Although the library looks like it’s from the Nixon era, other facilities are modern and more pleasing to the eye. UCSB' Recreation Center (Rec Cen) is free to all students and includes an outside lap and recreation pool, four inside basketball courts, racquetball courts, soccer fields, three weight rooms, cardio equipment, a climbing wall, a roller hockey floor, and a Jacuzzi. The floors and pools are well maintained, and the machines are updated. But, since it’s so nice, it can be crowded to the point where, after waiting in line for an hour for your favorite elliptical machine, you just end up skipping the workout to meet your friends for food instead.
The University Center (UCen) is the student center and houses fast food restaurants, cafés that offer salad, pasta, pizza, and sandwiches, a coffee shop, the bookstore, and a computer lab. It’s a favorite place to waste an hour while waiting for a class, offering students the chance to sleep, read the Daily Nexus on a couch, or check e-mail. Students can also be spotted eating an inexpensive lunch or grabbing a coffee or bin candy for some fuel to get through their next class. Students like the new, clean facilities and use them daily—the only major complaints are the crowded Rec Center and the not-so-attractive library.