Let’s tell the story of NatUP in 74 words: Rec Sports finds Rec Sports employees who like the idea of a new Natatorium. Rec Sports employees say they’re a grassroots campaign called NatUP, which sounds suspiciously like “nut up.” People call NatUP out on the fact that they have a professionally done website and Power Point presentation, costing an ungodly amount. NatUP starts whining about unfair treatment in the press. NatUP loses. NatUP continues whining about unfair treatment in the press. We laugh.
The fact that NatUP disguised itself as a grassroots organization is pretty pathetic — they used nearly $40,000 out of Rec Sports’ fund, which came from those little stickers we all bought for our Wiscards at the SERF. Money well spent.
But what annoys us more is their complete and total contempt for other ideas.
It’s not that we don’t think a new recreation center is important — hell, it’s probably even necessary. We just don’t understand why you wouldn’t concentrate on the SERF first, considering you’ve acknowledged that will have to be done soon anyway and it’s the building most of this campus uses. And before you say that the Nat and shell can’t handle the overflow from the SERF: do some jumping jacks; buy a Tae Bo DVD.
We’re also concerned, like everybody, with the rising cost of attending this university. Given recent seg fee and tuition increases, we felt that this is something that could wait.
Most student initiatives would, after losing in a landslide, take these perfectly reasonable arguments to heart and use them to rethink future campaigns. Instead, they came after this newspaper, characterizing us as biased and unfair.
Listen, we’re journalists. We vet ideas. And as opinion writers, we give our opinions on those ideas.
You’re bros. You most likely don’t pay your own tuition and don’t seem to understand $54 a semester, to most students, isn’t worth a new addition to a campus building many couldn’t find on a map.
So come up with a better plan next time around — one that isn’t funded by Rec Sports — and we can talk like grown-ups. Until then, let’s settle this like whiny little bitches. See you at Johnny O’s on Wednesday for beer pong.
