Students approve referendum to build new recreation center

Early in October, students voted to approve the construction of a new recreation center at the Denton campus. Pending approval by the Texas Legislature, the center will open for faculty, staff, students and alumni during the fall semester of 2003.

Although the exact size and location of the building have not been determined, the center will have a health club atmosphere. Along with a juice bar and deli, it will have a climbing wall, basketball and volleyball courts and an indoor track.

The center will house rooms for aerobics, martial arts, yoga and massage therapy. It will also have outdoor party decks with sand volleyball courts, as well as two indoor pools — one for leisure and one for exercise.

The new center's construction begins the spring semester of 2002. Once it is completed, students will pay an additional $75 in fees to fund the center.

Faculty, staff and alumni will be able to use the facilities for an annual or per-semester fee, which will be competitive with local fitness centers, says Sue Delmark, assistant dean and director of recreational sports.

Delmark sees the new center as a way to help faculty and staff develop friendships within the university community.

"Those individuals within the UNT community who do not feel connected to the university will get a sense of belonging through the recreation center," Delmark says. "When students, faculty and staff have breaks during varied times of the day, they can meet to socialize and have a little friendly competition in the student recreation center."

According to Delmark, the new center will also help students become more involved on campus and will help the university with recruitment efforts.

"The new recreation center will really be a big draw for students," Delmark says. "It will be one of the first buildings that prospective students [will want to] see when they tour the campus."

Bonita Jacobs, vice president for student development, says the students, faculty and staff deserve the new facilities.

"We are lagging behind our sister institutions in providing such a facility for our students, faculty and staff," Jacobs says. "The overwhelming approval of the referendum indicates that students feel this is an important issue. Our students, faculty and staff deserve to have facilities designed to connect them to UNT and increase their university satisfaction."

The referendum was approved 1358 to 473.

BY JENNY McCORMACK paiswri2@unt.edu

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