I don’t mind being misquoted, so first let me thank Thomas Grundmeier for his Daily coverage of the Professional and Scientific Council meetings: Thank you.

Now let’s tidy up a few things from Feb. 11’s article titled “Rec facilities remain free to all on campus.” I’m quoted as saying “If the students vote against it, WE’LL [emphasis added] just wait for a fresh crop of students next year and have them vote again.” I believe I referred generically to the university with the word “THEY’LL.” That is, if the vote fails there will most likely be another vote next year, as there is much support within the university for such a project.

The P&S Council declared support for the Recreation Services renovation project, as can be seen in the brief text of the motion, “The P&S Council supports the creation of new student recreational services space adjoining the State Gym and Beyer Facilities. The council requests that the current level of free recreation facilities and services be continued in conjunction with the new facilities.”

In the justification for the motion P&S Council states, “Council recognizes that facilities built entirely on student fees should be reserved for student use; however, State Gym and Beyer Hall were built and are maintained with public funds – those facilities should remain open to the public.” The full text of the motion can be found at the P&S Council Web site:

http://www.pscouncil.iastate.edu/docket/homepage.html.

The final bit of house cleaning revolves around governance. The first sentence of the article states, “Regardless of the result of the upcoming recreation renovation vote, faculty and staff at Iowa State will continue to have free access to all rec facilities, thanks to a vote by the Professional and Scientific Council on Friday.”

The P&S council does not have the authority to set policy or governance, as inferred by the article. The council is an advisory body that makes recommendations that weigh into the university administration’s decision-making process. Hence, a request was made and no university policies were added or amended.

Again, thank you, Mr. Grundmeier and the Daily for the coverage of this issue, and thanks for the opportunity clarify and expand on the subject. I encourage all students to find three to five minutes Feb. 25, 26 or 27, and vote for the recreation renovation referendum.

Trevor Riedemann

Ames Lab/IPRT Representative

Professional and Scientific Council

Co-Chairmain

Compensation and Benefits Committee