In response to Monday's editorial, "Rec renovations: good idea, bad way to pay":
I'll start by saying I'm glad you admit that the editorial board is probably a little biased. I'll also say I'm probably somewhat biased too, but my bias would actually mean that I know what our recreation facilities look like on a day-to-day basis.
I work at Lied. I work out at Lied about three times a week. I would say, altogether, I am probably at Lied an average of 22 hours per week. This is a lot of time to spend there, I know. This means that I can point out a few things you see as extravagant are simply errors in your biased perception of the "glossy" sales pitch.
First of all, I wonder if you realize that it is unrealistic to expect every single student to be included in the feasibility study. In statistics, the reason a sample is used is because it is representative of the population. In this case, a quarter of the student population was used. This is actually a fairly large proportion of the student body to use.
You talk about the fact that student fees would increase to pay for this project. This is true. I will also point out that the fees increase in relation to the amount of work that has been done. You cannot blame Recreation Services or put down the project because inflation may occur over 25 years (gasp!).
I wonder if you'll question the need for groceries if the prices inflate over the next 25 years. I realize that may seem like an extreme example, but the country is facing an obesity epidemic and our health system seems to be shifting to more of a preventive focus - therefore, exercise facilities' availability, especially to college students, is imperative. I would have to say that lowering the incidence of diseases caused by inactivity is rather important at this point. Exercise is vital.
Speaking of life and vitality, you mention that air conditioning in Lied is "extravagant." I would like to point out, and I know from experience, that Lied gets up to nearly 100 degrees in the summer and fall, and the temperature drop even at night is minimal. Have you heard of heat stroke? It is kind of dangerous. When the rec center is just as hot as it is outside, how are people supposed to get the exercise they need because it is too dangerous for them to work out for fear of nerve
damage or even death? It seems to me that you may not be looking at the big picture when it comes to some of this much-needed improvements to our facilities.
Since health doesn't seem to be an issue to you, maybe the staff of Lied, Beyer Hall and State Gym should not be trained in first aid and CPR. That could eliminate some cost. Perhaps rec services should not be spending money on such luxuries as the very available AEDs in case of cardiac emergencies. Yes, I would say that air conditioning is probably just as important from a health care standpoint. There is that whole "prevention" concept again.
Other than health being a concern of mine, I am worried you don't realize how many students actually live on campus. Upon researching Iowa State's Web site, I found out that about half of students live in university-affiliated housing. This includes residence halls, student apartments and Greek housing. These are all students who are not going to receive free fitness passes to other fitness centers.
I don't blame you for not necessarily wanting to pay for something that you don't use. Many students may never enter Thielen Student Health Center, but all students, excepting those with fewer than four credit hours, pay $92 per semester in student health fees. Some students may never use a campus computer because they tote around their laptop or never enter the library or a computer lab, but all students pay a $110 fee per semester if they are full time (price decreases as credits decrease). These fees are necessary because even if not all students use the available facilities, our resources must be up-to-date and available for students who do wish to use them, which actually ends up being a very decent proportion of students.
I beg all of you to look at the bigger picture. Our facilities, even recreation facilities, must be kept updated or the cost may be much greater in the future.
Lindsay Allen
Junior
Kinesiology
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