For the first time this year, the Student Recreation Center has implemented a health and recreation fee into summer tuition, leaving students not enrolled in classes to pay for membership.

The fee is included in fall and spring tuition, and students who were enrolled in the following fall semester were able to use the Rec Center during the summer.

Now, students not taking summer classes are required to pay the fee through a summer membership, said John Lloyd, associate director of the Rec Center.

“I think it’s a change for students to understand,” Lloyd said. “Once we explain the reason why, I think most students understand the need for the membership fee.”

The fees mirror those paid by students in summer classes and total $55 all summer, $11 for pre-session and $22 for each summer session, Lloyd said. Just two weeks into the summer, more than 1,000 summer memberships had been sold, he added.

Some students said they expected to pay an additional fee to use the facilities this summer, though they disagreed with the cost.

“It’s better than a gym but I think it could be lower considering what we pay for tuition,” said Andrea Lotz, a creative writing senior.

Summer membership is free for graduate students, however some also disagreed, saying the the Rec Center should remain free in the summer to all students enrolled in the fall semester.

“I feel like students shouldn’t have to put up with it,” said Anthony Li, a first-year graduate student studying accounting. “There should be some kind of budget initiative that benefits students year-round.”