Plans for a student-funded recreational center have been put on hold.
Tim Gutierrez, with the office of Student Affairs, said the project idea came from students and will continue only with student support. He said he’ll conduct student focus groups and give presentations to student government to gauge interest in the project.
“I’m going to start bringing it back up and start showing the students … so they can begin to ask the tough questions,” Gutierrez said. “Hopefully, whichever way it goes, the student voice will be heard. If they want to have open discussion or dialogue about it, that’s what I’d like to do. If down the road they say, ‘We’re not interested,’ then we’ll just back off.”
The gym would cost a projected $45 million, Gutierrez said, and will be paid by a $117 increase in student fees per semester. Student fees are not covered by the lottery scholarship.
ASUNM President Lazaro Cardenas and GPSA President Lissa Knudsen voiced concerns about the project.
Knudsen said she is not opposed to the gym if it’s funded without student fees.
“In order for New Mexico to regain its economic viability and its ability to compete on a national and international level, we need to have a highly educated workforce,” Knudsen said. “Increasing student fees does not accomplish that goal. It’s one more barrier to education.”
Jim Todd, associate director of Recreational Services, said the gym will create more activities and opportunities for students to do things on campus.
“While (Johnson Center) is a very large facility, students have very restricted access to it due to the P.E. classes that are in here and due to the scheduled athletic practices and games,” he said.
Gutierrez said that a gym would persuade some students to come to UNM.
“There have been studies that show some students pick institutions … based on the amenities that an institution has,” Gutierrez said. “It’s all about the college experience.”
Knudsen said she didn’t agree with Gutierrez’s assessment.
“All of my colleagues do not come to UNM because of dorms or because of a rec facility,” she said. “They come here because they want to work with world-renowned professors and they want to do cutting-edge research.”
Student Mike Deyhle said he supports the project despite the cost, but understands why some students wouldn’t be interested in a new recreation center.
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“For me, it would be worth it,” he said. “The hours are tough to get in at the times I would like to.
If I don’t use the gym, it’s for that reason.”
