Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Editorials

Media Credit: Kerry Workman

Walk through campus and it's hard not to miss what's that going on. It might appear that Chabot is re-enacting the Great War, but it's not. Nor is Chabot trying to create a dirt-bike track on its campus.

We at The Spectator believe that the ongoing construction is a nuisance to those who attend and work at Chabot, and anyone who visits our campus, what with all the mounds of dirt, mazes of fence and bulldozers rolling around.

The fences and noise from the machines is destroying our school atmosphere for learning. As one sits in class, the noise of drills and saws pours in through windows, distracting students and even instructors from the lecture at hand. Just imagine: You're in class and one of your instructors is trying to explain the process of bureaucracy, but you can't hear a thing they're saying because the construction crew is outside cutting sections of cement. Don't worry, you probably didn't miss much but still, it is a distraction and disturbance to the campus.

At one point, one of the machines was blocking the buses from getting through, to drop and pick up students.

Just navigating to the parking lot can be difficult, especially if you're tying to navigate to it from the theater. At one time you could walk from Parking Lot G, right into the campus, without any difficulty. There is still a way in, but it's kind of sneaky.

Now you have to come in through the music department side door, go through the building, come out and navigate through the fences, to get to class. Or, you could sneak in through the faculty office building, whichever you prefer. The thing is, for all our great navigation skills there's no cheese at the end, just class. We simply have to deal with poor planning of construction.

What of those that don't even go here regularly? Well, they're out of luck. This little maze of fences can make it difficult for someone who is not familiar with the campus. And all they wanted to do was come on campus and watch a play. No cheese for them either.

Walking through the construction, which at times is unavoidable, can seem tense, as you pass by machines and men. It's not a great war, but the deep wide excavations bring to mind trenches. And the mounds of dirt, cover from gun fire. The scene carries a sense of being unsafe, or need for caution and protection, or that we should at least be wearing a hard hat. So where's yours?

All that can be hoped for is that the current renovations hurry along and end quickly, specifically in areas and locations that many students find convenient. For now, all we can do is thank our great leaders for picking the best of times to start construction. The sooner it ends the better. Only then can we return to a sense of normality.

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