San Diego State University students, faculty and community members are now able to pay cash on a monthly basis to utilize the Aztec Recreation Center facilities.
A one-month cash membership will cost $25 for students under the new pricing option and will decrease in amount the more months students purchase.
Students will still pay $10 a month if they sign up for the Electronic Funds Transfer, which automatically debits from the member’s checking account each month.
Originally, if students bypassed the EFT, they had to buy a four- month membership for $56 at $14 a month.
ARC Recreation Program Manager Vicki Greene said there was a lot of concern for students who wanted to pay their membership in cash but didn’t think they should be charged the four extra dollars.
“Now a student can walk in and buy a one-month pass, or pay a whole year up front (in cash) for the same price as the (EFT),” Greene said.
Associated Students Councilmember James Holter voted against the $25-a-month charge during the A.S. meeting last month.
“(Students) are paying almost two times as much as a student that can afford to shell out $120 at one time,” said Holter, who represents the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. “We are talking about students that may not be able to afford a membership every month (using the EFT).”
A.S. Executive Director Dan Cornthwaite told the council the higher price options would give students more flexibility and also raise revenue to increase the ARC’s staff.
According to Greene, the Recreation Board didn’t want to make the cash option more viable for students.
“If students find the (new cash option) more attractive than the (EFT), it will create more work,” she said. “It will take more staff to process the transactions, and more staff means less revenue for the ARC.”
The Recreation Board began researching new cash options in September, and A.S. Vice President of Finance Paul Astwood said the prices will keep the ARC competitive.
“The $25 a month is substantially lower than other community gyms, and if we don’t make enough money (to support the cash option), we’ll have to raise fees in general,” Astwood said.
Less than 5 percent of the members currently use the cash option, according to Greene. More than 10,000 members are signed up for the EFT.
ARC cash plan membership pricing
Student ChargeTotal
1 month$25$25
2 months$22$44
3 months$20$60
4 months$18$72
5 months$16$80
6 months$15$90
7 months$14$98
8 months$13$104
9 months$12$110
10 months$11$113
11 months$11$116
12 months$10$120
