The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate wants community members out of crowded recreation facilities unless they pay up.

The Senate passed a resolution Tuesday suggesting the athletic department implement a system where community members would have to pay for access to campus recreation facilities such as basketball and racquetball courts.

Town Sen. Jeff Downing said community members who use the gyms include high school coaches who bring their teams to play on Penn State's indoor courts.

"I'm paying for it, and they're not, so it just makes sense to charge them some small amount to use the facilities," Downing said.

Town Sen. V.A. Lopes said sometimes she goes to a campus facility to play basketball, but all courts are occupied by non-students.

Students should have primary access because they pay to use the facilities, she said.

Penn State officials said the Senate's idea, which they have already been considering, could be a feasible one.

"It's certainly something we have explored," said Tom Lovins, director of recreational sports.

"It's been brought to our attention by a number of students," Lovins added.

Lovins said the university has an obligation to fulfill student and faculty needs first.

He added that many universities similar to Penn State have restricted their recreational facility access to paying members. Dale Roth, director of recreation services, said several people in the athletic department would have to collaborate to form a policy on restricting the facilities.

Roth, whose office is in the White Building, said he has not personally received any complaints.

"In the White Building we don't have this problem because there is very little public use in the White Building," Roth said.

The Senate's legislation was passed by a 22-0-1 vote.

It recommends that community members purchase fitness passes at a higher rate than students and faculty if they are using the facilities.

The resolution also proposes locking the doors of recreational facilities and installing ID+ card swipe access.

If these ideas cannot be implemented, the resolution states that community members should not be allowed to use the facilities at all.

USG President Rubina Javeri said the process could be easy.

If the ideas are implemented, it would be no different from the university's practice of prohibiting people without ID+ cards from attending Late Night Penn State movies in the HUB-Robeson Center, Javeri said.

Senate's resolution also suggests taht Penn State's recreational facilities should also be expanded.

Lovins said the athletic department has also been discussing whether to expand existing facilities.

Lovins said they are "bursting at the seams."

"It is something we have looked at long and hard," he said.