Finals are a demanding time for students but this year, the last weeks of the semester will be even more tense due to construction blasting.
Controlled blasting began Thursday at the Science and Engineering Hall site as a means to excavate large rocks. The blasting will occur every morning for the next four to six months, temporarily closing surrounding streets. The University advised residents in adjacent buildings to close windows to prevent smoke and debris from blowing into their rooms.
The University should halt the blasting until after finals so students in Gelman Library and nearby residence halls are not distracted by the loud rumbling and accompanying air horns each morning.
The actual blasts will last only for a few seconds, University spokeswoman Jill Sankey told The Hatchet last week, but the blaring of air horns three times prior to the blasts and once afterward to signal the activity will inevitably be disruptive. The sound might be brief, but as students study late into the night, any unnecessary noises that would disrupt morning sleep should be avoided.
In the Infomail sent to students April 25, the blasting was compared to “more intense vibrations likened to the vibrations associated with a minor earthquake.”
Increasing construction during finals week is a serious issue for students who should be preparing for exams – not planning their study and sleep schedules around clamor.
The initial plan for the future site of the Science and Engineering Hall was approved in the 2007 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan, and the University has had ample time since the D.C. Zoning Commission issued an order of approval in July to establish a construction timeline that respects the needs of students. Construction should continue through finals in a benign fashion, but any intensification should wait until after finals end.
This is not the first time students have felt their needs were neglected in the name of improving campus structures. In the fall, the Residence Hall Association voiced concerns about exceptionally boisterous construction in the early morning. The University promised, in response, to regulate loud noise coming from the construction site before 8 a.m. But this minor adjustment has a minimal effect on students.
Many college students study late into the night, and I speak for many when I say waking up at 8 a.m. is far from ideal. Construction at such an early hour contradicts University efforts to foster student success and well-being.
Construction is not a bad thing. State-of-the-art facilities like the future Science and Engineering Hall will boost the University’s academic reputation, but blasting during finals represents a significant oversight on the University’s part.
When considering the University's long-term success, students’ immediate needs – like adequate time for sleep and study – should not be shoved to the wayside.
Justin Peligri is a freshman majoring in political communication.
In order for the university to neglect a need, one first requires a need to exist.
Students only “need” to sleep in late in the morning if they choose to stay up late at night. Make no mistake, that is a choice.
You’re asking that a the entire project revolve around your desire to sleep in.
That’s embarrassing.
Not to mention the fact that you can’t just halt construction when you’re dealing with contractors and subcontractors…you’re paying for that lot to sit empty and unworked upon. Just another article in a long line of poorly though out proposals by Freshman opinion writers.
I think it is admirable that Hatchet columnists are challenging the administration when the university prioritizes anything over the well being and academic success of its students. Instead of criticizing the Hatchet for how they convey student concerns to the administration, why don’t we acknowledge the inconvenience that the blasting poses and try to find a solution. It’s a shame that both Jared and RK are resorting to insulting the columnist instead of trying to find a compromise that makes both the students and the administration happy.
It’s not really about the administration being happy — I’m not sure why you think it’s students vs. admin. It’s a construction project. The construction schedule isn’t built primarily around what makes people happy.
In fact, that’s the precise problem — the complaint here is that it’s not scheduled around what makes students most happy — specifically, letting them sleep very late into the morning.
Which is why I say it’s embarrassing. Calling it such, by the way, is not insulting the author. It’s a well written piece and I’m sure he’s a very bright guy, but that doesn’t mean the ideas in this piece aren’t embarrassing. The unbridled sense of entitlement that so many GW students project to the rest of the world is, indeed, embarrassing. And yes, thinking that the highest priority of a construction project should be the late-in-the-morning sleep schedule of a group of students who can certainly go to sleep earlier but choose not to is complete and utter entitlement.
There are plenty of quiet places to study at GW (Eckles, anyone?). Of course, this isn’t really about studying or finals. It’s about sleeping in. There are plenty of hours before 8am to sleep. The rest of the worlds’ needs can’t be expected to bend to the preferences of students just because they want to stay up late and sleep in all morning.
Maybe that’s not ideal for students. But maybe this will be the year that some students can learn what it means to be a member of society — which is not getting to do everything you want just because you want to do it, that other people have lives and schedules too, and sometimes people even make decisions for reasons other than your preferences.
IIRC there actually already is a compromise. DC law allows construction noise to begin at 7am in most instances. This project holds off the loud noise until 8am, I believe. And for all we know, the reason this whole portion of the construction is happening now was specifically designed so that it happened over the summer while the majority of students were away.
But what about those poor summer students! Can’t the administration just make everyone happy all the time?
I’d also point out that students are not the only people who live and work in Foggy Bottom.
I’m sure other residents would not want blasting to occur late at night, even if students would prefer it.
I’d also bet that construction workers would appreciate being able to come to work in the morning, do their work, and then go home at night.
I think this whole thing is a moot point. Yeah blasting is loud and airhorns are also loud. But the whole process is really quick and painless.
Blasting is not going to ruin your GPA or detract from your study efforts. If it does, you need to work on your self discipline and ability to focus.
Spending hours on Youtube and Facebook will.
Whats the big deal?..you wake up for a second and fall back asleep..its not going off at 5 in the morning, its 10 in the morning…if you go to bed at 4, you have plenty of time to sleep before it wakes you up for a second..really not a big deal