Student leaders on the facilities fee board are split on whether the board is moving quickly enough in implementing the first-ever plan to use some of the nearly $10 million it has already accumulated.
A board meeting Monday ended with the decision to move forward a $2.5 million to $3.5 million project to expand the intramural fields. The plan could add eight to 10 new fields adjacent to the ones currently on University Drive and Park Avenue.
The board meeting concluded with the decision that legislation would be drafted by the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) Steering Committee and brought to the floor at its Nov. 4 general meeting.
But Alfonso Mendoza, president of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the co-chairman of the committee, said Monday that UPUA isn't moving quickly enough. He wishes UPUA representatives used their power to speak for the student body, instead of taking the issue to a vote.
"We weren't on the same page," Mendoza (graduate-materials science and engineering) said. Currently, GSA representatives are empowered to speak on behalf of their assembly, but UPUA representatives -- although they have the same right -- chose not to exercise it Monday.
UPUA Facilities Fee Committee Chairman Nick Mance said he worked with his committee Tuesday night to draft the legislation and thinks it is the right idea to get official support from all members of the assembly before moving forward with the project.
"I really do think that most of the assembly realizes what's at stake with this decision," Mance (senior-health policy and administration) said. "We have this money sitting around, and we're trying to explore the best, most feasible options that hopefully provide the most good to the most amount of students."
While the official decision would have ideally been made earlier in the semester, Mance said he does not think the current time frame for the project is an issue. This is something the assembly will agree on quickly, he said.
The five representatives who sit on the committee could have voted on the decision Monday, said UPUA president and committee co-chairman Gavin Keirans.
However, they want to make the process "as transparent as possible" to all UPUA members so they have the necessary information to bring back to their constituencies, Keirans (senior-business management) said.
"When it comes to a $3 million decision, we want the support of the assembly so we can make a more informed decision," he said.
UPUA Governmental Affairs Chairwoman and committee representative Colleen Smith said she agrees with Mendoza -- it's the responsibility of committee members to represent their respective organizations.
But, she said, it is "only practical" to get the support of the entire assembly for a multi-million dollar project that is also the first project facilities fee funds will be used on.
"I don't think being set back the week or two that it is will be an issue," Smith (sophomore-biology) said. "I'd rather cover all of our bases before we get into anything."
