Every university should have a place where students can go to hang out, shoot hoops or follow their favorite intramural sports. In the University of La Verne’s case, that place is known as the Old Gym. This is where many students have participated in intramural sports such as dodgeball, indoor soccer or basketball. If you are on a sports team, you may have had the pleasure of practicing in the Old Gym. As a La Verne student or alumnus, the Old Gym has probably been a part of your college career in some way.

But with the start of construction on the Sara and Michael Abraham Campus Center fast approaching, University administrators seem to have more-or-less decided to turn the Old Gym into a “staging area” for construction operations. In other words, the Old Gym will likely be leveled.

Once the Campus Center is finished, the Old Gym site will eventually be a parking lot.

But what the administrators don’t seem to understand, despite plans for a new-and-improved athletic facility and a swanky student center – which we really do appreciate – the Old Gym means a lot to many of us and we’re not too altogether thrilled to kiss it goodbye just yet.

Preliminary plans for the structure’s demise, as part of a proposal to the city of La Verne, apparently were made without input from students or faculty from the movement and sports science department.

Also, many don’t realize that the Old Gym is not just some basketball court. Below and next to the courts are offices.

If they do demolish the Old Gym, one must assume that the faculty will receive offices in the new pavilion. Right?

As for classes, the movement and sports science department conduct many courses in the Old Gym, such as yoga, fitness for life and kick boxing.

Without the Old Gym, these classes may have to be conducted on the football field. At least temporarily, that might be the only space large enough. Yoga outside? That may be, at best, a tough sell.

Aside from its utility and our nostalgia for the Old Gym, we students feel – along with movement and sports science faculty – it’s not fair to just take it away, if that is in fact the non-negotiable plan.

In the recent past, when other departments were contemplating a facility shift, the faculty affected were intimately involved in the planning.

Five years ago, when the communications department moved from the former Supertents to the Arts and Communications Building, the department faculty worked closely on the facility planning.

Now we do understand that the new athletic pavilion might be better than the Old Gym.

But instead of just sitting around avoiding construction areas and looking for parking around giant dumpsters, let’s make an effort to be included in the planning and decision making processes.

Why let the administration make all the decisions without our input? After all, we’re the ones who are going to be using it most often.

As students and faculty, we often take for granted what we have available to us on campus. Many of us wish that we had this or that. Well here is your golden ticket.

If you want something at this school that you believe would not only benefit you but future students as well, give administration a call. They are here for us. Let’s get involved.

Getting your degree should be fun. We are the people who will be using the facilities the most. To have an impact on the development we first must have our voices heard. Remember, we make this university what it is.