The Martlet

Students want improved athletics facilities. At least, that’s the result captured by a consultative ballot issued to students last week.

The ballot, which asked students a yes-or-no question on whether or not they want a new athletics building in exchange for an extra $55 per term fee, showed a 53 per cent majority of students voting in favor of the new building fee.

These results, along with other information regarding the project, will now be going to the UVic Board of Governors in November. A decision on how to proceed with the proposed project will occur in the new year.

Associate Vice President Student Affairs Jim Dunsdon said that, above all, he was “really happy” to see such a high voter turnout rate on the question.

Participation in the vote was approximately 20 per cent of the UVic student body, a dramatic increase when compared to the Board of Governors and Senate elections, which often see little more than a five per cent voter turnout.

Nearly 60 per cent of undergrad students who responded voted in favor of the building, while aproximately 22 per cent of grad students voted in support of the proposed project.

“The plan has always been to conduct the ballot, and then bring those results forward to the Board of Governors … [this] informs them about what the student body wants,” Dunsdon said.

The proposed fee would see students contribute $21.6 million toward the $58.7-million project. If the building is approved, the new fee wouldn’t be put in place until after the building is complete, likely fall 2012.

Dunsdon said he wasn’t that surprised by the results.

“Healthy living and access to recreation is a much more predominate factor now in helping students decide where they want to go to study,” he said. “It’s a way of life people are looking for when they come here ... and it’s a staying factor for students.”

Currently, full-time undergrads pay approximately $73 per term in athletics fees, but have the option of joining the Ian Stuart Complex weight room at a higher fee per term. The new athletics fee would bring the standard fee up to $128 per term for undergrads, but would offer access to all facilities. The fee is expected to be prorated on course registration.

Currently, Simon Fraser University (SFU) undergrad students pay $103 per term in athletics fees, while University of B.C. (UBC) students pay approximately $105.

While some have claimed that students already in athletics-minded programs were the main target audience for promotion of the ballot, Dunsdon said the question was clear in terms of what the vote would mean — a consultation of what students want.

Dunsdon said that many provinces do not consider athletics buildings a core responsibility of provincial funding, and so achieving funding for said buildings often becomes a challenge. As some other institutions have found, that funding then has to come from the students — if they want it.

For students who thought their vote wouldn’t matter, Dunsdon corrects that philosophy.

“If it had been a ‘no’ vote, it would have been very diffucult to move this project forward,” he said. “What the students say really does make a difference.”