By Amanda Mayberry
The start of new construction sites on campus have caused many inconveniences to students and faculty members.
The recent construction, which commenced late last semester, has relocated the math lab and writing center. The writing center as well as the math lab inconveniently relocated to the other side of campus, across from the new S and P buildings. Construction on the math lab and writing center has yet to begin.
Most importantly, the construction destroyed ELAC’s main walkway which ran through the, now destroyed, E3 and E5 buildings, a popular hangout nicknamed “ the strip”, “the runway” or “high school alley” amongst other things.
What is worse is that the destruction of the old E3 and E5 buildings has left students as well as faculty with no easy way to navigate through the campus and has made getting around quite difficult.
The new construction, which has planted itself right in the middle of campus, leaves ELAC with a huge hole where its main vein used to be. It extends to the very edge of the new library, thus blocking a second path from the admissions building to the library.
Before, students could walk straight through admissions and get to the library. Now they have to walk back the other way toward the parking structure, all the way up and around to the E7 building and back down passing by the old math lab. The other alternative is to walk around behind the library, pass the old auditorium and around to the front of the library.
“The Strip,” which ran through the E3 and E5 buildings, was a popular hangout for many students. Here, students would hang out between classes, eat lunch on the grass, play Frisbee or hacky sack, or simply socialize amongst each other.
The destruction of this popular hangout has dispersed those who were accustomed to spending their leisure time in that particular spot. Some students have migrated East of the construction and set up camp on the steps of the old math lab. Above their heads is an outdated remnant of what used to be, a yellow banner reading “Math Lab Tutoring.”
Other students, who used the path as a means of navigating from class to class have a few complaints. “It’s horrible,” says Elan Abel Salinas, “because you have to go around. I hate it.” He says getting to class on time is now much more difficult. “So if you are late, it makes you even more late because the path is not there,” says Salinas. Other students, like Adriana Ordaz, are happy to avoid the area completely. “I don’t even go that way,” says Ordaz.
At this point ELAC appears to be more of a construction site than an actual school. Walk from one end of campus to the other and throughout you will encounter construction sites as well as a few abandoned buildings, such as the math lab and the auditorium.
Sure, it is nice to have a new two-story library instead of using the men’s gym as a library, and an actual parking structure instead of using an empty lot of gravel and dirt, but now we are left with even more construction.
So now perhaps the question is: how do Elans cope? Perhaps one way is to take note from Ordaz, and simply avoid the construction altogether.
Another alternative is to walk on the main streets Floral Drive or Avenida Cesar Chavez. Perhaps Elans can try a different approach and try to have a more optimistic outlook.
Instead of letting the new construction affect punctuality and attendance, simply try to arrive to school earlier so that there is time to spare for maneuvering around construction.
Also, try to think of the new routes as a sort of simple exercise. Want to exercise, but too busy with school? With new construction, just walking around campus could be good cardio. Arriving to school early can leave time to even maybe take the longest way to class to ensure enough calories are being burned
The construction, which dominates most of the campus, is ugly to say the least and rather displeasing to most, if not all students and faculty as well. All that can be done is to make the best of a bad situation, and wait for it to be over.
We won’t enjoy it, but the future students of ELAC will. Let’s be patient for their sakes.