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Recreation
center hotly debated in Senate
By
Daniel Linck Savino
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant Opinion Editor
The Associated Students Senate yesterday
again approached the contentious issue of
building a recreation center on campus.
Debate lasted nearly two hours, and ended
with a 12-7 decision in favor of continuing
to survey students.
The Senate moved quickly through a number
of agenda items and saw Jamie Pollock sworn
in by Cal State Long Beach President Robert
Maxson, who gave a farewell speech to the
Senate. But when the recreation center proposal
was brought to the floor, progress ground
to a halt.
The Associated Students, Inc., is the parent
organization for all things independent
and student-based. ASI oversees the University
Student Union, which manages the Student
Union facilities.
Because of certain rules, any construction
done through ASI must ultimately be paid
for by the USU. Both organizations are funded
by a student fee. The USU, therefore, is
ultimately responsible for developing the
recreation center plan.
That plan is a multi-step process. Before
yesterday’s Senate meeting, the USU
board of directors had agreed to rehire
consulting firm Brailsford and Dunlavey
to do a more detailed survey asking students
what, if any, type of recreation center
they need. Brailsford and Dunlavey performed
a preliminary survey early in the semester,
which said students had “mixed feelings.”
The Senate yesterday had either to approve
the USU board’s decision, or send
it back for further debate. Their ultimate
approval now means that approximately $83,000
will be spent to produce a more in-depth
survey of the campus’s need for a
center.
Senator Asad Sultan, the Senate’s
representative on the USU board, brought
forth the idea that students should run
the survey.
“I think that we shouldn’t underestimate
the capabilities of our students,”
he said. “I think we need to tap into
the intelligence that we have on campus.”
His idea was echoed by several other senators,
including next year’s treasurer, Zaira
Tinoco.
Both Senators Daniel Rukhman and Morgan
Wheeler opposed the idea. They both agreed
with the concept, but neither felt that
students were capable of such an undertaking.
“You would have to set up a class,
for a semester” to do such work, Rukhman
said.
Rukhman ultimately opposed funding any further
survey work.
“I don’t think that a student-run
process would yield as intricate results
as we would need,” Wheeler said. “[Brailsford
and Dunlavey] are professional individuals
who will come onto campus and do this the
right way.”
But debate continued on whether the firm
had a vested interest in producing a pro-center
result.
Senator Uduak-Joe Ntuk cited an article
from the”Washington Business Journal,
which described the firm as a for-profit,
out-of-state company. He also said their
slogan, “from concept to concrete,”
indicated they want to see such centers
built.
“They’re just here to make money,”
he said. “That’s what they do
for their livelihood. This is about helping
[Brailsford and Dunlavey] build another
recreation center.”
Senate Advisor Matt Taylor objected strenuously
to the idea of the center. He noted that
in the company’s surveys for six other
CSUs, none of their efforts have come back
with an anti-center result.
“There is some sense that these people
have an agenda that [building centers] is
a good idea,” he said.
He also repeatedly said that the fee increase
that would come from building a center would
force some students out of CSULB.
Ultimately, after two unsuccessful attempts
to force the matter to a floor vote, a third
effort succeed. In a roll call vote, 12
of the 19 senators present voted to let
the surveys continue.
Voting yes were Senators Noelle Bautista-Kinley,
Heidi Chavez, Franklin Mungia, Shelley Levenson,
Hironao Okahana, Estee Sepulveda, Jennifer
Sharp, Kory Witt, Jessica Viera, Morgan
Wheeler, Ryan Lisko and Erik Joliff.
In opposition were Senators Melissa Duque,
Uduak-Joe Ntuk, Courtney Ronald, Daniel
Rukhman, Audrian Aviles, Asad Sultan and
Zaira Tinoco.
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