LETTER: Why demolish building now?

To the editor:

As a student here at USU, I am concerned about the method being used to tear down the old Engineering Classrooms – namely, the huge and inconvenient fence and the timing of the demolition.

I was astounded last year when they demolished the old library mid-semester but was even more so when a large fence was placed around the Engineering Classrooms blocking the sidewalk, caging in residents of Merrill Hall, and inconveniencing a huge number of students. I am bewildered as to why the school couldn’t have scheduled this demolition during the summer semester when fewer students would be inconvenienced and inclement weather would not halt progress. Is it because construction crews are in more demand in summer months and thus more expensive to hire? If so, then one has to wonder why the bureaucracy of the University is unwilling to spend this money to decrease inconveniencing students, yet felt the need to plant pansies across campus last semester a week before it snowed.

As students I feel that we have a right to be informed of situations like this but that did not seem to be of concern to those who planned this demolition. A meeting is apparently being held next week telling of the plans, long after this fence has affected us all.

Ashley Kartchner