Boy, it sure would be sweet.

Imagine it all: An arena that seats 6,500 to 8,000 people,swimming pools, a fitness center, an indoor track, a rock climbingwall, a movie theater.

Even a bowling alley!

Just the idea of Sacramento State’s proposedRecreation/Wellness/Events Center has me entirely giddy and makesme wonder if tacking on a couple more majors and sticking aroundSac State for another five years to utilize all these great thingswould be worth while.

We’ve heard all of the enthusiastic rhetoric from PresidentAlexander Gonzalez, the athletic department, the University Unionand ASI.

And most people believe the facility itself is a great idea.

But, in most eyes, it all comes down to the almighty dollar.

Common complaints include: “No way am I going to pay more fees”or “why deal with it all if I’m going to be out of school by thenanyways.”

It’s time to do some serious thinking though.

Sac State students have traditionally held a negative, put-offattitude regarding the enhancement of the university. There seemsto be this frame-of-mind with students that Sac State is a commuterschool with poor athletics, and that’s something that can neverchange.

So rather than moving forward and actually investing intocreating a campus life, students bitch and moan and everythingstands still.

But eventually our campus will need an upgrade. Eventuallychanges have to happen.

Students need to change their current mentality and look toleave something behind at this university. The RWEC, if built asplanned, will certainly attract students to our campus.

And if that happens, along with more on-campus housing andbetter athletic programs, this whole “campus life” myth mightactually become a reality. And if that happens…?

It might become, hey, cool to be a Sacramento State Hornet.Perhaps even cool to have school pride.

Look beyond the short-term implications and appreciate theability this facility has to energize a dry campus. With that prideand school spirit comes alumni with stronger ties to theuniversity, which helps pay for better overall educationalexperiences.

Gonzalez is giving students the chance to make this happen. He’smade a partnership with the students and has vowed to raise a thirdof the money — $25 million — to help lower the student pricetag.

The RWEC will help pay for its upkeep by renting out itsfacilities to local events and other local athletic teams that needstate-of-the-art venues themselves. We pay Arco Arena $26,000 tohold our two-day commencements, and that doesn’t include the pricewe as students pay for parking. That money could be going back intothe school.

It’s important to make known that students fees will be raisedonly slightly until projected groundbreaking in 2007. So currentstudents won’t have to pay the bill for future generations ofstudents.

When the structure does begin being built, students will pay$110 a semester. Seems like a lot. But let’s get serious.

Instead of buying a daily bag of M&M’s, students will beable to head to the RWEC for 5-on-5 basketball or take a yogaclass.

Shouldn’t personal health rank right up there with newclassrooms or any other higher learning? We laugh it off, but thetruth is that obesity and a lack of attention to people’s ownhealth is a serious issue.

The fees suck, there’s no getting around that. But nothing’sfree out there and if we want one of the top campuses we’re goingto have to invest in it.

And if you simply don’t care because you’ll be gone, then justvote yes. You won’t have to pick up the tab, but it will undeniablyenhance your diploma and give you a reason to stick out your chestas Hornet alum.