The roof of the University Bookstore is currently being replaced, which adds yet another obstacle to the already construction-ridden Grounds. The project should be completed next month.
The roof replacement was deemed necessary when leakage began to cause problems in the building, said Annette Cyphers, the Academic Division director of Facilities Management. Facilities Management will replace the metal roof and gutters to seal the leaks.
“The project we finished last year gave the Bookstore more retail space by building over the parking deck, so this year we replaced the flat roof to match the new roof,” Cyphers said.
She said the new roof will last at least 20 years.
Student Council’s Building & Grounds Committee is working to make information about ongoing construction projects readily available to students, said Nell Connors, committee co-chair and fourth-year Architecture student. The committee encouraged Facilities Management to place signs on construction fences to tell students about the construction project occurring.
“We have not directly received complaints about the amount of construction happening this year, but we continue to help inform students about the changes going on around Grounds,” Connors said.
Connors praised the University’s efforts to keep life on Grounds as smooth as possible. “The University and its affiliates have done an incredible job accommodating students’ needs during these renovations,” she said.
But some students have been more critical of these construction projects, particularly given the harsh financial climate.
“There have been a lot of faculty cuts [recently] … [The funds] should be focused somewhere else,” said fourth-year College student Natalia Kuhn.
In addition, students are concerned about “the impression that prospective students may get amidst the chaos of progress,” second-year College student William Andrewes, who co-chairs the Building & Grounds Committee, said in an email.
Many of these construction projects, though, will ultimately benefit students, Connors said.
“These short term inconveniences are nothing compared to the incredible services The University is providing us in the long term,” Connors said. “We must remember what we are gaining.”
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