Campus construction annoys students

By Ryan Borba
The Collegian

All the digging, fencing and trucking near the under-construction Henry Madden Library has become quite a nuisance for many students, most of whom will likely never see or get to enjoy the completed renovations.

“But sometimes it’s kind of cool,” said Phillip Cataldo, a freshman from Oceanside who lives on campus. “Like when they’re pulling steel off the walls.”

The barbed wire-fenced area surrounding the library extends from the edge of the Lot E parking lot to the Free Speech Area’s speakers’ podium and extends as far west as the Family and Food Science building.

Fenced in is a hole that will eventually be the lower levels of the library to the north of the library. Signs on the fence read, “Do not attach any items to fence,” warning that anything attached will be confiscated by University Police.

Cataldo said his main problem with the construction is that the fence forces him to take a detour stroll to the Family and Food Science building and on the way back to his room from the southeast side of campus.

Some students say the worst part is not avoiding the construction while walking to class, but trying to actually access and use the library.

“All the dirt,” said Maria Aguilera, a women’s studies and Chicano and Latin American Studies major who said she frequents the library. “It gets in my eyes. They’re always moving it around.” She also said space restrictions inside the library make it difficult to study in groups while staying quiet.

Sounds of trucks and jackhammers are also an issue for many.

“Sometimes it’s too noisy,” said Jose Macias, a senior liberal studies major who also spends a lot of time in the library. “It’s hard to study.”

“It’s really annoying that they decided to re-roof every building on campus at the same time,” said Joy Ewart, a junior psychology major. “So there’s noise no matter where you go.”

“It’s eventually going to be great, even though we won’t get to see it. I guess it’s just one of those things you have to put up with,” Ewart said.

Cataldo, who is a member of the marching band, complained about having to reserve books for term papers.

“That’s kind of annoying,” he said. “Especially when teachers say we can only cite one online source.”

While it was already hard to find parking in Lot E, now it’s even tougher, Macias said.

“Sometimes you have to go all the way around,” he said, explaining how trucks fill up with dirt and constantly pull in and out of lot E, which is barricaded. Students can’t exit from Barton Avenue without entering on the one-way street behind the Student Health Center.

Macias and Aguilera also complained about the library closing twice in the last few weeks, once at 4 p.m., they said, when they needed to be there.

Asked if the library renovations will be worth it, Aguilera said, “Not for us, we’re leaving. It’s not like we’re going to stick around after we graduate.”

Ewart said, “Hopefully.”.

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