Rec center secrets

This fall, the new recreation center at Portland State plans to open its doors. Many students anxiously await the debut of … well, it’s uncertain. Rumors have flown about what will actually be in the new rec center.

The biggest controversy seems to be over what sorts of businesses may exist within the rec center. Speculation about what those businesses will be and how they might or might not benefit students has run rampant. Will there be a grocery store? Restaurants? Where do we get information on what PSU’s plans are?

The Campus Recreation Center Web site is quite outdated. It states that the new rec center will hopefully be open fall quarter 2007, but may take as much as a year beyond that. It also states that there might be space available for a student-run business, which sounds promising for potential entrepreneurs.

However, in other areas on PSU’s website, it says that the businesses that will be opening in the new rec center are still being determined, and that the contracts they will be under are private.

This lack of information is disturbing for many reasons, the least of which is the lack of student involvement.

Since the recreation center is being built with funds students have contributed to the university, shouldn’t we have some say in what goes into the building? After browsing the Web site thoroughly, I was unable to come up with any conclusive answers about details of the rec center, just a lot of outdated and sometimes contradictory material.

Not only are student funds being used for the building of the rec center, but we also have to pay to utilize services. It stands to reason then, that any businesses that go into the building should be of the utmost benefit to the student population.

Student input should be the first priority in the recreation center plans. It is understandable that the university also wants to make wise business decisions in the process, however, this rec center is for the student body, not the university cash cow.

Attempts were made earlier this month by the Vanguard to contact the university’s finance and administration offices for clarification about the retailers in the rec center. However, phone calls were unreturned.

This does not sound like something that is beneficial to students. Keeping us in the dark is not the way to build trust and confidence in the university’s decisions. It also makes it seem as if perhaps the administration may not have students’ best interests at heart.

It is very exciting that we are getting a new rec center, and many of the ideas that have been released to the public are great ones. Nonetheless, we can’t allow the shiny new swimming pool to overshadow what else is going on with the construction of this building.

Information is crucial here, and students should not only be privy to what is going on, but also a deciding force in which retailers will be housed in the new recreation center.

Get involved in this process! Contact the university administration. Ask them what you can do to contribute and demand answers. Students deserve to have access to information, and to see just where their money is going.