“They’ve been one of the greatest social events of my year,” Ms. Rosuck, 19, said of the spin classes, which she calls “a party on a bike.” Ms. Rosuck, who says that she arrives 15 minutes early to hang out and that most students do the same, added, “It’s nice because it’s a place to go where people are concerned about having a healthy mind and body rather than just drinking all the time.” Cyc, which promotes itself as the place to have “a social active life,” is hardly the first boutique fitness company to tout its festive atmosphere. But the brand, which opened studios last fall in Austin and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is the first to explicitly target college students, a demographic more traditionally associated with sleeping through a class than sweating through one. Three more studios are scheduled to open in the next nine months, including one near New York University, said Cyc’s chief executive, Stephen Nitkin. Mr. Nitkin, a founder of Marquis Jet, a private jet access card company (since acquired by Warren Buffett’s NetJets), said students today are more health conscious and sophisticated, and may have parents who spin. The moment that inspired Mr. Nitkin to start Cyc is telling: when an influx of college students on winter break in 2011 locked him and his friends out of their favorite Manhattan spin classes. Still, Jared Shrode, 31, who rides his bike in Austin, said he was surprised by the student turnout, especially in the early morning. In January, when Cyc ran a two-week “10,000-calorie challenge” that required participants to attend near-daily classes at 7 a.m. in Austin and 8 a.m. in Madison, the company sold out of slots. Sixty percent of Austin’s challenge riders were students; 100 percent of Madison’s were, according to company figures. Mr. Shrode, who works in sales for a technology company, said: “Nobody I knew in college got up in the morning and tried to work off a hangover like some of these guys do. Paying for exercise was something I never considered. We’d just go and play basketball.” Classes for students cost some $17 each, not exactly budget friendly. “That’s almost three six-packs of beer,” said Alexander Kowalsky, 22, who opted for spin classes at Wisconsin’s free campus gyms. But Mr. Kowalsky, who graduated last month (and, for the record, is not a big drinker), said he could understand the company’s appeal to wealthy students who don’t want to wait to use equipment at peak times. All the Cyc student customers interviewed said their parents paid for their cycling habit. Prices will be about $18 for students in Manhattan; similar classes at other studios (most of which don’t offer student discounts in New York City) cost about $30. In the land of cheap beer and free T-shirts, it seems students will pay (or ask their parents to pay) for a hard-core workout, and instructors perceived as toughest are the most popular, Mr. Nitkin said. There is no exercise equivalent of an easy A; all of Cyc’s classes are intense, he said. Keoni Hudoba, an opera singer turned fitness expert (he shrank himself from 327 pounds to 180), created the 45-minute session that features a wider range of arm moves than is found at most cycling studios. Riders use hand-held beanbag weights for more than half of the roughly 15 songs, compared with the standard one, two or three songs. “We’re not about burning candles, we’re about burning calories,” Mr. Nitkin said. Grapefruit-scented candles are a hallmark of the popular SoulCycle chain. A SoulCycle spokeswoman declined to comment.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
College Coaches Use Transfer Rules to Limit Athletes’ Options
Then the transfer process started, producing the latest and perhaps an extreme example of what is occurring throughout the country this time of year as many college athletes try to move to different universities. The Oklahoma State coach, Mike Gundy, ruled out nearly 40 universities as transfer options for quarterback Wes Lunt, an apparent show of gamesmanship and punishment toward a college athlete who wanted to take his skills elsewhere. The forces at work were not new, but Gundy, like a growing number of coaches, chose to harness them to eliminate many, if not all, of Lunt’s preferred options and to keep a potential rival from gaining the services of a highly regarded quarterback entering his sophomore season. It was a powerful illustration of the big-business mind-set of college sports and the control that coaches have over players. When an athlete chooses to transfer, three sets of rules can be involved: those of the N.C.A.A.; those of the conference in which the university competes; and those that accompany the national letter of intent, a contract that athletes sign while still in high school to announce their intention to attend a university. “It’s entirely slanted to the coach’s side,” said Don Jackson, a lawyer who runs the Sports Group in Montgomery, Ala., and who has represented dozens of athletes attempting to transfer to a university of their choice. “Once the student-athlete signs that national letter of intent, it’s essentially a contract of adhesion. They have limited rights.” Universities have long sought to block student-athletes from transferring to a rival program. Alabama’s football team, for example, would not be expected to let a star player go to Auburn. But the impulse to limit the student-athlete’s options has been heightened to the point that coaches are now blacklisting dozens of universities. Proponents of transfer limits say that they are put in place to prevent coaches from continually attempting to lure athletes from other universities, which could create a never-ending recruiting cycle. Critics counter that the rules make it much too easy for coaches to act