Opinion: Student Government buys $2,598 massage chairs
As budget cuts loom over the horizon, should SG be investing in luxury goods?
Screenshot taken from massagechairs.com.
The Human Touch Whole Body 5.1 is a massage chair, which according to the description on its page provides: “relaxation with an unparalleled massage solution of the patent pending FlexGlide™” and there are two of these majestic pieces of upholstery coming to FAU.
On Jan. 23, the same day the University Budget Appropriations Committee met to discuss which programs under Student Government would be cut, Student Government decided to purchase two massage chairs for a total of $2,598. Each chair cost just under $1,300.
The motorized upholstery was acquired for the upcoming “Owl’s Nest,” a room that will be in the Student Union as a means to provide a quiet space for students to study and relax.
SG appears to have the best of intentions for students, stating in their agenda that their mission is: “To continue to serve the students, increase the efficiency of the Student Union, and provide new opportunities for commuter students,” but to spend over $2,000 on furniture is an absurd notion, especially while the budget of every single program under SG from the LGBTQA resource center to the Student Veterans Center is facing budget cuts.
Is this purchase even reasonable within the justifications of the proposal?
The resolution (BRHB 15-02) makes it clear that SG is hoping to provide a quiet space for relaxation and studying, but most students use the Student Union to play video games, billiards, lounge around or to get involved in extracurricular clubs, not to relax.
As a matter of fact, there’s already a space in FAU for quiet relaxation and studying, where at times students even see it fit to sleep, the library.
To justify the purchase, SG also cited the Best College Values article that placed FAU’s Student Union as #14 in the country. The article praises FAU’s student life hub for providing social and academic resources to students, capable of enriching a mind for the future. Even assuming that chairs essentially hold the capacity to provide all the listed attributes, they did not have to be $1,299.
In the resolution, the purchase is also justified by how much the student population would “benefit immensely” from the Owl’s Nest room, serving students and providing commuters with new opportunities. What new opportunities besides peace and relaxation – which can be achieved in a library – are not explained.
The resolution to purchase two chairs for $2,598 does not seem to be done out of bad intentions, but it does possibly showcase a form of conspicuous consumption, an excuse for SG to spend money and showcase cool toys while more pressing financial matters lurk in the background.
As an “investment” for the Student Union, buying chairs displays a short-term solution to a long term macro-economic problem, rising tuition costs and housing. Motorized upholstery with pending orbital massage technology does sound enticing, but it will not persuade students to continue living on campus.
At least the shipping is free on all orders over $50.
Stefon Napier • Feb 1, 2015 at 4:21 pm
It’s not something I see as necessary for the student body. There are already a number of places on the Boca Raton Campus that students can go to relax and unwind between classes. Sure the idea of having massage chairs is a really neat idea but it is not something that the student body necessarily needs. I definitely think students should have space available to them to relax but I think this is going too far. I am aware that the argument can made that other schools have massage chairs for their students but I don’t attend those schools. I attend Florida Atlantic University. Mirroring what other schools have has it’s benefits to a certain point. For example, If another institution had computer labs in its Union and we did not then it would certainly be worth the effort to mirror them because it would keep us competitive. That not the case with these massage chairs. The pursuit of a unique university experience should involve having a few “wow” factors. Student’s should be able to feel like certain characteristics or amenities their university has are “cool” and Student Government should be the major factor in making it happen, but the conversations about what those characteristics should be needs to be larger or else we get what we have now. – Stefon Napier, Boca Raton Campus, Senator
Boca Owl • Feb 13, 2015 at 9:44 pm
Of course massage chairs aren’t necessary but they do provide the “wow” factor that you describe. FAU should offer the best student life experience in the state. That should be one of our goals and it is achievable but we have to make investments toward that. We cannot and should not play second fiddle to others; UCF had that attitude and look at where they are now. As FAU students, we deserve the best. Get in that mindset and work toward it. UF, FSU and UCF do.
Regarding the article itself, there are a number of ridiculous arguments here:
1) “most students use the Student Union to… lounge around…not to relax.” You can make an argument about the idea of a quiet place in a loud, social student union but you can’t say people don’t come to the union to relax. And you don’t need quiet to relax in a massage chair anyway.
2) “buying chairs displays a short-term solution to a long term macro-economic problem, rising tuition costs and housing.” These are two very different problems. Even if SG doesn’t spend a dime on massage chairs, they can’t use that money to offset tuition or housing costs. There is no connection to the two so it’s nonsensical to mention them together. Similarly, the chairs should not be intended to help retain residential students, which is a whole separate issue as well.
Now, here’s where I’ll agree with you guys: the funny thing about Student Government is that, if a student organization came forward to buy this for the student union, SG would ask them what they’ve fundraised for it – which of course they don’t have to do. Furthermore, they would look at the proposal and ask if the student organization had done its due diligence in researching several different brands of chairs and if this was truly the cheapest one – which they don’t do with their own projects. But that’s just how things work for SG. That’s the privilege. If you want to do something, if you control the money and approve the bills, you pretty much have free reign. That’s part of the reason why people get involved (the other parts being to pad the resume and/or direct funds towards their own organizations). So accept that this happens and hope that if SG is going to spend money, they’re going to do it on longstanding projects which will, again, provide FAU students with the absolute best student life experience because, again, we should be #1. And that costs money. But everybody who spends that money looks back on it and sees how much better we are for it. Case in point: the Recreation Center. At one point that was a contentious issue within SG but I think now we can all agree it was a worthwhile investment.
You have to come up with good ideas and make some leaps.
Stefon Napier • Feb 14, 2015 at 7:02 pm
Two massage chairs are hardly a “wow” factor but that’s just my opinion. This was not something that Student Government had a conversation with students about. There are already plans to build another student union already so why make efforts to improve a union ( that’s ranked 14th in the nation by the way) that isn’t looked at as a long term solution. Everyone is so dead set on being a UF or a UM but no one wants to have a larger conversation about how we can get there.
The Rec Center is hardly a fair comparison when you look at how many students that affects as opposed to massage chairs(2 for 30,000 students). If you are SG and you are going to spend the money then do it wisely and get more students involved when discussing how FAU can become number one.
Boca Owl • Feb 17, 2015 at 10:26 pm
1. I agree with you that SG needs to engage all students about how best to move forward and on these decisions. At the same time, everybody has a different idea of how to spend (or not spend) the available money and we spend far too much time spinning in circles.
2. That #14 is a joke. There’s no way we have a Top 25 student union. Not by a long shot. FAU can become ambitious and construct one but I’m not convinced we have the kind of forward thinkers on board to make that happen, unfortunately.
3. If you want to have a larger conversation about how we can become UF then here’s your chance. Lay out your plan. Floor’s all yours.