The new school year began and the highly anticipated West Kennedy Hall was finally ready for move-in, but the Aquatic Center and North and East Walker Halls are still under construction.
Onitiana Randrianavahy, a sophomore and environmental science major, has been troubled by the construction.
“I think the construction should have been done before school starts,” Randrianavahy said. “It’s quite bothersome because it’s dusty everywhere and the noise is just so loud, and I mean we don’t even know what they’re constructing.”
The student body anticipated the construction of West Kennedy, but the rest of the construction only began this summer. The new residence hall was successfully completed by August. The 11-story building houses more than 500 students and includes activity rooms on the 11th floor that are available to all student groups and organizations.
East Walker Hall went through some modifications over the summer. The building use to house ROTC, but now it includes classrooms, offices and administrative space for Internet Technology services. Also during the summer, North Walker Hall went through renovations and was recently completed. It now houses the Academic Advising Office and the Academic Center for Excellence and Student Success.
The construction of the Aquatic Center has been the most inconvenient to students.
Jacob Mackey, a sophomore on the UT swim team, said, “As a member of the swim team, it’s affected me by not having the locker rooms open or the showers open when everything was supposed to be done about three to four weeks ago.”
Richard Ogorek, vice president for Administration and Finance and a member of the Planning and Budgeting Committee, explained the ongoing construction.
“The objective of summer construction projects is to have them completed before classes of the Fall Semester begin,” Ogorek said. “However, the opportunity presented itself to undertake a more extensive renovation to East Walker Hall and a complementary major renewal of the Aquatic Center than the construction time that the 14 short weeks of summer offered.”
A leak in the swimming pool was identified, so construction in East Walker Hall and the pool enhancements were delayed until the leak could be resolved.
“Renovations of older facilities provide challenges that in some cases cannot be identified before the work begins,” Ogorek said.
Students like Mackey are waiting for the construction to end, but Mackey says that he’s excited for the end result.
“I think the construction has been of annoyance to many people on campus, but once it is done, the campus will look so much better and people will appreciate it then.”
“[The construction] is better said than done, but they are still doing the job and trying to maintain the place and keep it in order,” said Junior Ignacio Escasena, a film and media arts major. “They’re a bit late, but I’m not gonna be judging them on that. It’s their job and they’re doing it, and that’s what matters.”
Valerie Lara can be reached at valerie.lara@spartans.ut.edu