ASASUD President Tania Mendes presented a resolution, which addresses the demand for more student space downtown by implementing a facilities fee, to the Senate Friday.
“I’m proposing that we create a facilities fee,” Mendes said, “to support the construction of facilities to include a new and expanded recreation center, student center and student union space.”
The fee would consist of a $75 per semester charge that ASU students on all four campuses, including graduate and commuter students, would be required to pay. Mendes said she is asking students to take the financial responsibility upon themselves.
The University does not have the ability to support and fund the needs downtown, Mendes said. Through a student-supported fee, Mendes said the students may be able to get the facilities they deserve.
“Our family is too big for the house,” she said. “But we can’t move forward until we know there is a fee behind it.”
Students would not have to pay the facilities fee until the building was completed, Mendes said.
“No student would be paying for this until they entered the building,” she said.
The fee proposal is coming at a critical time. The YMCA has the ability to purchase additional land in April of next year, so the Senate must start moving forward, Mendes said.
ASASUD has already talked with the YMCA about potential plans for the lot, Mendes said, which would include an outdoor pool and tennis courts.
Junior Sen. Joe Pettinato, College of Public Programs, disagreed about the necessity of a facilities fee.
“I think it’s important to recognize that we already do have student space,” Pettinato said.
The Wells Fargo Student Center offers a variety of activities including a PlayStation 3, pool tables and pingpong, Pettinato said.
“The problem is not necessarily the space, but that students don’t use it,” he said. “That is where we need to be looking for a solution, not building new buildings.”
The two available student recreation spaces on the Downtown campus are the post office and the YMCA.
Mendes said the post office has been renovating for three years and seen little progress, while the YMCA has inflexible hours and doesn’t allow students to use their studio space.
“Our students aren’t getting anything in return,” Mendes said.
Students would also gain more power and control over their recreation options with the implementation of a facilities fee, Mendes said.
“It’s going to be student-run and controlled,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to be able to put their own advice and ideas into the construction process.”
Mendes said other schools with this kind of fee include the University of Michigan with a student fee set at $731 annually, the University of Washington at $429, Ohio State University at $291 and Penn State at $248.
“Universities across the country have a separate fee to support student programs,” Mendes said. “In comparison, we really have no money that is designated to facilities.”
The facilities fee resolution has already passed on the West and Polytechnic campuses. The Presidents’ Council has agreed that the money will be distributed based on the need of each campus, Mendes said.
“It’s about time now that we start making our services equal on all campuses,” she said.
The Tempe campus would not receive any of the money collected from the fee, Mendes said.
“Tempe is already ahead of other campuses,” Mendes said. “They know that.”
Junior Sen. Justin Hoffman, Barrett, the Honors College, said he is not completely convinced there is a need for new student space. He said the proposed fee was an ambiguous endeavor.
“Right now we are talking about concepts,” Hoffman said. “There is nothing set in stone.”
The senators agreed to postpone a vote on the facilities fee until more information is available.
Given the economic stresses students already feel, Hoffman said he favored utilizing the spaces ASU already provides.
“Since we already have the facilities that are sufficient for students and for their needs, I don’t know that now is the time or the place to be increasing the expenses for students,” he said.
Contact the reporter at jvonsche@asu.edu
