Thanksgiving has turkey dinners. Christmas has present exchanges. The fourth of July has fireworks. What does Memorial Day have?
Cookouts and swimming.
This past weekend was the first of the “Let’s go to the lake!” summer holidays. Unfortunately, if you are like me and spent your Memorial Day in Norman, you may have found there were not too many ways to enjoy this holiday.
Campus Corner looks like an abandoned city – the town’s population is a tenth of what it was just two weeks ago – and the new Transformers movie is still a month away.
However, a few friends and I were still going to try to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend. This year, we decided the best place to observe the holiday was poolside. We quickly found out that unless you have your own place to swim, it can be hard to find a pool in Norman.
We attempted to visit various apartment complexes before being told that the pool was for residents only. After being reminded of the iSwim debate two years ago, we figured the place to go would be OU’s very own swim complex. However, we were surprised to not only find out that it was closed this weekend, but that it was not because of Memorial Day.
According to OU’s Recreational Services website, “The outdoor pool will not be open Memorial Day weekend due to the low water temperatures.”
I do not know about you, but low water temperatures are exactly what I look for when trying to find a pool.
It makes me think OU simply just did not want to open their pool this weekend, and if that is the case, the least they could have done is come up with a better excuse than having a pool that is too cold – which is about on par with a restaurant closing because their grill is too hot.
Left with the only other option of getting a gym membership, we decided to pass on our dreams of swimming and resigned to backyard grilling, as that was the only thing left to do.
After searching online, I found out that Oklahoma City has over 15 public pools, while Norman only has one – the Westwood Water Park.
The problem with this, is the Westwood Water Park over crowded on a daily basis with people ranging anywhere from toddlers trying to learn to swim, to the elderly still trying a get a summer tan. Also, at least one day a week it is rented out to private parties.
Until the new swim complex is built, OU only has two swimming pools available for students.
Public swimming pools may not seem like a pressing issue, but it does have many benefits.
It provides the community with a place of entertainment and potentially a good source of exercise. It is also a cheap and effective way to cool yourself off during these hot summer months, instead of running the air conditioning and using hundreds of dollars worth of electricity each month.
The lack of public pools is not just a Norman issue either, in Virgina officials have began replacing public pools with what they call sprinkler-filled playgrounds, which is basically a grass field with sprinklers in it, claming that public pools are not only costly but dangerous.
So next time you slip on those trunks and jump off the high dive, remember that many of your fellow Normaners won’t be quite that lucky today.
Dara Mirzaie is an economics senior.
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dargus 2 years, 12 months ago
So how should communities raise the money to pay for these pools? Do you want to pay more in sales tax? You're an economics major so you should realize pools don't magically appear without loads of up front costs and on going fixed costs. I can only imagine what the cost of insurance for a pool is considering the potential for expensive lawsuits when some poor child is injured. Pools are fun and it would be nice if the city would build a pool for every resident, but that just isn't feasible. How about in your next article you propose an actual solution to a problem rather than whine about a personal fantasy not coming true.
dodgeman 2 years, 11 months ago
We attempted to visit various apartment complexes before being told that the pool was for residents only.
are you serious, you had to be told that before you realized it? wow this paper needs some smarter people on stafff. sheesh, of course the fact that im paying rent at an apartment gives me pool privlages NOT YOU. just like a bunch of bums off the street cant show up at the OU workout centers and just use them for free.
majid 2 years, 12 months ago
ok, let's have this attitude that every thing that cost money and insurance is not worth it!! where we will be with that mentality???
dargus 2 years, 11 months ago
"ok, let's have this attitude that every thing that cost money and insurance is not worth it!! where we will be with that mentality???"
Is that what I said? My point was only that the author was bellyaching and offered no solution. Since this person is a journalist and economist, would it be asking too much for them to include some actual costs and present a reasonable argument as to why the cost of a pool is worth it to the average citizen?