Do you support the Rec services renovations?

KLoISU02 · 02-25-2008, 10:16 PM

I worked for Rec Services as a student a few years ago, so I am very biased, but I think the renovations are needed. I somewhat agree about the 25 meter pool--if you are going to do it, why not go 50 meters? However, I think the reason is probably space (I have no basis in truth for this statement, just a guess.)

As to the person who commented about the one pool on campus: technically, there are three pools. The pool in Forker, last I knew, was used only for classes, the pool in State, besides being incredibly old is not at all appealing if prospective students accidentally stumble upon it and think it is the only pool on campus, and it is mostly used for swimming lessons and group fitness or Ames Community/Y classes. Beyer does have lap swim times available when the athletic teams aren't using it, but when I lifeguarded there it was always busy and if you didn't swim there regularly you might feel intimidated and the regulars feel put out if you try to swim in their lane.

Whew, sorry for the novel, this is something I am very interested in and I would fully support this vote if I were still enrolled at ISU.

clones_jer · 02-25-2008, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by larry

Is Lied the gym north of Maple willow Larch?
.

Yes. State and Beyer are the ones up by Friley.

IOWASTATE · 02-25-2008, 10:21 PM

I definitely like the idea of the renovations and the pool, Ive been down to aTm and have a buddy at ut and they have very nice rec facilities for students. i think it really made the students want to use them when all of that was at their disposal. I support all the changes here and believe the students will take advantage of them

chiefsnclones · 02-25-2008, 10:30 PM

i love the idea and it is much needed. if anyone has used the facilities at mizzou, they are great and what we are doing would bring us more towards that and i know the students there love it. i hate playing ball on the small courts and going to state to see badmitton being played; better facilities will be great.

here's the problem: parking. they basically said "eh, we'll do it later" which is the saying i have about homework a lot, but this is a little more important. imo, obviously a parking ramp will be needed by state and beyer, hopefully those that make that decision realize it. that being said, i support it, but it definitely needs to be more thought out.

wonkadog · 02-26-2008, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by drlove

The reason I don't support it is because i dont' see the need for a 25 meter lap pool. I like the idea of a new pool, but 25 meters just doesn't make sense. They are spending too much money on a pool that IMO isn't a great investment.

If they want to build a pool, I would hope they would build a competition pool that would benefit the women's swim program with the possibility of chance men's swimming would be brought back. This would certainly require a larger investment in the long term.

I think that the whole point of having a pool that isn't competition size is so that the athletics teams won't try and budge their way in to use it. Athletics and the Rec Department are totally separate and students hardly ever subsidize the athletic program (through student fees). If they don't make the pool big enough for the collegiate team to utilize then they don't have to worry about them taking up time that students could use for "open swim" in the future.

wonkadog · 02-26-2008, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by chiefsnclones

here's the problem: parking. they basically said "eh, we'll do it later" which is the saying i have about homework a lot, but this is a little more important. imo, obviously a parking ramp will be needed by state and beyer, hopefully those that make that decision realize it. that being said, i support it, but it definitely needs to be more thought out.

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.

cyismydog · 02-26-2008, 10:19 AM

Another poll? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

drlove · 02-26-2008, 10:25 AM

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.

sodakjoe · 02-26-2008, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by balken

If you want something done, let people vote on it who do not have to foot the bill.

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.

wonkadog · 02-26-2008, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by sodakjoe

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!

sodakjoe · 02-26-2008, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by wonkadog

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.

wonkadog · 02-26-2008, 10:49 AM

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.

sodakjoe · 02-26-2008, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by wonkadog

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".

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.

wonkadog · 02-26-2008, 12:10 PM

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.

Sousaclone · 02-26-2008, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by sodakjoe

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.

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.