VICE & VIRTUE
of the instructors spew words of empowerment throughout the whole class, meditations on topics from self–care, self– love, and self–acceptance to the appreciation of the body as a magic machine and its marriage with the mind. “I will be good to you if you will be good to me,” says one teacher, Yael, of this relationship, “Just think about that: I will take care of you if you will take care of me.” But what is most noteworthy about SoulCycle is not what it doesn’t include; instead, it is about who. SoulCycle is socioeconomically exclusionary—there is no way to deny that. To go even once a week for one semester, the total cost comes out to
roughly $525 if you’re paying for single classes, or for the comparable package they offer, $540 for 20 classes. The only possibility of getting around this price is through their College Ambassador program, in which different colleges and college groups are allowed free rides as a marketing tool. Though this program is not yet implemented in the relatively new Rittenhouse Studio, Laurel Jaffe (C ’20) managed to get ahead of the game on this trend and organize free rides for one class to her fellow PennQuest Leaders. “For the PQ ride, I talked with the managers at the Rittenhouse studio about PennQuest, it's mission and how
WANT A WORKOUT? HERE'S A SOUL-UTION: THE STREET OFFICE (STROFFICE) HAS LOTS OF STEPS. ALSO HUGS. SOMETIMES SNACKS. EVERYTHING YOU'D WANT, EXCEPT DOGS. PLEASE SOMEONE BRING US A DOG.
similar some of the values of a completely free ride but we mentorship [and such] are,” were able to get 20 free seats She says, “Because the formal in the class.” Hopefully, if this trend continues, more events like this might make the exercise classes accessible to many more people. Unfortunately, even those free group rides won’t last sustainably. Though the leaders as a whole seemed to enjoy the experience, even after a free ride they remained skeptical. “I enjoyed the exercise but I felt like the whole culture surrounding it is way over the top,” says Amos Armony (C ’20), “Not worth the price, in my opinion.” He echoes the sentiments of many, and beyond that, gets at the cold, Ambassador program is not hard socioeconomic truth in place yet we could not get of the business; the price is
"It's not what SoulCycle doesn't include, it's who."
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beyond “not worth it.” The price is, in fact, completely unsustainable and exclusionary for anyone who is not extremely privileged. What’s more, SoulCycle seems to be a magnet for specifically Penn students. One cannot simply attend a class without bumping into a classmate. If one of your Snapchat friends goes to the studio, you’re sure to know from their guaranteed mirror–selfie story. So, in a campus culture where flaunting wealth already seems to dominate many social realms, maybe the draw is just that: maybe SoulCycle provides yet another stage that people can use for their performance. LILY SNIDER
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