Our
view
Rec
center methods questionable
The Associated Students Inc. Student Senate
will vote next Wednesday on the proposed
student recreation center. If approved,
the issue will be put on the referendum
for students to vote on in December.
We encourage the Senate to question the
manner in which it was determined that the
student body is interested in supporting
a new facility. Robert Lara, the director
of the University Student Union explained
about the student survey given, which appeared
as a broad, unspecific and biased questionnaire.
An ad was posted in the On-line Forty-Niner
in the fall of 2001 inquiring students to
respond to a survey about campus life, with
the promise of free food for participating.
This raises questions about the motive of
the students to respond and only targets
those students who read the Forty-Niner.
The focus groups created from this ad comprised
only 18 people total, which creates more
concern about the validity of the data.
It is not logical to make a $35 million
decision for 34,400 students based on the
vague response of a statistically inconsequential
number of students.
According to Lara, the survey asked students
to share their opinions about campus life
and state what they felt was lacking on
campus. Students responded that they would
like to have a community center where they
could meet with friends, study, exercise
and socialize. When asked how much money
students would be willing to pay for such
a service, answers ranged from between $25
and $250. Cheaper options exist for fraternizing
with friends than $35 million.
If students were aware that the construction
would not be complete until well after they
graduate, when they said they were willing
to pay for it, is unclear. Recommendations
have been made to allow alumni to use the
facility, but that has not been finalized
yet.
A student committee has spent the last few
years traveling around the state to visit
other colleges with recreation centers similar
to the one planned. Getting ideas from other
places is good, but the schools visited
are not comparable to Cal State Long Beach.
They include University of San Diego, UC
Irvine, UC Berkeley and San Diego State
which all have a predominant presence in
the community.
Why weren’t schools like Cal State Fullerton,
Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge
or Cal State Dominguez Hills looked at also?
They may not have million dollar exercise
facilities but they are more comparable
as a campus to our own. The majority of
students at these schools commute and attend
college in a city that has a diverse population
that does not revolve around the campus.
Before making an important decision that
affects every person attending this school,
the Senate should find out the real desires
of the students it represents and make a
truly informed determination about the need
and practicality of taking on such a huge
project.
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