Campus Quirks: BC campus seems forever under construction

Has your life ever been interrupted by the sudden sound of a concrete-eating, earth-shattering jackhammer, drilling what seems to be a hole to China? Have you ever been in the midst of a boring but nonetheless important conversation with one of your senior-five only to be cut off by a “CLANG-CLANG-CLANG?” Have you been suffering from recurring migraines, sleeplessness, and lethargy? Well, if the answer is “yes,” then you are not alone. If the answer is “no,” and you live anywhere near St. Mary’s Hall, then you should probably go to health-services and get your hearing checked.

Jokes aside, there is and has been a great deal of construction underway at Boston College’s campus, some of which seems a bit counterproductive to forging a peaceful campus environment. Understandably, a campus with such historic, breathtaking architecture as BC will need renovations, but students are recognizing a pattern unique to BC—it’s been going on too long.

Many students were unaware that St. Mary’s Hall would be undergoing renovation and a bit surprised by the “none-of-your-business” construction fences that are laced around the historic building. Built over 95 years ago, it is not shocking that St. Mary’s needs to be updated, but students are quite annoyed about the noisy process. Wasn’t Stokes Hall enough?

“It was really quite surprising to see and hear all the construction on campus after break,” said Alexandra Covelle, CSON ’13, a resident of Ignacio Hall. “I just got over the construction of Stokes Hall, which came out great, but I thought it would stop there for a while at least. I was trying to sleep in this morning and it is quite impossible when you live in a construction zone.”

“It definitely makes it hard to talk on my phone as I am walking up to class, past St. Mary’s,” Kelly Quinn, LSOE ’13, said. “I don’t start conversations on the stairs anymore.”

Construction on St. Mary’s will reportedly run until November 2014, comprised of inside renovations and an outside “face-lift” similar to the one Gasson recently received.

The Jesuits most certainly deserve the best living arrangements, and no one disagrees with that, but is St. Mary’s Hall construction a continuation of what seems to be BC’s “ever to excel” mantra applied to architecture? BC’s “Institutional Master Plan” better exposes BC’s eagerness to build.

The proposed 10-year plan will involve expansion onto the Brighton Campus, a new Plex, and a large array of other buildings and improvements. BC’s goal is “to develop a vision for growth that looks to the 21st century, but is also grounded in the University’s past.” A keen focus of the project includes propelling BC forward as a leader in liberal arts and Catholic education. This sounds great on paper, but the pleasing resonance stops there as nothing joyful emanates from the sound of a Bobcat bulldozer.

“It wakes me up every morning,” said Allie Broas, A&S ’13. “While I appreciate the need for construction and renovation, I wouldn’t mind a complimentary pair of Beats to wear those mornings when I just want to sleep in.”

Jamming with Beats or not, BC students are surrounded by construction and, it appears, will be for some years to come.     

Maybe current students will find satisfaction when they revisit BC 10 years down the road? Maybe, by then, their loans will be paid off and they will finally see and appreciate the beauty of the new structures without hearing the noise it took to build them.