Cal State Long Beach students voted in favor of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, with 2,181 (74.7 percent) voting yes and 737 (25.2 percent) voting no. One percent of the votes were not counted due to them being blank or unreadable.
“I’m happy with the number of students that came out to vote,” said Mike Hostetler, dean of students. “It went very smoothly.”
Teresa Ruiz, ASI communications coordinator, said she is also pleased with the turnout.
“ASI is happy that students came out and expressed their opinions,” she said.
Now that the votes have been announced, the Student Fee Advisory Committee (Student Majority Committee) with meet sometime this month and consider the same initiative, meaning that they will give a recommendation to CSULB President F. King Alexander on whether or not the center should be constructed, said Doug Robinson, vice president of Student Services. The committee will give its recommendation to Alexander, who would then make the decision about the rec center.
“I think it is a positive action for the university,” Robinson said.
The rec center will include eight basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, an indoor jogging track, rock climbing wall, juice bar and lounge, multiple racquetball courts, an outdoor recreational swimming pool and seven multi-purpose dance/group fitness rooms.
It will cost students $110 per semester and $83 during the summer. The total cost of the construction is $65 million, and the center will be constructed in Lot 11. The parking in Lot 11 will be impacted temporarily, but another parking structure will be built to provide more parking spaces, according to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center Web site.
The center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
