The Stepping Stone of Physical Education: OACS Rock Climbing

Learning how to balance one’s physical health with one’s intellectual health is a very important subject — and now more than ever. However, where the life of a college student is concerned, this can be very difficult due to the tendency to place a much bigger emphasis on intelligence and mental well-being. There is often very little to no time to focus on physical health. However, if you are actively looking for something to provide an outlet for physical exercise, Outdoor Adventure and Community Service might have just the thing. 

On Saturday, March 2, the organization is taking a trip to the Ascend climbing gymnasium in Pittsburgh to go indoor rock climbing. Transportation will be readily provided from campus and admission is fairly inexpensive.

“If you’re already in OACS then you don’t have a charge, however, if you’re not, it’s a $5 charge, and you just have to go up to Chambers and ask about the Ascend rock climbing trip and they’ll give you the form, you fill out all your information, and you pay there,” said OACS vice president Tyler Sonnay.

Sonnay has been with OACS since his freshman year and has been the vice president of the organization since last semester. He was in full agreement when it came to discussing the importance of the rock climbing trip.

“I think rock climbing can be very important towards physical health because of how it engages your whole body. It’s just a nice, easy way to exercise your entire body rather than going to the gym every week if you don’t have the time to do that,” Sonnay said. 

The idea for the trip came about through determining its popularity with others when it was initially suggested, which is part of the typical methods OACS uses to schedule events.

“A lot of the ways we usually come up with events is just trying to gauge interests between different people; for this one, specifically, one of our members mentioned rock climbing last semester, so Brian had looked into places around Pittsburgh and we saw that Ascend was close by, and we mentioned it to other people and they were all very interested in it, and that’s how we decided to set the trip up,” Sonnay said.

Brian Root is the faculty adviser for OACS. He has been fulfilling the position of adviser for over a decade now. This, of course, is coinciding with the other responsibilities he takes on while on campus. 

“My official title is the Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life, so that’s really my role here at the university. And that’s how I assume my responsibilities for the OACS because it’s not just a club, it’s also mainly a living community within the residence halls. I also advise Circle K and Habitat for Humanities,” Root said.

Root praised OACS as one of the most exciting and unique clubs on campus. This is mainly because of its emphasis on frequent outings and outdoor activities — with the White Water Rafting trip at the end of the semester having been the most popular every school year.

“I think that the Ascend rock climbing trip will be fun for the students too, though, since we’ve already had very warm reception toward it,” Root said.
If you would like to meet or talk with Brian Root, he is available by appointment at his office in Chambers 213 and by email at bkr5@pitt.edu. Tyler Sonnay can be contacted at tls132@pitt.edu.