Student will be able to vote Nov. 18 through Nov. 20 to accept or decline the $100 fee Tech would add to student bills to fund a new fitness center.
SGA unanimously passed the “New Fitness/ Intramural Facility Act of 2013” Monday, Nov. 11.
With the bill enacted, a student referendum will take place next week on the Tech voting server. There are informational locations in the UC from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and all day inside the Fit to help students understand the fee and its purpose.
The building project is designed to accommodate for the student enrollment that has been steadily outgrowing the current facility every semester. Because the intramural programs are growing, there is also a need for more room.
“I think it’s great,” Kimberley Knotts, graduate assistant for the Fitness center, said. “We are ever expanding, constantly getting new students in and we’re running out of room. If the building goes through, we can be more versatile, add more programs and accommodate every student, not just certain types.”
Samuel Foster, a mechanical engineering major, said, “The idea of updating the fit is a good idea but I don’t feel like we need to build an entirely new facility. The Fit has everything has everything that we need and there are enough places on campus to play sports. “
The construction of the new facility will either be on the corner of 7th Street and Willow Avenue, where the GI Depot is currently located, or University Drive and Willow Avenue, where Tech Village is located nearest Sherlock Park. If accepted, the University will charge freshmen and sophomores $100 a semester until it’s finished. Alumni will be able to pay a similar fee for its use after graduation. Students that paid but did not get to use the facility by its projected completion can use the complex for free.
Chandler Pecora, a senior journalism major, is undecided about the new facility. Pecora said he thinks it’s good for students that use the Fit but thinks students should not be forced to pay for it in their tuition.
Tyler Crow, a junior human ecology major, said, “I support it because the current Fit is too small for the campus population, but there’s a lot of students that don’t use the fitness center compared to people that do.”
Director of the Fit David Mullinax think the new complex would add value to campus.
“I think it will be a good shining star for Tech and will be good for recruitment because students come for more than education,” Mullinax said. “There’s a life outside the classroom.”
For more information about the new Fit plans, visit http://www.tntech.edu/recreation. The website features a 3-D walkthrough, blueprint overview and images of what the building would look like once complete.
