A commentary by a professor in the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
As a faculty member at the University of Victoria for more than 20 years, I have seen the dramatic rise in anxiety and mental health‑related stresses in our students over the years.
Physical activity and sports are important for mental as well as physical health: they can help students cope with the stresses of university life, and give them a place to connect and find support.
The clubs mentioned by the letter writers allow students to learn new skills, develop lifelong passions, and make friends.
None of these positive impacts seem to have been considered in the decision to close the pool. In fact, the clubs were never consulted, or even forewarned of the looming crisis.
The argument that few students use the pool for recreational swimming is misleading and should be put into context. It comes after years of systematic reductions in recreational swim hours, loss of popular aquatics fitness classes, and implementation of an online registration system for drop-in swimming so cumbersome it’s nearly impossible to sign up.
That a pool needs periodic upgrades is predictable and would surely be factored into yearly budgets. Better management of the facility might have prevented the current situation, yet the university wants our students to pay the price.
Impacts on the larger community will be equally disastrous, at a time when UVic needs its support more than ever. Kids’ swimming lessons and swim clubs cannot easily be moved as claimed by the university’s statements — our region’s pools are at capacity, a situation exacerbated when UVic’s outdoor pool was closed a decade ago.
Swim lessons can literally be a lifeline. It is ironic that the same week the pool closure was announced, the Times Colonist featured a story about the risk of drownings in our local lakes, including the tragic death of an international UVic student at Thetis Lake last September.
The university’s primary mandate is to educate students and prepare them for successful lives and careers. We have heard that the budget is constrained and know that academic priorities require difficult decisions to be made.
But cutting what our students describe as essential and fundamental campus infrastructure makes no sense and contradicts the university’s declared goal of demonstrating “unwavering commitment to providing an excellent student experience” (UVic Strategic Plan).
UVic works hard to compete for students with bigger universities. What message are we sending to prospective students who are considering UVic?
Certainly not that we are a serious university, or that we care about our students. The decision to close the pool is short-sighted to the extreme and will cost the university much more in the long term than the current shortfall.
Thus I challenge the UVic administration to listen to our students and the community, and reverse this decision. Issues such as this should be addressed collectively and not by administrative fiat.
The way forward is articulated in the university’s Strategic plan: Let’s create a “culture of trust, respect, and collaboration” and move forward “with good hearts and minds.”
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