Boats available at Baw Beese for student use

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Boats available at Baw Beese for student use

Baw Beese kayak

Kayaks and paddleboards are now available for students to use at Baw Beese Lake.

This summer, Campus Recreation purchased three kayaks and three stand-up paddle boards along with life jackets and paddles. Maintenance also constructed a dock to help with boarding and unboarding.

“We were looking for an opportunity to utilize Baw Beese more and get the students out there, and they came up with the idea of kayaks and paddleboards,” Campus Recreation Co-Director senior Rachael Hille said.

Campus Rec discussed this purchase for a while, Student Activities Director Anthony Manno said. The organization, however, lacked the funds to see its completion.

Last spring, Hille and senior Jeff Meyers, the other co-director of Campus Rec, presented their idea to Student Federation, which approved funds for the proposal in March.

The Hillsdale Country Club permitted Zone Maintenance Technician Mark Schulte and HVAC-Environmental Control Specialist Mark Zimmerman to install a dock specifically for the watersports.

To check out the equipment, students exchange their student IDs at the Grewcock Student Union’s front desk. The monitor on duty will provide paddles to students, who can find the kayaks and paddleboards on racks at the lakeside. To obtain access to Campus Rec bikes, pool cues, and other amenities, students go through a similar process.

“It’s very convenient to only have to transport the paddles when you have a small car,” junior Kat Torres said.

Those who have already used the new equipment are happy to have the opportunity.

“It’s enjoyable,” Torres said. “It gives you a good arm workout, but it’s also chill.”

According to junior Greg Rybka, who works in Grewcock, students often check out all of the equipment quickly on nice days and weekends.

The goal of Campus Rec is to keep students entertained and energized.

“I want to create a community that wants to be active, to do things with recreation,” Manno said.

Hille agrees.

“I could foresee us discussing maybe a few more or what the next step would be to continue to encourage the use of Baw Beese,” Hille said, “especially now that we have purchased a dock at the country club.”

The docks, however, are only open for use until Oct. 1 when cooler temperatures take over.