No more massages
The Wellness Center will no longer be offering the massage and acupuncture services they have been offering for the last eight years, effective May 15.
Currently, the massage and acupuncture services are given in small office spaces in the Wellness Center, located in the Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center.
The services, which were provided by outside contract workers, will be discontinued because of a need for the space which they are currently occupying, Wellness Center Director Emily Page said.
The decision to use the small office spaces for other purposes was made by Associate Dean Donald Ostdiek, who oversees the Wellness Center.
Though the plans for who will occupy the space are still unofficial, Ostdiek said he believes he will use it to expand the university's counseling and retention programs.
The decision to eliminate the massage and acupuncture services was not related to the service's popularity on campus, Page said. Ostdiek said he would not be opposed if the Wellness Center found a different space to let the contractors use.
"We have been tracking the usage, and the demand has been increasing, and we had been planning to expand it," Page said.
For the time being, The Wellness Center has negotiated with Methodist Hospital to offer massages and acupuncture for the same price that Rice did. More information can be found at wellbeing.rice.edu.
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