To kick off the start of the spring semester, NEIU Campus Recreation hosted its third annual Rec Day at the P.E. Complex on Wednesday, Feb. 19. With more than 70 students attending, the event hosted open workouts, raffle tickets, volleyball games, dance, music, food, student organization and departmental kiosks and much more.
This event was organized with the intention of attracting more students and community members to visit the P.E. Complex. “National Rec Day is hosted every year on Feb. 22,” Hiba Salman, graduate assistant and event organizer, said. “However, due to this year’s Rec Day falling on a Saturday, we felt it was best to host the event a few days earlier in the middle of the week, while students were still on campus.” Rec Day began with E-games and a boot camp class that was instructed by the fitness graduate assistant Wayne Hayer and plyometric instructor, Keontaye Mack.
Many students took this event as an opportunity to relax and wind down from their busy schedules. One student anticipated excitement for the event. “As a student, I just don’t want to go to class and go home,” Husnara Yusuf, a computer science major, said. “These events add color to our day.”
Rec Day serves as a tool for students to get the resources they need in terms of physical activity on campus. Students are able to find information such as the types of fitness classes the P.E. complex offers and schedules. One example that the facility schedules is personal training.
National Rec Day was founded by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) on Feb. 22, 1999, during the 49th anniversary of the organization’s inception. In just three years, NEIU’s Rec Day has seen a steady increase in attendance. Outside of the National Rec Day event, NEIU’s Campus Recreation facility hosts weekly fitness classes available to all students for free. Also, it offers community, staff, faculty and alumni memberships to nonstudents.
