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Future students could foot bill for 2012 sports facility
It’s a good time to be on the Ryerson men’s basketball team. It’s headed for the playoffs and has one of the most exciting players in Canada – Boris Bakovic. But it’s going there with one arm tied behind its back.
The team is able to practise only half the time its opponents do. And it has only half the space. Coach Glenn Taylor said the team has always been at a disadvantage and that having more space would finally put it at the same level as its opponents.
Most interuniversity teams practise five to seven days a week. Ryerson teams have gym space only three to four days a week.
In 2007, Taylor wrote a letter to the university that said his team could not practise in Kerr Hall’s lower gyms.
“My team physically didn’t fit in the lower gym. It wasn’t a suitable option when you look at the size of our players,” he said.
Taylor said he has seen players break their wrists because they didn’t have enough time to stop during drills before crashing into gym walls.
Third-year guard Ryan McNeilly agrees. “There’s not a lot of space on the end, it’s hard to stop on a dime. It’s probably one of the smallest gyms in Ontario, if not the smallest.”
So Ryerson president Sheldon Levy is trying to change that. His solution – a better sports facility. And he’s turning to students for the money because the provincial government will not provide funding for it.
“Our students have about the poorest athletic and recreation facility in the province,” Levy said.
“And at every other university, students have chosen through a referendum to fund improvements in these facilities.”
When students return from Reading Week on Feb. 23, Ryerson’s board of governors will release an official proclamation for a sports and recreation referendum.
Students will be asked to vote online between March 16 and 20 on whether they want to increase the existing athletics fee by $126 (to a total of $187).
The money will be collected when the new facility is scheduled to open in 2012.
Ryerson referendums don’t require a minimum voter turnout to determine a majority. For example, if only 500 students vote and 251 vote yes, it’s considered a pass.
If passed, the sports and recreation department would receive an extra $3 million a year.
Ryerson students currently pay a $61 athletic fee, which is one of the lowest among Ontario universities. In 2004, Ryerson students faced a similar referendum and 60 per cent of the 2,638 students voted against a tuition increase of $76.
Hearing “tuition fee increase” doesn’t sit well with most students. Given the fact that students in Ontario pay the second-highest tuition in Canada, RSU president Muhammad Ali Jabbar doesn’t believe they should foot the bill.
“The university has money for a new facility,” he said. “It should be coming from the institution.”
Since members of the RSU executive are divided on the issue, it’s going to remain neutral and sit on the sidelines, which raises questions about who will articulate the reasons to oppose the university’s plans.
In order for the RSU to proceed with campaigns regarding university issues, it has to secure a majority vote from the board of directors.
In the case of the referendum, vice-president education Rebecca Rose said the board is in favour of the new facility and fee increase, so the RSU is not allowed to campaign against it.
“Students shouldn’t have to pay,” Rose said. “This is something Sheldon Levy started, so the university should be funding it.”
Jermaine Bagnall, chairperson of the Graduate Council, said he would like to launch a campaign that wouldn’t sway students to vote one way, but that would educate them about what they’re voting for. “I think it’s fantastic to build something new, but I’m furious why it needs to come at the cost of the students,” he said.
Ryerson athletic director Ivan Joseph admits it will be tough to win over the student vote.
“Students will decide. If they don’t want it, there’s no use begging them. We’ll just have to find alternative ways to fit their needs,” he said.
A Globe and Mail article from 2004 that jabs at Ryerson’s men’s hockey team is posted in his office. Beside it, a quote written by Joseph reads, “The quality of our athletic program influences the public’s perception of us.”
Joseph hopes the result of the referendum will enable him to change Ryerson’s reputation.
In 1985, there were 10,000 students at Ryerson and students voted in favour of a referendum to build the Ryerson Athletic Centre (RAC).
Today, Ryerson has 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as G. Raymond Chang school students.
The RAC can only accommodate 35 per cent of Ryerson’s student body. Based on the Council of Ontario Universities established space standards, Ryerson has the lowest percentage of space allocated to sports and recreation of all universities in Ontario.
Joseph said it’s time to move on from the “dungeon” that is the RAC.
The RAC is unfit, and so is Kerr Hall, according to the board’s referendum report.
Twelve weeks out of the year, Ryerson requires one or both of the gyms for convocation, orientation and exams.
This denies access for recreation, Rams’ practices, and competitions.
“Varsity athletes are often displaced by academics,” Joseph said.
But it’s not just the varsity athletes who are struggling for space.
Joseph said the demand for intramurals is growing and Ryerson can’t accommodate it. For example, there are currently nine teams on the waiting list for intramural soccer.
If the referendum passes, a new facility is guaranteed. The board of governors promises Ryerson’s sports and recreation will double in size, providing an additional 4,500 square metres of space. The location is yet to be determined.
Students will also have an automatic membership to the RAC. Currently, a RAC membership is optional and costs $37 per semester.
Joseph said there’s not enough money for all of the popular requests he’s heard, such as a new arena, gymnasium and soccer field.
“You don’t want to build a soccer field for 20 athletes and 100 intramurals,” Joseph said. “More students have to have access to whatever we build.”
Joseph and Levy said details will not be discussed until the referendum’s proclamation is issued on Feb. 23, but there is potential for a cricket field, women’s-only facility, tennis court and soccer field.
Levy also added that Ryerson has been in talks with the province to acquire the Sears parking lot at Jarvis and Dundas Streets and Joseph has expressed interest in the possibility of renovating Moss Park arena.
But Joseph said the decision for its location won’t be confirmed until the referendum passes and will arise from student-led inquiry and town hall meetings.
Levy said students should vote in favour of the referendum because they won’t have to dish out any money until the facility is open.
“We are simply saying to the students that, ‘when you vote, you’re voting for a generation of students to come,’” he said.
Joseph said he wants to open the RAC’s doors to all students and put
Ryerson’s sports and recreation at par with other universities.
We’re not asking for more than what other university students are paying for their sports facilities, he said.
This would help bring Ryerson’s struggling teams to the same level as their opponents, but Joseph isn’t looking to build winning teams just yet.
He said he has a big picture idea of what sports and recreation at Ryerson should be, but first, we have to do what’s simple and reasonable for Ryerson right now.
And that starts with the referendum.
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