The Syracuse University Club Swim Team strongly submits the university reconsider its plans for the Webster Pool renovation at Archbold Gym.

Architecture professor Lori Brown said in an opinion article submitted to The Daily Orange earlier this month the new pool will be reduced from six lanes to three. The pool won’t be usable as a practice facility for swim teams because it won’t be regulation length. Without Brown’s submission, we wouldn’t have known about these plans.

Creating a second tier of users by relegating swimmers to the Women’s Building will exacerbate the problem in the future when Sibley Pool, built in 1953, requires costly repairs we cannot count on to be prioritized after the expenditure on the new pool.

Brown’s submission states various administrators involved in the student experience, facilities, recreation and health and wellness departments said they’re “focusing on the needs of our student population, in terms of both recreation and fitness.” Faculty and staff use these facilities, but weren’t considered in the plans.

We’d like to echo Brown’s suggestions to make information regarding the plans and who was surveyed public. We want to emphasize that faculty and staff should be taken into account as patrons of the recreation facilities, but they aren’t the only ones who prioritize lap swimming as outlets for exercise, mental health and camaraderie-building. SU’s club swim team — comprised of undergraduate and graduate students — had over 40 members this year, and increases in participation, organization and competitive abilities each year. This year was the first it had an organized governing body, a swim coach and hosted a swim meet for area teams. It was the second year the team attended the US college club swimming national competition in Atlanta, Georgia, entirely funded for eight swimmers through the team’s grassroots fundraising efforts.

If it’s true administrators are prioritizing the needs of the student population, why was the swim team not consulted in these plans? Who are the students that were consulted? Arguably, no other students use the pool for as long and as consistently as those on the swim team, who practice up to 10 hours each week.

We find it astonishing the university has minimized the needs of lap swimmers under the guise of serving students’ needs. The university should be concerned the health of its students and faculty will be compromised by neglecting to include a standard-size pool in the renovations.

Sincerely,

Cheyenne Schoen, Syracuse University Graduate Student, Food Studies, 2019

Published on April 29, 2018 at 9:03 am