punitively, penalizing athletes for changing their minds about decisions made when they were teenagers. Coaches cannot fully prevent athletes like Lunt from transferring to any university they want. But if a coach does not grant an athlete a release, the player must forfeit any scholarship opportunity, pay his own way to the new university and sit out the next season. Meanwhile, Gundy, whose contract pays him $30.3 million over eight years, and other coaches can routinely move from one college to another with minimal consequence, often for bigger contracts after arranging a buyout with the first college. Lunt, who did not respond to requests for comment, is reportedly deciding whether to transfer to Louisville or Illinois, neither of which was blocked by Gundy, 45, who declined to comment and has not spoken publicly about the restrictions placed on Lunt. The N.C.A.A. also declined to comment. When Eugene Byrd worked for the Southeastern Conference, he oversaw the administration of the national letter of intent, essentially a one-year contract between a student and an institution with four yearly options to renew. As an assistant commissioner, he tried to simplify the often confusing process. Byrd said the national letter of intent no longer served its original purpose, which was to stop the pursuit of high school players once they committed to a university. “It was supposed to end the recruiting once you signed,” he said. “It became a threat to limit the ability to transfer.” In 2009, Robert Marve, who had started 11 games at quarterback for Miami before being benched, announced his intention to transfer. Randy Shannon, then the team’s coach, blocked him from transferring to any program in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which Miami belongs to; any program in the SEC; and any program in Florida, Marve’s home state.
Jack Styczynski contributed research.
The Learning Network Blog: Test Yourself | English, June 6, 2013
The Learning Network provides teaching and learning materials and ideas based on New York Times content.Teachers can use or adapt our lessons across subject areas and levels. Students can respond to our Opinion questions, take our News Quizzes, learn the Word of the Day, try our Test Yourself questions, complete a Fill-In or read our Poetry Pairings.Join the conversation by commenting on any post. We'd love to hear what you think!
The Learning Network Blog: Found Poem Favorite | ‘Things to See’
Seth Kugel An Adriatic view on the Albanian coast is just one experience found by getting off the planned path. Go to related article »This poem, one of 12 winners of our fourth annual Found Poem Student Contest, was written by Brian, 16, from Hauppauge, N.Y. The poem comes from the article “Going Off the Itinerary and Finding Lifelong Memories”.
Check back every day through June 12 to read the work of another winner.
Things to See
A picturesque beach town — white sand.
Mountain roads, dirt roads, rocky roads.
An approaching stranger, a low-end rental car,
Around a curve, came into view not far.
I hesitated.
Unknown, unplanned, off script.
Should I wait? Should I give up?
I often chicken out.
No.
Travel. Wander.
I drummed up the courage.
I had things to see.
Want to read all the winning poems since this contest began in 2010? Visit our Found Poem Favorite collection.
And don’t forget our Summer Reading Contest, which begins June 14.
Friday, June 7, 2013
What's Included in Our Sharjah, UAE Program Fees
At IFSA-Butler, we believe our program fees offer more comprehensive student support than any other study abroad organization. In addition to a great academic and cultural experience abroad, our fees include the following:
Academics Tuition
Full academic advising and course selection/approval assistance
Butler University transcript for easy credit transfer
Academic records maintenance
Grade and credit query assistanceHousing Guaranteed pre-arranged housing on campus
Fully furnished accommodation
Predeparture support services Personalized advising with your IFSA-Butler program advisor
Welcome packet, Preparing to Study Abroad, Money Matters guide, and newsletter updates
Parental support including Preparing to Study Abroad and Money Matters guide
Assistance in accommodating students with disabilities
Travel and student visa assistance
Group flight arrangements where available
On-site services Airport pickup
Student orientation (including transportation, accommodation, activities, student handbook and welcome materials, and most meals).
Arabic language instruction at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels
Transportation to accommodation following orientation
New student orientation at host university
Newsletter updates throughout the semester (semester/year programs programs)
IFSA-Butler welcome mealExcursions and activities (semester/year programs) Mid-semester weekend excursions and adventure trips
Cultural activities and social events
Day trips and sightseeing toursHealth services and emergency assistance Finances Numerous IFSA-Butler scholarships available
Monthly payment plan available
Ability to pay by credit cardFinancial aid transfersU.S. university direct billing arrangements
Some U.S. colleges and universities ("direct bill institutions") pay IFSA-Butler fees on behalf of their students. Students attending these direct bill institutions pay the IFSA-Butler program fee directly to their home college or university. Students from direct-bill colleges and universities may pay a different fee, but they receive the same outstanding services from IFSA-Butler.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Course Registration | Sharjah Study Abroad | IFSA-Butler
Course Registration | Sharjah Study Abroad | IFSA-Butler 
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