Where do you propose they put a large parking lot? There's nowhere to do it right now. I'd rather they build these awesome new additions than not do them at all just because people are whining about nowhere to park. These facilities are for the students and there's hardly anywhere in the entire Ames city limits where you can't get on CyRide to ride into campus. I get sick of people complaining about on-campus parking...ride the bus or have someone drop you off. The university doesn't owe you a place to park just because you want to drive yourself everywhere. Plus, these facilities will be very accessable to the newer dorms by State Gym and also Friley/old Helser.
Do you support the Rec services renovations?
- Thread starter jlej731
- Start date
Where do you propose they put a large parking lot? There's nowhere to do it right now. I'd rather they build these awesome new additions than not do them at all just because people are whining about nowhere to park. These facilities are for the students and there's hardly anywhere in the entire Ames city limits where you can't get on CyRide to ride into campus. I get sick of people complaining about on-campus parking...ride the bus or have someone drop you off. The university doesn't owe you a place to park just because you want to drive yourself everywhere. Plus, these facilities will be very accessable to the newer dorms by State Gym and also Friley/old Helser.
Wonkadog, You are correct that a athletics is a different deal.
One of the reasons why we are behind as an athletic department is due to facilities. Whether they are paid for through student fees, or private donor, or another means, the recruits in all sports see these things. When the Lied was built, it was used as a recruiting tool for all sports, even those that weren't using it.
One of the reasons why we are behind as an athletic department is due to facilities. Whether they are paid for through student fees, or private donor, or another means, the recruits in all sports see these things. When the Lied was built, it was used as a recruiting tool for all sports, even those that weren't using it.
This is exactly why I voted against this measure. I don't feel comfortable saddling every future student with over $200/year in student fees. That's just way too high. There needs to be some form of alternate funding.
Yet tuition will rise by probably $2000 more by that time. The fee is a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost of attending school. What kind of alternate funding do you propose? It's easy to say "someone else should help pay" but nothing will ever get done unless students get behind something like this. You're just sentencing future students to 15 more years of a hot and humid Rec Center and playing basketball in gyms that are falling apart. Congrats!
Yeah, well, I'm cool with it falling apart. I'm not proposing someone else pay for something that I want. I don't want it in the first place. And as someone currently attending ISU on out of state tuition, I'm the last person you need to lecture about tuition increases.
I wasn't trying to lecture you about the tuition increases, just putting it in perspective. Your vote makes perfect sense now that you've ellaborated. Your viewpoint is "if they can't do it for next-to-nothing then I don't want any extra frills for future students while they are in college". I don't have to agree with what you're saying but it makes sense.
Don't put words in my mouth. My viewpoint is that if future students want it, they can have it. But I'm not going to force 25 years of students to pay that much money for something when they didn't get the choice.
Once again, it'd be nice if you had a solution to this problem. Current students have to have the forsight to know what future generations might enjoy otherwise nothing would ever get done in regards to issues such as these. There's no realistic way for a generation (4-5 years in college) of students to have plans drawn up, the issue voted on, bids go out to contractors, construction beginning, construction completed, and finally facilities opening within their own stint at ISU. It just won't happen within the time constraints of constructing a major facility on a large campus such as Iowa State. Thus, you have to vote on things for students who aren't even around to voice their opinion yet.
If you take that approach, then nothing will EVER get done. The building will probably take 1-2 years to build (or longer given the way the university manages some of it's projects) so even if a future group of students wants it, half of them will never see it come to fruition and if they take your position nothing gets built, nothing gets renovated, and the student facilities stagnate. A group of students had to bend over and take it for Lied to get built, its the same thing again. The only way to get anything done is for somebody to get stuck with the bill. I'd love it if we had a Boone Pickens or the founder of Nike was from Iowa State, we don't have that unfortunately, so we've gotta find funding elsewhere. Yes it sucks that some people will pay fees and never get to use the building. It sucks that a future class will get stuck with the bill, and it sucks that something that the students will actually get to use (compared to half of the other crap that gets built on campus), might not get built.
Population in-state is declining. Competition for students is fierce. Two ways to recruit prospective students to ISU are recreational facilities and student housing. If ISU lets their rec facilities get too far behind, they start losing students to other schools. ISU's enrollment is already down a couple of thousand from where it was 10 or so years ago. Assuming ISU wants to keep top notch faculty and staff, where do you think that money is going to come from if enrollment continues to drop? INCREASED TUITION. So even though Sodakjoe doesn't want to force future students to pay, if ISU doesn't "keep up with the Jones's" they are going to have to pay anyway.
