For her 21st birthday, SGA President Lauren Hayes received an unexpected birthday present last Friday.
The Board of Trustees approved her proposal to initiate the process of hiring an architect for a new student recreation center.
Hayes presented information gathered by the SGA and the Student Act committee from students a consulting firm to the board, asking for its permission to start looking for an architect so schematic designs of the rec center can be created, and the next steps can be taken to making it a reality.
Before the meeting, Hayes said while actual actions have just begun this year, the SGA has been talking about this project for about 10 years.
“I feel like we’ve done all the research we could do,” Hayes said. “We’ve got all the information possible to show this board how much we need and want this building.”
Students will have to pay a fee of $125-$185 per semester for the new Student Act, which will be paid with tuition. Students pay $7.50 for the Student Act that exists now.
“I think it’s going to be worth it,” Hayes said. “Once we hire this architect, we are going to let students see what they can have, so they are going to be very informed before they make this vote.”
Hayes said while this is a significant increase, she is confident students will be on board with the new student rec center once they can compare the projected facility’s costs to other universities’ rec centers.
During the meeting, Hayes said the Student Act, which was built in 1984, has a 3.94 square feet per student ratio, which is below the 10.49 SEC average.
The new Student Act aims to have a 9.42 square feet per student ratio and possibly feature indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities, racquetball courts, social rooms, outdoor recreation areas, locker rooms, a walking track and more fitness facilities.
According to a survey of 5,000 participants conducted by the SGA, about 70 percent of the students said they spent up to nine hours per week working out. Students stated the main reasons they look to places off campus are variety and availability of equipment and parking.
Hayes said they plan to seek approval of an architect from the board in November and present them with a student referendum in February.
Students were present at the meeting to show their support for the new building.
“We need to make it clear to the Board of Trustees how important it is for us to get a new Student Act, and the best way to do that is to come here and show our support, not only for Lauren, but also for the new Student Act,” said Scott Seitz, a sophomore majoring in political science.
Leanne Mareck, a senior in political science, said she thought it was a good idea to encourage students to come to the meeting.
“I definitely do because we need to make it clear to them that we really do want a new student rec center, and although a lot of us will be gone by the time it is built, it is definitely something that we’ve missed out on having as students,” Mareck said.
Mareck said student life would be more complete with the new Student Center, housing and other facilities being built on campus.
The board also discussed expanding the budget for the Terminal Building at the Auburn-Opelika Airport from $5,695,000 to $6.5 million.
While it passed the resolution, the board talked about extending the airport’s runway to better utilize the facility and meet the objectives for the airport that were laid out at previous meetings. The board also felt it should look at other alternative locations to place the runway.
It said it needs to look at all possibilities for the airport and be presented firm information to decide what is best for the community.
