UA demands recreational facility improvements

The group supported an independent report that said Penn needs to expand Gimbel Gymnasium and build a field house. Although a consulting firm's audit of Penn's recreational facilities has not yet been released, the Undergraduate Assembly has already begun to call for the implementation of the changes the report recommends -- including what one student leader described as plans to double the size of the Gimbel Gymnasium. In 1996, the University hired the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm of Brailsford & Dunlavey to study how Penn's inadequate student athletic facilities could be improved. The contract was for about $100,000. Monday night, the UA demanded that Penn officials heed the recommendations in Brailsford's report, which still sits in the hands of the administration. The report, which has not yet been made public, was leaked to several student leaders last week, allowing the UA access to its contents. According to a student leader who saw the report, the report calls for doubling the size of Gimbel Gymnasium and the construction of a $32 million center for intramural and club sports behind Hutchinson Gymnasium. Yesterday, administrators gave cautious support to the idea of expanding Gimbel. The UA resolution echoes the report, calling for a $40 million expansion of Gimbel over a 1 1/2-year period. The renovated facility would be five floors and have 130,000 square feet of recreation space, up from the current 60,000. Recreation Director Mike Diorka expressed reservations about the UA's proposal to expand Gimbel, saying that the figures cited were not those contained in the Brailsford report. "I think they're very random," he said. "I don't know where they come from." Diorka would not comment on the details of the Brailsford report but did indicate that changes might be in store for Gimbel. "The recommendations of the report say that the indoor recreation facilities are inadequate for a university our size," he said. "The report says there are available options with existing facilities." Another UA resolution -- also passed by a consensus voice vote -- calls for improved playing surfaces and the addition of lights to Hill and Murphy fields to allow for nighttime play. Diorka said outdoor sports facilities were also addressed in the consulting report, though there was "not as much need as the indoor problems." Both resolutions are worded fairly strongly, stating that the UA "demand[s] a $40 million expansion of Gimbel Gym." UA Chairperson Noah Bilenker explained that the body had intentionally chosen strong language. "If we advise or recommend or [say] mother-may-I, they're not going to do it," the College junior said. Bilenker stressed that the proposed recreation improvements are one of the most important issues for the UA. "What we're saying here is, 'This is our priority,' " he said. "If you're going to fund-raise, this is what we want to fund-raise for." UA Vice Chairperson Samara Barend, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, said she is optimistic that this issue might succeed in unifying the student body behind a single cause. "This is an issue we can really take on together," she said. "We can really make a difference with this." The Student Activities Council, Nominations and Elections Committee, InterFraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and the Club Sports Council have already endorsed the UA's demands, Bilenker said. Through e-mail surveys and focus groups, Brailsford asked about 2,000 students what changes they would like to see in campus facilities. Many students replied that they wanted a more centrally located gym, a better weight room and an indoor track. Bilenker is upset that the report has not been officially released to the University community or the UA. He maintained that he had no qualms about proposing a resolution based on a report that has not been released to the public. "If they're not going to show it to me, then it's not confidential to me," he said. "I have no allegiance to its confidentiality." Executive Vice President John Fry said he was cautiously in support of expanding Gimbel and improving the University's recreational facilities. "As a general principle, this is something we are in support of," he said. But he added that "the devil is in the details" and that he could not commit himself to the size and cost estimates proposed by the UA. Yet Diorka -- who presided over the construction of the $11 million Reily Student Recreation Center during his eight years at New Orleans' Tulane University -- noted that the Brailsford report consists of advice and not concrete demands. "This report and recommendations to the University are not set in stone and [are] not yet embraced by the University," he said. "[We] can't do too much to meet people's needs because of different expectations." However, the UA and the administration are in agreement on one point -- that the new facilities, when built, would have a positive effect on student life. The UA resolution noted that "fitness and recreation are healthy alternatives to binge drinking and pre-partying." Diorka added that "facilities like this can alleviate bad behavior on this campus."