Sports and Wellness Center fee waived for Winter 2024

Everywhere students look, something has changed for the worse. Costs are going up by the minute. Getting a drink at any bar costs upward of six dollars, some bars spanning  $20 for a single shot of malt liquor, which is far above the minimum wage in Edmonton. Students have begun to question the worth of striving forward, especially at a school where the tuition increase seems almost inevitable. But, MacEwan has taken a step to ease students of some costs while also encouraging a healthier lifestyle.

You probably got the email last November that the Sports and Wellness Center will

be free for all students and staff members during the Winter 2024 term. This act of selflessness on the university’s part saves students a total of $120 — yay!

Instead of using that money towards a service you may or may not use, you can now

dedicate that measly $120 towards a trip to your local supermarket which will last you about a week. Or, you could splurge and go to the mall for some new clothes;  those two pairs of jeans and a shirt will really make a difference to your wardrobe.

It’s hard to enjoy the two textbooks you use for half the semester before selling them on

Facebook’s MacEwan Used Book Exchange page when things like the tuition hike, housing crisis, shrinkflation, and food shortages hang over your head like the sword of Damocles.

MacEwan gave us this semester for free at the gym, but students like Zach Krukowski didn’t even hear about it. For many students, having one thing be free that is already paid through their tuition isn’t something they pay attention to, nor have they seen the centre get busier than it has before.

Students like Nicole Noble, who’s using the facility on a daily basis for the women’s soccer team, have noticed the difference and enjoy the idea that “… it’s more open to everything,” and that, “as a university student, it’s hard to afford certain things,” she says. “So I think it’s gonna allow people to be more open to trying new things and being able to use the facility more.”

While this theoretically seems like a great idea, it looks likeMacEwan is giving students something “good” by giving us an extra 120$ to play with which is gone in an instant in this economy.

Just like the students, MacEwan is trying its best to stay afloat during the economic crisis. But in the end, it’s not the administrators or executives that are taking the pay cut to keep students from drowning in debt; it’s the students working three jobs and going to school full-time just for the chance of a life full of financial stability that are taking a hit.

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