As if we needed another reason to support why we go to one of the best universities around, I’ll give you one more: the Activities and Recreation Center — commonly known as the ARC. 

At 340,000 square feet, it is one of the largest on-campus recreation centers in the country. As you can imagine, this makes it quite the hot spot for students, faculty and other University affiliates — meaning that there is a lot of traffic in and out of the building each and every day. 

With so many people using this facility, there are obviously several rules and guidelines, which are posted on signs throughout the building. However, being somewhat of a gym rat, I know that there is definitely a set of unspoken rules among ARC-goers. Some of this ARC etiquette seems like common sense, but apparently some people could use a bit of a reminder.

Just to cover the bases, let me simply start out by reiterating the fact that the ARC is a workout facility. 

So just to be clear, it is for working out — for sweating, for burning calories, for getting our lazy selves off the couch. However, in regards to the Activities and Recreation Center, I think some people may be putting too much emphasis on the word “recreation” and not enough on the word “activities.”

During one of my trips to the ARC, I was trudging along on one of the stair stepping machines on the entrance floor, sweating profusely and not looking terribly unlike a corpse. As I wiped a strand of sweat-soaked hair off of my face, a girl sat down on the bike next to me — wearing a sparkly sweater and jeans and a pair of cute shoes. 

Oh, and don’t let me forget the icing on the cake. She also brought a package of cookies that she nonchalantly placed in the water bottle holder. It appeared as if she was there to take a load off and catch up on some shows rather than exercise.

While I’m all about a day or two of easy cardio and using the machine’s TV to watch re-runs of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” there is something totally off about consuming Keebler Fudge Stripes while doing so. And not to mention what an evil temptation it is to put a sleeve of cookies in the proximity of people currently trying to work off their lunches. 

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to reach over, snatch the bag and wolf down three cookies right then and there. It’s like dangling a carrot in front of a horse.

Another bad habit that is leaching its way into some people’s workout routines is the use of cell phones. 

Too many times I have walked by someone casually sitting at one of the strength training machines immersed in the iPhone world. Meanwhile, forget about strengthening those hip abductors because you’ll have to wait until that person comes back from their trip to la-la land and finally starts using the machine.

And don’t even get me started about all the people I have caught snapchatting their friends from the elliptical. The combination of a selfie, a weird facial expression and the already funny rotational movement of legs on the elliptical equals the appearance of straight ridiculousness.

A third piece of undercover ARC etiquette that needs to be mentioned is the acknowledgment of personal space, particularly during times when the facility is not busy. 

When someone is running on one of the treadmills, for instance, and all the other ones are available, it should be somewhat obvious that you should go to one that is not directly next to that person. The same can be said of where you place your mat for stretching — if we don’t have to be within a two foot radius of each other, then let’s not. 

If the ARC is pretty empty and there is a decent amount of space, use it. Relieve the awkwardness, please.

Not to mention, according to some guys, I’m pretty sure this same exact concept applies to urinal etiquette.

One last gym faux pas that needs to be put out on the table as a gentle reminder is to remember to wipe down everything after each use, because nothing triggers my gag reflex quite like coming into contact with someone else’s sweat.

And as for what goes on in the basement, I have no comments because the level of comfort I feel entering that zone is nonexistent.

The bottom line: be self-aware. I love the ARC and so do many other people, so let’s develop a mutual understanding about some of these common courtesies.

Nicki is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].