UNM recently approved budgeting for renovations to Johnson Gym, and four UNM students met with the student governments and directors of neighboring universities to exchange ideas on budgeting strategies.
Gabriela Garcia-Huff, Associated Students of UNM President Kyle Biederwolf, ASUNM Chief of Staff Delia Brennan and Adan Serna made up the group, representing the student body.
From July 11th through July 17th the group visited the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Colorado State University.
Meeting with officials, the group explored different ideas and possible influences for the best ways to improve Johnson Gym.
“It’s encouraging to see our student leaders being so adamant in improving the state of the gym,” Huff said.
Huff and the other three students found similarities and differences in each of the student governments, which allowed them to consider what renovations would be feasible in the newly renovated gym.
Biederwolf said each of the campuses’ they visited gave the group new ideas as well as things to avoid in the planning process of the recreation center's new features.
For example, they found that one of the colleges' gyms was too small for the needs of the students, Brennan said.
She said taking note of the successes and failures from these renovations will help keep UNM from making similar mistakes on our own campus.
Brennan said another factor they want to consider stems from other gyms including separate areas for personal and education use. Among the common complaints from frequenters of Johnson is having extremely limited time to use the weight room as they are also used by classes.
“It was a really cool experience to see how different everything is. A lot of the buildings from the renovations blended in very well, it was beautiful,” Brennan said of her experience touring the different student facilities in neighboring universities.
Of the experiences Huff had while touring the different gyms, she said UNM's student government’s sensitivity to the voice of its students stands out the most.
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“We found similarities and differences in all student governments but it was awesome to see how each one put students first. We were able to ask about student government issues, university issues and state issues," Biederwolf said. "One of our main focuses this upcoming year is diversity and it was very beneficial for us to see how each school worked to always be improving their diversity and inclusion sectors."
One instance of inclusion at these universities was gender neutral bathrooms emphasizing the importance of diversity in a college setting, Huff said. This is an issue that many students have already brought up to UNM.
This made evident that UNM’s student government was working hard to make a positive connection and that student government is capable of making change, she said.
“Making our University something to be proud of, starting with the gym,” Huff said.
Last year the Board of Regents approved funding for the renovations to Johnson Gym after a student interest forum showed an extreme amount of positive feedback for the renovations, Brennan said.
Brennan said students who will pay student fees that will go into the renovations of the Johnson Gym, and graduates prior to the completed renovations, will be able to use the Johnson Gym for a period of time.
The amount of time will be equal to the amount of time the students pay into the fees for the renovation of the gym, she said.
Brennan said questions about how existing gym programs will be affected by the renovations are being taken into account by UNM. Although no decisions of how the renovations will impact these programs have been made as of yet, other universities had small portions of their gym open during their own renovations, she said.
Within the next month, the choice for the design and the architect for the renovation should be made, Huff said. The expected date that the renovations to the Johnson Gym will be completed will be from 2019 or 2020.
“It’s really exciting to know our University is taking steps to improve itself and that there are people out there working hard to make that happen,” she said.
