1980_05 The Daily Collegian May 1980

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Rec student proposes
campus Vita Course
by Glenn Haller
You've probably seen them. Little
green signs with swoat-suil^d people
doing push-ups or twisting their bodies
on them.
If you have, you've seen what's known
as a Vita Course, an unstructured
recreational running course which has a
variety of exercise stations. By using
such a course, one can exercise the
whole body.
Chances are good that CSUF will have
its own Vita Course within s year, due
mostly to the work of Diana Cozzi. The
course must first meet the approval of
the Fresno Planning Commission and be
awarded funding by the Associated
Student Senate.
Cozzi, a recreation intern, started to
work on the course because ahe sees
problems with people being able to ex¬
ercise as funding for recreational
programs decrease.
"This is something which is always
there, and it doesn't coat anything for
people to use,* said Cozzi.
When finished, the course will consist
of 16 stations, be about a mile long and
start and finish near the residence
cafeteria. With this atart/funsh area,
Cozzi said that the course can be ex¬
tended later to two miles.
But the process of getting the course
even to its present stage, which has been
done almost entirely by Cozzi, has been
long and at times frustrating.
Cozzi has gone through two deans and
CSUF president Harold Haak, only to be
redirected to someone else-somotimes
the person who had directed her there In
the first place. She also had to go to the
Student Senate and the Alumni Assoc—-
tion to try to get funding for the pro¬
ject. She was even getting the help of a
park design to class, but she found it
diffucult to get anything done, and went
back to work on her own design.
The person she worked closest with is
Jerry Senatore, an employee of Lue
Hatch and Associates, suppliers of the
materials for the course. Lue Hatch and
Associates is currently planning three
similar courses in Roeding Park.
Through Senators, Cozzi picked the
types of exercises to be used in CSUF's
course, including the path that would
be taken. She also had to arrange
the order of the exercise stations so that
a person will not get 'burned out" before
he finishes the course.
Starting on the south end of the resi¬
dence cafeteria with jumping jacks,
the course moves to the east end for toe
touching. Each station ia at least 100
feet from another, said Cozzi.
The third station is at the southwest
corner of the library where one will
do leg stretching. Number four is on the
northwest corner for arm stretching.
Then it's chin-ups at the bars south of
the women's gym. Moving between the
track and —en's gym, station six is calf
muscle step ups.
To the north of the track, station seven
involves trunk bends. Then on to the
junior varsity baseball diamond for
jumping reachers.
The course continues along Barstow
Avenue until station nine for body
swings. Then it's time to swing on rings
just in front of the men's gym entrance.
Station 10, sit-ups, is north of the men's
gym.
The course winds back through the
men's gym-track gap to the tennis
courts where one will encounter station
12, push-ups, and 13, arm swings.
Finishing up, one does leg hops near the
softball diamond, then puts in his final
exercise with the parallel bars.
The course requires a sign at each
station which will give instructions on
how to perform each exercise, and the
number of times it should be performed.
Six structures will also need to be con¬
structed, at stations, 6, 10, 11, 12, Mand
16.
The cost comes to (2,880.
Where the money Is going to come
from is still undecided. However, the
Senate's Budget and Finance Com¬
mittee has approved the expenditure,
and it goes to the full Senate Tuesday.
Then May 16, the proposal must be
accepted by the Planning Commission.
Once that is done and the needed mater¬
ials are ordered it will take about four
weeks to get the materials and only three
or four days to put the course up.
"It looks like it won't happen until
late this summer," said Cozzi. 'I'd like
to get it in before school starts."
B A 18 TOW.  AVE
The proposed VHa course for the CSUF
Photo by George Aguirre
Campus should provide leisure program
What is the purpose of this university?
Is it to provide opportunities for stu¬
dents to broaden their academic hori¬
zons?
Is it a time filler between adolescence
and adulthood?
Could it be a place where people
simply gather to generate FTE?
Is it a place where individuals learn
about themselves, society and the
world?
It is all of these and none of these,
depending on who is asking and answer¬
ing the question. Academic types would
focus on the horizon-broadening aspect
of the issue as it provides students with a
solid foundation from which to generate
thoughts, concepts and answers.
The administration might look at both
the student and FTE at the same time,
realizing that without the student, there
would be no university.
The student looks at it from tha most
important viewpoint. If the university
does not meet nis or her needs, every¬
body loses.
This argument often brings up a point
that has concerned me for some time.'
What good will this learning process do
if the studont drops dead of body failure
at age forty.
How many promising futures or life
saving procedures have been lost to soc-
Inside on
Outdoors
byAndyHoff
ie ty due to the early death of their found¬
ers?
Still, the universities and the educa¬
tional systems in general seem to be
disregarding the vital side of life. People
are no longer living to work, they are
working to live. They have found that it
if those things done outaide of the job
that gives purpose and mnanmg to life. It
ia these things that make life worth
living I Without doubt, there would be no
"good life', without the job, The to* in
life is to have both.
We all seek free time or escape time;
any time to ourselves or our friends.
While no society can exist on the leisure
ethic alone, this aspect of life can and
should be a part of everyone's existence.
In fact, our forefather's included a
phrase that speaks to this very issue.
We sre guaranteed the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Somehow, this whole concept is not very
high on the list of university academ¬
ic)——. ———tag a living ia impot—nt.
However, learning how to live ia equally
important.
I believe that the university curri¬
culum shot—1 include some sort of lei¬
sure education program that would
provide a sound basis for people to draw
from during their non-working hours and
their retirement years. Enjoying life
does not end at retirement, it only
begins.
Give the other side of life some
thought. Use at least some part of your
coUegeWetopnmdeyoureeUwithBome
leisure tools. All work and no play may
be a cl-he, but it's true.