BC updated roofs and windows in the LA and Humanities buildings over the summer, and although this work was planned to be finished before the first week of fall semester, construction continues.
During the first week of the fall semester, professors walked into offices filled with construction debris in the Humanities building.
Professor Edward Borgans recounts how he had to clean up his office for the first week of school: “My bookshelves were down, my books were piled on the floor, the desk was moved, the phone and computer were disconnected, and the glassless window was boarded up with wood. Even Humanities Room 15 where I teach still has a window boarded up this week..”
And he’s not the only one who feels that they have been inconvenienced with this construction. Steven Holmes, professor of political science, explained how the plywood on the windows lets conversations travel between offices and how it just lets the heat in, making his and his fellow professors’’ offices extremely noisy and hot. But, Holmes states, “[The] bigger problem is hearing lectures/students between classrooms.” Holmes does his teaching in the forum, but when he is in his office, it’s an issue professors “just have to deal with.”
Calvin Yu, Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services, is aware of these issues and pointed out the places that still needed to be worked on. This included adding an insulating liner around each of the windows to fill in the gaps and keep out the heat and noise, filling in a gap between an office and a classroom, and replacing a window that broke on the second floor.
The new windows installed on the top floor are double-paned, which makes them more energy efficient–the reason for replacing the windows. But unlike the second floor of the Humanities building, the bottom floor did not have the framing necessary to install the new windows. This is the reason for the delay, said Yu.
In order to start constructing the frames, BC needs to get approval from the DSA (Division of the State Architect). Yu assured that once they get this approval, the windows will be up and finished in two weeks.
But until that happens, the windows will be bordered up with plywood and professors with offices there will continue to deal with the heat and noise.
Over at the LA building, offices were relocated due to leaking on the top floor over the summer. Yu attributes the leaking AC being turned on after months of being off. Students and faculty noticed a smell immersing the building, but Yu confirmed that the air was tested for mold with no indication of it.
The LA building was also without an elevator for the first week of school, meaning that those who rely on it to get to their 2nd floor classes, could not.
According to Yu, the elevator took 70 seconds to go from floor two to floor one, which is why it was placed “out of order.” Although the elevator is now working, it is still slow, so Yu assured they have ordered parts for it.
Yu, when asked about why some spaces still had construction debris, stated that it should not have been in instructional spaces and that it was their “highest priority” to make sure that classrooms were ready for their classes.
The head of maintenance and operations, Marcos Rodriguez, did not reach back out after being contacted to talk about the ongoing construction.
The construction has had a big impact on professors this semester, but Yu assured that they try to minimize the effects on students as much as possible.