ACU struck gold for students with the opening of the new Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation & Wellness Center.

Who wouldn’t find something to love in a building packed with workout equipment that boasts the same leather used in Ferraris, a lazy river, indoor soccer and a bouldering wall?

Thanks to the board of trustees, administration, generous donors and others, the center offers students the chance to workout, eat out or just hangout.

Students should take full advantage of these new opportunities because they’re already paying for it, sort of.

Although membership to the center is free for all full-time students, they will see a noticeable jump in their student activity fees. The amount automatically charged to undergraduate students in the fall of 2010 was $110, which seems puny to the current price tag of $265.

The $155 difference may not be a result solely of the new

Rec Center. But, only those who pay this fee can sign the waiver of admittance.

Nonetheless, the Rec Center provides more opportunities for students across the board. Previous additions to campus, such as the Hunter Welcome Center and Williams Performing Art Center, are top of the line but do not engage the overall student body.

Nowhere else on campus are students free to casually spend time with their friends or get an intense workout on state-of-the-art equipment.

Each of the 41 cardio stations in the new facility have touch screen monitors that can be used to charge your iPhone, watch TV, surf the web or play games, which is perfect for a new breed of student. The Technogym equipment imported from Italy allows students to exercise and Facebook chat simultaneously.

The Rec Center propels the university torward its 21st Century vision. Both the lap pool and the lazy river, which features lines for water basketball and net for volleyball, allow coed swimming. However, women must wear one-piece or tankini style swimsuits, keeping with traditional ACU fashion.

The new facility doesn’t seek only to improve the physical condition of students but all aspects of their life. The wall above the entrance displays, in large letters, the verse Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Offering classes such as Wholly Fit, which incorporate scripture, meditation and yoga positions, the Rec Center is likely to achieve that goal.

The Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation & Wellness Center, simply called the Rec Center by most students and The Bank by others, is a great addition to campus.

The center was built for the students and bears the name and esteem of the Moneys. Their legacy and passion to put the students’ needs first will be appreciated by many classes to come.