By Zack Collick
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, August 8, 2005
With a place on campus that provides students with an outlet away from class and encourages them to have fun and get in shape, it's no wonder the director of the Student Recreation Center said it has achieved so much over the past 15 years.
Juliette Moore, director of campus recreation, said the Rec Center has alumni and current students to thank for its success over the past 15 years.
The Rec Center will do just that on September 23, when it will celebrate its 15th anniversary by thanking UA alumni and current students who use its various workout facilities.
"This incentive is to show our appreciation towards our current students and alumni," Moore said. "If it wasn't for them, the building wouldn't exist."
University community members, students, faculty, staff, alumni and their guests are all invited to the celebration, which includes massages, a live band, vendors, games, food, refreshments and more.
Moore said she hopes the Rec Center can have the same success for the next 15 years.
"The Rec Center is a place for our students to come that encourages a healthy lifestyle," Moore said. "More and more students are becoming health conscious and are seeking ways to help improve themselves."
In recognition and appreciation of the alumni who helped pave the way for the Rec Center, the Department of Campus Recreation will be reducing membership fees for alumni and their spouses in half for the year.
All alumni memberships, semester and annual, have been on sale for half price since August 1. Existing Rec Center alumni members can secure half-price membership for this year on their anniversary date, or when they become members of the Campus Rec.
An Alumni Gold semester pass will now cost $122.50 and the yearly pass will cost $327.50, whereas the Alumni Limited pass will cost $60.00 for a semester and $162.50 for the year. The Alumni Annual Silver pass, which includes a locker and a towel, will now cost alumni $202.50.
Jordan Secore, a media arts senior, said he visits the Rec Center at least four or five days a week and said he appreciates having a place on campus where he can get in shape and feel better about himself.
He said the Rec Center has helped him get in shape, be more social with friends, and support more healthy eating habits.
"I like it because I can get in a good workout and then play racquetball on top of that all in one night," Secore said. "It really accommodates a lot of people every day, no matter what they come here to do."