While Baton Rouge remains lively with students working and enjoying summer vacation, one popular student spot, the University Student Recreational Complex, may be a little less crowded since its newly implemented fee increase.On April 22, the Student Required Fee Advisory Committee notified University Recreation of the recommended fee increases, which start with an $11 increase for the summer — from $20 to $31 — and a $22 increase for fall 2009 and spring 2010.”We need [the fees] to run this facility,” said Melissa Longino, University Recreation Associate Director of Recreational Services. “[The fees] are not for capital expenditures, which is new facilities, additions and renovations. That is presented to the student body at large … and they say if they want to make that happen.”Student fees only pay for operational expenses, which include labor and repairs like the outdoor basketball posts, which were recently restored after storm damages, Longino said. Bigger projects like the indoor basketball gym construction are paid for entirely by insurance and the state of Louisiana.But because there is no mechanism for inflation and the cost of living is constantly rising, it has still been very difficult for University Recreation to maintain the facility and equipment. University Recreation has worked hard to stretch the previous fee of $45 per student — a fee that has been stagnant since 2002 — as far as possible, Longino said.University Recreation now faces a discrepancy of $980,594 between UREC’s revenues and expenses. Without these fee increases, UREC would be looking at a net loss of almost $1.5 million at the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year.”We’ve done a lot over the past years to really try to control all expenses and bring in as much self-generated revenue as much as possible,” Longino said. “We’ve had student wages go up since the minimum wage jumped from $5.25 to … $7.25, and we employ around 200 student employees a year. Without our student staff, we wouldn’t be able to operate … but it makes [UREC’s] expenditures go way up.”Jayson DeLeaumont, kinesiology junior, is a regular UREC user who plans to pay the higher student fee despite the increase this summer.”I’d rather go to [UREC] because it’s still cheaper than any other gym,” DeLeaumont said. “But of course I’d rather it be cheaper.”And while DeLeaumont believes the increase to $67 in the fall is reasonable, he said University Recreation could have implemented the fee increase in a slower, less severe way, and Longino agrees.”Things just got backed up,” Longino said. “But we took away some a la carte fees to kind of compensate. We don’t charge for group fitness anymore, and this upcoming fall there will no longer be a fee for climbing. We were also able to invest in online classes. So there were things we are able to do that … enhance the offerings to the students.”A properly operating, diverse facility will also reflect positively on the University, Longino said.  With students having many reasons to attend a certain university, Longino believes a wide range of extra-curricular activities and opportunities is vital.”A huge a role that we play on this campus as a part of student life is the recruitment and retention of students,” Longino said. “It’s about those other experiences you get in life, and that’s one of our major roles here. It does make a difference.”The University’s student UREC fee of $134 annually is lower compared to in-state peers like Tulane University and Louisiana Tech with fees of $240 and $315, respectively, and national peers like Ohio State University with a $228 fee.And while the University’s facility is, comparatively, “dead last” in space with only four square feet per student, some students don’t seem to mind.”I’m happy with the way [UREC] is right now,” DeLeaumont said. “Overcrowding is the biggest problem, but there’s not much they can do about that unless they get a new facility, which would be a long and costly project. As of right now, overall, I’m satisfied.”—-Contact Natalie Roy at [email protected]