Editorial: Rec center in the university’s court

In the end, it may have just cost too much.

After what may have been one of the most expensive campaigns in CSUS history, students would not put up with a $90 fee increase to build a fitness/events/recreation/arena/student center. More than 2,300 student voters decided that they would not pay for the multi-million dollar facility. Instead, they have put the ball back in the university’s court, where it belongs, and said if it should be built, CSUS should foot the bill.

What went wrong? Who knows for sure. Clever slogans and campaign signs were not enough to answer the questions presented by such large fee increase. There were too many details left unanswered.

Where are the plans for the fitness center? Who would make all the little decisions? Who would guarantee the center would remain in student hands? How much would the total bill be and when would it all happen? These were a few of the many questions that plagued the campaign and appeared to cause the referendum’s defeat.

What happens now? Who knows? Without a deep-pocket sponsor or coalition of sponsors, it seems unlikely that CSUS will ever open its purse strings and fund a similar center in the future.

One thing is certain, it will take dedication and leadership to keep this on the university’s agenda in the coming years.

Gary Davis, ASI president, should be commended for his perseverance and energy towards trying to give students a facility that, in 1998, they said they wanted. While Davis found out on Wednesday that students weren’t ready to pay for the proposal, this issue should not go away.

Last Wednesday’s results should tell the university students are no longer going to bear the responsibility and burden of building a first-class facility for CSUS.