A key component of Toronto's Pan Am Games plans will be decided next week in a referendum vote by University of Toronto Scarborough Campus students.
The swim and diving events at the 2015 games are to be held at a state of the art aquatics facility in Scarborough that comes with a price tag of $170 million. The facility is to be financed by a federal, provincial, municipal and university partnership, but only if UTSC students vote yes in the March 17-19 referendum and agree to fund $30 million of the project.John Kapageridis is the president of the Scarborough College Athletics Association. He has been campaigning hard for the yes side."The benefits are tremendous for our campus, not only for athletes but for everyone and not just for UTSC students, but also the whole community," he said.The fee proposal would see students pay an additional $40 per semester starting in September and that would increase to an additional $140 per semester when the facility opens in 2014. Kapageridis believes it's good value for money especially given the current athletics centre at the building is too small for the student population and meeting space on campus is hard to come by."We were planning on building a new gym that would cost $30 million...now we have an opportunity to build a $170 million facility for that same $30 million," he said.The new 300,000-square-foot complex would feature two Olympic-sized pools, an indoor running track, a fitness centre, racquet courts, a dive tank and more. The province and federal government are putting in $95 million and the city and the university are to split the remaining cost evenly. The University of Toronto is putting in $7.5 million, which leaves students to cover the rest - $30 million - over 25 years.A town hall was held March 3 - and attended by Mayor David Miller - for students to get more information about the plan. Kapageridis said there was a full house and students were generally positive about the proposal.But, not everyone thinks it sounds great. The Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students is asking its members to reject the fee. The association represents students at all three campuses - Scarborough, downtown and Mississauga."We do have a no position because we believe students shouldn't pay for bricks and mortars," said Joeita Gupta, vice-president. As well, Gupta said the association feels the cost is too much to ask students to pay in addition to what they already pay for athletics. Part-time students would pay $28 a semester extra after 2014."It's really expensive and a lot of students won't get to use it," she said. "What students are voting on is a legacy of debt."Kapageridis disagrees."There's no such thing of a white elephant, of the facility becoming a debt sentence for students," he said.The operation of the centre would be funded by a combination of student fees, outside membership fees, rentals from private swim clubs or for hosting competitions, and from a $70 million endowment fund being set up for the Pan Am Games.Tom Nowers, dean of student affairs at UTSC, believes the benefits extend far beyond the facility itself. It will raise the profile of the university, increase the number of student jobs on campus, and help the university reach out to the greater community."If they vote no they'll be saving $40 a semester, but it also means they'll be voting no to student jobs, possible enhanced transit and losing a world class facility," he said.Gupta believes even if students vote no, Scarborough will still get its aquatics centre. She cited a referendum at the downtown campus when it came to rebuilding Varsity area and students voted no to increased fees to pay for the construction costs. "It got built anyway," she said. Nowers said thinking along those lines is false."If students vote no there really is no Plan B," he said. "The university is not going to kick in $30 million. There is not a shred of evidence to support that."Kapageridis said there is a history of UTSC students voting in favour of levies citing the student centre and the library back in the 1970s. He is confident they'll do it again.