On a typical fall or spring afternoon, recreation-minded Marquette students can be found playing frisbee in front of the Alumni Memorial Union or football on Schroeder Field. But as winter approaches, students are moving away from these outdoor exercise options and searching for indoor exercise facilities. Some students have noticed an additional strain on the university's recreational facilities, the Rec Center and the Rec Plex, as a result of this shift.

"Rec Plex usage always picks up as the weather gets worse," said Rec Plex General Manager John Kratzer. "As it gets colder, teams and clubs need practice space inside."

However, students in teams or clubs are not the only ones utilizing the facilities.

"At the start of the second semester there will be well over 2,000 students entering the Rec Center and roughly 1,000 in the Rec Plex per day," he said.

Despite the increase in traffic, Kratzer said he thinks the university has done a good job preparing for the additional usage and said he believes the students will find the facilities satisfactory.

He pointed to the results of a student satisfaction survey, conducted in spring 2005, as evidence that students were pleased with the athletic and workout opportunities provided by Marquette. Specifics of the survey, such as how many participants were surveyed and the nature of their responses, was not available at press time because the source for that informaton was not on campus.

"Things have been much improved over the last three years," Kratzer said. "Both facilities have seen big improvement, and we feel we've done a very good job updating the equipment in both facilities."

The most recent Rec Plex workout equipment to be updated in the past three years were treadmills and elliptical machines, according to Kratzer.

"I like the facilities a lot," said Dan Daitchman, a junior in the College of Business Administration. "The people there are serious about their workouts, and I never have to wait for equipment."

The Rec Plex "could expand a little more in terms of free weights, but they have basically everything," he said.

But not all students would agree with Daitchman. Susan Celentani, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the Rec Center's equipment does not meet demand.

"We need more elliptical machines at the Rec Center," she said. "It seems like we have about seven for 11,000 people."

However, Celentani did say that it was likely that any congestion dealing with exercise machines is a result of students not following proper procedures when reserving equipment. Both the Rec Center and the Rec Plex use a system in which students must sign up for treadmills and elliptical machines in 20-minute intervals. A two-minute grace period is observed between slots so users can clean off the machines and otherwise get ready for their workouts.

"I understand you have to sign up, but a lot of people don't do that," Celentani said. "They've done a good job making it fair for students, but it is too hard when students don't follow the guidelines."

According to Kratzer, most negative feelings expressed by students stem from the lack of space within the exercise stations, and not a lack of equipment.

"We're running out of space for the requests we are receiving, that's the big key," Kratzer said.

Daitchman echoed that sentiment.

"There is sufficient equipment," he said. "They just don't have enough space."

"The problem is being talked about," Kratzer said, "but I can't speak on any immediate plans."