I am writing in regard to Elizabeth Roberts’ Nov. 14 article, “Community center delay upsetting,” regarding the University Family Housing community center. I just wanted to touch upon a couple of points not addressed in the article and try to shed some light on why this is such an important issue. This is an issue that not only affects the UFH community, but every other student as well.

If a commitment is made by Iowa State and has not been honored, it should not matter to whom the commitment was made — all students stand to lose not only a community center, but also the trust they have in the university.

I would like to give a little background information on the process UFH has gone through over the last four years in an attempt to get a community center.

After much consideration, the UFH Council decided a community center would serve the needs of its residents and began negotiations to have one built in UFH. Somewhere along the way, the university expressed interest in 100 University Village as a possible site to relocate the Center for Child Care Resources previously located in Pammel Court. At that time, the building was being utilized as the computer center and meeting area for UFH residents. UFH had recently purchased new computers for the center and had been getting a lot of use out of them. The university promised to give $500,000 to be used in the construction of a new community center in return for the building, along with a commitment that the loss of the meeting center and computer lab would be temporary.

As the opening of the day care nears, the reminder becomes more poignant that UFH has lost a vital asset to the community. Residents have understandably become more upset because they don’t know when that may be replaced.

Understandably, the university has come on hard times financially and has had to cut back on projects. Yet everywhere you turn there is construction taking place that in one way or another is an attempt to benefit the university financially. UFH currently brings in about $1.9 million annually on rent collections alone, not to mention the tuition paid by its occupants.

Even more substantial is the gain the university receives from whom the residents represent. A majority of UFH residents are international students, graduate students and students with families. The experiences and diversity these types of students offer is priceless, and the university risks more by losing that than the $500,000 that was promised.

It is also important to note UFH has already located the additional funds needed to build the center. It is projected to cost a little more than $2 million — it will pay for itself in about a year by the rent generated from UFH housing.

The creation of the community center will allow families to do their homework, stay physically fit and get groceries, all without having to travel to get there. Currently, it is not an uncommon sight in UFH to see a mother or father getting on a crowded bus lugging three or four grocery bags and dragging a stroller, struggling to find room for it all.

The longer UFH gets pushed down the pole of priorities, the less faith there is in the university honoring the commitment made. So far, UFH has only been told the construction has been put on hold due to economic reasons, and there is simply not enough resources to do everything the university would like to do. The UFH Council recognizes that as a legitimate cause, but our only question is, if projects get done according to priority, at what point does the value of UFH residents, including the diversity, knowledge and experience they offer to the ISU community as a whole and the financial contributions they provide, take precedent?

Julie Pulczinski

GSB Senator

University Student Apartment Community