UMass Amherst graduate students held a workout class outside of Whitmore today at noon AGAIN to protest the rise in gym fees.
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The Grad Student Senate (GSS), Grad Employee Organization (GEO) and several graduate students have been working hard to lower the gym fees, which were raised from $40/semester to $125 in just one year. But it seems that the UMass administration is attempting to balance their budget at the expense of student health, and by increasing skyrocketing student debt.
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Reps from GSS and GEO and other grad students met with the administration (Athletic Director John McCutcheon, Vice Chancellor for Admin and Finance Joyce Hatch and Campus Rec Director Zulma Garcia) on Oct. 8 with a proposal available on umassgss.org for a $50 bundled package with access to both the old and new facilities.
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We provided them with results of the email survey we sent out, which you can see here. They said we were being very reasonable in representing graduate students, and agreed to discuss our proposal.
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On Oct. 27, John McCutcheon and Joyce Hatch responded: Thank you for meeting with us a few weeks ago, and for sharing your concerns regarding the fee increase. We recognize this comes at a difficult time for many students and we have discussed this with all senior administrators. Simply put, the $40 fee that had been charged to graduate students is no longer sustainable with the cost increases and in the current budget climate. Therefore, it is necessary to charge the $125 a semester fee to graduate students
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Their concerns about the budget may be valid, but we clearly showed them that tripling the price was actually going to lose them money.
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The data shows that the huge increase actually lowers their revenues, due to lack of participation. In Fall 2008, 552 graduate students joined the gym, resulting in $21,900 in revenues. This Fall, only 46 lonely graduate students have joined, which even at the new price results in only $4,800 in revenues.
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The fee increase was expected to bring in $170,000 of revenue this year from graduate/continuing ed students, but they have a long way to go with graduate students priced out of the new rec center.
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The only argument the administration has in support of raising the gym fees, namely the intention to increase revenue from graduate students, faculty and staff, seems to be completely refuted by the data.
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McCutcheon and Hatchs 10/27 response notes that the budget for recreation programs has risen by $2.2 million. Chancellor Holubs recent email to the campus explains that buildings are one-time expenses: Capital budgets involve major equipment and capital projects, such as the construction of a building or the renovation of a building. These projects are funded with one-time budgets, that is, with a specific allocation that is given once and that need not be given again the following year (http://www.umass.edu/chancellor/budget_msg_102209.html).
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Im not sure how anyone thought that an enormous building with no solar panels or attention to green design in this day and age wouldnt cost $2.2 million each year thereafter to operate.
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GEO has organized a weekly workout class every Thursday at noon, to show how UMass grad students are left to work out in the cold. Search UMass grad students left in the cold on YouTube to see the first event, and get involved by joining us in growing numbers every week until they lower the gym fee.
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Consider joining the Facebook group for more information search Umass gym fee. There, you can find more information on the progress that is being made and on the ways YOU can contribute to our joint effort. GSS and the GEO are making progress on the gym fee issue but a wider graduate student involvement will resonate much stronger to the administration.
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