discuss the possibility of reversing the change.
In a meeting on Friday with Pastoor, Stokes said the group discussed other possible layouts of the gym that would minimize crowding, including moving some of the equipment onto the indoor track. In an email Monday afternoon to The Observer, Pastoor said the priority was finding a “short-term” layout for the rest of the semester that would address the concerns of students.
However, after the SGA executive board emailed Pastoor on Monday night reiterating their request to return the cardio equipment downstairs, the College administration agreed to move the cardio equipment as soon as possible.
“Although we had agreed to a compromise in the meantime, we wanted to make sure that this did not fall by the wayside,” Stokes said.
Before the equipment can be moved, the moving company that originally moved the equipment must be contacted and all the equipment must be inspected, Stokes said.
In their email to the student body, the SGA executive board praised the student body for actively voicing their concerns.
“The reason for this is because you, the students, came together to inform the administration that you were unhappy with the changes to the Pfeil Center,” the email read.
The executive board specifically thanked senator Tom Zwiller “who organized and led the effort for the petition.”
(Editor's note: Zwiller is a sports writer for The Observer)
The board also thanked Pastoor for his “honesty” and for working quickly to help solve the problem.
“We are very happy to have someone like him here at Holy Cross College,” they wrote.
Concluding the email, the board encouraged further student involvement.
"Although this situation is now finished, we hope that you will continue to share your concerns to us and make your voices heard,” they said.
