Highlander Newspaper

Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtesy of Home Energy Magazine Goals include establishing a facility using least one megawatt of solar energy.

For three years now, the Student Recreation Center (SRC) expansion project has been in the making. The Student Recreation Facilities Governing Board (RFGB) is currently working to address the requests of students to make the SRC bigger and better.

To many students' surprise, the price tag that comes with the expansion is approximately $144 to $159 per student every quarter. Although a 25 percent return to students' financial aid has been proposed by RFGB, it is still about twice the amount students now pay.

According to RFGB Chair Richard Zapp, the new fee will not be charged until construction is completed or when the doors for the new Recreation Center open.

Students have mixed reactions. For first-year chemical engineering major Diana Elazem, the expansion would encourage her to use the facilities more often.

"It would be worth it because it would encourage people to use the gym more. If they're paying for it, they're more likely to go," Elazem said. "Since they're expanding it, there would be more things for me to do there." 

Some suggest that the expansion would be beneficial to all students not only because of the added equipment but also for new student employment prospects.

"I think it's a good thing because there will be a lot more campus jobs and it's for us, so it's for all students," SRC staff worker Steven Rodriguez said.

However, some students do not use the Recreation Center and believe that the expansion means an unnecessary addition to the fee hikes. 

"For me, it's not a good deal because we need to pay more and not all the students have the financial ability to pay," second-year chemistry major Mary Baclayon said. "And I don't really go to the Rec Center."

Other students point out that there may be other, more pressing needs that the money could be channeled into at this time.

 "I think we should save more money in the right places, like fixing the computers in our library or the broken desks in the lecture rooms," said second-year psychology major Alicia Lin.

In addition, students that are being surveyed about the expansion worry that they will not be able to use the new and improved facilities.

Continued...

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