Maddix Cradlebaugh | Student Life

Washington University’s Sumers Recreation Center is now requiring gym-goers to wear disposable wristbands on random days inside the facility to address mounting security concerns. The initiative went into effect as of March 25. 

Over the past few months the facility has dealt with numerous instances of individuals unaffiliated with the university sneaking in and making use of their recreational spaces and equipment without permission. 

“We’re fortunate to have such a heavily utilized facility that supports the healthy excellence of our WashU community,” said Bryan Lenz, Senior Associate Athletic Director of Recreation.  “Our merged, multi-purpose Athletic Complex and Sumers Rec Center is a bit of a labyrinth with many exterior doors, which creates some access control challenges for us.” 

According to a Recreation Center employee, there are 33 entrance points into the Recreation Center. This serves as a major obstacle for efforts to parole the doors and control visitor entry and exit.

“People are tailgating after our student athletes who are coming in through one door. People are holding doors open for people [who are unaffiliated with the university],” said Meghann Feely, WashU’s Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness.  

Feely said that although WashU is “in St. Louis and for St. Louis,” visitor entry without permission is beginning to have an impact on students who wish to use the facility. 

“If you are a student who wants to play three on three basketball and your court is taken up by people who snuck in, you are not going to have the chance to play,” Feely said.

Lenz acknowledged Sumers recreation’s small size compared to the number of users, and how that can lead to longer wait times for basketball courts at night. He hopes that the wristbands can be “useful in that space.”

According to an employee, over 1000 of the colorful paper bands are distributed each day they are used by the Recreation Center. Yet, according to student workers it is still unclear on which particular days the policy will be enacted: “Originally, they [management team] said it was just going to be on Sundays. Then, this past week, they did it Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening,” said one employee.

The wristband policy is not completely new to the facility, with a similar policy implemented during modified COVID operations in 2020–2021.  But Lenz said that students and members have been accommodating to the wristbands, particularly when they understand the rationale why: “to enhance the equity and security of the facility,” he said.  

Lenz said that going forward, “wristbands are something we’ll use semi-consistently through the end of the semester and then re-evaluate.” He  said that right now it has not “been a hassle,” but “a useful mechanism for managing our highly sought after facilities and programming.”

But for one student employee, who chose to remain anonymous, the policy has created added “stress for staff and irritation for some guests.” 

“People are making comments — like, this is so dumb,” said the employee. “I’m sitting there just trying to do my job.”

Editor-in-Chief Clara Richards and Managing News Editor Avi Holzman also contributed to the reporting of this article.