The Student Senate discussed the results of the University of Rhode Island Recreational Service's survey on the addition of a student fee to aid in the building a new fitness and wellness center in the Roger Williams building.
Director of Recreational Services Jodi Hawkins said most students "have no clue" that the university is working on creating additional space for them to exercise, but she has been trying to get additional workout space for students since 2005. The money to renovate the Roger Williams center would come from student fee because Recreational Services is an auxiliary facility. Academic Affairs Chairwoman Christine Juhr said this means they cannot sustain themselves on their own budget.
"This is something that the students have been asking for, for many, many years now," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said the survey was sent out to students so that Recreational Services has an idea on what benefits students would like to have in the fitness center and also to have an idea of what students would like to pay additional fees for, if needed.
After sending the survey out to 13,000 students via email, Hawkins said only 682 responses were recorded, or about 5.25 percent were recorded. She added that it was "pretty clear" students did not want an increase to the fees.
She said 71 percent of the responders were against the increase of recreation fees for next year, 82 percent said they would be willing to pay an increased recreation fee if they were able to have additional benefits and 87 percent said they would give "moderate to high priority" for this facility to be renovated. When putting the numbers into perspective, Juhr said only .6 percent of the students who responded to the survey were willing to pay $150-$200 a semester as the additional recreational fee.
"There is no set fee right now," Hawkins said. "We have projected figures [and] we're working very closely with the budget office. We will do our best to keep that cost as low as possible."
As for benefits to student recreation services, 82 percent of students said they would like improvements such as extended facility hours, more cardio and conditioning areas and free exercise classes. Hawkins said all of those benefits are what she wants to achieve with the new facility.
The new facility will be two floors and close to 22,000 square feet of space. Hawkins said Recreational Services representatives are "actively seeking and [have] almost decided" what they would like to fill the space with. She said there is space for over 83 cardio-based equipment, which will include televisions, cardio theatres and new machines. "The technology will be there for us to grow in the future," Hawkins said.
In other news:
-The Student Senate granted $1,500 to URI Athletics in order to support a GLBTIQQ awareness event.
-The Student Senate recognized Classy Leaders Achieving Student Services.
-The Student Senate recognized the Art Club.
-The Student Senate recognized the Sign Language Club.
-The Student Senate recognized Youth for Ron Paul.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!