Rough Speech Outline

Title: Fitness East Should be Open on Weekends

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this speech is to convince the audience that Fitness East should be open on weekends, and lay out a plan that could be implemented to make that change.

Thesis Statement: Fitness East should be open on the weekends

Introduction: Fitness East should be open on the weekends

-       A 2008 study on why college students do not exercise showed that out of 1,044 people, 88 percent said that one of the major reasons they would start to work out would be “better facility location”

-       The recreation center is a 14 minute walk.  Fitness East is only a 6 minute walk

-       Burge, Courier, and Catlett’s population all apply to this (2,638 People) (issue for a lot of people)

-       For me and many other students, I have the most time to work out on the weekends.

-       The inconvenience of going to the rec makes me  not want to go, and it ends up being a waste of valuable exercise time.

-       I end up skipping workouts on weekends

Main Point One: Location

-       The rec center is 0.6 miles away from major dorms (Catlett, Burge, Courier)

-       Fitness East is 0.2 miles away from major dorms (1/3 the distance)

-       More people could utilize the extra time on weekends to work out and become healthier

Main Point Two: Weather

-       Iowa has brutal winters

-       Over 50 percent of college students nationwide have no cars, and walking is the best option

-       For these dorm students, fitness East is a much closer walk, so they can avoid discomfort

Solution:

-       Of the 2,638 students who are affected by Fitness East being closed on weekends, many may  be willing to sign a petition to have them stay open on weekends. This petition could then be sent to Shea McMurry, the assistant director of Fitness East and the CRWC.  With enough signatures, this petition could have enough leverage to convince Fitness East to stay open on the weekends. I could also get students involved by using the student government, who have a considerable amount of leverage on campus. If I proposed this idea to them, they could help to make the petition more official, and could formally lobby for the change. 

Counter Arguments:

-       Why not go to the CRWC? – 3x as far, cold outside, uncomfortable

-       Why not rest over the whole weekend? – I personally work out at the same time each day, so my routine would be messed up, and motivation could potentially be lost.
a- Fitness East would have to spend more money to keep it open on weekends- But that would create more jobs for the Iowa City community 

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Sources: https://housing.uiowa.edu/residence-halls/burge-hall  (for student populations in the dorms)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290325953_Motivations_and_barriers_to_exercise_among_college_students (reasons why students do not exercise)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2018-03-06/11-national-universities-where-students-rarely-bring-cars (cars)