Carmichael Complex may have a room for women’s-only hours for Fall 2008, according to Dawn Sanner, director of facilities and operations for Carmichael.

“[The room] will be a space where women’s-only hours will be held between three and four days per week during prime time,” Sanner said in an e-mail. “The goal is to have a certified personal trainer during the hours to provide instruction for those who want it.”

According to the e-mail, the Recreational Sports Board of Directors brought the idea to Sanner’s attention a year and a half ago.

“The purpose of the idea was to serve all women who may feel intimidated by the environment in the gym and want some extra instruction on how to get started,” she said. “Until the Rec Center was built, there really wasn’t a good way to do women’s-only hours since we had so little space.”

Shannon Johnson, director of the Women’s Center, said that although no one has expressed concern about this issue to the Women’s Center yet, she feels that women’s-only gym hours “is definitely something worth talking about and considering.”

While she said she has a clear understanding of why it might be important to Muslim women to be able to work out without the presence of men, she also feels that it would be empowering to a broader base of women.

“I have heard female students complain about having big, burly men at the weights next to them and also about not necessarily understanding how to operate the equipment in the gym,” Johnson said. “Having some time for women only might encourage them to learn how to use the weights and the equipment without feeling stupid.”

Modesty in Islam incorporates not only dress but also how a person speaks and behaves, according to Sarah Oraby, president of the Muslim Student Association.

She said that it’s common for Muslim women to feel uncomfortable working out in front of men because the types of movement, especially vigorous exercise motions, are not perceived as modest behavior.

“I have heard specific complaints about the gym for this reason, but not a drastic amount,” said Oraby. “I do know, however, that the pool is a common complaint and it would be a great privilege to have pool hours for only women. It would be extremely beneficial for the women of Islamic faith who choose to cover as far as being comfortable and more motivated to work out.”

Johnson said that she thinks there is value in discussing the issue and doing a needs assessment to examine it further, because the student body is 44 percent women and in conjunction with the Muslim women’s concerns, it could be empowering to all women.

“The Women’s Center would certainly work with concerned students in an advocacy role on this issue and we have, in fact, already started some dialogue in the last year or two with campus recreation about having more women’s-only activities,” she said.

Robin Dodsworth, a language and gender professor, said she can appreciate the complications that arise when you have different cultures with different norms together, but she feels it would be beneficial to broader base of women than only Muslim students.

“The problem is not just about the gym,” Dodsworth said. “The best answer is not necessarily to have women’s-only gym hours. That might be a Band-Aid on the situation and not that helpful for the long term because it doesn’t get to the root of the issue.”

While Dodsworth said she thinks women are intimidated at the gym, she does not necessarily think the answer is to have women’s-only gym hours because there might be other solutions that would not interfere with mens’ activities.