In response to the increased difficulty of adding into their required classes, many
students are focusing on a different priority this semester -- health.

With SF State's increasing budget cuts, there has been an increasing amount of students enrolling in dance, yoga, pilates and other fitness classes in order to fulfill their full-time or part-time statuses for financial aid or just to achieve peace of mind in the midst of this scheduling mess.

In a July email to students, SF State president Robert Corrigan stated that this year, the
California State University system would be taking a $584 million budget cut, delaying
the class schedule. The budget cut lead to a 20 percent raise in student fees, making it
harder for students to pay for classes themselves. When the class schedule finally
debuted on July 24th, nearly 500 classes had been cut, leaving many students
scrambling to fill in the units that they need to uphold their financial aid or international student visa commitments.

"I didn't initially think of sports until one of my classes were cancelled," said Maffy Kelly, a 20-year-old Public Relations senior. Kelly is currently enrolled in an aerobic step class and a low impact aerobic class through the Kinesiology department to make up the units she lost when her Brand Management class was cancelled.

"There were heaps of students trying to crash," said Kelly, who is an exchange student from Australia and must maintain at least 12 units in order to stay in the United States. "[The instructor] had to stop letting people in because she ran out of permit numbers. It's quite a large class at the moment."

Students aren't only adding to fitness classes for units: many students are also adding into non-credit aerobic classes in the Recreation Department just to pass the time or to get healthy.

"Last semester was the first semester we added more fitness programs. We have more yoga, core classes, cardio classes, etc," said Marc Barrie, the Fitness and Wellness Coordinator for the Campus Recreation Department at SF State. "This semester, we've seen double and triple the amount of students enrolling. Last semester, we had classes with around 6 to 16 students; now, we have 15 to 30 students in a class. We're glad to see it."

Enrolling in fitness classes may not only serve as an easy solution to many students' schedule stress, but as a smart choice too. Fitness classes fill up units without adding to their homework load after school, and having an aerobics class guarantees a weekly workout schedule that can benefit their physical health.

"I do work out regularly," says Adriane Underwood, an Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice major. "I don't have money for a gym so I come here when I have a break between classes." Underwood said she didn't have quite as much trouble getting classes this semester, but with graduation looming closer, she uses fitness to keep herself calm. "There's a possibility that I'm not going to graduate on time and it's very stressful," said Underwood. "The pool is really soothing."

Taking a fitness class in addition to an academic course load has had its benefits. "I'm happy with how it all turned out," said Kelly. "It forces me to exercise. Back home, I didn't exercise very much, but after the first week, it really motivated me to work. Australia doesn't offer sports so it's interesting to take it as something that works toward you."

"Physical performance and mental health is all one connected organ," said Barrie. "Understanding your physical performance allows you to get more done and that will reduce stress. If you can prioritize your performance and have a healthly outlet, the difference is night and day."

In order to find out more about SF State's fitness schedule, and how you can reduce stress between classes, you can go to www.sfsu.edu/~recsport or visit the Student Health Center.