While students are under more scrutiny about gym attire, athletic center workers are also feeling the pressure.

“We, as employees, are being put in a very difficult position,” said an anonymous athletic center worker. “Standing up for something I don’t necessarily believe in is going to be difficult. I wouldn’t like to be told I can’t enter the gym because of what I am wearing.”

Gym-goers aren’t the only ones facing a T-shirt rule at the fitness centers. Student employees are required to wear yellow T-shirts, provided by the Fitness Center, so that they are recognizable to those students working out. Workers used to wear whatever they walked into work with.

“They’re bright yellow because blue and gold are our colors, so they stand out,” Fitness Coordinator Scott Walker said. “We want to make sure that our students stand out. That way if somebody has a problem or an issue, they can go to the correct people and get those answers.”

Another change Fitness Center student employees need to become acquainted with is the ban on laptops and cellphones. According to Walker and Associate Athletic Director of Fitness Tami Reilly, the technology creates a distraction and prevents workers from doing their jobs.

“With the laptops, when people have laptops out, they are really focused on what’s on the screen,” Reilly said. “They’re either doing homework, which I know they’re students and they have to do homework, but they were so focused on what was on the screen that if I came up, their boss came up, and said ‘hey, can someone do this?’ people weren’t even listening to me. They couldn’t hear me because they were so focused on their screen.”

Reilly and Walker hope that these new regulations will make the gym not only more professional, but a better experience for all students coming and going from the building, as well.

“Every tour that goes through walks through our area,” Reilly said. “So we really wanted to make sure that we looked professional, acted professional, and, with that being said, we’re providing our student employees skills that they’re going to use in the real world.”

Along with the changes for staff come modifications to the setup of the Mount Carmel Fitness Center. With a fresh coat of paint and some remodeling, the gym has become more user-friendly. By removing a few machines and rearranging the remaining ones, the Fitness Center has created a more comfortable environment for its users.

“We’re recreation, so we want people to be inviting, to feel invited, to feel welcome, because this is for everybody,” Walker said. “It’s not just for athletes. It’s not just for the gung-ho gym goer. We want everybody to come.”