By Diego Ruiz

With the opening of the Leonard Center, the Turck-Out era has come to a close.Macalester closed the work out room on the first floor of Turck Hall and removed the exercise equipment over the past several weeks. The space will be turned into a lounge for this year.

Jim Hoppe, the Dean of Students, said that there was a general assumption that the college would close the exercise room with the arrival of the Leonard Center. He said there was “no need for two exercise spaces,” and that maintaining both would require too much staff.

“We have a brand-new facility two blocks away,” Hoppe said.

Macalester has donated the exercise equipment formerly in the room to the College of Saint

Catherine, Hoppe said.

The new lounge will open in the coming weeks, after a very thorough cleaning. It will have a piano and ping-pong table, which are currently stowed in the Doty basement, and other furniture not currently in use.

Joe Kaufman, Residence Hall Director for Doty-Turck, said that Res. Life won’t be investing any new money in the lounge, but he hopes that residents of both Doty and Turck will still use it as a gathering place.

“I want to make it as welcoming a place as it can be,” Kaufman said.

Beyond this year, it’s not determined what will become of the old work out room.

“It could be student organization space, or office space, or something we haven’t thought of yet,” Hoppe said.

A new Space Use Committee will decide what to do with the room beginning next year. The committee will consist of two staff members and two student government representatives who have not yet been identified. Chris Baxter, Assistant Director of the Campus Center, will chair the committee.

Many Turck residents were excited about the new lounge as a space for the whole hall, especially for the addition of a piano. However, many expressed disappointment at the loss of the work out room in their building.

“I think the Leonard Center is awesome, but it’s going to be a lot harder to go when it’s to twenty below,” Elle Schalow ’12, said.