The upcoming campus election ballot will feature a new quarterly $15 Recreation Center fee per student.
While $11.25 will be distributed to Recreational Sports, $3.75 of the total recreation facility enhancements fee will be allotted to financial aid. The fee will be instated for 33 years before being reassessed.
The Rec Cen fee will fund a new 1.5 acre lacrosse field and repairs to Robertson Gym’s roof in addition to the installation and maintenance of “all-weather turf” on seven 100 by 60-yard playing fields.
The requested fee, combined with the existing $82.18 per undergraduate student and $66.18 per graduate student fee, would create a total of $97.18 per undergraduate student and $81.18 per graduate student per quarter fee — including Summer Quarter — toward the Rec Cen.
Lane Jaffe, UCSB lacrosse team head coach, said this additional fee is paramount to individual teams and the livelihood of the entire campus community.
“Plain and simple, UCSB needs more playing fields,” Jaffe said in an email. “While it would directly affect the lacrosse teams, it would also have a positive impact on the rest of the school community creating more areas for recreation sports. College is all about generating opportunities for the students, if we could get this initiative passed, we could increase participation while maximizing the use of the new fields.”
For the election to be valid, at least 20 percent of the student body must participate. If there is a 20 percent voter turnout, two-thirds of the student body must support the initiative for it to pass. If the turnout is above 30.84 percent for undergraduate students and above 29.82 for graduate students, 50 percent plus one voter approval is needed for the measure to pass.
Matthew Ivanick, a third-year statistics major and Rec Cen frequenter, said he is opposed to paying more fees for services he will not be able to enjoy. The turf will be installed by the 2013-14 school year.
“I’m not supporting paying for facilities that will still be under construction when I graduate,” Ivanick said. “I support the Recreation Center, but I feel like with possible tuition increases this isn’t a fee I want to be paying.”
However, Ashley Kelly, a third-year zoology major, said she utilizes the Rec Cen for swimming and exercising daily and does not mind the fee increase.
“Fifteen dollars per quarter isn’t much more and the Robertson Gym roof desperately needs repairs,” Kelly said. “I enjoy the facilities and would like to help keep them in good condition.”
The Rec Cen fee is different than the Developing Athletics Resources and Facilities Enhancement (D.A.R.E.) fee, which would cost $44.50 per undergraduate per quarter to develop campus athletics facilities and would be collected for 30 years without reaffirmation.
Campus elections begin on April 18 and continue through April 21 at 4 p.m. Students can vote via GOLD on Campus Elections Commission ballot measures, including the Rec Cen fee. Election results will be disclosed on April 21 between 4 and 8 p.m. at Corwin Pavilion.
How come it never actually get cheaper instead of more :P