The rec renovations results were announced this morning @ 9:30am. They passed, receiving 52.1% positive votes! See the article below from the Daily.
Iowa State Daily
Iowa State Daily
Rec Renovations proposal passes
- Thread starter jlej731
- Start date
Fees and tuition are already high enough, not many students want to pay even more fees to drive up the total cost even higher.
I'm interested to see the results of the comment section, where voters could give reasons for/against the renovations. I won't be surprised to see a large number of the "no" voters giving a reason of "I don't want to pay for something I won't see".....we'll see how many people were misinformed and/or didn't want to listen to the facts.
I am getting ready to put both my daughters through ISU, which means this vote is all about my/their college expenses. And I'm all for it. The State/Beyer rec complex is the cornerstone of the campus, and they either need to be redone, or something needs to be built there.
And State is too historic to be torn down, imo. So lets get 'er done.
I'm still mad about the Naval Science Armory being torn down. That was a nice little building, if you ask me.
And State is too historic to be torn down, imo. So lets get 'er done.
I'm still mad about the Naval Science Armory being torn down. That was a nice little building, if you ask me.
Things they don't teach you in school, rule number 1:
"Life is not fair, get used to it."
-Charles Sykes
I saw only a little over 6,000 students voted at a school with well over 20,000 students. That is sad.
In the Daily on Thursday, something was mentioned about the voter turnout for this event was greater than the turnouts for student elections (GSB), referendums, and similar items.
It is sad that only 6,000 students chose to vote, but you can't blame Rec Services or ISU for not trying to get the word out. If you workout at the Rec, you couldn't miss the signs, and I believe they had similar signs in Beyer and State. And if you read the Daily, you couldn't miss the articles and editorials.
It is sad that only 6,000 students chose to vote, but you can't blame Rec Services or ISU for not trying to get the word out. If you workout at the Rec, you couldn't miss the signs, and I believe they had similar signs in Beyer and State. And if you read the Daily, you couldn't miss the articles and editorials.
...or the emails, the letters to the editor, the multiple forums with faculty and staff, the sandwich boards outside major buildings, the t-shirts, the facebook groups, the table tents, the posters, and so on. If someone didn't vote in this election, it was because they were either too lazy to inform themselves and take 90 seconds to vote, or because they don't speak English. And even then, a few foreign students managed to vote.
It didn't matter how many students voted...the thing still would have passed 1 to 0...The students don't care about the rec project because they won't use it so no one and be dissapointed in the voter turn out- just be happy it passed! My cousins coming to ISU will love the new rec center and everything else! Thats why I voted YES!
I see that the Graduate Student Senate voted to reject the proposal. I hope that they are ignored. First off, grad students are usually only around for two years...which means they won't even be paying for the project. Second, the reason I'm for the project is that it helps ISU in recruiting students. Many grad students do not have the loyalty to the school that undergrads do, so they may not see a benefit to the university as important to them.
I don't want to be a naysayer of this project but I did vote against this and here's why.
1. It will probably take at least 5 years to get done, which means I won't be able to use it.
2. They are going to tear up the parking lot behind Eaton and Martin, which may not seem like a big deal to some but for people like me who live in those dorms it is a huge deal.
3. Why do we need two huge weight facilities? I don't understand either have one or the other but not both. I agree that the Lied does need some improvements but why build another facitily?
Sorry if these reasons aren't good enough for some but I really hope someone looks at the price tag for tax payers as well. Students can only contribute so much. But I do agree that it would help recuiting to be able to show them a solid rec/weight center so I would be all for rennovating the Lied Center, just don't build a whole nother building.
1. It will probably take at least 5 years to get done, which means I won't be able to use it.
2. They are going to tear up the parking lot behind Eaton and Martin, which may not seem like a big deal to some but for people like me who live in those dorms it is a huge deal.
3. Why do we need two huge weight facilities? I don't understand either have one or the other but not both. I agree that the Lied does need some improvements but why build another facitily?
Sorry if these reasons aren't good enough for some but I really hope someone looks at the price tag for tax payers as well. Students can only contribute so much. But I do agree that it would help recuiting to be able to show them a solid rec/weight center so I would be all for rennovating the Lied Center, just don't build a whole nother building.
In response to your #3, the Lied is very impractical for students who live on the west side of campus. You can't drive there because there is never any parking. It's a 20-30 minute walk, and it's always insanely busy, no matter what time of day you go. If you want something that is more convenient and less crowded, it makes perfect sense to add a new facility to the west side of campus. Having lots of options for exercise is a GOOD THING.
Edit: I lived on the west side of campus all 4 years I was in school, and getting to the Lied was annoying. I actually preferred driving to the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center, even though I had to pay a monthly membership fee.
This strikes me as an absolutely hilarious comment! If you just walked to the building and back (40-60 minutes according to this post) you should be set for your cardio workout!
I would be surprised if the project takes anything more than 3 years. The fees don't go up until the proposed date of opening (Fall 2011). And yes I know these things don't always go according to plan but that isn't a reason to say it'll take 5 years.
40-60 minutes of walking does the equivalent of burning off the calories in one 20 oz soda. That's not a cardio workout. And when it's winter, you don't want to walk across campus every day. We already do that enough for classes. It makes a whole ton of sense to build this facility.
They are replacing the torn up parking by paving the green space that is to the west of the bottom edge of Friley and south of Martin.
40-60 minutes of walking does the equivalent of burning off the calories in one 20 oz soda. That's not a cardio workout. And when it's winter, you don't want to walk across campus every day. We already do that enough for classes. It makes a whole ton of sense to build this facility.
They are replacing the torn up parking by paving the green space that is to the west of the bottom edge of Friley and south of Martin.
Anyone can get anywhere on campus in 15 minutes. I lived in Friley freshman year and worked at Lied and 12-15 minutes was the usual timing.
1. This is just a guess, but if the building isn't done, they won't add it to the fees. I see no reason why it can't be completed by Fall 2011, and I also don't expect them to charge anyone until after the building is available for use.
2. The west end of Friley is scheduled to be torn down in the next year or two...I believe the area west of the pedestrian tunnel that leads to the corner of L-Way and Hayward. They plan on making this a parking lot. No, this part of Friley is NOT being torn down purely for the rec renovations. It's been in the works for a few years as it has become a safety issue and badly deteriorated.
3. I'm willing to bet that a large percentage of students on the West Side want a weight area. If they didn't, they wouldn't have organized weight lifting rooms in the UDCC and Friley--neither of which is big enough to support the west side population, and it is a student run group so their budget for up-to-date machines, technology, cleaning supplies, etc. is severely limited.
I'm excited for it. Lied is fun to play basketball in, but sometimes it gets overcrowded. And the fact that i like to play on an actual basketball court surface is nice. State and Beyer seem like they have something going on every night so more courts will good to get my hoop in. Can't wait for it to get done.