8A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008
STUDENT SENATE
United Students makes campus pool addition first platform
BY BRENNA HAWLEY
bhawley@kansan.com
United Students announced Sunday the addition of a swimming pool to the Student Recreation Fitness Center as its first platform.
Adam McGonigle, Wichita sophomore and United Students presidential candidate, said there was not enough funding for the pool if his coalition did not make it a platform. He said his coalition, if elected, would not raise student fees to pay for the addition, which is projected to cost $20 million.
McGonigle said the coalition had students fill out surveys about what they wanted to see happen on campus. He said many people said Robinson Center, the building with the University's only pool, was not open often enough. Robinson is open to students for less than three hours per day.
McGonigle said he was exploring different options to fund the building. In spring 2005, Student Senate agreed to give up student seats at Allen Fieldhouse so the Athletics Department could charge more money from ticket holders. That money is funding the recreation center expansion. McGonigle said one possibility would be diverting extra money earned from giving up student
seats at basketball games to the addition of the pool.
Another option, McGonigle said, was to redirect the $15 fee students currently pay to fund the boathouse to pay for the new pool, after the construction of the boathouse is finished. The Athletics Department is $4 million away from paying off the boathouse.
Adding a 50-meter NCAA competitive pool to the recreation center was originally proposed in 2002. McGonigle said he wanted to explore the options and see if students wanted a competitive pool, a lap pool or a combination of both.
"The idea was inspired by students and visits to other Big 12 universities," McGonigle said.
McGongle said the pool area at the University of Texas, which he visited on a Student Senate conference, combined a recreation pool and competitive pool as well as hot tubs and fountains.
Mary Chappell, director of recreation services, said a project like McGonigle's would take a long time to get started, and 2010 would be a good goal to have all the planning and design finished for an addition. The addition being built onto the recreation center was proposed in spring 2004 and was scheduled to be finished in June, she said.
Chappell said that because the center was built on 6.5 acres of land, there was lots of space to make additions.
"The good thing is that when we built this building, we thought about the future," Chappell said.
She said pools were expensive to build and operate, and McGonigle would have to survey students to find out exactly what they wanted built on the south side of the recreation center. She said pools could also bring in funds for the University, but that it shouldn't forget the primary purpose of the recreation center. The public would pay a fee to use the pool, which would be free for students.
"we have to keep remembering why we're here and who we're for—students are first," Chappell said.
Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said McGonigle approached him about the option to expand the recreation center. The University currently has a women's swimming and diving team but no men's team. He said the department would not pursue building a pool simply to bring back a men's swimming and diving队.
"Our philosophy is that we need to take care of the sports we have now Marchiony said. "For the kind of swimming program we want to be, we need a
CONTINUATED BY UT RecSports The Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex at the University of Texas offers indoor lap and leisure pools, heated outdoor lap, leisure and event pools, and a heated spa. Other features include wireless Internet, a Kayak school and two cafes. United Students are making an aquatic addition their first platform for the election.
CONTRIBUTED BY UT RecSports
better facility."
Marchiony said the department would listen to any ideas, but the proposal for a new pool would have to come
from the students. He said a new pool would help student athletes and the student body in general since Robinson is more than 40 years old, and it would also
attract potential students to campus.
—Edited by Katherine Loeck
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