The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

SMU professor Susanne Scholz in the West Bank in 2018.
SMU professor to return to campus after being trapped in Gaza for 12 years
Sara Hummadi, Video Editor • May 18, 2024
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Constructive thoughts

How much is too much?

Is anyone else annoyed with the construction on campus? Tried to open a door that won’t budge? Found your usual path blocked by a chain-link fence? Well, if you haven’t by now then stop skipping class.

Every year SMU promises construction will come to an end, but it seems like every semester a building is bulldozed or concrete is crushed. Sure, this will beautify the campus eventually, but what about now? How are students supposed to catch up on sleep with a jackhammer blasting in the background at 7 a.m.?

Not to say the school shouldn’t renovate every once and a while, but it’s getting a bit extreme. The new parking lot last year was a great investment, and only caused one detour. This year’s construction agenda is causing parking backups and numerous detours on campus that may cause students to not only be late to class, but throw in the towel entirely. Twenty-five minutes of circling for a parking space can lead to unparralled frustration that not even the most important chemistry exam can overpower.

For those who live on campus, the first day of classes might have been a shock. Girls marching from sorority houses were met by a six-foot chain-link fence where a parking lot and ideal traveling route should be.

They finished the Junkins building in a timely fashion, but now yet another fence blocks off the entire back courtyard. Inconvenient? Definitely.

Possibly one of the most distressing obstacles is the door in Umphrey Lee leading into the Journalism Department. Just try to open it. I dare you. If you manage to get in, try walking through the halls wihtout plaster falling on your freshly coiffed ‘do. Ten to one says you don’t make it through safely.

On the bright side, SMU will be gorgeous in five years. Unfortunately, we won’t be here. At least most of us won’t.

One of the many reasons people love this school is because of it’s beautiful campus. But so much construction at one time is somewhat wearing on students. It would be helpful if the university issued a “construction plan” that would let students know in advance when a fence will block their class, especially when they have to be at practice or some other university-sponsored even at 6 a.m.. This way, we could avoid mud puddles and possibly even be on time.

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