By Jambar Contributor
Jack Dawson
Youngstown State University has a lot of activities students might not know about, offering activities at the Butler Institute of American Art, the Adventure Rec and the Beeghly Natatorium.
Louis Zona, executive director and curator of the Butler, said the Butler is the first museum of American art in the country and was founded by Joseph G. Butler Jr.
The Butler has a permanent collection of approximately 22,000 pieces that the museum occasionally draws from for different exhibitions. The Butler also showcases artists around the country, Zona said.
The Butler institute is open every day except for Monday and is free to students and the public.
“You’ll notice there’s free admission here. We’re one of the few museums in the country that has a collection like ours that is free to the public. This was a dream that the founder had, so that even the poorest of families could enjoy the Butler,” Zona said.
Another offering for students is the YSU Adventure Rec. The Adventure Rec offers group training through activities like the high ropes course in the rec, clinics such as the escape room and various outdoor trips.
Recently, the Adventure Rec took students on white water rafting and backpacking trips. The next special event is an adventure photography clinic in the rec facility on Nov. 8th.
R.J. Markowitz, coordinator of adventure recreation for YSU, said anything students would need to go camping is available through the adventure rec resource center. Students can rent tents, backpacks, coolers, camp stoves, camp chairs and other such equipment.
Decent tents and backpacks can cost upwards of $400, but the adventure rec rents these items to students for a few dollars a night, Markowitz said.
“It’s a good way to make sure gear is available and affordable for students,” Markowitz said. “Our overarching goal is to get students interested in the outdoors, and we hope that making these items affordable gets more students involved.”
YSU has an Olympic-sized swimming facility on campus. The pool is in the Beeghly Center and is available for use during open swim hours by students and faculty.
Ryan Purdy, the head swimming and diving coach at YSU, said the pool is a great facility to have on campus and there are plans to update it later this year.
“The plan is to put a $2 million renovation into the pool in March,” Purdy said.