Unfortunately, when I was on the GSB in the early 80's, the students voted by a 2 to 1 margin to put a large addition on Beyer. I met with Max Urich than to see if the athletic department would be involved in funding the addition to increase the project. Max said that there was no way the athletic department would be putting their money into a facility for students as they were going to build a new building for their own. Because the athletic department wouldn't support it the Regents wouldn't let the University build it. Many years later they were unable to come up with enough money to build their own facility and forced the students into the Lied. By that time the students didn't want it, but the regents passed it anyway to help the athletic department. It was definitely needed than and I'm sure that Beyer and State Gym are in even worse shape today than the 25 years since I was there. Bottom line is, if the athletic department doesn't support it, it will be tough to get the regents to do it.
Opposed. I'm not going to vote in favor of something students 25 years after I leave are going to have to pay $200/semester for. Now, find some private funding, drop that number down to $50/semester and I'll think about it.
College students are strained financially enough and the facilities are pretty worthless to off-campus students.
College students are strained financially enough and the facilities are pretty worthless to off-campus students.
To everyone going on and on about current students needing to realize that future students want these renovations:
There are alot of things that future students want: more parking, better dining facilities, more CyRide routes, etc., etc., etc. How do I know which one they want the most???
Under that argument, every measure that requires a $200/semester increase in fees should get a rubber stamp.
There are alot of things that future students want: more parking, better dining facilities, more CyRide routes, etc., etc., etc. How do I know which one they want the most???
Under that argument, every measure that requires a $200/semester increase in fees should get a rubber stamp.
State Gym sorely needs to be renovated, but I think the State Gym addition is ridiculous. If Beyer needs to be renovated, someone forgot about Physics, Armory, Davidson, etc.
I remember seeing a article a couple of years ago that said Iowa State had one of the best Rec facilities in the country, so to say we have to do this to keep up with other schools doesn't hold. It's not a bad idea, but who is going to pay and what program won't receive funding because it's all going to Rec. Why don't we use that money to help keep tuition down- that might bring in more students.
Also, someone said ISU only has one pool, ISU has 3 pools (Beyer, State Gym, Folker and the Folker pool is almost always empty).
I remember seeing a article a couple of years ago that said Iowa State had one of the best Rec facilities in the country, so to say we have to do this to keep up with other schools doesn't hold. It's not a bad idea, but who is going to pay and what program won't receive funding because it's all going to Rec. Why don't we use that money to help keep tuition down- that might bring in more students.
Also, someone said ISU only has one pool, ISU has 3 pools (Beyer, State Gym, Folker and the Folker pool is almost always empty).
Just for some comparison here are some links to the other rec services sites. According to their websites they are all "one of the largest rec facilities' in the United States.
MIZZOUREC.COM
Rec expansion
proposed expansion
http://www.recreation.ku.edu/
Facilities | Recreation Center
Rec Sports Facilities
Campus Recreation
http://www.baylor.edu/campusrec/index.php?id=18123
UT RecSports - Facilities - Locations - Maps of All Locations
Huston Huffman / Recreation Center - Home
(Texas Tech Recreational Sports)
Facilities : Rec Services
Oklahoma State University - Campus Recreation Center
MIZZOUREC.COM
Rec expansion
proposed expansion
http://www.recreation.ku.edu/
Facilities | Recreation Center
Rec Sports Facilities
Campus Recreation
http://www.baylor.edu/campusrec/index.php?id=18123
UT RecSports - Facilities - Locations - Maps of All Locations
Huston Huffman / Recreation Center - Home
(Texas Tech Recreational Sports)
Facilities : Rec Services
Oklahoma State University - Campus Recreation Center
Anyone who doesn't support this obviously doesn't work out. Like many have stated there might as well not be a pool now because it isn't really available to the average student. And lied rec is so packed now its crazy trying to find a bench most nights. I really think this needs to be done I gurantee more people will work out if a nice rec is built by friley. Motivation is the single biggest reason people don't work out and if I really am not suprised people don't make the trip from friley to lied. With this new facility I really believe you will see a spike in people working out. I thinks thats all I have to say!
Out of curiosity I see several people tossing around the $200/student for 25 year number. Is that remotely accurate, or is that just a number that someone randomly made up? If that's the case someone really needs to check there math or find the University a better interest rate. That's $100 Million assuming that the fee only gets assessed to 20k students. If it gets assessed to 25k that number jumps to $125 Million.