This Wespeak is not directed towards everyone who uses the Bacon Field House for recreational purposes. The vast majority of these individuals respect in-season sports without complaint or any problems. The Wesleyan Track and Field team would like to say “Thank You” for your cooperation and understanding. This Wespeak is directed toward Eli and the other individuals who have no clue what is going on, can’t read a simple sign on a door, have little respect for other students, coaches and faculty, who feel they can do whatever they want and don’t have to listen to anyone.
First and foremost, Eli, in your Wespeak entitled, ‘Stop the indoor javelin team,’ you did not get your facts straight. The whole field house is only closed Mondays and Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., not Monday through Wednesday 4-7 p.m. like you incorrectly state. This includes the running track portion as well, not just your rec ball area. The times and schedule are listed on the doors, so why don’t you read them for a change??? Wednesday through Friday, we have the south half of the field house from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The north half is open for rec ball at this time. Also, we often let you guys have the south half if we are done and not using it for other parts of the team to practice in. Having your rec ball group limited by four hours in a one-week period isn’t excessive.
Second, it’s not the “javelin team”. It’s the whole throwing team as well as other track and field participants. All of the throwers use the space. We also have the high jumpers using their pits in the south half, and sometimes have the other sprint/jump/hurdle groups doing plyometric drills in the north or south half as well. The space is for the whole team, not just the throwers! When was the last time you saw a metal javelin being thrown inside the field house? Huh? We use plastic training javelins during the indoor season because they make you focus on form and are much safer to use, not to mention that they don’t tear up the floor and walls.
Varsity sport teams have priority for the facilities over rec stuff. This is the case for every varsity sport at ANY college/university, not just Wesleyan. We have even kicked out softball, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, tennis, and other teams when they were not in season. Why should rec ball be able to kick a varsity team from their season/practice time and facilities? That sounds pretty arrogant to us, and your justification using “community building” is very thin.
Don’t just ignore the signs and rules and then try to negotiate with us for court time. It hasn’t worked and will not work in the future. This is our time to train undisturbed and to focus on what we need to do. Please respect that!
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