As the fall 2020 semester starts at CSU Bakersfield, COVID-19 is still affecting students’ lives one way or another.

As gyms are reopening around the city, under strict direction from Gov. Newsom’s new four-tier reopening system, CSUB is deciding whether to re-open the Student Recreation Center.

Should it reopen, the SRC would look quite different this semester.

Mary O’Mahoney, the facility’s director, explains that upon its reopening, the SRC will be using the Fusion Go app to allow students to make one-hour reservations to use the SRC.

The Fusion Go app will be an extension of the already existing software used by the SRC.

The app has been used by other campus recreation programs and O’Mahoney believes it will be easy to use.
CSUB students will also be using this app as a no-contact entry card.

The SRC must follow the CDC guidelines and maintain a 6-foot distance between each attendee and the staff must sanitize equipment after every use.

Equipment will be moved to offer more space between each user.

“We have and will be purchasing additional cleaning supplies for the SRC. When students come in, they will see the addition of cleaning wipes where, before, we had the towels and spray bottles. The expectation will be that students wipe off the equipment they use before and after use,” O’Mahoney wrote in an email.

The SRC staff will also be sanitizing high touch stations and exercise and equipment within the facility.

O’Mahoney announced that the SRC will also be adding more sanitizing station for users.

Users of the SRC will be required to wear face masks, as there is a campus-wide mandate to wear them. If a student does not have a mask, the SRC can provide one, according to O’Mahoney.

Before attending the SRC, students must also complete the online self-screening available through the CSUB website.

Despite all these changes, O’Mahoney said the SRC will attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy.

Natalie Frieson, a CSUB student and criminal justice major would be excited to have the SRC reopen this semester.
“If the SRC reopens I’d love it. It is too hot for me to workout outside, and I don’t have a bike and that’s the best way for me to workout. I’m a very unmotivated person no matter how hard I try, and I have no room in my home, so at home exercising just doesn’t work for me,” Frieson wrote in a Facebook comment.

Frieson also finds the Fusion Go app’s reservation system useful.

“The one-hour reservation is perfect for me because I only spend about 30 minutes to an hour on exercise anyway when I’m there,” Frieson wrote.

Due to the restraints of CDC guidelines, O’Mahoney requested students limit their reservations to once a day.

“Students will be able to make a reservation to come to the facility up to 48 hours in advance and up to an hour before if there are spaces available,” O’Mahoney wrote. “Students will also be asked to cancel their reservation if they cannot make a reserved time.”

CSUB student and kinesiology major, Cristian Serrato believes the reservation system would not be a hindrance for everyone but would affect students who wish to use the SRC during impacted times such as evenings.

“The reservation system wouldn’t affect my decision,” Serrato wrote in a response on Facebook.

O’Mahoney remains hopeful that the SRC will reopen.

“We will be doing everything we can to mitigate the risk,” wrote O’Mahoney. “But students coming in will have to play their part too by complying with the policies we will have in place in order to keep our staff and everyone using the facility safe.”

CSUB students can still access the facility’s specialty courses, such as yoga, through the SRC’s Instagram page.
As of now, the timing of the SRC’s potential reopening is unknown.