There are a lot of things you can get for $155. You could get 26 super-sized No. 5s at the McDonald's at Apache and Rural. Or you could pay for half my monthly car insurance payment. $155 would even last you at least 20 minutes at any bar in downtown Scottsdale. No matter how you look at it, $155 is not a small sum.
So it is understandable that there was an outcry among students when the possibility of a $155 fee for the Memorial Union and Student Recreation Complex expansion came to light. Unfortunately, too many students are completely in the dark on this issue and see it only as more money that we have to feed to the ASU machine, with little or no useful return on our investment.
This is not case.
The proposed expansions to the MU and the SRC are not only very necessary now, but also will become much more so in the very near future; they would be a huge benefit to the whole university.
For those of you who have not been following the issue closely, the MU and SRC expansions would improve both facilities drastically and increase their capacity to handle a larger student population.
While there are no plans set in stone, the areas identified as highest priorities in a student survey included computer-equipped lounge areas, a bookstore, e-mail stations and a movie theater/multiuse amphitheater for the MU.
The amenities identified as highest priority for the SRC include new cardiovascular fitness machines, weight machines, free weights, an indoor jogging track and group fitness facilities. These features were not created behind closed doors or without student input; they are a reflection of surveys conducted in September and April of this year.
Improving both facilities with the aforementioned amenities would do wonders to improve our rather lackluster campus life. If you want evidence of this, go to any other school of comparable size in America. I highly recommend University of Colorado at Boulder or the University of Kansas.
Let's take a look at the SRC fee. Of that $155 proposed fee, $75 of it is intended to be for the SRC. This fee doesn't seem too bad to me, considering the cost of alternative gyms.
My roommate is a perfect example of this. Last year, he grew tired of waiting in the long lines at the SRC, so he went out and paid for a membership to a private club. That membership cost him $800 for a three-year contract and a set monthly rate after that.
He figured that he could afford to go somewhere else, so why should he have to wait around at the SRC? An expansion to the SRC would help alleviate the lines that plague it now and help better suit the needs of the student population; all at a much better rate than a private club.
Onto the MU. The benefits of expanding the MU are not as easy to quantify. Expanding the MU would not so much reduce lines as it would make the overall MU experience better. An increase in the number of amenities offered at the MU would be of benefit to all students and help foster a better campus community. Even if you don't live on campus, three-hour breaks between classes wouldn't so bad with "computer-equipped lounge areas" or a movie theater.
And if you do live on campus, the benefits of an expansion should be pretty apparent. Imagine having a multiuse amphitheater for concerts and other acts as a comfortable alternative to your dorm lounge hangout.
The Programming and Activities Board would have more leverage to bring a variety of quality events to campus with a new venue in the MU.
The obvious improvement in campus life aside, there will also be a significantly greater number of students living on campus soon. When you couple the new halls being built with the anticipated student population increase, there soon will be a much louder clamoring for things to do on campus.
Although the referendum still faces several major hurdles, namely the Arizona Board of Regents and ASU President Michael Crow, I hope it reaches a student vote. And if it does, I hope we remember that we're voting for something that would greatly improve the campus community and the future of ASU.
Although many of us will never see the changes, let's not forget those who will benefit from our decisions a few years down the road.
Think about it: $155 could buy a drastically improved student experience at ASU or enough McDonald's value meals to make you sick. Your call.
Grant Klinzman is a journalism junior. Reach him at grant.klinzman@asu.edu.
