![]() ![]() So many, like Cheng, only use the Tad Pad when weather is bad. “The university encourages people – especially the faculty and staff – to have an exercise or fitness program,” she said, noting that there is no other free indoor recreation facility on campus.Membership at the Turner Center runs $300 to $750 for faculty, staff and community members for one calendar year. So, I need some kind of exercise.”Ĭheng walks seven loops-to-a-mile in the Tad Pad. “For us, especially we who are doing technical aspects of library tasks, we’re sitting. “I kind of forget everything it’s a stress relief mechanism when I go,” said Daisy Cheng, a senior catalog librarian and associate professor who has been walking for eight years. The flat surface of the Tad Pad stabilizes her walker the handicapped parking spots allow her and her father to easily access the building.įaculty, staff, student and community walkers have their own reasons to go each day. “When she gets in that walker, you don’t know exactly where she’s going – she’s just going. ![]() For Paige, however, there are many reasons this isn’t possible. Some will switch to outdoor walking tracks, such as Avent Park, the Whirlpool Trails, FNC Park or Pat Lamar Park. Although there is no set date to close the Tad Smith Coliseum, many of the walkers don’t know where they will go after it is demolished. The Pavilion, the new Ole Miss basketball arena, is set to open in January of 2016. But construction of a new arena – one that lacks an uninterrupted concourse – threatens this small community. Some come on a daily basis others only visit when the weather does not permit outdoor exercise.ĭoors have been open to walkers since the Tad Smith Coliseum opened nearly 50 years ago. Others amble, speaking more than they walk. you can see them some walk quickly, headphones in and music loud. The Tad Smith Coliseum welcomes dozens of walkers such as Paige. “The best thing for her is just to get as much exercise as possible – that’s why we started walking there.” “Fortunately, Paige has been ambulatory most of her life but it’s getting more difficult for her,” said her father, Woody Wilkerson, who walks every day with Paige at the coliseum. Some of the few affected become almost completely immobile. The rare affliction causes ambulatory issues, cognitive disabilities, seizures and communication issues. Paige Wilkerson, 21, has a condition known as Angelman Syndrome. Soon she’s resting on the seat of her walker and watching people pass. She grabs the handles of the walker and follows her father onto the concourse of the Tad Smith Coliseum. The Ole Miss campus needs a new basketball arena and space for big events. But the loss of the Tad Smith Coliseum will rob a community of walkers of the place they have enjoyed for nearly 50 years. Paige Wilkerson takes a break from walking at the Tad Smith Coliseum on Friday April 17 (DM Photo | Kayla Beatty) ![]()
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