Committee attempts to bring fitness into step

Brian Bear woke up early to get a premium spot at the pool. After spending his morning floating in the lazy river and flipping off the diving board, Bear took a break for lunch. Sitting in front of a large-screen TV, he relished in the delights of a Blimpie sandwich and drank a Starbucks Frappuccino for dessert. The afternoon is filled with rock climbing – on the tallest free-standing structure in Texas – lifting weights with a personal trainer and playing sand volleyball with friends. After finishing his workout, Bear relaxed in the Vortex pool.

Bear is not at a $100-per-day spa, he could be any student at Baylor University enjoying the perks of the school’s newly renovated recreation center.

Compared to a list of 13 Texas and benchmark schools, SMU has the smallest recreational facility on the list. The Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports, which opened in 1976, measures 43,000 sq. ft, less than a third of Baylor’s recently completed 156,000 sq. ft. facility.

A group of SMU student leaders and staff toured three Texas universities’ (Baylor, TCU and Southwest Texas Medical School) recreation centers in August to inspire and inform the campus. Interfraternity Council President Josh Ball was one of the student leaders who attended. He, along with others, saw the need for the renovation of the Dedman Center.

“They are impressive facilities far superior to anything SMU offers,” said Ball. “I think that all the universities are equal to SMU, and if they wanted to, SMU could build something very similar.”

Work on expanding the Dedman Center began in 1992.

The Cinco Center, which opened in July 2001 as part of the Dedman Center renovation, offers students a variety of cardiovascular and weight machines.

“I work out at the Cinco Center,” said senior political science and journalism major Beth Zuschlag. “I pay enough money to SMU and therefore should take advantage of all the facilities the university has to offer. The biggest problem with the Cinco Center is that it gets really crowded at peak hours.”

Like many other students, Zuschlag was not aware that the Cinco Center is a temporary facility and is scheduled to be taken down September of 2005, possibly before the Dedman Center renovation is completed, said Judith Banes, Dedman Center director.

Over the last 10 years, surveys have been taken to find out what the SMU community wants in the new center. Banes said that the majority of complaints about the center concern lack of adequate weight machines, too long of a wait and no pool.

Last year, Student Senate conducted a survey to find out if a renovated recreation center was a priority for students and the response was that it was. The survey also found that 32 percent of students work out off campus and spend an average of $52 a month on membership fees.

About a month ago, Senate took another survey, “Dedman Center Expansion Survey” aimed at undergraduate and graduate students and faculty and staff.

“Now that we’ve proven to the administration that this is a student concern the next logical step is to ask students and faculty what they want in a rec. center,” said Student Body President Dustin Odham.

The surveys were collected Wednesday night. Approximately 700 to 1,000 were received.

“The number of surveys filled out in such a short amount of time shows the high level of student concern about the issue,” said Student Body Secretary Thomas Kincaid.

These surveys will be taken into account when architects visit campus Oct. 28 -30 to work on a new feasibility study. The plan will include what options are possible for the expansion and what that will cost. After more specifics are figured out projected costs will become more concrete.

Raising money to renovate the Dedman Center is a problem for the university.

“During the Capital Campaign, funding for the Dedman Center was a main priority,” Banes said. “But it’s been a tough sell. There isn’t a donor it has really clicked for.”

If a major donor cannot be found by February it is approximated that tuition will increase by two percent to fund the estimated $25 to $30 million project.

Student Representative to the Board of Trustees Steven Schindler said he did not know if the board would raise tuition to fund the construction.

“We have to look at our goals of recruiting and retaining top-notch students,” Schindler said. “If Dedman is a factor then we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can to foster their educational experience in all different aspects of life.”

Many universities have jumped on the trend of building state-of-the-art recreation centers. Baylor’s recently completed 156,000 square foot center and TCU’s 160,000 square foot center, scheduled for competition in December, represent only a few of the facilities.

“A building boom in recreation centers has been underway since the early 1990s, according to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association,” the Associated Press reported recently. “The college trade group’s 725 member institutions have 1,546 recreation centers, nearly half built since 1995, including 25 percent built since 2000.”

Many agree that recreation centers are a tool to recruit prospective students. Banes, said if a prospective student is looking at Baylor, TCU and SMU and all other selling points are equal, that student is going to choose the university with the better recreational facility.

“Build it and they will come is really true when talking about rec. centers,” Banes said.

Many SMU students are unaware of the recreational facilities that SMU lacks and other schools offer. Pool water slides, smoothie bars and personal trainers are luxuries that SMU’s students, faculty and staff have not seen in the 10 years that SMU has been working on remodeling the Dedman Center.

“Compared to other universities our rec. center is severely lacking in space, equipment and personnel,” Zuschlag said. “I’m sad [the renovation] didn’t happen during my four years at SMU. I hope the university acts quickly so that future generations of students don’t have to go without.”a