Free facilities to trim the fat, hit the books and surf the web

For new students, Boston University’s mile-plus stretch along Commonwealth Avenue can often seem daunting. Figuring out what all the buildings are or where certain ones are located can lead to a concrete maze of uncertainty.

However, once ‘West’ and ‘South’ become more than just cardinal directions, students will find a plethora of facilities and resources in the many unfamiliar buildings.

RECREATIONAL

FACILITIES

Four main recreational facilities inhabit BU’s campus. Case Physical Education Center, located at 285 Babcock St. near West Campus, is the most popular among students, Warren Dexter, the Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance department director, said. Case has cardiovascular workout and weight rooms, tennis courts, swimming pools and aerobic and dance studios. Nickerson Field and Track, surrounded by West Campus dorms, is also part of Case’s general facilities.

The smallest of the recreational facilities, Sargent Gymnasium, is located at 1 University Rd. Sargent has one cardio and weight room along with a basketball court and dance studio. Both students and BU’s recreational programs heavily use this gym.

Located at 100 Ashford St., The Track and Tennis Center offers students a 200-meter six-lane indoor track, tennis and basketball courts, a golf range and aerobics space. Intercollegiate teams mostly use this facility, leaving limited hours for the general student population.

Finally, weather permitting, the Sailing and Kayaking Pavilion offers students a chance to enjoy the Charles River for recreation. The Pavilion is available to students who have purchased a sailing card and have passed a mandatory swim test.

All fitness facilities house a wide variety of equipment. Case Center, because of the great number of people that use the gym, is most likely to receive new equipment, Dexter said. Students can find a wide range of cardio equipment such as treadmills, rowing machines, recumbent bikes and steppers, along with free weights and weight machines.

Full-time students have complete access to recreational facilities during the hours they are open to the general student population. To use the facilities, students only need to show a valid student ID. Hours of availability vary for each location, but are online at www.bu.edu/perd.

LIBRARIES

Mugar Memorial Library, located at 771 Commonwealth Ave.., is BU’s main library. This six-floor building offers students a variety of research resources along with computer access and study areas.

Housed within Mugar, the African Studies Library is located on the sixth floor, Special Collections is on the fifth floor, the Music Library Listening Room is on the second floor and the Law Annex Library is located in the basement.

Schools and colleges within the university also offer students access to smaller, more specialized libraries around campus. They include the Pardee Management Library in the School of Management, the Pappas Law Library in the School of Law, the Beebe Communication Library located in the College of Communication, Pickering Educational Resources Library in the School of Education, the School of Theology Library in the School of Theology, the Science and Engineering Library located at 38 Cummington St. and the Stone Science Library in the College of Arts and Sciences.

COMPUTER LABS

Managed by the Office of Information Technology, BU provides students with four main public computer labs on campus that are available to the entire BU community.

The IT public personal computer lab, Scientific Computing and Visualization Lab and Personal Computing Support Center are all located at 111 Cummington St. just behind Warren Towers. Mugar Library also has a Public Terminal Center located on the third floor.

For students who may want to find a lab closer to home, 10 Buick St., Myles Standish Hall, South Campus, The Towers, Warren Towers and Rich Hall at West Campus all have residential computer labs.

All computer labs use Windows, have laser printers and many commonly used software programs, along with Ethernet access.

Wireless internet is offered in Mugar Memorial Library, the Science and Engineering Library, the West Campus Dining Facility, and the Pappas Law Library.

Students with an Academic Computing System account have access to all public computer labs. An ACS account also provides students access to e-mail and the internet. Student accounts will remain active as long as students are enrolled at BU.

To access a BU e-mail account from any computer, students can use Silkymail, BU’s web-based mail program accessible at www.bu.edu/webmail/silkymail.

Each ACS account has disk, mail and print quotas. Students can store up to 10 megabytes of incoming mail and have a $50 paper quota for printing material in computer labs. To check their quotas, students can go to www.bu.edu/phpbin/myacs/index.php, and BU will notify students via e-mail when their incoming mail quota goes over.

OFFICE OF

INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

Along with managing the public computer labs around campus, the Office of Information Technology, located at 111 Cummington St., offers a range of computing services.

IT provides students with the BU Campus Network a high-speed network that connects and links computers to the internet free tutorials, ACS accounts and University Computers.

Located near Barnes ‘ Noble at Boston University, University Computers sells and services computer hardware and offers software programs at prices reflecting educational discounts. For example, Microsoft Office costs about $75 with the discount.

For students needing assistance with Windows-based and Macintosh computers, the Personal Computing Support Center offers consulting, technical support, file recovery and assistance with other computer needs. Finally, IT’s Consulting Services is also available for help in all areas of computing.

Now that you know where to go to avoid the freshman fifteen, hit the books and use computers for downloading music or more academic ventures, be sure to take advantage of these and other resources BU has to offer. If only we knew of any cool parties that didn’t involve paying $5 for Bud Light, bad music and more sweaty people than a house can hold …