Education goes far beyond the classroom. We learn constantly. Our extracurricular activities aid us in our development and maturation.

Penn State is founded on the tradition that a well-rounded individual is the best possible individual. This philosophy is embodied in the (Baccalaureate Degree Requirements) placed on all students enrolled at Penn State.

Part of this "well-rounded" student is exercise and athletics. Penn State is failing to provide students the opportunity to be well rounded in at least one very evident area -- strength training.

Penn State needs more space for its public weight room at Rec Hall. Cornell University, a nationally recognized institution for its academics, has three fully-equipped weight rooms with free weights, Nautilus and Universal machines. Its entire enrollment, including graduate students,is roughly 15,000.

Union College, a small university in upstate New York, has two weight rooms equivalent to the one at Rec Hall, complete with free weights, Nautilus and Universal machines. Union's entire enrollment is roughly 2,500.

Penn State, a nationally-recognized institution for academics and athletics, has one weight room (open to the student body) with free weights, Nautilus and Universal machines.

It has two partially equipped "weight rooms" in the IM and White buildings which have only Universal machines. Penn State's (University Park) enrollment, including graduate students, is between 37,000 and 40,000.

The lack of adequate weight room facilities has become poignantly evident by the lines outside of the Rec Hall weight room. I have waited in line for as long as 25 minutes to get in the door. I then have to wait for access to equipment due to the rooms overcrowdedness.

This lack of space is made even more stinging by the fact that across the hall is an entire weight room, fully equipped, reserved for varsity athletes. There is also an even more well-equipped weight room for athletes in the indoor sports complex.

I respect the need for varsity athletics to have ready access to strength equipment, but doesn't the rest of tuition-paying student body have the same rights?

The need for an upgrading in the type of weight lifting equipment available, as well as the space it is provided in, is painfully evident.

I hope the University administrators will take note of this problem and do something to correct it quickly -- it has already been neglected too long.