Students didn't consider cost when polled about rec center

Editor,

Building a new recreation center would be ridiculous for three reasons.

First, the survey method was faulty. If you asked me today if I wanted a Bugatti Veyron, I would say yes. If you asked me today if I wanted a Bugatti Veyron that would cost me $1.8 million, I would say no. The survey about a new recreation center should have asked people if they were willing to pay a $100 increase in student fees for a new recreation center instead of just asking students if they wanted one. Sure, a lot of us wouldn't mind a new recreation center. But that doesn't mean we all want to pay for one.

Second, part of the new recreation center will be built on A Lot. Just because there isn't a structure built on A Lot doesn't mean it is free space open for development. We are using A Lot. Where are all of those people going to park? We are a commuter university, and Albuquerque is a commuter city, so that will never change. The last thing we need to do away with is our valuable, limited parking. Or maybe that's the plan. Limit parking even more so UNM can hike up the cost of parking passes.

And last, ASUNM President Ashley Fate seems to think a new recreation center will bring more students to UNM and help retain students. Maybe Fate doesn't have to pay for college by herself, but a lot of us do. The last thing I thought about when deciding where to go to school was the recreation center. And one of the first factors I considered was cost. University students go to school to learn, not to work out. If they can go to the gym while they are here, great, but it isn't a priority. Fate needs to learn the value of money before she says a 5 percent increase in tuition as well as a hike in student fees is reasonable. I need that money for clothes. I need it for food. I need it for health care. I need it for my education. I do not, however, need a new recreation center.

Dusty Brooks

UNM student