As the
expansion moves along slowly but steadily,
why construction at their campus hub has been so slapdash. Although university
officials predict completion by Spring Quarter, and the courtyard and
second-floor study lounge have recently opened, a walk around the center’s
fence maze or a chat with some friendly construction workers reveals the sad
reality: A complete, easily accessible
But finishing a little late isn’t the real issue here; the
problem is how construction has been handled at the campus’ original hotspot.
While all sectors of
throughout the duration of its expansion,
difficult to navigate. But that makes sense — the offices in
officials and A.S. councilmembers, and the businesses, like the UCSD Bookstore,
bring the UC Board of Regents direct revenue. So it’s a top administrative
priority to keep
open and manageable for students.
Meanwhile, Student Center’s shops, the majority of which are
grassroots student-run organizations — like three of the four co-ops and a few
A.S. enterprises — have undergone a crippling blow to sales as students, too
frustrated to trek through the labyrinth of fences, sandbags and caution tape,
have started to avoid that section of campus entirely. And the area’s upstairs
offices are also hard to reach; at one point the only way to the second floor
was by first walking down a random, steep dirt-and-mulch-strewn hill at the
complex’s back corner.
And the thick construction jungle isn’t just a hassle for
campus gateway connecting the theater district and
workers constantly changing fence arrangements, students get stopped up and
even lost in the network of dead ends en route to class. Meanwhile, those who
choose to steer clear of the maddening maze create extra traffic in the
region’s narrow passageways.
On top of all this, it’s questionable whether the years-long
hassle will even prove worthwhile. The
efficient, seems at least well-coordinated. But Student Center’s hard-hat
sporting boys don’t seem to know which way is up — they spend a week pouring
and perfecting a concrete walkway, only to tear it up a bit later leaving more
fenced-off dirt and rubble, and redo parts of the second-floor patio three
times before settling on an uneven surface not unlike the original.
The center’s renovation promised structural and aesthetic
upgrades, but the changes are already proving problematic; the complex’s newest
building sprung paper-boat leaks during Fall Quarter’s rains and the first-laid
wood paneling — left totally vulnerable to weather, without paint or varnish —
has become cracked and ashy before its sisters are placed.
Unfortunately, this joke situation is all too tragic — as
completion is delayed once again, from this quarter to next and predictably
much later, students are left with a shoddy
construction bill.
