University of Iowa students are facing prospect of adding a 200-dollar fee to their tuition — but the school’s student body president says they don’t mind. In fact, he says they’d even be willing to chip in a little more.
Student leader Mark Kresowik of Iowa City says students are willing to pay up because the money would help fund a new student recreation facility. He says they think the recreation center “is crucial to the student life future of the University of Iowa.” Kresowik says, “Our current facilities are fairly out of date and inadequate to meet the needs, especially given competition from other places around the country with their student life facilities.” He says the proposed new pool, climbing wall and other amenities are “absolutely crucial to the ongoing student life experience at the University of Iowa.”
While coaches promote their practice facilities to recruits, Kresowik says the recreation center is an important draw to students who aren’t on sports teams. He says the quality of the “student life facilities” are an important recruiting tool around the country. Kresowik says the recreation facility isn’t just a place to work out — it also gives students an alternative to the nighlife and other activities around campus.
This is something that will hopefully combat some of those alternative activities, such as playing video games, and he says it will hopefully be more healthy, more fun and more social. If all the plans are approved and move forward, the new U-of-I recreation center would be built and put into use sometime in 2008.