In the past year our campus has gone from good-looking to piss-poor. It’s like labrynth when every day a new work site or fence or hole is introduced to the campus geography. Campus has turned into an ever-changing maze, which, in the end, leads to a sub-par learning experience. Class proves to be less than worth the effort when, in Daniels, the noise from nearby blowtorches drowns out the voices of their study-buddies.

CHASS students who frequent the Court of North Carolina often wonder how to make it to class with all of the newly erected fences halting their progress. Students waiting for the bus at the Laundry Building have nowhere to wait but on the road. Pedestrians must now go around a number of obstacles in order to make it to class, and even when in class students in Poe can hear the brick saws over the voices of lecturers. Campus is riddled with a number of unsightly Porta-Johns, fences, brick laying stations, sites, vehicles, personnel and machinery.

In retrospect, I would say the recent, obtrusive construction is a result of poor planning. The University should limit large projects to the summer. Current students should not suffer a lack in education in the name of completing these projects. To deprive students of their education would be to forfeit the purpose of attending classes.

If indeed the administration intends to nurture the education of its students then they should recognize that the new facilities mean very little if they impede the process of learning. Though the University does require physical expansion for an ever-increasing student population, the current students should not have to sacrifice their experience.

As a freshman and sophomore, I had the great displeasure of walking an on-foot route around the free expression tunnel. The now five-minute route from Central to North campus used to be a fifteen minute walk. Instead of wasting time dealing with the obstacle in my way I could have been in class, studying, sleeping, working, eating or relaxing. Both this semester and last semester the students of the First Year College Village have suffered by way of losing Owen Beach. Freshman year my primary source of recreation took place in that area. Though the class of 2011 can anticipate a volleyball court and a nice grassy knoll, Owen Beach looks more like an archeology site.

For our administration to expect us to accept such outrageous changes on our campus is offensive. It seems the administration is trying to make decisions based on their own interests and not those of the students. Current students have the right to an education that is both satisfactory and unimpeded. We pay in full and deserve an experience which is equitable.

Administration may yet solve two problems at once. By expanding the campus, the University will be able to accommodate for the rising demand for space. And by making the campus appear grotesque and undesirable, prospective students will not want to decide on attending our school, and the University can solve overcrowding in two distinct ways.

How do you feel about construction on campus. E-mail [email protected]