Updates to App State’s infrastructure to facilitate new developments on campus are undoubtedly a good thing. However, the university is executing these construction projects in all the wrong ways. Looking at all the current construction projects on campus, one can see that App State is doing way too much at once.
The university should aim to complete one project before starting another. Ongoing construction in several areas of campus disrupts students’ daily activities and poses a safety risk to students attending classes in a building currently undergoing construction.
This is not the education App State students paid tuition for. Students have been separated from their peers, subjected to unsafe working conditions, and forced to lug projects across multiple buildings.
From current projects, renovation Wey Hall was the first to begin. Renovations began in January 2023, and construction has been progressing since then. The goal of the project is to completely modernize the building, including fire protection, sprinkler installation, and electrical and plumbing work. Wey Hall was built in 1976 and is the oldest building that has never been subject to a major renovation.
Over twenty million dollars have been allocated to renovate the building. It is clear that Wey Hall needs renovation and this is a necessary step. What is unnecessary, however, are the other major projects the university planned to undertake before Wey Hall was completed.
The project has been underway for some time, but is not expected to be completed until summer 2025. Due to this project, many students and faculty had to relocate their operations to East Hall.
The old dorm is not ideal for students or faculty. The building was vacant from the start because it was slated for demolition, which proves that there were already problems. The interior of East Hall is not wheelchair accessible as there are no elevators and few ground-level entrances to the building. In addition, the building has no air conditioning and the dorm rooms are too small to accommodate entire classes, so students must be split up.
Some of the students who did not move to East Hall still had to attend classes in Wey Hall, an active construction area. This is because many art students need access to certain materials such as kilns, woodworking areas, and metalworking areas. However, the building has been closed to students since May and will reopen in the fall semester.
This was not fair to the students who had classes in an active construction area, and it is also not fair to those who had classes in East Hall, as these students did not have regular access to the materials and machinery they needed. Either way, it is a student-losing situation.
On 21 March, the building closed closed briefly for safety reasons. Students still taking classes on the first floor of the building discovered cracks in the ceiling tiles. Additionally, debris was found on a faculty member’s desk after spring break.
Rather than dedicate its resources to completing the renovations to Wey Hall, the university has decided to tackle other projects. Working on renovations one at a time would reduce the disruption to students’ daily lives and their commutes to class.
The university’s second ongoing project is the renovation of the Edwin Duncan Hall. The renovation includes the addition and renovation of elevators, repairs to the exterior of the building and the installation of a sprinkler system.
In January of this year, all parking lots around Edwin Duncan were closed for construction. This is extremely inconvenient for students and faculty who have purchased parking permits for these lots. Additionally, students cannot walk through the parking lot to their classes, which is very frustrating if you want to get to class on time.
Currently, the building is being demolished and all hazardous materials removed. The Octagon is being constructed temporarily as students from Wey Hall will need to move there in the fall while Wey Hall is being remodeled.
Katherine Harper and the Turchin will also be hosting some art students during the renovations at Wey. This is problematic because it will scatter the art students across different parts of campus and make it difficult for students to get to know people in their major.
This construction also contributes to so many people being relocated to East Hall. Since the building is occupied by both Wey Hall and Edwin Duncan, it is inevitably overcrowded. Since the building does not have adequate air conditioning and ventilation, the number of students and faculty occupying the building is far from optimal.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, there will also be a Complete renovation of all publicly accessible areas of the post office. There will be a new passport office, a new collection desk and a new locker system. This system will allow students and faculty to collect packages outside of business hours.
Demolition for this project was completed in June and the university is in the process of putting up walls. It hopes to be finished by the end of the summer, in time for students to return. The budget for this project is $1.2 million, which includes all construction costs and design services.
In addition to ongoing construction, App State has already begun Planning future construction projects in various parts of campus. This construction, like the current projects, will likely cause disruption to students and faculty on campus.
Trying to outline plans here can help make these projects more widely known to the public so that people on campus are prepared. One of these proposed projects is Peacock Hall. The project includes both an addition to the hall and a Partial renovation of existing infrastructure. The renovation includes replacing the elevators and the heating and cooling system, as well as renovating the classrooms in the building. Classrooms currently have a fixed seating arrangement, which may prevent students from changing seating arrangements and forming smaller study groups. The addition to the building includes classrooms, common rooms, a learning lab, and some student services offices.
Construction on this project took place during the students’ summer vacation. This is a problem because the projects listed above are not fully completed. How can it be helpful to undertake this project when the university cannot even complete construction on the current projects? In addition, it is unknown where the students will have to relocate if they cannot attend classes in Peacock Hall.
East Hall is already used by students from Wey Hall and Edwin Duncan, so if Peacock students have to move due to construction, they will have no viable alternative.
It is clear that App State has taken on far more than they can handle. The university needs to provide more regular updates to students and faculty on the progress of these renovations. It would be even better if the university only worked on a maximum of two renovations at a time to reduce inconvenience to students.
