A decision by ISU administrators calls into question the relationship between Iowa State and its faculty and staff. When State Gym and Beyer Hall were reopened in the spring semester, faculty and staff were required to buy a “rec pass” to use these facilities, even if the only reason a person used the facility was to participate in intramurals. Though frustrating, this decision was understandable as it meant all eligible users, student or not, paid for using the facilities. Remarkably, faculty and staff now need a rec pass to participate in outdoor intramurals (e.g., flag football). Perhaps I missed something, but I don’t remember the outdoor facilities being a part of the vote to upgrade the indoor facilities.

For users who interact with rec services only via intramurals, this new fee structure is likely to significantly decrease participation. From the view of these users, it is likely that Iowa State now has the highest fee of any U.S. university to participate in intramurals. Perhaps our university marketing efforts can play this up in their promotional campaigns.

This decision regarding outdoor intramurals indicates that Iowa State views faculty and staff as customers from whom the maximum amount of revenue is to be extracted, rather than employees in whom Iowa State has a significant stake in their health and well-being.