UC move trigger mixed reviews
By Jennifer SpikeMost students came back from spring break in mid-March well-rested and ready to focus on the last half of the semester.
Some students, however, came back frustrated and tired. Janet Bassi, a junior majoring in sociology spent the majority of her break moving equipment from the UC to her new office in the Main Classroom building. Bassi, who works at Mobile Campus, felt like she really didn’t get a break at all.
“We were supposed to move on Thursday of spring break, but that was delayed until Saturday,” said Bassi.
The department was also promised movers, but the staff members at Mobile Campus had to move themselves. Due to security reasons, the laptop computers that are loaned out to students had to be locked up. But once they arrived at their new space in the Main Classroom, there were no locks on the doors, according to Bassi. “I was basically on call for a few days because no one was ready for us to move in. We couldn’t just leave those computers sitting out over the weekend,” said Bassi.
Then there was the coldness factor. Some staff members of the Mobile Campus came to work in hats and gloves due to a hole in the wall that lets in cold air, according to Bassi.
“Now that the weather is nice, we don’t need coats anymore, but the hole is still there,” said Bassi.
Some students encountered similar issues with the move and the new space.
Peggy Thompson, vice president of the Student Government Association, came to her office on Monday after break to find that the same locks were installed on many of the same doors in her area. According to Thompson, the locksmiths changed the locks, but no one was notified or given the proper keys, so getting in and out of her office was a challenge. The university foreman, Joseph Sirna, and university locksmith Todd Tucker were reached for comment, but did not return phone calls.
“One administrator would say one thing, and another would say something completely different,” said Thompson. “We were supposed to move into a finished building. Not a construction or a hard hat area.”
Quésjaée Brooks, a junior who works in Student Life, agreed.
“There wasn’t a lot of communication to students as to where they would be exactly,” said Brooks. “Only one of the three computers in our office has been working, and three workers including myself are crammed into a very tight space.”
Another issue that concerned students was the dining situation.
Latoya Samuels, a junior who works in the Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center, thinks that the selection at the Midway Café on the first floor of the Main Classroom is slim.
“Most of us who work in the MC don’t have time to go to other buildings while on break or in between classes. We have to resort to the Midway Café, which doesn’t have that great of a selection,” said Samuels.
“We were promised that the dining location would be finished by the time we moved in, and we had to wait several weeks for anything close to open,” said Thompson.
Although most seem to be getting used to the move and the new space, some still feel that there are many inconveniences.
“The students were cheated this semester because everyone is crammed into a much smaller space than the UC. It’s hard to find places to study, and the combination of student traffic and the construction noise is distracting,” said Samuels.A pleasant experience
Other students and staff members found their move to be quite the opposite. Jennifer Stoneking, an administrative assistant in exploratory advising, recalls her experience to be quite pleasant thus far. The process went very smooth for the department because they kept in touch with the people they needed to.
“The movers were amazing.They made it an easy time for all of us,” said Stoneking.
Tucker, the university locksmith, went above and beyond his job to make some last minute changes that occurred during the process, according to Stoneking.
“I like the new space. It’s great being in close proximity to the students. When we were in the UC, we were on the top floor. Now, there’s a lot more traffic that comes in and out of our office,” said Stoneking.
Kate Yurick, coordinator of Disability Services, also felt that the move ran fairly smooth. “All of the students were offered mobility training ahead of time for new routes and construction detours. The students seem to really enjoy the new space as well,” said Yurick. “We ran into some very minor issues when the link form the MC to the Chester Building was closed, but that was really all.”A work in progress
Edward P. Schmittgen, director of capital planning and university architect, feels that the end result of this project is going to be great. However, with a construction project of this magnitude, there will always be a long list of issues that need to be addressed.
“It’s the nature of any construction project, especially one of this size,” said Schmittgen. But he is certainly sympathetic to the needs of the students and staff members.
“We’ve had some very legitimate complaints that we are in the process of addressing. People need to come to work and do their jobs and can’t have distractions. We understand that. We’ve taken a very proactive stance on this move. We want to confront issues directly and correct the problems,” said Schmittgen.Proactive committee
Schmittgen has organized a moving committee that has met with each department to address specific problems from major to minor. The committee has recorded these problems and is keeping a close eye to ensure the proper communication steps have been taken to address these issues.
Evelyn Frey, senior planner of the division of capital planning, was appointed by Schmittgen to head this committee.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect move,” said Frey, who did her best to personally oversee the moving process. “I walked around the week of the move to see if there was anything anyone needed to make the move go as smoothly as possible.” Schmittgen said the atrium in the MC will be finished by the end of May, if everything goes according to plan.
“Hopefully, the lessons learned through this move will serve the next move better,” said Thompson.
Stoneking is getting used to the new space, but doesn’t mind the change at all.
“There’s still painting and patching going on, but it really doesn’t bother me,” she said. “You really learn a lot about yourself as well as others in a moving process. Your things are temporarily packed away and moved at the hands of others, and you are put into a totally different surrounding that you’re not used to. I thinks it’s all about how well people communicate and adapt to change.
“I must say, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the process.