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The Indian Student Association here is again gearing up for the annual India festival – Utsav. Based on the Nav Ras concept this year, it promises to be extra-special since it is hosted at the famed Rialto Arts Center in downtown Atlanta. I was on the committee (chaired the second one actually) that hosted the first and second Utsav in the fledging Speaker’s Auditorium. It can be awfully hectic trying to balance your graduate studies and coax people into practicing for the show. Anyway, this year the show place to kick off with the Shant Ras by showcasing ten people going through the rigors of Yoga. Set to music, they hopefully aspire to add some dash of acrobatic class to the slew of otherwise Bollywood dance items that are insanely popular but hardly reflective of India.
Anyways, I decided to attend one of their rehearsals at the GSU Recreation Center, which is pretty swank and modern for its location. I asked Ash to get me a guest pass since I no longer am a student. The buggers had the nerve to ask for $5 admission fee. What for? I asked. Policy, the dumb student assistant replied. I protested saying that I am an alumnus (technically I am not but to cut a long story short, I certainly qualify) and do not intend using any facilities. No amount of logic worked; it never does with desk clerks in any office all over America. Just few months back I had escorted my parents inside without anyone asking me for a dime. The policy change was recent, I was told. I understand that universities are getting increasingly commercial but this is extremely petty. I hope Carl Patton doesn’t intend recovering his budget cuts from Rec Center admission fees. Anyone care to suggest that he can take home little less pay and step down from being one of the highest paid University Presidents in the country?
by Patrix | on Thursday, March 10th, 2005 at 7:00 pm | 
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March 10th, 2005 at 9:55 pm reply
hmm…Didn’t know that trivia about the president, but the rec center has been like that as far as I can remember. kinda annoying, yes.
March 10th, 2005 at 10:33 pm reply
Spaceman - I took my parents in at no cost and this was as late as June 04. This change must be recent.