LETTER: USU needs a rec center

To the editor:

With many debates on Facebook and face to face about the Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields, there have been many ideas passed around that are not true. The intent of this letter is to clear up those false ideas.

First, the idea that this project will add a fourth rec center to our campus is completely untrue, and I could not think of any way that someone came up with that number. To clarify, the HPER Building is an academic building that has gyms and a pool. Those kinds of facilities are in that building because the HPER department teaches swimming, basketball, dance and other fitness and movement classes. So that building’s primary use is for academics, not for student recreation. The Fieldhouse was not meant to be a student recreation center. It was a quick fix for what this university was lacking in a recreation center over a decade ago, but it’s not dedicated purely for students. Athletics uses the main floor for practices and students lose open recreation time. The community comes and hosts events there which takes away from student recreation time. And the only other thing that I could think of to make up the third part of the “three” current recreation centers is the Outdoor Recreation Program. The ORP is anything but a recreation center. At its most basic form it is a rental shop for students to get outdoor equipment.

Second, I’ll address the funding for this project. People have been saying you will spend up to $600 on facilities that you will never use — completely false. You will only pay for the parts of the project that will be open while you’re a student at USU. You will not spend a penny for any part of the project you will not have the opportunity to use.

The rumor that USU has three recreation centers right now is completely false. Are you paying for something you will never use? False. Please, with the vote for the Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields beginning Wednesday, learn for yourself how great this project is and remember to vote.

David Smith