The buildings at Mills are improving. Ethel Moore is in the process of receiving a beautiful new courtyard. The old one, Olive Tree Court, was torn down at the beginning of the semester, to make way for a new and improved patio and garden. New dorms are being constructed near the Underwood Apartments, the family housing complex on campus. And the offices and classrooms in the Life Science building are being moved, so construction can start on the new state-of-the-art science building.
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, imagine this: a late night of studying turns into an early morning; you roll into bed a bit after 2 a.m., setting your alarm for 8 a.m. in order to be ready for your 9 a.m. class. The prospect of six hours sleep is a little disheartening, but you know you’re capable of functioning on less. An hour or two before your alarm is set to go off, your slumber is rudely interrupted by drilling, hammering and chattering. Your six hour window has now been reduced to four and you are pissed.
How would you feel if this scenario occurred every morning and continued late into the afternoon-sometimes evening. As students, the proper amounts of quiet time to sleep and study is absolutely vital to our survival. Disruptive construction sounds are not only annoying, angering and frustrating, they are also disruptive to your metal health.
The traditional Mills “room draw” had us all excited to move into our respective new rooms. A lot of residents choose to live in a room facing the Ethel Courtyard. Some residents decided to live in the Ross or Larsen Co-ops. Some students and their families (including small children) wanted to live in the Underwood Apartments. No one was warned about the upcoming construction plans for or around these buildings-if they had been, most of them probably wouldn’t have chosen to live there.
In the long run construction may be beneficial for Mills and its students, but in the meantime it sucks for residents. Most of all, sleeping is hard. And not just for students, but for the babies and children in Underwood. Many mothers have had to rely on the homes of off-campus friends to allow their children to sleep properly.
Changing clothing is a problem. Used to the seclusion that is Mills, at the beginning of the semester a lot of women went about their changing habits as they had in previous year- with window shades open. Quickly they realized with the construction so close to the building, the construction workers could very well see them. This means: we can’t even be naked in our rooms with the shades up!
Additionally, the construction vehicles have practically demolished the road up the hill. You can hardly drive up it without bottoming out in a pot hole.
So what’s to be done? Let’s set hours people! No working before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. In the future, can we plan on doing major construction during summer and winter breaks? And, can you please WARN residents as to what the plans are for their living arrangements? We don’t feel like this is too much to ask. Thanks.
