After a year of planning, the senior class gift bill did not pass Thursday at the ASUU Senate meeting.
Senior Class President Brittni Strickland, who is in charge of organizing the gift, wanted a fountain on the west side of campus below Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Fountain of U would cost $75,000 to construct, and ASUU would contribute $30,000 of that. U Athletics would pay the remainder.
Due to concerns about the high cost, the majority of ASUU senators voted against the bill after a 45-minute discussion. The bill was passed Tuesday by the ASUU Assembly, but not passing in the Senate effectively kills the measure. It can be re-written and presented again next month, but it would have to be approved by both houses.
Senators expressed concerns about the message a fountain would send when the U is trying to be eco-friendly and sustainable. Sen. Amy Simonsen, a senior in architecture, worried the fountain would waste water and require too much money for a project that might fail.
“We currently have three fountains on campus, two [of which] I have never seen on,” she said. “I think this new fountain will be sitting as a dry rock the majority of the time.”
Simonsen also believes this is a poor location where no student would purposely go, something Strickland considered in her planning and is hoping the fountain would change.
“Putting an attraction there will really help students feel safer. It’s an area where students can meet new people, study … and it’s an area where students can sit and re-coup after a long day,” she said.
Strickland also focused on how fountains bring a calming ambiance that helps people de-stress and hopes to hold mental health awareness and relaxation activities there in the future, such as yoga.
She said the fountain is also based on a tradition of so-called “magical waters.” The idea for the project comes from the Fountain of Ute, as it was previously known, a culinary water well the U purchased in 1950 that claimed to make anyone who drank from it successful. Sports teams became undefeated, and students received high grades.
The name was changed to Fountain of U for the proposed senior class gift, to make the name inclusive to all students. Because of her desire to make this the students’ fountain, Strickland does not want major donors to donate large sums of money and brand it as their own.
Senate members thought the money could be used for something different that would more directly benefit students, such as scholarships or a compost program. Strickland listened to the many complaints and suggestions and ended with a plea to pass the bill and begin construction.
“I have worked this entire year to make this happen. I have gone through loophole after loophole after loophole,” she said. “It’s so important that we help with mental health, we create a new tradition, we honor an old legend.”
Jessica Patterson, incoming vice president of student relations, said it was obvious how much effort Strickland put into the project. Patterson agreed it would be a good lasting memory and legacy to continue, as it is the final senior class gift the for which the university will provide funding.
Past senior class gifts have cost anywhere from $25,000 to $30,000 and included donations to the Student Life Center and the Student Child Care Program.
@carolyn_webber