Campus recreation research has generated important insight into participation patterns, constraints, service quality, belonging, retention, and student success outcomes. This conceptual paper argues that campus recreation should also be understood as a site of identity work. Drawing from symbolic interactionist and identity theory perspectives, leisure scholarship on identity development in emerging adulthood, and campus recreation research on belonging, comfort, inclusion, and student perceptions, the paper develops a framework for understanding how students negotiate campus recreation in relation to self-concept, social recognition, and possible selves. Five identity work processes are proposed, including identity verification, identity threat, identity experimentation, identity positioning through others, and identity through action. The framework suggests that participation, nonparticipation, and selective engagement are shaped not only by access, motivation, or constraints, but also by how students interpret recreation environments as settings that verify valued identities, threaten them, make possible selves imaginable, and appear socially navigable for enactment.
Elevating women in collegiate recreation is essential for organizational success and requires addressing assumptions that limit women's opportunities to lead. This study is grounded in role congruity theory which explains how gender-based prejudice emerges when communal traits associated with women are viewed as incongruent with the agentic qualities expected of leaders, reinforcing cultural and structural bias. The BeCOME framework offers a model for cultivating allyship and fostering organizational cultures where women can thrive. To explore men's perceptions of their role in allyship and advocacy, 22 interviews with men were conducted. Findings revealed four themes: valuing and elevating women's voices; building relational connections; cultivating self-awareness and humility; and gendered leadership pathways in transition. Together, these insights underscore the importance of men leveraging their roles as supporters, collaborators, sponsors, and advocates to advance more equitable workplace practices.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an Exercise is Medicine-On Campus (R) initiative entitled the Partner Exercise Program (P.E.P.) on college student stage of change, exercise behavior, psychological wellbeing, and fitness. Undergraduate students (n = 108) participated in the 4-week P.E.P. in which they were instructed to engage in 150 min of self-directed physical activity as well as two separate days of strength training each week. Students also selected an exercise partner for the program, while self-monitoring their physical activity each day. At pre- and post-test participants completed measures of body composition and blood pressure, muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness, physical activity, stress, and self-compassion. Participants exhibited a statistically significant change in their stage of change per the transtheoretical model, as well as body fat percentage, cardiovascular and muscular fitness, physical activity, stress, and self-compassion from pre- to post-program (p < .001). The P.E.P. was effective per the change in pre- to post-test results. Participants perceived it positively impacted their mental health, fitness, and academic performance based on qualitative feedback. This is a feasible program for other universities to replicate that may promote peer connection while positively impacting physical and mental wellness.
Smart wearable technologies present a paradox for student wellness, promising data-driven enhancement while often diminishing the intrinsic rewards of physical activity. This study explores this tension, framing student runners' abandonment of wearables not as a failure of motivation, but as a proactive psychological strategy. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, we analyze semi-structured interviews to identify how this abandonment serves to restore thwarted psychological needs. Three key mechanisms are identified: (1) The reclamation of autonomy in response to a "dual performance" pressure, where runners resist data surveillance that mirrors academic quantification in order to restore embodied awareness and playful leisure. (2) The reassertion of competence, where technical inaccuracies and relentless social comparison erode self-efficacy, triggering a shift away from external validation toward intrinsic motivation and the simple joy of running. (3) The reconstruction of relatedness, which reframes abandonment as a pro-social act, where the alienation of superficial virtual communities prompts runners to seek authentic, real-world emotional connections. Ultimately, the study reveals that for students, abandoning wearable technology is a rational act of psychological self-preservation. Findings offer critical insights for university wellness programs and technology designers on how to better support student well-being by prioritizing intrinsic motivation over pervasive quantification.
Maintaining the motivation of student employees contributes to positive job satisfaction, can increase efficiency, and improve productivity. This study utilized the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire to examine student employee's perceived motivational climate by measuring autonomy, competence, and relatedness to their work environment in terms of perceived support and thwart from managers. A total of 256 student employees in campus recreation, student living, and student union departments participated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicated there were no significant differences among participants based on their rank in school, age, or ethnicity. Significant differences were identified when comparing autonomy thwart and competence thwart within campus recreation staffing specializations and when compared across three unique student affairs departments. Overall, these results indicate that students who recognize the autonomy and opportunities for professional development in their roles tend to be more self-determined.
