The SMU Board of Trustees approved a 7.5 percent tuition increase during Thursday’s board meeting. The Dedman Center Renovation will be funded by 1.5 percent of the increase.
“I don’t think it’s fair for the students who have to pay for it and won’t get to enjoy it,” said advertising major Amanda Taylor. “Aren’t things more important on this campus than my dress size?”
The greater good the Dedman Center will provide is worth the tuition hike, university officials and student leaders said.
“It’s clear that no student, including myself would want tuition to go up, but we also want the university to thrive and to continue to grow,” said Student Representative to the Board of Trustees Steven Schindler. “Tuition increases are a fact of higher education nationwide.”
The $25 million project will include expanded basketball and racquetball courts, a six-lane pool, outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, a three-story rock climbing wall and a juice bar. The expansion will be built on the south side of the current Dedman Center and will increase the square footage from 85,000 to 150,000.
With new facilities comes the promise of additional non-credit fitness classes such as spinning and water aerobics. Intramural leagues for water polo, water basketball and water volleyball will be added as well.
When the new recreation center opens, the university hopes to create an outdoor rec program that enables students to borrow camping and rock climbing equuipment.
It’s not just the amenities that the university is looking forward to, it’s the presence of a community-building facility.
“It’s more than just providing a place to workout – it’s a place for students to be students,” Schindler said.
Before the architects finalized the renovation plans, some university officials had fears that the Cinco Center would close before the construction of the new facility was complete.
The university will not let the SMU community go without workout facilities, said Student Body President Dustin Odham during a press conference Friday.
The university is scheduled to break ground on the expansion next fall and complete the project by summer 2005.
