Art students are raising concerns of distractions and health problems caused by fumes in the Art Building due to the construction site south of it.
First reported by KRQE, students say they have been dealing with the fumes for the entire fall semester so far.
“We were starting to feel really hopeless,” said Hannah Mora, a fine arts student.
Mora described the fumes as “hazardous” and said classes and studio time have been cancelled due to the disturbance of the fumes. She also said sources of the fumes could be fire retardant, metal and a suspicious black substance.
Multiple student complaints were passed from instructors to Diana Gourlay, senior operations manager of the Fine Arts Dean’s Office. According to project manager Christopher Carian, Gourlay gave the complaints to him, then he communicated them to the construction team. Gourlay declined to comment on the fumes.
According to Project Manager Christopher Carian, multiple meetings have been held at the construction site and the fumes have been deemed inconvenient, but not dangerous. He said conditions like these are inevitable and happen in many construction zones.
“We are doing everything we can to be careful for the art students,” Carian said. Students feel as if their voices are not being heard. Mora explained her frustration:
“It really bothers me because I feel like art is already put low on administration priority. I feel like UNM doesn’t care about anyone in the art department.”
Outreach Specialist for Planning Design and Construction Sarah Scott said the fumes are not hazardous, nor are they coming from the construction site.
“They are absolutely not being ignored,” Scott said. According to Scott, third parties have come in to investigate and detect possible odors. The levels of odors are constantly being monitored as well.
She also said some complaints do not add up. One complaint said that a class was dismissed around 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, but construction had ended at 3:30 p.m. that day.
“We are not sure what smells could’ve been coming off the construction site with no one there,” she said. Scott also said that materials from the art building could be causing the fumes as well.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“Some of the complaints that these students are complaining about are coming from within their own department,” Scott said.
She also reassured that the construction crew is taking multiple measures to ensure the students are not in any danger.
“They’re really trying to monitor this, they are not just ignoring it. They’re really trying to work with the Art department and help them figure it out…what is it that they’re complaining about that we need to address? They are actively investigating these concerns,” Scott said. “They are actually giving priority to it.”
Emily Ashby is a freelance multimedia reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @EmilyAshby.
