This month kicks off a new membership program for several recreation buildings on campus.

It’s a break in tradition some community members said is detrimental to Centre County as a whole.

Students no longer have an additional fee for recreational facilities.

With a valid ID students, faculty and staff, can swipe and enter, but that’s not the case for the general public.

Mark Dyreson, a Professor of Kinesiology at PSU, said “The ID cards and the check stations make it a more intimidating environment.”

Community members can purchase a membership for an annual fee of $500, but you must also be a paying member of the Alumni Association; and the University is only offering 200 memberships.

Dyreson said this new system is a harsh break to tradition, especially for Rec Hall.

“Generations of  Centre County residents have grown up coming to Rec Hall,” Dyreson said.

Doug Loviscky, a State College resident, said “I grew up here and been using Rec Hall since 1975 when my dad moved us here and we’d go up and play basketball and run the track.”

Loviscky dished out the $500 but he can’t follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“Unfortunately I’ve got an 11 year old now that I can’t take with me to Rec Hall anymore, she’s banned from the building,” Loviscky said.

No one under 18 is allowed in any of the sports facilities on campus.

Dyreson said the community should have a voice in this process.

So he created an online petition, which has gained over 2,700 signatures in two weeks.

In response, a spokesperson for Penn State said rules at Rec Hall aren’t set in stone.

“Campus leadership has been engaged in the process of studying the financial sustainability of appropriately managing and supervising recreational activities at Rec Hall, however, no final decision has been made,” a spokesperson said in a written statement.

In the mean time, Loviscky said the steps already taken have created a divide, a move he believes is in the wrong direction.

“It’s not closing the doors and charging people lots of money,” Loviscky said.

The University said it will have a final decision on Rec Hall use in a couple months, until then an ID is required.