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Keeping Varsity Centre for the students - Faculty seeks student support to make vision a reality
February 15th, 2007 by Lorne
Just five weeks old, the domed Varsity Centre field is getting a rigorous daily workout. Masses of students regularly spill onto the state-of-the-art turf to play intramural soccer and ultimate Frisbee, practice with their intercollegiate team, or hit a few golf balls at the new driving range.
To sustain its vision of Varsity Centre as a students-first facility, the Faculty of Physical Education and Health is requesting an increase to the student athletic fee to help offset the operating costs and avoid boosting outside rentals to pay the bills.
The Faculty�s 2007-08 budget, which will be considered by the Council on Student Services (COSS) at a budget vote on March 2nd, includes a $10 per term increase for full-time St. George students…
… Read the entire news artcile at U of T FPEH News
Tuition raises are always a point of contention for students. I was told that initially the funding for the Varsity Center was secured, and that no additional tuition increases were required to fund the Center. However I guess this is no longer the case. With this said, the Varsity Center is a much needed complex for U of T’s student athletes. To share the center with the community will mean that varsity teams will have to work their practices around community hours. If you’ve been to the AC on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday night you can see that the Track and Field needs more space and better facilities. I don’t like running laps in the field house when the track team is practicing. Being a distance runner, I find it annoying when there’s slow moving traffic. For the sprinters, I would image it is dangerous, since someone could get spiked.
And Track and Field is only one of the sports which can benefit from the Center. Golf, field hockey, lacrosse, football and soccer are ones which come to mind right away.
so on March 2nd I’m going to vote for a $10 increase to support student athletes. I hope you will also support our student athletes.
February 16th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Hah, to be honest, I’ve been here for 4 years, and I’ve never been to the Varsity Centre… what goes on in there?
Did you go to the unveiling event?
February 16th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
What is the Council on Student Services and who exactly votes on this?
February 16th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Don’t buy into the BS that U of T admin is shovelling by the truck load. There is plenty of money to upgrade the facilities at the Varsity Centre to make them acceptable. Look no further than Phys Ed administrator Bruce Kidd and his HUGE fucking salary for where the money could come from. The students who vote at COSS are bound by their constituents who ovewhelming find that tuition is TOO HIGH. The administrators in turn make this into an issue of lack of funds and paint student activists as the bad guys. They can’t succeed at this unless you let them. Instead of supporting yet another increase put some time and energy into pressuring administrators to use funds efficiently and effectively instead of using them to line their pockets.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:49 am
I think the Brude Kidd comment is a little out of line… (so, he makes $188,471.95 according to the 2006 Salaray Disclosure, but that’s not unreasonable for a dean of a faculty)
Also, I believe the $10 is supposed to go towards maintaining the facility… and although you make a good point that they should consider other ways of getting the money, I don’t think the fee increase is out of line. For example, both the AC and Hart House have significant annual fees charged to the students.