Another
year back at Appalachian State University means the beautiful sites
and sounds of Boone and the High Country.
The sites and sounds of the campus though, are
another story.
Plastic and chainlink fencing are all too familiar scenes for Appalachian
students and most other college students for that matter.
The sounds of drills and jackhammers take over
the typical mountain hum of chirping birds and trees whistling in
the wind.
Appalachian, like many college campuses, is undergoing a few major
facelifts. These changes are causing more than a few headaches for
the faculty, staff and students of the university.
The amount of construction workers, trucks and machinery around
campus inconveniences many.
Although I agree this construction is necessary for Appalachian
to grow into a modern campus full of diverse activities, in some
instances it is quite a nuisance.
In order to make this construction more convenient for both the
construction workers and students, a few changes need to be made.
Just the other day as I was jogging down Rivers Street, choking
on the smog coming from the machinery used to construct the parking
deck, one of the construction workers whistled at me.
Other females have also complained about similar individual problems.
This type of action causes the campus to feel unsafe and is a problem
that should be fixed immediately.
The other day I was also walking past the new Rankin Science building
construction area and instead of keeping the waste inside of the
fenced-in construction area, workers were throwing bricks from the
top floor of the building down onto the sidewalk, where I was walking.
I looked up to make sure the workers had seen me, and they were
looking right at me, continuing to throw bricks. If I had been walking
closer to the fence I might have been hit.
I respect construction workers both as fellow humans and for doing
a very tough job.
They should respect students as fellow humans also.
These workers are doing a service to us as a community, and I very
much appreciate all of the additions being made on campus. I am
excited about the new parking deck, solarium and all of the other
new additions; however, I am not excited about being hit by bricks
or whistled at while these projects are being completed.
I realize that most of the construction workers
are not involved in these degrading and dangerous acts, but those
that are cause a stigma for the rest of them. |
