HPER rule bans outside materials

The School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation has effectively placed a ban on all backpacks and other materials not required for a class in any space that is used for physical activity.\nAn activity safety space policy has been in place for several years, but with the recent lack of enforcement from the school's associate instructors, HPER is cracking down.\nHPER staff members visited all affected classes Wednesday, telling students that if bags are found in the future they will be taken and placed into the school's lost and found. The policy applies to Recreational Sports activities in the HPER as well.\nThe HPER will require students to keep their bags in day storage lockers or in the locker room. But forcing students to use the lockers may end up causing "operation problems," Martial Arts Coordinator Patrick Kelly said, as time may be lost from classes while students find a locker. Several students also questioned the availability of lockers at peak class times. The HPER features more than 300 day storage lockers.\n"Students bring in bags on a daily basis," Kelly said. "I'm not sure if they're a safety hazard, but I can see why people would be concerned about theft."\nDirector of Programs Services and Facilities Larry Patrick cited three primary reasons for the implementation: safety, theft and upkeep. \nThough Patrick said no student has been severely hurt because of bags or other foreign objects, he said liability is always an issue. Patrick also cited arrests made at the HPER building involving students walking around with garbage bags collecting anything of value they choose. Leather coats, wallets and other items have all been reported stolen from the HPER in the past, sometimes amounting to more than $400 dollars.\nThe final reason for the enforcement change is the upkeep of the playing surfaces. Wear and tear in the HPER generally results in roughly $20 to $30,000 in maintenance for the floor's finish, Patrick said. The finish damage usually results from wet items such as shoes left on the HPER floors.\nAccording to the policy, students will now have three options for storing their items. Students can purchase their own lock and secure their items in the HPER's day storage locker. They can purchase a $5 dollar lock from the recreational Sports Member Services Station and use the day storage lockers, or students can use a regular rental locker in the HPER locker rooms.\n"I know they put new lockers by the fieldhouse," said judo student and senior Heidi Seidel. "And they can maybe fit people with a few things, but I'm sure there will be people whose bags won't fit in there."\nThe new restrictions are being received with mixed reviews as some recognize the need for safety and to prevent theft, but they don't seem to be sweeping problems.\n"I think (the policy) is necessary in some rooms and unnecessary in others," Kelly said. "I think it should be on a class to class basis."\nHPER staff will begin the enforcement fully by next week, gathering any item found on activity floors during classes or Recreational Sports.\n"I'm not going to change my ways at all," Seidel said. "I'm going to bring my bag to the classroom because my teacher hasn't had a problem with it all year."\n-- Contact staff writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.