In order to alleviate students’ frustrations concerning muddy fields and cancelled practices, Student Body President Will Quick said he has a plan to upgrade the University’s intramural fields.
Quick said he is starting an initiative to have several on-campus intramural practice fields re-sodded with realistic AstroTurf material.
“I’d like to see some of the new turf grass put in,” Quick said. “We are behind some of the other schools in the area.”
Quick said he has heard numerous complaints from students about the susceptibility of the fields to damage from inclement weather.
“It would be a real help to intramural teams,” Quick said. “If it rains, sometimes you can’t play for a week or two [on the current fields].”
Quick explained that the new fields would be beneficial to the entire campus.
“Students on campus really enjoy intramural teams. It’s a good way to release energy,” Quick said.
Executive Secretary Bobby Mills, a sophomore in political science and economics, said he hopes to bring this idea to the administration’s attention as soon as possible.
“This is just an idea we came up with,” Mills said. “We are thinking about bringing it up at the next Chancellor’s Liaison meeting.”
Quick said he hopes to eventually receive financial support from alumni in this endeavor, but is currently concentrating on spreading the word.
“The more people that get interested, the more chance of it actually happening,” Quick said.
Quick said with his term slowly coming to end, he hopes to accomplish something for which students will remember him.
“I’m on my way out of here in the next two months, and I’m looking for something to leave as my legacy,” Quick said.
Arvic Macapagal, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said the University should spend its money on more important ventures than the intramural fields.
“I think that saving a couple of games isn’t worth the money,” Macapagal said.
However, Michael Triggiano, a freshman in biomedical engineering, said if the plan is successful, it is important to select the best quality turf in order to avoid injuries.
“If the quality type gets laid out, it would be worth it because it would be less muddy,” Triggiano said.
John Gibbings, a sophomore in engineering, said he likes the fields as they are and would have a difficult time adjusting to any changes.
“I’m used to playing on grass, and it would be weird switching to AstroTurf,” he said.