Well, we’re back.
Funny thing I notice as I look around campus. Last time I saw the place was at the end of spring semester, and I had hoped that most of the construction projects would be done by the time I got back. Instead, things are even more torn up, with more orange barrels and fences than before.
UNM’s Web site at www.unm.edu/waytogo lists no less than 17 separate construction projects, from the massive Law School additions to the SUB, the football stadium and the new campus apartments.
I don’t exactly have a problem with new construction. In fact I approve of most of the projects, and I think they will improve the ambience and utility of the campus when they are finished. But why does it take so long to renovate a building? Isn’t this the 21st century already?
And despite all the construction, they’re not building what we really need — more parking! I find it nearly unbelievable how many more cars there are in G lot every year. And I never cease to be frustrated at how I can’t park anywhere near where I go to class or work. What we really need to put construction money into is some kind of parking solution.
Adding T lot in the old Bob Turner’s Ford parking lot was a good move, but didn’t add nearly enough parking spaces to really change the situation. I say we should put up a ten-story parking garage there for starters, and add a few stories every year to keep up with rising enrollment. That’d be construction worth paying for.
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But it still leaves the problem of transportation. Even T lot is far enough away that you have to wait for the shuttle or walk to campus.
If we’re going to spend money and put up with the inconvenience of construction, why not do it right?
The ground beneath campus should be hollowed out into one vast underground parking structure, with stairwells and/or elevators that take you into the various buildings. Then you could just drive down there, park, and be right next to your class. Why not?
One thing I do like about coming back to school is the free food along the mall. Why can’t we keep that around all the time? I’m sure plenty of companies would be willing to put up the cost of having free-food tents on campus full-time in exchange for the eternal gratitude and brand loyalty of hungry students.
Yet after the first week of school, the tents disappear. I’m not sure how to arrange it, but there must be some way to keep the free food going all year round. That sounds like an excellent use of our student fees.
The beginning of the semester also means tightening up security. Early Monday morning, while at work, I was suddenly accosted by two campus police who proceeded to demand my Lobo card.
I know, I know, it’s not all that unreasonable for them to make sure I’m not making off with computers at 6 a.m., but did they have to call back to base with my information?
Thanks so much for broadcasting my name and social security number over your hideously non-encrypted citizens band radios!
I’m sure we could scrape up a couple of dollars to get them some kind of nifty handheld 21st century card readers or something.
Campus police isn’t the only organization on campus that could use some new equipment. UNM spends less on maintaining its computer network and services than almost any university of similar size, and most of the computer frustrations we suffer on campus are a direct result.
A lot of the wiring and networking hubs in our buildings are just too old to support our ever-increasing Internet needs, and the University’s computer security precautions are all but nonexistent.
It won’t be until some major virus or other cyber-catastrophe strikes that anyone will realize the problem exists, by which time all kinds of students and faculty may have lost irreplaceable files.
Sorry to begin the year on such a low note, but these are the kinds of things I think about while dodging construction zones on campus. Some of that construction is urgently needed — roof repairs, more dorms, et cetera.
Some of it sounds nice, like the new Student Union Building, but it doesn’t strike me as the University’s most pressing need.
UNM seems to be afflicted with the same strange condition as Albuquerque and the rest of New Mexico: things just don’t feel right unless we have to spend at least a part of our day detouring around construction zones.
