CREDIT: KERRA SEAY
Melanie White, as well as 71 other paramedic students, or 97 per cent of the first and second year paramedic program at Fanshawe, have signed a petition asking for change to their mandatory gym membership.

Countless programs at Fanshawe College, including the Paramedic program, include mandatory fitness requirements in order to pass the program.

Unfortunately, due to the construction of the new fitness and wellness centre to come in January of 2017, paramedic students are finding the transitional space the gym is in is not providing them with adequate facilities to train.

“Right now it looks like 100 per cent of paramedic students in the first and second year programs are unsatisfied with the current gym,” said Melanie White, a second-year paramedic student. “Because of our mandatory fitness requirement pass/fail exams… we don't think we have access to adequate facilities.”

White is the class representative and has been petitioning for change since September. So far she has managed to get 71 signatures out of the 73 students in the first and second year paramedic program.

The problem, in White's eyes, is not just a single problem, but a plethora of issues.

“They took out the squash courts which a lot of the students used last year, there is just not enough space, you have equipment not being used, but you can't use it because of the piece beside you,” White said.

Another problem she brought up is the issue of squatting, which is a huge component of their fitness testing, as the provincial lifting standard for paramedics is to be able to properly lift 210 pounds, plus the added weight of the stretcher, twice

“The [squatting machine] is unfortunately always taken up, it's hard to find time to actually use it.”

According to White, their program does have a weekly gym class, but that still is not enough.

“It's not like we get to rent out the equipment, we can't use the equipment that is being used by other students,” White said. “It's frustrating.”

According to Mark Hunter, the chair of the Fanshawe School of Public Safety who is also responsible for the Paramedic program, he wants to do everything possible to make sure the students have a successful and positive experience.

“We pride ourselves in giving the students the best experience possible here at Fanshawe, the Paramedic program is one of the most popular in the province, everything is happening for a good reason with good intended outcomes.”

And as for the problems with the size of the gym, he said that square footage is the same.

“My understanding is that we have approximately the same square footage that we had before, it looks terrible, but the equipment the students need is still there with the same square footage.”

Hunter knew from the moment the construction began in the summer of 2015 that there would be temporary annoyances, but for an overall good cause.

“While they are making the centre better, we have to work through the inconveniences of a construction project, but if there are things we can do to make the [transitional period] better let's have those conversations.”

As for suggestions on how to solve this problem, White put forward a few ideas.

“I think it would be great if the college could offer some sort of outsourcing, maybe pay for another membership in the city, just because there is such an interest in it,” White said.

But according to Paul Masse, the business manager for the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU), this just isn't a feasible solution.

“With a universal [fee] there isn't an option of an opt out, a reduced fee wouldn't be able to exist without it… you can't have an opt out when you have a universal fee because it's a subsidized fee.”

Currently, students enrolled in a program with a mandatory fitness component are paying $86.52 per semester, or $173.04 per year.

“The reason the mandatory fees are in place and how they arrived at them are not punitive to any means at all, it's to ensure that those students can meet those rigorous requirements,” Hunter said.

And according to Masse, this years' fees are the same as last years' before the gym was put under construction.

“The Paramedic students think they are being treated unfairly by having to pay the same mandatory gym fees for a facility that has less equipment and less space than in the past,” White said in a release to FSU president Alan Bushell.

With the right conversation with the right people, Masse believes this problem can be dealt with promptly.

“I hope that the operational concerns have been brought forward to the manager of the fitness centre and their academic co-ordinators … because maybe there are simple fixes.”

And for the time being, the paramedic students hope that their complaints are brought forward as their fitness exams are a pass or a fail and if they fail, they are kicked out of the program. Without adequate facilities to train in, it makes practicing for the exam difficult.

“We recognize that in the future there will be a wonderful facility,” White said. “But for the students who are currently in the program, we don't think that using this gym is going to help us make the [physical] requirements in the class.”