On Feb. 27 and 28, students will be voting to decide whether or not to approve the fee increase to pay for the construction of the proposed Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC).
At the open forum Thursday night, only three students came to “Talk About Rec,” as the campaign’s slogans say, to ask questions about the changes that were proposed for the campus.
The University Student Union Board of Trustees presented its facts to the students. According to an online survey students took in 2005, 79 percent of Cal State Long Beach students did not know about the plans for the Recreation and Wellness Center, and 54 percent of students would support its building.
The polling locations will be located throughout campus: the University Library, the University Bookstore, the Southwest Turnaround, the Social Science and Public Affairs and College of Business Administration buildings and in the residence halls.
If approved, students will not pay the fees for the facility until it is opened. Students will pay $110 per semester and $83 for the summer session.
“Basically, students won’t have to pay for it until they can use it,” said Matt Hubbard, USUBOT trustee-at-large.
According to studentrecandwellnesscenter.com, the discussion to build the center has never reached the entire student body.
The decision made at the end of February will only approve whether or not to have the center. All other decisions about the center will be made by students.
“It’s pretty much up to the students,” Stone said. If students vote for the center, construction will begin fall 2008 and possibly conclude in fall 2010.
Of universities with a population of 25,000 or more, one out of three in California have some kind of recreation center and one out of six in the nation do, according to the center’s Web site.
The entire facility is planned to be 125,000 square feet and include weightlifting and cardio equipment, basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, multi-purpose dance/fitness rooms, racquetball courts, an indoor jogging track, a rock-climbing wall, a juice bar and lounge and an outdoor recreational swimming pool.
“Whatever the students want is what they will get,” Hubbard said.
In addition to all of the amenities for students to use, there will be a number of activities for students to participate in, including fitness and aerobic classes, dietary and body fat programming, health and wellness programming, late-night access to the facility, guaranteed gym time for students, personal trainers, and student-run programs and services.
Students may temporarily lose parking, but the plan for the campus includes another parking structure, Hubbard said. Both the SRWC and the new parking structure would be located in Lot 11.
The SRWC would not be open to the general community, but alumni could take advantage of the facility with a membership fee, Stone said.
If approved, the student fee would continue for 30 years, be evaluated every three, and adjusted if necessary.
“The board of trustees will keep a constant and consistent evaluation,” Stone said.
