I’ve heard opinion after opinion about theRecreation/Wellness/ Events Center proposal and, finally, I havefound the consensus: There is a resounding “I don’tcare!” echoing through campus, and mine is one of the manyvoices.

Not only will this center not affect me in any way, it will alsonot directly affect anyone or anything I care about. Sure, myfriends may have to pay higher fees, and sure, some futuregeneration of students may benefit from it, but so what? That hasnothing to do with me.

Sound familiar?

In the long run, turning Sac State into a “real,”residential university will cause a general increase in theprominence of the school. So indirectly, my degree will be morevaluable because it is from a more well-known, perhaps moreprestigious college. I have visions of sitting in front of aninterview committee telling me, “I see you graduated fromCalifornia State University, Sacramento. Very impressive. They havea magnificent recreation and wellness facility.”

I happen to like the idea of the RWEC. It looks like an amazingfacility, and along with the planned new residence hall and parkingstructure, it could be the start of a real turnaround forSacramento State from a commuter school to an establisheduniversity. Nice concept. However, it is also going to cost theschool and the community money, funds we could use to hireadditional teachers, fix older buildings and lower student fees.Instead of fundraising to help students who wouldn’totherwise be able to afford college, massive efforts throughout thecommunity will be made to raise money for this center.

This project is not even going to begin being built for at leastanother four or five years. Not only will none of the currentstudent body be present when it is complete, but who knows howfuture students will feel? Are those students planning to come toSac State because it is conducive to commuters, families andworking students, or are they planning to come to use thefirst-rate Recreation and Wellness Center?

Of those I have spoken to about the center, half didn’teven know what the RWEC was. The other half, mostly those in mygraduating class whom I have known for years, generally supportedthe proposal, although their support was qualified by a lack ofwillingness to pay the fees.

According to these people, however, fees wouldn’t affectthem anyway; they aren’t going to have to pay for it,although many are spellbound by such luxurious amenities as anindoor running track, swimming pools and even a movie theater. Intheir minds, they are getting something for nothing. When remindedthat they won’t get to use any of it, there is a retreat to alack of interest.

The most obvious indicator of the general apathy about the RWECcenter is the number of people who actually submitted theiropinions. Even with the prospect of winning prizes, such as freetuition and fees, only about 2,500 students returned thequestionnaires sent to the student body a few months ago. That isonly 10 percent of the student body &- students who will, inall likeliness, not be affected in any way by the center. Sobasically, 71 percent of 10 percent of current CSUS students&- who will not even get to use the RWEC center &- arewilling to pay more to have it. Indifference has won the deafeningmajority.