Support the recreation center proposal

There is a big misunderstanding about the proposal to build a new recreation facility on the UTM campus. There was a cartoon printed in the Pacer this past week proclaiming that the new recreation facility was being built to pull more money out of the pockets of students. The building of this facility is not to take money out of students’ pockets.

The purpose of this facility is actually to allow students to get the full usage of the money they already spend in student activity fees. As of right now, students are only allowed to use the Elam Center without restriction from 6 p.m. till 9 or 10 p.m., depending on the time of the year, and that’s only if there isn’t a basketball game, concert, speaker or some other special event taking place. The only facility students are allowed to use unrestricted is the Fitness Center located in the University Center.

A comment was made at the proposal meeting on Thursday Oct. 20 that the UTM campus already has four recreation facilities, the Elam Center, the Fieldhouse, the Fitness Center, and the Student Life Center, and only six educational facilities. In my opinion there is not even one recreation facility strictly used for the purpose of recreation.

The Elam Center gets used countless times throughout the year for guest speakers, concerts, classes, and other special events limiting students from full use of the facility. The Fieldhouse’s primary use is for HHP classes and varsity volleyball games, the Student Life Center doesn’t get used for recreation purposes at all, and the Fitness Center is simply a room used for recreation in a bigger facility not designed for recreation.

The building of the new recreation facility would allow students unrestricted access to recreation from about 6:30 a.m.-9 or 10 p.m. without the worry of HHP classes, varsity athletics, concerts, guest speakers, or whatever else may be taking place to restrict student recreation. The new facility would also combine what the Elam Center has to offer for recreation and the Fitness Center into one building.

I urge students to vote yes to the proposal of building a new recreation facility for reasons of getting the full use out of the money already being spent on time we don’t get to use.

Nick Hoffman Health & Human Performance Jackson