Brennan AngelThe University Union Advisory Board (UUAB) has continued their goal to improve the Cal Poly Recreation Center by adding a barbecue pit and tables to the pool and volleyball court areas, said Brandon Souza, chair of UUAB and agribusiness senior.
“This quarter, (Associated Students Inc.) is focused on students’ wants and needs,” Souza said. “We were seeing the need of a recreational area for clubs and students to use. So, we went out and talked to the students and said, ‘hey, this is going to cost this much, what do you think,’ and everyone loved it.”
Students have expressed that the Rec Center is overcrowded and too small. Therefore the board has discussed the possibility of expansion, Souza said.
“Out of the three facilities we are in charge of, the one we see needs the most is the Rec Center,” Souza said. “If we do want to expand the Rec Center, that money has to come from the students and through a student referendum, which would increases fees. However, we are not thinking about a referendum right now.”
Due to the failure of the last referendum, Souza said the UUAB is focused on researching the cost of expanding the Rec Center and then providing students with as many options as possible.
“Students didn’t feel like they knew a lot about the last referendum,” Souza said. “We want to give students options and we want to make sure they understand the process of a referendum.”
Currently, the UUAB is developing projects to upgrade the facilities and maximize the current space, Souza said.
However, students often have to wait outside the weight room when it reaches maximum capacity.
“We’ve seen a lot of students who are so fed up with the Rec Center they are going off campus and getting a membership to other facilities,” Souza said. “That’s not what we want.”
Journalism junior Heather Rehnberg said she thinks the Rec Center has a strong intramural program but after she is done playing volleyball on campus, she has to go off campus to a private club to work out because the gym is always so crowded.
“The Rec Center is definitely too crowded,” Rehnberg said. “It makes students not want to take advantage of the money they put into it. Personally, I now go to Club 24 along with all my roommates.”
ASI is taking into consideration the option of enclosing the outside deck, overlooking the swimming pool, which would provide approximately 122 extra square feet, Souza said.
“Everything that ASI does is student-oriented and we don’t want to make these large decisions without talking to the students first,” he said. “We welcome student input on the expanded facility and we want to know what students would like to see.”
ASI is currently in the preliminary stages of researching the costs of a Rec Center expansion.
“We don’t have any solid costs right now,” Souza said. “Once we complete our research we will go back to the students and say, ‘here is what it is going to cost, are you willing to pay for it?'”
Souza said ASI would like to provide students with many different expansion options.
The new barbecue and recreational area will be open for events and student use once the Rec Center policies for the area are finalized.