Student athletes and their supporters crowded the third floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union Nov. 20 to lobby the senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno in support of the $25 million Fieldhouse project — and the student fees financing plan that recently passed the Board of Regents.
The senate also scrapped a candidate for College of Business senator, saw a presentation about the new Counseling Services fee increase, voted to oppose the NevadaFIT fee increases and passed a tail-between-legs resolution to apologize for ‘unbecoming’ conduct towards the NevadaFIT team.
Athletics Director Presents Fieldhouse Project, Dozens Speak In Support
Stephanie Rempe, director of Nevada Athletics, shared a presentation about the Fieldhouse project, which would cost students $3.50 per credit and was recently approved by the Board of Regents on Dec. 5.
The Fieldhouse will serve as an indoor practice facility for competitive athletics, intramurals and club sports, and would be open to all students for a few hours each day, Rempe said.
Athletes turned out in droves to urge senators to support the initiative with a resolution before the fee increase proposal was sent to the Board of Regents.
The women’s soccer team, the football team and the softball team all made a full showing, with some commenters, like Maya Larsen of the softball team, promising senators votes from all their teammates in exchange for support of the project.
Colby Thomas, president of the Nevada Wolves Den, the university’s official spirit club, had harsh words for critical senators at the end of the meeting.
“If you’re going against this because you’re against student fees, that’s a joke,” Thomas said. “Be better. Vote for this.”
Only two public commenters critical of the project spoke up at the meeting. Emma Silveyra, an associate justice with ASUN, criticized the financing of the project for its bad timing.
“We already have a bunch of fee increases in a bunch of areas…,” Silveyra said, “…and this is going to hit students who are struggling to pay tuition as is.”
Senate scraps Dylan Reeves
Dylan Reeves, a sophomore majoring in finance, stepped up to take the last of four senate seats that represent the College of Business. Reeves is also a member of Lambda Alpha Chi, like Tucker Goodspeed and Steven Spurlock, two other College of Business senators, and Rafay Jamil, a senator for the College of Engineering.
Reeves said his top issues were a lack of accessible parking for faculty, a lack of student participation in ASUN and mental health.
The senate voted no on Reeves’ appointment almost unanimously, with only two senators abstaining.
Counseling Services needs cash
Two directors from Counseling Services at the university came to the senate to present a $25 student fee increase proposal that later passed the Board of Regents.
Yani Dickens, director of Counseling Services, stressed that high-quality mental health services should strive for a 1:1,000 ratio of healthcare professionals to students. Right now, Dickens said, the university is closer to 1:3,000.
Dickens also argued that asking students to pay $95 a semester for Counseling Services instead of the $70 they now pay is still more cost effective than what they’d have to pay to seek mental health care off-campus, which would include insurance and additional co-pays.
We’re sorry (well, some of us)
In response to what he said was “really distasteful” conduct towards NevadaFIT faculty during a fee increase presentation Oct. 30, Elijah Houghtelling, a senator for the School of Public Health, wrote a resolution in collaboration with Ethan Lawler, senator for the College of Education and Human Development, to apologize.
Emma Doty, a senator for the College of Science, criticized the resolution for being vague about which behaviors were distasteful and not representative of the senate.
The resolution passed with 17 votes in favor and 6 against.
No to $300 NevadaFIT fees
Joel Martin, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts, sponsored a resolution to oppose the NevadaFIT fee increase, which raises special fees from $250 to $300.
Incoming freshmen are required to participate in NevadaFIT and pay the special course fee on top of the registration fee for the one-credit class. The fee increase later passed the Board of Regents along with dozens of other special course fee increases, and total costs for NevadaFIT will total almost $600 this coming fall.
After discussion of the apology resolution, some senators, like Spurlock and Lawler, asked to have their names removed from the co-sponsor list for the bill.
The resolution passed with 13 votes in favor and 10 against.
Peregrine Hart can be reached via email at peregrineh@unr.edu or on Instagram @pintofperegrine.
