Student and staff discussion a key part of athletics plan
Communication and flexibility are crucial elements in the college’s initiative to provide students with alternative services in the absence of the DEL Gym.
During the construction of the Athletic and Wellness Centre, the college and CCSAI have put up a website and blog to keep students informed with updates.
Steve McLaughlin has said this is crucial in order to get the ball rolling.
“We can keep information posted, current and up to date,” he said. “That is key for us, because we can do that internally and put it up as soon as we get the information verified,” McLaughlin said.
So far, there has been a fair amount of students responding to the websites and expressing concerns.
“We’ve received plenty of calls and feedback from our preliminary information that we have put on our website, and we will be upgrading that website regularly,” he said.
McLaughlin encourages students to communicate any ideas or concerns to the school so they can continuously amend the services being offered.
In addition to the athletics website, the CCSAI has put up a blog in order to give updates on alternative services being offered.
“It’s a communication vehicle, and also a way for students to give us feedback if they have any ideas or any concerns about the project,” said Penny Kirlik of the CCSAI.
McLaughlin agreed that teamwork and flexibility are an essential part of the school’s initiative.
“We’re going to be as much reactive as we are proactive,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t have any benchmark on the programming that we’re doing, so we’re just exploring.”
The school has stated they are willing to negotiate with students about what is called “active recreational program subsidy.”
What that means is that if a student is interested in active programs offered at Extreme Fitness or the YMCA that were not previously offered at the DEL, such as Tai-Chi or Yoga, the school is willing to see if they can subsidize those programs.
“This is a work in process,” he said. “We think we are going to get some reactions to some new alternative programs that we haven’t considered, and we’ll be wide open to that as well.”
“We don’t really have anything formal within the confines of Progress campus for recreational activity, so we’re out there,” McLaughlin said.
For all of this to go as planned, the most important thing for students to remember is that the college and students must stay connected to make things work.
“We’re in this together,” McLaughlin said.
“We’re open to suggestions, comments, concerns and complaints. Fire them to us.”
Contact information for Steve McLaughlin of the athletics department and Penny Kirlik of the CCSAI are both available on the aforementioned websites.
The websites can be found at:
