Written by: Alissa Flores
The futsal courts planned for Southern’s sports facilities have been cancelled, according to an announcement in the Feb. 26 Student Association (SA) Senate minutes.
In a meeting held between SA and Dennis Negrón, vice president of Student Development, it was decided that not only would the futsal courts project be shut down, but also the possibility of pickleball courts.
The idea was abandoned after much deliberation and trial through SA, according to Negrón.
“The decision to end this discussion on the Senate level was based on the sense that the discussion had gone on long enough with little to no progress one way or the other,” he stated in an email to the Accent.
According to Alfredo Trevedan, SA executive vice president, he met with Negrón Monday, Feb. 24, to discuss the controversy and a final decision regarding futsal courts. Trevedan said that the final decision was made to eliminate both courts due to miscommunication and insufficient support.
In an email to the Accent, Judy Sloan, dean of the School of Health and Kinesiology (SHK), said the SHK asked SA to consider funding pickleball courts last fall, and she was surprised to learn that the plans had been canceled.
“SHK did not have any vote regarding the decision and were shocked by the news” she explained in the email.
Negrón also said in an interview with the Accent that originally the SHK had asked SA to use some of their contingency fund to possibly build pickleball courts. SA chose to look at the option of futsal as well due to some commentary from cabinet members, which received less enthusiasm from the SHK.
Trevedan said that while there is absolutely no way new futsal or pickleball courts will break campus grounds this year, the initiatives made by SA create a good stepping stone into refining something in the future; such as the use of the Collegedale Elementary Academy Gymnasium.
Trevedan expressed his disappointment with the outcome of his and SA’s initiatives,
“It’s cost a lot of my time, energy and mental [health] dealing with everything, trying to balance it all, trying to please students,” he said. “I really did try my best, and a lot of it [wasn’t on] my own.”
As for the contingency budget of $134,000 , Trevedan shared that it will be allocated to fund a transportation van for handicapped students. He estimates that it will initially cost $15,000.
In the end, Trevedan said he wants to extend his apologies to students who were expecting something to happen from this project. He acknowledged that there were many things that could have been done differently, such as doing more project research or coming into it with a broader perspective in terms of how the School of Health and Kinesiology might have reacted.
“All I can say is that Student Senate came to the conclusion that it would be best to put the discussion on possibly financing the project on hold and possibly take it up next year,” Negrón stated in an email.
Amid ongoing discussions about the issue, Trevedan acknowledged the situation’s significance, saying, “I really do just want to apologize to students on SA’s behalf, and I’m looking forward to seeing any opportunities that might happen in the future because of this.”
