Whether it’s jogging the lakes or bench pressing at the UREC Student Recreation Complex, students’ healthy habits have landed the University the No. 2 spot on Newsweek magazine’s Healthiest Colleges list.
The publication’s annual list of rankings has been split into 25 different categories for the past two years, and the University’s only appearance this year was on the health list.
Newsweek collected data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the College Board and other sources to formulate the rankings.
Criteria used to rank schools included many different areas of health. The University’s athletic facilities ranked high with 96 percent of students polled saying facilities are “top-notch.”
Tori Brens, pre-physical therapy freshman, is one of many students who takes advantage of the variety of activities the UREC offers.
“The first time I went, I played racquetball, volleyball, ping pong and climbed the rock wall,” Brens said.
The UREC aims to offer programs that fit different students’ preferences and lifestyles, said Lacee Breeden, healthy lifestyles coordinator at the UREC.
“Anybody who comes through [the UREC] notices the large amount of participation,” said Scott Belanger, assistant director of marketing at the UREC. “That number shows how much students care about their