Editorial: New fitness center welcome at SU

There's no denying it. We're excited about the new gym.

But we're not only excited because the 18,570 square foot addition to the currently cramped Connolly Center boasts 608 spanking new lockers, improved bike racks, an outdoor rain garden and ample studio space divisible into yoga, aerobics or dance areas.

We're excited because it is high time the Seattle University community receive a new athletic facility.

First, as rookies on the Division I scene, our athletes could use more space to train. (Their current weight room is housed in a racquetball court in Connolly).


Second, the two-story LEED Gold Certified building will catch the eyes of prospective students visiting campus.


And lastly, while sculpting the perfect gluteus maximus might not be as important as cultivating critical thinking, maintaining physical wellness is part and parcel of nourishing the whole person—the most salient aim of this Jesuit institution.


And right now, the Connolly Center is maintaining little more than high levels of frustration in a student body that has to endure long waits to get on exercise machines and fight for mirror space in an overcrowded weight room.

Seattle U is not bursting at the seams with new students, but it is steadily increasing in numbers: student enrollment is up more that 4 percent this year.

And with 7,529 students, Seattle U is beginning to outgrow its current facilities.


To be sure, our $10 million new facility is a luxury, not an academic necessity.

But it's a luxury that will service our Division I athletes, attract new students and help our budding student population foster healthy lifestyles.

We welcome our new workout oasis to Seattle U.