Bismarck, North Dakota News

" Question to those who think they shouldn't have to pay a fee for something they won't use. How do you know you won't use it, since it hasn't been built yet, and you have no idea what all will be available? Also, students have been paying fees for things they don't use, that may benefit only some of them, for many years. Why should this be an exception? "

" As a woman who is currently in college, I can say that a wellness center is a great idea. I have attended two major universities while pursuing my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and I have seen stark differences in what these two schools have to offer. I must say that, at my previous institution, I very much appreciated the wellness center on campus and ALL that it had to offer (e.g., gym, student health center, massage therapist, personal training, daycare center, and more). At my current institution, the 'wellness center' (a.k.a. gym) has limited hours due to athletic training schedules and no other amenities (e.g., student health center, etc). These other programs (e.g., health services) are spread around campus and the surrounding town, and it just makes me appreciate even more what I had at my previous university. I think a wellness center at BSC would be a great idea, and I also agree that it would be nice to see BSC branch into a 4-year institution for ND. "

" We're talking $60 per semester here... No one's going to break the bank over that amount of money. It's not as though they're doubling tuition. And you said, embrace change when change is good. It's my opinion that this particular change is in fact good. It's promoting healthy living at a very low cost to students. I'd say that fits the definition of "good". "

" to Scoob: a wellness center needs to include a wholistic approach,not just swimming and weights, though they are need. We also need a juice bar, videos on healthy lifestyles, alternative nutritionists, and even bring in alternative medicine lecturers. Also, healthy food classes, which means no meat, sugar, but all organic items to cook with. Just going to swim or lift weights is not enough tp call it a "Wellness" Center. "

" I stand corrected by Gee Whiz and apologize to Dumbfounded on the tone of my post. My headache has finally gone away and I'm more bearable to around. The question I'd like to ponder, when is Bismarck State College going to become a four year school? We're the state capital and a city that will grow to 100,000+ and all we have for public higher education is a two year junior college? Besides offering more educational opportunities for Bismarck residents, a four year school will be in students, some who need jobs (isn't there a labor shortage here), who will spend money on things (and pay sales taxes). I agree with Forward Thinking, you can't sell BSC with a bare bones offering. When propective students take tours of potential schools, quality of life does play a part of their decision making. That is a fact with the Millennial generation. While Baby Boomers may cherish the working hard ethic and not having time for recreation, Millennials would rather work "smart" and make time for recreation. Smart working includes having high speed wireless networks to access information anywhere on campus, listening to audiobooks for class on Ipods while walking a treadmill, scheduling appointment with friends by texting for study group over lattes at school center, laptop computers being the norm, etc. BSC either meets the needs of the Millennials or struggles to stay in business. BTW, the Millennials are not going away anytime soon, so good luck Baby Boomers, you can now start planning to take your parents' generation's place as the "grumpy old farts who just don't understand." "

" Don't just embrace change because it is change. Embrace change when it is good. Building a pool off of college student loans is selfish at best. "

" This is a very similar concept to the dollars spent every year by public schools to teach elementary students the importance of nutrition and exercise. That's also money that could be spent on other things... Why doesn't anyone whine about that? Embrace change... It's a good thing. "

" I think the wellness center is a great idea. BSC is inexpensive education, I agree. I also think that an additional $60 per semester is nothing to get all worked up about. Living in an increasingly unhealthy nation, giving students access to a wellness center is a great idea. It's far less expensive than most other wellness centers in the city, and the convenience is well worth it. For those who want to be healthy and active, walking to such a facility is much easier than starting a cold car in the winter and driving to one. I attended a university with a workout room and a pool on campus, and I loved it. "

" The college should build a rec center if they want one. The parks and rec have their hands full with what they should be concentrating on! "

" Thank you President Skogen for your forward thinking, and welcome to Bismarck. I'm a resident of Bismarck that didn't grow up here an don't know the history of BSC, but I've been to college and I can tell you (the Bismarck reader) that part of what goes into the thought process of a prospective student when choosing the school they will attend is the opportunities/facilities/activities/education that a college/university can provide. I would hope/suspect that President Skogen is interested in growing the college. You don't compete with a bare bones offering. BSC needs to continue to grow or it will have an ever increasing inability to attract prospective students. Not all students BSC seeks to recruit are Bismarck based. If BSC wants to seriously compete for that type of student it needs to continue down the road of growth. Yes it will include increased fees, that's just common sense. The more you have to offer the more it will cost. Yes increased fees will and should always be an area of concern. But look around at other alternatives and it's easy to see that BSC will still be a tremendous bargin. "

" To Veefe: - please define a wellness center and what would it take to be staffed and operated in a qualified manner? "

" whether you use the YMCA wellness center or the new BSC wellness center, neither one will have qualified staff that know anything about wellness. "

" There is no free lunch. The reason why you are going to pay less than what you would pay at the Y is because the citizens are subsidising you fees. that's right, the government is edging out private business. Thank God we don't live in a socialist state! - oh wait maybe we will in a couple of years. "

" For Point to Ponder: Why must you be so negative and nasty to Dumfounded and when I went to BSC? They, along with any others, have a right to their opinions. A bit of kindness and courtesy goes a long way. I could further make a negative comment of what you had to say, but I shall chose not to. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. "

