There are three distinct sounds a hammer can make at the construction site of the Hopkins Parking Structure near RIMAC, something that the residents of Thurgood Marshall College’s lower apartments have become familiar with over recent months. The most prominent is the loud peal of a hammer dully striking steel; it is the constant and rhythmic undercurrent of the construction site that only needs a group singing in Italian to recreate Verdi’s “”Anvil Chorus.”” Then there is the sound of a direct steel-on-steel hit, when a construction worker pulls back his arm and squarely slams the steel beam, sounding off a sharp, piercing clang that reverberates within the ear for minutes afterward. Thuds also resonate from the site whenever workers hammer wood into place, with the short shrill of a nail underscoring each strike.
Construction workers build the Hopkins Parking Sructure near the Social Sciences Building in Thurgood Marshall College.
Marshall freshman Chen Xu hears, and lives with those sounds every day. His home in Marshall’s E building is located across the street from the construction. “”[The noise] is pretty horrible,”” Xu said. “”If I want to sleep in the morning, it’s impossible.””
Hammering isn’t the only noise that keeps students up. There’s the frequent crash of sheet metal, the scream of twisting steel and the groan of bending plywood, a sound similar to cork coming out of a bottle. Xu said there isn’t much difference between the noise level outside at the construction site and the interior of his room with the windows shut. “”Thank God it stops after class,”” he said.
The construction also disrupts workers and businesses around campus that have to cope with its impact. A custodian for the Marshall lower apartments (who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation from supervisors) cited the disruption of students in the dorms while she cleans as one of her major concerns. “”It’s too noisy for the students. … It’s hard to keep the door open while I clean,”” she said. “”I have to open the bathroom window because of the [cleaning products] I use; I cannot work in a closed space.”” She also described not being able to hear her boss when he makes his rounds to ensure that the employees are working. “”He either thinks I’m here or moves on and thinks I’m not working,”” she said.
According to recent figures, the world of campus construction is blossoming. While housing markets and other construction complexes are experiencing hard times, colleges across the nation are undergoing some serious plastic surgery. UCSD is no exception to the trend, with multiple projects planned or in progress, including an expansion of the Biomedical Library, the Rady School of Management and an East Campus graduate housing project.
As college campuses expand, they force other colleges to improve their facilities to stay competitive and attract more admissions. It’s survival of the fittest in the construction world. Unfortunately, those who will not experience the benefits of the construction feel its toll.
Workers at the Grove Caffe are unhappy with the nearby Student Center construction. They claim the expansion has impacted their work environment and sales. John Muir College senior Alicia Viola, the cafe’s manager, explained the changes she has seen. “”Since the construction has started, there’s been a significant decrease in business,”” Viola said. “”People think we’re closed.””
The problem could be simple public exposure. The Grove is somewhat hidden in the back of the Student Center, and when construction began, workers put up wire fences with green tarps to block off the walkways on which they were working. Many think the Grove has closed down because its patio and outside entrance are surrounded by the fences. But despite its appearance, the Grove Caffe is still open for business.
Workers at the Grove also complained of the noise, much like the Marshall residents. “”It makes things more high-strung with the added screeching,”” Eleanor Roosevelt College senior Daniel Sarran said. The environment can get stressful when there are a lot of customers, and the extra dissonance from a pneumatic drill next door doesn’t help.
Not all is wrong in the world of campus construction, however. Some are already reaping the rewards of new facilities. Emelyn dela Pena, director of the Women’s Center, said she is happy with her new facility. “”It’s given us a lot of visibility, a lot more traffic,”” dela Pena said. “”In our old space we were more hidden. A lot more people are coming to use the space for programs, because it’s larger.””
Dela Pena said the old Women’s Center location was a nice space, but was too small and secluded in Sixth College. The space could only host a small conference. The new center is considerably larger and has fewer walls. “”The old center was a lot more closed; this building has patio space, a lot of nooks and corners for studying,”” she said. There are more than just nooks and crannies. The Women’s Center has an impressive library, a large conference room for public lectures and meetings, a small conference room for more private meetings and support groups and a dedicated lactation room where women can go to nurse.
Students will also be able to enjoy a new and improved Price Center, complete with a grocery store, five new restaurants and more food court seating. The Cross Cultural Center will move to the second floor and the Bookstore will be expanded. For now, though, students will have to inhabit the campus the best they can, earplugs in hand.