Contrary to popular belief, students who helped pay for the new recreation center will not get to use the facilities for free after they’ve graduated.
Full-time students at the University of Memphis have been paying an additional fee to build a new recreational center since fall of 2014, but even if the center is built by the projected finish date, some of those same students will have graduated before the facility opens it’s doors.
While there was initial discussion that suggested students who graduated before the projected opening in 2018 will receive a free membership for the number of semesters they paid the fee, Rosie Phillips Bingham, vice president for Student Affairs, said that will not be the case at a town hall meeting on Feb. 18.
“It is true that the students who pay fees now are paying for what is coming in the future, just like those (students) who paid for the University Center before it was built. That is the kind of contract we have,” she said. “As an alum, the students can come back and have a reduced fee but will not be able to use it for free.”
Students will also have to share their new recreational center with members of the community who sign up for a membership.
The University will sell memberships to non-students and U of M employees for the new recreation center.
“We actually already sell memberships to the community to our current rec center, but never to the point where students are inconvenienced,” Bingham said.
Ricky Kirby, former student government president at the U of M, said he was surprised that administrators said alumni would not get to use the recreation center for free.
“The policy must not have been passed up the chain to them,” he said. “When we were passing the fee, we were promised by recreation center administration that students would get to utilize the facility for as many semesters as they paid for it.”
Kirby was student government president when the fee hike was approved. Student government does not have the power to raise student fees but they voted that they agreed with the fee hike.
Kirby said the plan was acknowledged at a public meeting and acknowledged by then University interim president Brad Martin and the recreational staff.
“I am slightly disappointed about the lack of communication here, because this was something promised to students before SGA passed the fee and I signed off on it,” he said. Since the fee hike of $307 was approved in 2014, full-time students pay $298 annually to help build the recreational center and pedestrian bridge. The remaining $9 goes to campus health services.
The town hall meeting that occurred on Feb. 18 was open to all students and gave those who attended a chance to ask questions to a panel of six University administration members.
All student senators and cabinet members were also present. Students asked questions that ranged from campus safety protocols, to parking issues, to online course fees.
Bruce Harber, the chief of police and assistant vice president for administration, was one of the administrators present at the meeting to answer questions about campus safety.
Many questions were asked about the University’s protocol in the instance of an active shooting and of the University’s views concerning the recent passing of the bill in Texas, which will allow students to carry a concealed weapon.
“Our officers go through training every year if there is ever an active shooter on campus,” he said. “We want any weapon on campus to be in the hands of people who were trained to use them.”
David Zettergren, vice president for business and finance, answered questions concerning the online course fees.
“The RODP (Regents Online Fee Program) online fee is specified by the Tennessee Board of Regents,” he said. “Our fee is slightly lower. It is used to pay staff, development and academic support.”
Many additional questions asked related to the fee hike and demolition of general parking spaces caused by the construction of the new recreational center and the pedestrian bridge.
