Administration neglects current students

I had to throw away my favorite pair of shoes last week.

No, they were not expensive, designer shoes. They were not amazing stilettos, just your basic black flip-flops from Target — but they were my favorites.

Why did I remove my favorite shoes from my wardrobe? Was it because they were ugly? Was it because I spilled Coke on them? No, it was because the new north college gravel path ripped them to shreds.

However, my shoes are not really the issue — in fact, they are quite trivial in comparison to the real problem at Rice: While making plans for future students, the administration has forgotten to look out for the interests of current students.

Construction is everywhere around campus: Virgin’s Field, Virgin’s Walk and the Abercrombie Lot have been decimated for the sake of the two new north colleges: College Way is blocked off for the Construction Welcome Center and the new power plant. Renovations are being made to Autry. And those unsightly green fences cut off the view of what once was a beautiful field between Fondren Library and the Rice Memorial Center.

I am certain that all of these changes will end with fabulous, enduring results. The majority of students will welcome two new residential colleges, a coffee shop and a state-of-the-art Autry. I am also sure that it will be worth the wait, and future generations of Rice graduates will appreciate and benefit from these changes.

On the other hand, I am not so certain that the administration is taking very good care of current students as we endure these ugly construction sites — war zones that block our paths to class, take away our intramural practice fields and tear up my favorite pair of shoes.

Any amenities that Rice provides will still not make it an ideal situation, but the construction will be here for two years or more. Thus, I think we should make the best of it. I am not asking for much: just a concrete, non-flooding path from the north colleges to the Inner Loop, brighter lights along the same path, less noise during the evening hours, more grace when it comes to parking in loading zones and less stench eminating from within the green fences.

Another concern is how these temporary paths affect students with disabilities and athletes with injuries. With the construction, students at the north colleges have two ways to travel to a bus stop or a class: via a gravel path or the street. Both options are less than desirable for students with injuries or for generally clumsy students like myself who have already done a faceplant on the gravel path.

These are not impractical or overly-demanding needs — just simple, basic ones that, in some cases, have negligible costs. Other changes, such as implementing a concrete path, need not be expensive or state-of-the-art, because the path will only be there for two years.

But those two years will be the last two years of many students’ experiences at Rice, and these years should be remembered with fondness, not nagged by memories of annoying construction.

I am going out to buy new shoes this week, and I want to be able to enjoy them, just as I want to enjoy the Rice campus during this time of transition.

Jackie Ammons is a Brown College sophomore.

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