An unfinished room in the back stairwell of the Welch Fitness Center is the designated study space for over 50 kinesiology majors at DePauw University.
The space has been unfinished since 2014 when construction on Welch ended. If the stairwell was to be completed, it would serve as a new entrance and study area for the Kinesiology Department and its students.
According to Stevie Baker-Watson, associate vice president for campus wellness and the director of athletics, the cost of finishing the stairwell and the area is around $250,000, but the renovations are not expected soon. “There are other projects that have a higher priority on campus,” said Baker-Watson. “I’m am not aware that it will be finished soon.”
While the Lilly center was updated with the construction of Welch, the stairwell and study area for the Kinesiology Department has been overlooked and members of the department would like the now two-year project to be completed as soon as possible. “We keep asking and would like to see it done,” said Thomas Ball, professor of kinesiology.
Kinesiology students also shared their frustrations with the uncompleted project. “When you have other science buildings with completed departments, it just makes you think about how DePauw’s not finishing construction in the Kinesiology Department,” said Zach Batt, a sophomore kinesiology major.
James Patrick Babington, associate professor of kinesiology and chair of the department, said the delay is due to finances. “It stopped because the University ran out of money,” Babington said. “Most of the costs for completing that section of the Kinesiology Department went to costs associated with the equipment in the fitness room.”
The unfinished area provides many challenges to the students and faculty who occupy the space daily. Both students and faculty can exit the building through the space, though only faculty have keys to the back door.
In order to get to the space, students must walk through the main Welch Fitness entrance in order to have access to kinesiology labs and faculty offices. Initially, the area was meant to have a card system so students could have easy access to the department and the envisioned study area. Because the card system was deactivated, a key is required to allow faculty and students to enter through that area of the building, creating an inconvenience for everyone involved.
“It’s an inconvenience because the door is locked so if you want to talk to professors you have to walk all the way around to the main gym doors,” said Nicholas Tobar, a senior kinesiology major. “If they were able to build a brand new dining hall, then they should be able to finish it, the cost doesn’t even compare.”
The area, in combination with the hallway, is also where many senior kinesiology students have their final presentations, which worries some students. “It’s around that area where the senior seminars are,” Batt said. “It doesn’t look good.”