Geneseo plans to renovate Sturges and Fraser Hall in March 2020, according to the Geneseo 2021 Strategic Plan. Although their intentions are good, construction plans are disrupting classes, organizations, students trying to study and the history department within these buildings. Overall, facility and planning services should be mindful of the disturbances they’re creating while also making sure they are preserving the spirit of campus.
Facility planning and construction director Michael Neiderbach explained that the renovation plans are to not only improve the buildings’ plumbing and safety standards, but to provide new resources for the students as well. “In Fraser, we’re going to have space for classrooms, a collaboration shop, study commons, seminar rooms, project rooms, a cafe, a meditation room … and conference rooms,” Neiderbach said, according to a February 2019 Lamron article.
Early this semester, construction gutted Fraser library, discarding many of its remains. These remains included books, artwork and other parts of the library which held memories and signifigance for Geneseo’s students. Students worry that this careless behavior will be continued when reconstructing the remainder of Fraser and Sturges Halls. In order to conduct demolition within these academic buildings, classes and organizations that reside here will have to be moved during the Spring 2020 semester.
Not only will this cause confusion for professors and students alike, but it will also inevitably cause overcrowding in remaining academic buildings that now have to accommodate these groups. Construction on Sturges Hall is scheduled to last two years for a complete renovation of the building. If reconstruction planning does not improve, students and faculty on campus will suffer the consequences.