" From Dumbfounded- I do believe that you missed the point of the post. It is not the dollar amount of the fee. It is just another unnecessary fee for the people who do not have the time to use it. You are trying to read something into what I had written that is not there. No where did I state that I graduated from BSC. I transferred out after one year and went to a college that had a four year program. I worked my way through college and know the value of a dollar and what it should buy that I decide. I do not believe that students should pay for something that they do not want. As far as life being unfair, you are so correct there. After graduating from that four year college with a double major, I worked for less than 25 years before retiring. I now keep myself occupied by working with my hands that does not contribute to my financial well being but is very satisfying intellectually. I do what I want, when I want. From your point of view, it is easy to spend money when that money is someone else's. In society today, everyone is after the buck, mostly at the expense of other people. I personally believe that the salaries that they are talking about for the presidents in the eastern part of the state are out of line. They want to get people in here that are qualified, but what they are going to get is someone just after the big bucks. The manangement at Workmens Comp is a prime example of this. "

" I too do not agree that an across the board fee should apply here.....as many students will not utilize such a facility and/or its services, just as many persons from the surrounding community will not. So we need to view all approaches as to fee structure and get a true sense of who will be using and wanting this facility and open to paying for it. There is no reason why a membership fee structure could not work here. One of the challenging facets of this effort is that the details of what will be available from day one vs. those that will eventually be incorporated are not currently available. To accept a fee of $60 per semester without knowing what will be up and running day one (one pool, two pools, no gym, wellness center and what details exist on this, weight room, track, other????) makes it difficult to know if I will get a good deal or not. And for those service not in place day one - what will that mean in terms of increased fees once they do come online??? Services that need to be part of a comphrehensive center: the pools, a walking track, gymnasium, DAY_CARE _CENTER, wellness classes and programs that run the gambit in terms of "living well", not just living!!! Just the Day Care Center aspect alone would be worth a fee (TBD), as this is nearly the top concerns of us students who are trying to work full time, gain our education along the way and still provide for our families. How innovative would that be for BSC, the Parks and the City of Bismarck to truly meet the needs of the student by building a facility that will help us succeed. Get it Done "

" As a NDSU student let me tell you that these fees are unfair. I have to pay for our wellness center and our sports teams and many other things I don't use or care about; even if I think they are huge waists of money (which they are!) or not. If I don't pay the fees I get kicked out of school. A better system would be a membership, if a student wants to use the center they can pay the fee if not then they don't. The problem is that only about 10% of the students uses the wellness center here so the other 90% of us have to subsidize the building to keep it running. These fees never go down only up and up and up. This semester I payed $844.00 in fees on top of the $2500.00 for tuition. "

" I think I will pay BSC tuition and activity fee to use the new center. It would be cheaper then paying the outrageous prices at the Y. "

" Here's a thought. Instead of charging everyone for the wellness center, give them a choice. Those who want it can pay a membership fee, and get a membership card, those who don't cannot utilize the facility. Choices, thats what its all about in this world. (or at least its supposed to be) "

" Let's just run all the kids out of the state by trying to profit off them. "

" "When I went to BSC, more than thirty years ago" What does thirty years ago have to do with anything? Thirty years ago, a gallon of gas wasn't $3.13, so what, it doesn't have anything to do with the price today. Recreation opportunities on campus are for provided for students on-campus as well as commuters. If the students want it, so be it. What does a $120 useage fee have to do with your "precious taxes" anyways? To Dumbfounded: I'm really sorry to hear that your two years at a community college hasn't landed you a job with a salary comparable to people with a doctorate, gee, life is so unfair. "

" I think we should collect from high school students as well. They may not be as vulnerable as college kids but we don't want to go to adults because THEY may realize they're getting the shaft. To the hundred people who are actually pushing the indoor pool I have one question: How much money have you raised???? My baseball team had to raise almost $100,000 for our half million dollar baseball field. You haven't raised a dime for you $8 million pool. Where's the fairness? Financing through a non profit does not constitute fund raising. "

" Larry, don't forget the only reason kids go to your school is because it's cheaper than the alternatives. Don't price yourself out of the market. Pell Grants don't help because schools just jack up the tuition accordingly. "

" This is a classic example of why tuition and fees are rising. Twenty years ago students didn't have fancy wellness centers, student unions, and apartment like dorms. If students want this extra luxery they should have to pay for it and not the taxpayers. If we want to reduce tuition and fees, lets cut out the fancy buildings and programs and be more efficient. If you look at a small campus like Mayville, the cost of educating a student isn't too much different than UND even though the economies of scale are against them. Why? Because they don't have all the unncessary frills of the larger campus. "

" to one or two hours a day, because all the rest of the time it will be rented out. "

" When I went to BSC, more than thirty years ago, I did not have time to use anything such as a wellness center, had there been one. I was to busy going to school and trying to earn a living so that I could eat. To me, another $120 is that much more money that will have to be expended in order to obtain an education, for a frill, that many will not have time to use. Just because some students now do not object to the fees, does not mean that all in the future will agree to it. Maybe we should exert our energies in keeping the cost of education down, rather than shifting the burden to taxpayers. Of course, this amount of money is a lot to me, as I work for a living and do not have such a high paid job as a president of a school, which based upon the salaries mentioned for the schools out in the eastern part of the state, the salaries are quite substantial, and not in line with most of the salaries of the rest of us in this state. "