Looking good for spring break is on a lot of minds here at the University. Working out at the Student Recreation Center, tanning and dieting are three preparations that students are making for their trips down south.

The number of students at the Rec is slowly increasing as the vacation draws closer.

During October, November and December, an average of 1,500 students went to the Rec per day. Catherine Swick, associate director at the Rec, said that the January daily average was 2,100.

“We are definitely at our peak season,” Swick said. She added that the daily average usually lowers after spring break.

One of the students who is part of the spring semester rush is Megan Donovan, a junior who is traveling to Panama City, Fla., over spring break.

“I’m here to just get toned up to look good in my bathing suit,” Donovan said. She wants to lose 20 pounds and is confident that she will meet her goal by the break.

Donovan has been working out at the Rec since the first day of spring semester. She hopes to continue working out after spring break, but she said she loses interest very easily.

In addition, she is trying to follow a low-carb diet and go tanning.

The health risks related to tanning do not affect her decision.

“I am concerned about skin cancer, but I don’t let that stop me since I have a package to tan every day of the year,” Donovan said.

The four weeks before spring break begin the busiest time of the year for Brian Fite, manager of Tanning Center on North Main Street.

“It goes from the slowest time to the busiest time. It’s drastic,” Fite said, adding that business has doubled since the beginning of January.

Fite explained that students tan because it “offers some protection from the real sun.” He added that tanning buys a little time before burning in the sun.

He said it will help students fit in a little better with already-bronzed locals.

Fite worries about misconceptions about tanning.

“Some feel that if they get a pre-tan, they won’t burn. You still have to be careful,” he said.

He advises that students protect themselves from burning and not overdo tanning.

Some students like Matt Reising, sophomore, and Anthony Rivera, senior, are preparing for long-distance trips out of the country.

They are traveling to Cancun and have been spending the spring semester working out.

Reising is hoping to lose weight, while Rivera wants to gain seven pounds.

Neither believes he will meet his goal by the time break begins, but both plan to come back to the Rec after break to meet their goals.

But not everyone at the Rec is working out for spring break.

Christy Johnson, sophomore, comes to the Rec year-round.

“There’s a lot of pressure to look good in a bathing suit for spring break,” Johnson said, and suggests that everyone work out more than just the first half of the spring semester.

“For one, you don’t have to work so hard – it’s good for you,” she said. “Two, you don’t have to worry as much later in life if you get into a routine now.”