UMass students are all too familiar with the constant construction projects and excessive winds on campus. From the South College to the Design Building, and now to Isenberg’s new ‘Hub’ and the Physical Sciences Building, it seems as though construction on the UMass campus literally never ends. As soon as one project is completed, another one pops up somewhere else.
Another aspect of campus that seems to pop up as often as construction projects is wind tunnels. It’s as if with every new building comes seven new wind tunnels along with it. These wind tunnels aren’t playing around, either.
Construction
Some of the biggest inconveniences of the multiple construction sites are obvious.
- Walking around them. Personally, I find the Isenberg Construction the most inconvenient thing that has ever happened to this campus. I used to walk through the Haigis Mall area almost every day, but now I either have to walk around to the Fine Arts Center, or all of the way around Mahar.
- The sound of the construction. Luckily, I do not live too close to any of the current construction sites, but there are many people that do. I do know from personal experience, however, that there is nothing worse than starting your day off by being woken up by the loud bangs and drills of a construction site nearby, especially at the very early hours of the morning.
Some of these problems are not so obvious in our daily lives, like the cost of these new buildings. It is no secret that construction is expensive, and everyone is well aware that like most schools, UMass is not afraid to continue raising the cost of tuition every year. Since everything else seems to be the same from year to year, the only logical explanation I can think of for this is because every year there is more and more construction.
Wind Tunnels
The inevitable result of more construction that is happening on campus: wind tunnels. The more construction there is, the more wind tunnels you will find.
- They’re so cold. There is probably nothing worse on the UMass campus in the winter than a freezing wind tunnel. Your face goes numb, your fingers go numb, and your breath gets knocked out of you.
- They’re so strong. As if the possibility of getting hit by a biker or skateboarder on campus isn’t enough, the force of a wind tunnel can also literally knock you down, which nobody wants or needs to happen, especially if there is snow on the ground.
At the end of the day, I love UMass and I am glad I attend this school. The construction means that UMass is trying to make campus as up to date as it possibly can be, which we should all be grateful for. New buildings are always fun and exciting, and I am not complaining about that aspect. It’s just that the longer walks to class and wind tunnels every which way make the winter weather slightly more miserable than it already is. I think I can speak for all of us when I say I cannot wait until the day when most of the construction is completed – if that day ever comes.