By: Vanessa Smith

Heavy breathing and sweaty bodies moving to the rhythm of a hip hop beat: It’s everything your mother warned you about college, except these students are fully clothed.

At Buffalo State College’sFitness Center in the Houston Gymnasium, it is a typical scene.  Students, faculty and staff mill around, wiping down their machines or stretching their calves post-run.  While the facility has televisions and music, many students prefer their own soundtrack – iPods and Walkmans are prevalent here. 

There is a variety of equipment to work out on, including treadmills, exercise bikes and cardio machines.  The center also has weightlifting equipment and a section where gym-goers can stretch out or use an exercise ball.  In all, there are 45 exercise stations and 22 pieces of cardio equipment.

Nicholas DeMarsh, the Fitness Center coordinator, said budgetary restraints make it difficult to order new equipment every year, but the center does try to keep up with the students’ needs and trends in the fitness world.

The center conducts a survey at the end of every semester to get the opinions of students, faculty and staff on their needs at the gym.

“We take into consideration what the surveys say when getting new equipment,” said DeMarsh, who has been with the center for two years.

The center, at 4,500-square-feet, is equipped for the BSC population.  DeMarsh said there are times when the gym is busy, but rarely is all the equipment in use and a wait list needed.

And the price—free to undergraduates with membership rates for graduate students, faculty, staff, retirees and spouses, make it a draw for those who cannot afford a pricey gym membership otherwise. 

Freshman Jenny Stauffer loves the center for this reason.  She goes to the gym daily and cites the fact that it’s free as the main factor in using it.

“I could go to a gym off-campus but then I would have to pay for it and besides, going here is more convenient for me,” she said.

The center is staffed with health and wellness majors who also have backgrounds in fitness and nutrition.  A valid BSC ID is needed to get in. 

 Membership Fees:

• BSC faculty/staff/graduate students: $55/semester; $100/academic Year

• $35/summer; $135/calendar year
• BSC alumni - $135/calendar year
• BSC retirees/emeritus: $120/calendar year
• Spouses may join at the same rates

The Fitness Center is open daily:

•  6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday
•  6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday
• 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

For more information on the center or the Houston Gym itself, contact (716)878-3816.