Many students on campus are collecting petitions to keep Juice It! in the Student Recreation Center. The establishment will be shutting down on April 19 due to plans to extend the weight room, according to Chef Alex Benitez of Juice It!

Moises Quiroz, biological sciences major believes that an extension to the weight room is not necessary.

“I don’t think it’s a great problem the way it is now because when it does get packed, it’s not where to no one can’t use it,” Quiroz said. “It is a perfect ration where it is, but if they do want to expand it, I think they should keep Juice It!”

With more than 400 signatures collected from students and faculty thus far, students hope that Juice It! will remain at least somewhere on campus, if not in the center. Brandin Maier, freshman psychology major and avid gym goer, finds the services of this place convenient and affordable.

“I am going to do whatever I can in my power for this place to stick around. We need a healthier choice here at UTEP,” Maier said. “When I eat healthy, when I live healthy, I am way more focused in school. Healthy foods don’t only make you look good, they make you feel good, focus and remember things.”

Juice It! has been operating for two years out of a five-year contract. Chef Benitez, who has 20 years of experience, is in charge of creating new concepts and constantly changing the menu for the students.

“I try to promote health, not diet,” he said. “It is more like portion control. We do meal plans for students, natural juices and protein shakes.”

Along with being pushed out of the recreation center, Benitez has also worked under some difficult circumstances.

“I try everything I could do with no kitchen. I have to practically rent another kitchen to cook everything and bring it here,” he said. “At the moment, I am just happy with the students trying to be healthy.”

Electrical engineering major, Sharon Underdahl,  usually gets a shake after every workout to gain energy.

“I love this place,” she said. “I come here every time I work out or after I’m done climbing. To be honest I think it’s a little dumb to expand something that we already have a lot of. I mean it’s here to help us get the nutrients we lost from working out and is providing us with something we really need.”

The Prospector attempted to contact Sodexo and management of the Student Recreation Center, but they have not responded.

Gloria Heredia can be reach at [email protected].