Students present feedback on Tech Rec proposal

Last week the Student Center revealed plans to renovate Tech Rec, the multi-purpose recreational space on the bottom floor of the Student Center. The proposed renovations include the creation of additional lounge space, a multi-purpose room, new seating options and billiard areas and a renovated entrance.

A display outside the facility displaying the new plans and soliciting student input quickly filled with sticky notes expressing confusion over the purpose of the added room and the impetus for what seems to be a change to the Tech Rec identity.

Over the past 10 years Tech Rec has incurred significant losses in revenue, forcing both the institute and Student Government Association to step in to help cover costs. The Institute has been paying $50,000 to cover annual custodial, maintenance and utility fees, and SGA has allocated a portion of the Student Activity Fee to Tech Rec, paying $30,000 to employ the student assistants who run it. Even with these subsidies as well as extensive lay-offs, price increases and cut-backs within Tech Rec, the center has still incurred over $200,000 in lost revenue.

Student surveys over the past 10 years have also shown a significant decline in use of the space. The student survey from spring of 2007 indicated that less than 10% of the student population used Tech Rec on a weekly basis. Over just the past year there has nearly been a 25% decline in regular student use. Dissatisfaction with pricing, food options and equipment maintenance are also common complaints on the surveys, all of which are being tentatively addressed in the redesign plans.

"The biggest concern was that there were 14,000 square feet of space which lacked significant use, and so a change needed to be made. The design is an attempt to accommodate the growth areas of use, which is parties and group functions, while still supporting all the previous uses of Tech Rec," said Rich Steele, director of the Student Center.

The Student Center initially approached the upper administration with a request for a capital budget last March. In order to accommodate the growing demand for event space, the idea of a multi-purpose room was incorporated into the renovations.

The Student Center was granted a $230,000 budget for renovations and upgrades this year, $30,000 of which has already been allocated on a new point of sale system for Tech Rec. The system was put in place earlier this fall. The funds will be supplied by Auxiliary Services, and none of the renovation budget will be allocated from student funds.

The current design plan was submitted by the architectural firm ai3 Inc. two weeks ago, and does not yet have a price estimate attached. The architectural firm has requested that any changes to the design be submitted by Thanksgiving; however the design will not be placed on the market for bidding until February 2008, giving the Student Center three months to make any modifications to the plans.

During the initial phase of design no students were involved on the planning committee. While the design was structured around the desires of the student body as they were indicated through surveys and revenue, it was not until the current plan was released that a student review panel was formed.

"I feel that last week was the first time students were given input on the renovations at Tech Rec," said Jessica Calhoun, a fifth-year Aerospace Engineering major and manager of Tech Rec.

The students invited to discuss the design plan included members from SGA and the Student Center.

"The students we spoke to in the meetings with the architects all voiced concerns about student involvement, so at their suggestion we decided to get more student opinion through things like the message boards. We are also planning on starting up a website so students can post feedback there," Steele said.

The student message boards posted outside of Tech Rec relate multiple concerns with the design, among those the multi-purpose room and the elimination of some of the current gaming space. The current design may also be modified to eliminate the vending section along the right wall near the entrance in exchange for re-instating more arcade and video gaming space.

The tentative design of the multi-purpose room actually includes a glass wall that could be removed during normal operating hours, only sectioning off the space when the room was rented out for an event. However, the cost of the glass wall is potentially outside of the budgetary options, so alternative methods of incorporating the room into Tech Rec are still being explored.

While the design is relatively fluid, the multi-purpose room is an integral portion of the renovation that will be retained.

"We originally viewed the room as part of Tech Rec, with games such as table tennis inside. However, the design of the multi-purpose room was based not only on Tech Rec needs but also the needs of the Student Center as a whole, and there is currently a shortage of this sort of contained event space. The multi-purpose room was a key part of our budgetary proposal and if eliminated it could significantly change our budget options," Steele said.

The main focus of the renovations will be lounge space and the additional room, but there will still be gaming, with multiple projectors, gaming systems, and lounge spaces included in the current design. Tech Rec recently updated their lounge space with the addition of couches from the upper level of the Student Center after that area was renovated and redecorated.

The $200,000 budget given to the Student Center for the renovations will not cover extensive equipment upgrades. The video gaming systems that Tech Rec currently has will not be upgraded, nor will the bowling lanes.

The bowling lanes need almost $200,000 of maintenance work to replace the 37 year-old pin setters which frequently break down and halt bowling. Tech Rec has not been able to employ a full-time lane mechanic in the recent past, and as such must cope with student maintenance and repairs of the pin setters. The upgrade of the bowling system was a frequent request found in the sticky-notes on the display.

"Hopefully the renovations will make Tech Rec a more inviting place. Every lounge has its character, and we really think that Tech Rec will be the place for people who enjoy gaming and billiards. We have over 18,000 students here at Tech, so we just want to have as much space for them to use in the Student Center as possible," Steele said.