University of Virginia Library

Closing Time

It is 11 p.m. on Friday night. You have just
finished a week of studying, going to classes,
and killing time; you have nothing else to do;
and you know you need exercise. So you grab
your basketball and head down to Memorial
Gym, show your I.D. to a surprised-looking
doorkeeper, and walk on the court. Just as you
are taking your first jump shot, the lights go
out.

By the time the ball has hit the floor, the
gym has closed, and you are standing outside
with nowhere to go. Unless you do not mind
playing on an unlighted outdoor court, you
can put your ball back in your closet.

Most who have entered the foyer of the
gym have seen the Athletic Department's
proud sign with the words of the Founder on
the subject of physical health. But students'
need for recreation apparently stops precisely
at 11 p.m. on weekend nights. It waits until 1
a.m. to stop on the other nights of the week,
but the next morning's classes do have a habit
of cropping up at the most unexpected times,
like the next morning. So a little physical
health on weeknights must perforce be
sacrificed in favor of a little mental health on
weekdays.

But on Friday night, the beginning of the
weekend, it is strange that the gymnasium
shuts up tight so early. Surely, it cannot be a
question of finding someone to stay on duty:
doubtless the Athletic Department or the
Office of Financial Aid can locate an
interested student. Surely it cannot be a
question of paying the heat and light bills.

So it must be a lack of interest. We will
grant that this conclusion is hard to reach,
especially at 10:45 when every basket is in
use and there are others waiting. It is not
much easier to reach at 10:55, when every
basket is in use, but no one is waiting. It is
only a little easier to reach at 10:59, when
only a couple of baskets are still in use.

Where did they all go in fifteen minutes?
Possibly it is the opinion of the Athletic
Department that they unanimously concurred
that it was time to stop, that the day ends at
11 p.m. But no. They left because the gym
closes at 11. But why does the gym close at
11? Because everybody leaves.

There is not much use in trying to find
another place to play: the University Hall
Cage is closed, and the non-lighting at the
outdoor courts in the Dell is such that if you
look hard, you can almost see the ball. A
gymnasium is meant to be used, and when the
would-be athlete stands outside shaking the
locked door and watching how the darkened
windows reflect the traffic lights, then it is
not serving its purpose.

We can readily understand the Athletic
Department's unwillingness to keep the
building open for just two or three students.
Past experience, though, and a quick estimate
based on the present size of the University,
convince us that the crowd size at 11:30 or
12:30 on weekend nights would not be any
smaller than it is at 10:30.

The circular logic for closing the gym early
can only be broken by experimentally
keeping it open. Athletic Director Eugene F.
Corrigan has told us that if there are enough
students who would like to use Memorial
Gym, the Athletic Department will be glad to
keep it open. But the students must show
they want to use it. So if you like to loosen
up on weekend nights, write or phone the
Athletic Department. Better yet, be at the
gym at 11 p.m. Friday night. There's no
telling what could happen.