To the Editor:
A pool in DeMatt?! What?! All along, there was a pool right under the noses of DeMatt residents. A pool for their convenience was something residents didn’t know they could take advantage of. An interview with the Director of Housing and Residence Life, Argyle Wade, was conducted to investigate this mystery.
Why is there a pool in DeMatt? According to Wade, Sisters of the Sacred Blood nuns lived in the building and utilized it for exercise when they had ownership of the building. When SLU “took possession” of the building, the pool was drained and the area used for storage. When the building became a residence hall in 1995, it was decided that the pool should be closed because of lack of staffing and maintenance.
Why didn’t they just keep the pool intact for the students to enjoy?
For the students who currently live in or will live in DeMatt, wouldn’t you want the pool to be reopened? Instead of walking all the way down to the Simon Recreation Center to swim, wouldn’t it be cool to just walk downstairs and have the luxury of a pool at your convenience? Wouldn’t it be nice to even close down the pool area for just you and your friends for a little while?
On the issue of students fighting for the pool to be reopened, Wade said, “If students are willing to cover the costs of operating the pool it is something that we could look into. From our research we’ve concluded that it would not be cost-effective to operate the pool, given that it would primarily benefit students of only one building. There is significant cost associated with returning the pool to a functional state. To be operational we would need lifeguards, motion sensors and door alarms to prevent unauthorized access, daily maintenance of the chemicals and annual maintenance of the pumps. The pumps have not run for 11 years and may need replacement and the exhaust system would need to be upgraded.” From that point of view, is the pool worth the trouble? For you DeMatt residents, would you still want the pool to be reopened? Or, better yet, why keep it a pool? Why not let the whole campus benefit from it? Turn it into yet another coffee shop or even a Quizno’s. These suggestions may be a little far from reality, but why not let the pool area be turned into something that can profit everybody and not just be a “storage area?”
Natasha Carter
Freshman, College of Arts & Sciences
