Students’ votes needed for new building proposal to pass
Students will have the opportunity to vote on a proposal for a new building that will house the Recreation and Wellness Center Oct. 5 through Oct. 23.
The projected building, if supported by student votes, will be 78,000 feet and house fitness equipment, playing courts and classrooms, as well as new programs. If it passes, the Student Service fee will increase by $110 in the Fall and Spring Semesters and up to $55 for Summer to support the costs of construction, a projected $38,200,000 endeavor.
“The university was approved to ask for up to $150 a semester but we managed to keep it significantly lower than that,” said Andrew Reitberger, director of student life. “If you were to take the $110 semester fee and break it down per week (at approximately 16 weeks in a semester) that would be $6.87 a week. It is really affordable and much less than a lot of facilities. If you have a Recreation and Wellness Center on campus, it will be so much easier to exercise and stay healthy! If you have time between classes, you can pop in and run on the indoor track, do cardio, lift weights, etc.. You can then shower and head to the next class. And you get to keep your parking space!”
Darlene Biggers, associate vice president for student services and primary catalyst for the project, said the upcoming proposal will effect the student body in a positive way.
“When we look at our students coming in to our Health Center and Counseling Center, most of the problems they come in with are stress-induced, so we can provide some way of counteracting that,” Biggers said.
A 2009 Associated Press and mtvU survey of college students found 85 percent of students say they experience daily stress.
“Right now we don’t have many places on campus where students can gather and interact, have fun and unwind a little bit, so we are really looking forward to this and hope it passes,” Biggers said.
The building will include areas for cardio exercise and weightlifting, an indoor track, multi-purpose rooms, indoor basketball courts, a multi-purpose activity court, locker rooms, a lobby area and office suites for Campus Recreation employees. A portion of the facility will be dedicated to Clinical Health and Applied Science, which will not be funded by student fees.
“The beauty of this facility is combining our health and human fitness area with the recreational side, so students are going to be able to get first-hand advice and training from the students who are in the program,” Biggers said.
Robin Aleman, president of the Student Government Association, supports the additional fees.
“What is the point of our education?” Aleman said, “To better the future for everyone else. Everyone has to get that mindset that, yes, we are going to agree to raise tuition, and it will cost us a little extra, and we may not be around to see it, but those students’ kids or grandkids may be coming here in the future, or their nieces and nephews or their neighbors, and that building will be there and they can say ‘I was a part of that. I paid for that. I contributed to that being a better school for everyone else.’”
If passed, student tuition would go unaffected until Fall 2016 at which time a fee would be applied for the purpose of financing the construction of the facility. Reitberger explained that while some students may not use the Recreation and Wellness center, it is very important to the university and future students.
“Not only will we have increased cardio and weight rooms but for the first time we will have space to hold exercise classes,” Reitberger said. “Every time we survey students, this is the number one thing they request. We currently don’t have the space to handle that. We also know that people are looking for more activities and the Recreation and Wellness Center will provide indoor courts to play basketball, volleyball, badminton, soccer, etc.. There will also be an indoor track. When it’s 100 degrees outside, it will be great to have the ability to play basketball or run laps inside. It will really be a great space for students.”
The voting will take place between Oct. 5 and Oct. 23 and will require at least 10 percent of the student body to vote, and over half of the students who vote to approve the proposal in order for it to pass.
For more information regarding the Recreation and Wellness Center, you can read the FAQ. If you would like to share comments regarding the proposal, go to the Fitness Zone section of the UHCL website and click on the link to the comment form.
