A University of Wisconsin student group is rallying support for an addition and renovations to what they describe as the UW’s outdated natatorium.
UW students may have seen the Students for Nat Up gathering signatures on campus. This student organization is devoted to informing the student body about what a new natatorium could be; how it would look, what amenities it could have and what benefits it could mean for our campus.
The Natatorium, known to most students as the Nat, was built in 1964 and renovated in 1967. Since then, no updates have been made. Since 2000, however, there has been a 50 percent increase in the use of the Nat, according to Nat Up member senior Dan Schachte.
Nat Up member Sheala Mullaney visited other Big Ten campus’ fitness centers as a representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Conference. She said she was shocked at how much newer and nicer their facilities were.
The tentative plans for the Nat include a synthetic turf surface, four new basketball courts, a weight room four times bigger than the current one and a cardio room seven times bigger than the current one.
Mullaney added six other schools within the UW system including UW-Milwaukee, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire all have newer facilities than UW-Madison.
“We’re really falling behind,” Mullaney said.
Tentative plans to renovate the Nat have already been made. However, because students would be paying for the updates through segregated fees, a student referendum is required before any money can be spent.
The increase in segregated fees would be a maximum of $54.19 per semester and would not be applied until the doors to the new Nat open, Schachte said, meaning those voting for the renovation and increased fees would likely not see the benefits.
“We’re not asking anybody to pay for something they’ll never use,” he said.
UW sophomore Megan Aley said even though the changes will not affect her life at UW, she still intends to vote.
“I’ll still be a part of a positive change for the university,” Aley said. “I would have wanted people to vote yes if this were up four years ago, so why should I deny it to students four years from now?”
With the roughly $25 per semester students already pay for fitness centers, students would be paying more than $80 per semester for the new facility, Mullaney added. In contrast, Ohio State students pay $300 dollars per semester for their fitness facilities.
Student Service Finance Committee Chair Brandon Williams said the initial money for the project would be provided through bonds. After the doors open, the increase in segregated fees would go toward paying back the bonds.
Nat Up members said they were not too worried about the passage of the referendum. Mullaney mentioned the last large-scale student referendum — the Union South renovation — as a potential challenge.
She said she is worried students might not be willing to promise a large sum of money to a project while construction is still underway on Union South and has yet to start on Memorial Union.
Williams said getting the student referendum passed would be a challenge. He recalled the referendum process for Union South, the last referendum to draw a large portion of the student body, which required three elections before funding was finally approved.
When the funding was approved, six Associated Students of Madison members filed a complaint with the Student Judiciary, saying the results of the election should be voided because of misleading campaigning by the referendum’s supporters.
ASM’s Student Judiciary heard the case and denied both the case and the appeal.
Nat Up member Mike Bernatz said getting the referendum passed is only the beginning. He said Nat Up would stay involved in the design and building process.
