Let’s be real here: NC State’s campus construction efforts are always a trainwreck. For some, this provokes flashbacks to the unexpectedly long period of construction for Talley, but there are far more recent examples of campus beautification gone wrong. Of course, it’s not like there is some hideous destruction of brick and cement, or several hundred pounds of low grade mulch and dirt just sitting in a pile everywhere you go, but nonetheless, it’s hard not to see our campus as being riddled with slow and ultimately hideous construction jobs.
We do like to joke about it to some degree, but on the whole, it seems like every semester the campus gets a little more torn up and, yet, not that much closer to a completed construction project. It’s not necessarily that the construction isn’t worth it, but the fact is that no matter how long the finished product stays on campus, every second that campus remains an incomplete mess feels like an eternity.
The goal in any campus improvement project should be to get the destruction and construction over with as quickly and cleanly as possible. To me, it seems like NC State isn’t playing by these rules, which makes it sting extra hard when you realize that most of the construction is purely for cosmetic purposes.
The problem isn’t just isolated to NC State-funded construction attempts; take, for example, the hellhole that is Hillsborough Street pretty much year-round, as well as ongoing apartment construction in that area. However, this kind of build effort, funded by the city and private investors, is frankly quite necessary. The attempts to fix Hillsborough Street, while painfully slow, couldn’t have been avoided.
The structure of the road and the unprecedented growth of business and urban development in the area meant that the concrete and tar mess of two-lane and one-way streets was never going to work for long. And with a lack of decent apartment options near the university, I can’t say I’m necessarily opposed to more off-campus housing options. At least privately owned businesses understand that they need to get those structures built quickly and efficiently, even if it is only to garner maximum profit.
Yes, Hillsborough shares all of the issues of NC State construction, but it’s easier to overlook for several reasons. Most of us aren’t directly funding the attempts to fix it, it’s an incredibly complicated and extensive process, and most importantly, it’s an unavoidable necessity and not just a cosmetic change. Hillsborough may still be a broken, frustrating mess, but it can be understood more easily.
But, what excuse does NC State have? Take, for example, the numerous renovations to the Turlington garden area. Those living in either Owen or Turlington Residence Halls are surely familiar with the numerous attempts to beautify the area that have caused excessive noise and ruined the view for nearby occupants.
Ultimately, it all turns out to be for nothing, as once the area is finished, it gets the orange tape treatment once again, with concrete rubble and uprooted trees galore. It’s got to be tiresome to live next to it, as after only one semester and two completely restated transformation attempts, I was sick of looking at the area. I’ve been told that this area is subject to input from residents nearby, but surely this wouldn’t require extensive renovations time and again, or the repeated destruction and reconstruction of the steps and gathering area outside of Owen residence hall. Why do we continue to fund what ends up being a completely futile attempt to transform an area into something nicer?
Perhaps more of our readers will be familiar with the semester-long construction effort that is the former Harrelson Hall site. After nine months, the future decorative landscape still more resembles a chain-link-fenced rubble heap than a finished area. I can’t be the only one sick of looking at it; it’s enough that there’s always some sort of booth or demonstration cluttering up the Brickyard, we shouldn’t also have to deal with this landscaping nightmare. The only change I’ve seen in the past three weeks is that they’ve planted a few more trees and added some mulch on a bank. That took three weeks? Why has this project gone on so long with so little construction being completed? Truly, the lack of progress is staggering.
What’s more, the Harrelson landscape slog hasn’t stopped NC State from tearing up more of the campus in the meantime. Park Shops was very abruptly treated to busted-up concrete for two weeks, with the cause unknown to the average passerby. It could have been some kind of maintenance, but that usually doesn’t take destroying the sidewalk and encasing a 20-foot radius in the dreaded orange tape. The project was also completed in an area too small to be considered major restructuring.
If it’s needed repair, that’s fine. But the point is, campus construction just hasn’t been quick or efficient. It’s nightmarishly slow, hideous and often simply for the sake of cosmetic appeal. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d rather stick with a couple of loose bricks than have the entire sidewalk torn up for a year.
It’s more than just an issue of not liking the way things look on campus, though that clearly is important. As with all campus complaints, there’s more than just a surface level to this problem. Because, after all, NC State is more than just a place for most of us — more than just a collection of sites that we occasionally see. For many of us, it’s home. For others, it’s where our lives take place. NC State is our bubble, and there’s no escaping it at the end of the day. When we see the dirt scraps and busted concrete at Harrelson, it feels like seeing the busted windows on the front of our childhood homes. When we see the the Turlington stairs get restructured, if feels like seeing the front porch completely stripped of wood and furniture, all replaced with stacks of plywood to be used.
With every new construction project that pops up on campus, another bit of scaffolding goes up on that house, and another section of siding comes off. A house with too much unfinished construction doesn’t feel like a home, and no matter how beneficial that construction will be, the only thing you’ll feel while living there is increased distress while you anxiously await its completion. The longer NC State’s construction goes on, and with more simultaneous projects popping up, the less our university feels like a home, and the more it starts to feel like a trap. That’s not a healthy mindset to have to live with, and it certainly isn’t good for productivity or academic performance.
If every construction attempt on campus is going to be hideous, untimely and ultimately unfinished before a new one starts, you inspire resentment, and even anxiety, toward any new announcement of construction. NC State’s lackluster campus construction sends out a clear and simple message: fear of improvement.
