A New Face for the MAC

Weather reports indicate that the first snowstorms of the season may be only days away. Students will soon trudge to class burdened not only with book-filled backpacks but heavy woolen coats as well. The running paths along the Charles River will no longer be populated with bikers, rollerbladers and joggers. And the lines at the Harvard's undergraduate gymnasium, the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC), will become unbearably long.

Unfortunately, even in more temperate weather, the wait to use the MAC's athletic facilities is already too long. But the flaws in the current MAC do not end with the limited number of treadmills, stairclimbers and stationary bikes available for undergraduate use. Not only are the facilities rundown and the little equipment available both terribly antiquated and limited in its variety, but the allotment of space in the MAC is also in need of repair.

Fortunately, the College has apparently caught on to the fact that the MAC, which has hardly been renovated since its construction in 1931, is in need of a major face-lift. We commend Harvard for outsourcing management to the Boston Sports Club, and we trust that significant structural changes are not too long in coming. We hope that the revamped MAC will continue to provide the same service that is does now--as a recreational fitness space. It is important for undergraduate students who do not participate in the Harvard University Athletic Department to have athletic facilities at their disposal. In addition to this function, however, we hope to see the MAC serve as a source of space for undergraduate student athletic groups on campus.

The MAC undoubtedly secures a prime location in the Square--literally bordering four River Houses, it is located in the center of undergraduate life. Unfortunately, Harvard has done a poor job of utilizing the MAC's whopping 110,000 square feet; the facility is seven times the size of the Hasty Pudding Theatre, yet it is home to only five Harvard athletic teams. At a University where student space has been a long and storied problem, the space available in the MAC should be restructured--and if that does not solve the problem, the MAC should be reconstructed--to maximize its square-foot allotment.

Thus far, Harvard's outsourcing to the Boston Sports Club appears to have had few direct results other than a new electronic key-card swipe at the MAC's front door and new lights for the basketball courts. Unfortunately, the only other concrete plans for the future are to paint and spruce up the athletic facility.

But freshly painted walls and plush carpeting are far from the most pressing issues involving the MAC. We sincerely hope that the supposed long-term plans for the MAC include more improved and up-to-date cardiovascular equipment and facilities and a more efficient allotment of the 110,000 square-feet of space.