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Editorial

To Build or Not to Build? That is the Question

Sometimes, it becomes hard to enjoy the quaint, homey beauty of the campus of our University when all we can hear are hammers through the walls of our classrooms. Some of us also have to spend our classtimes in trailers, and we wake up to the sound of drills.

Many University students can’t even remember a time when Monmouth was not working on some sort of construction. The most recent construction projects include the Edison Science Building addition, Multipurpose Activity Center, the tennis courts, and the detention basin. Right behind these projects were the Jules Plangere Building, McAllan Hall, and the renovation of Redwood and Oakwood Halls. Since 1994, $175 million of construction have been done.

It brings forth the question of whether or not the inconveniences of construction to the students are worth the modernized buildings that are being built. For some students, this construction can seriously disrupt their own learning experience that they, in all fairness, paid tuition for. How can we be expected to do science experiments in a trailer, when we signed up for a science classroom in the Edison Science Building? How can we listen to a lecture when we can barely hear what our professor is saying through the sounds of a drill?

Many of the current students will not get a chance to even enjoy the renovations that they sit through classes in trailers in order to receive, as many of our recent alumni have not even gotten the opportunity to enjoy our new residence halls and academic buildings. This especially makes all of the disruptions and irritations not worth it to current students who had to endure it.

Some students, although understanding of the University’s need to grow and improve, do not see the point of constant construction projects. One possibility is to halt construction every few years to just give students a little break from the constant change and awkward middle ground of going to a school that really isn’t quite finished yet. This way, we could really have a chance to enjoy our campus and just be students who don’t have to worry about avoiding yet another construction detour.

Others see this idea of halting construction as very troubling. What if there was some renovation or construction that desperately needed to be done, but the “no construction” policy made that impossible and students were thus forced to suffer as a result? The fact remains that construction will always be necessary when a renovation is needed, even if it does get annoying.

Another possibility is to reserve large construction projects for the summer months, which seems to already be the general plan, as this was what was done for the parking lot. This way, far less students would be affected by the constant construction. However, as we saw with Hurricane Irene and the construction of the parking lot, many times construction carries into the new school year. To be fair, these are natural occurrences and the University tries to complete construction projects in a timely manner. Even with this, students were disrupted less than they would have been if the construction took place once the school year began.

However, at the same time, the modernization of our campus makes our own degrees increase in value for the years to come. The better our University becomes, then the better our resumes will look to potential employers. The fact remains that college is a business, and Monmouth University must keep up with other colleges to continue to enroll students. No one wants to enroll their child to a campus that is dilapidated and outdated. When parents visit our campus with their prospective students, the fact that they see a campus that is continuously updating itself and keeping up with the times is a positive factor and could even be the deciding factor, in some cases.

Sometimes, the construction can be loud, irritating, and cause changes that we may not all agree with. However, this is a part of keeping the University up-to-date and ensuring its life in the years to come so that all prospective students can enjoy it like we have. We should want Monmouth University to be a better place for students, where leaders look forward.



Correction:

In last week’s issue, the paper printed that Baseball Coach Dean Ehehalt remarked that he was not in favor of the University starting a club baseball team. The Outlook later found out that sources who reported that information had not actually spoken to Coach Ehehalt themselves. To the paper’s knowledge the baseball coach never made the statement. The Outlook apologizes for any misunderstandings or inconveniences that may have resulted from our error.