The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Commentary

Arjona was built in 1959 and is still standing 50 years later, much to the dismay of many students and teachers who frequent the building.

Journalism professor Robert Wyss recently lost 225 books due to a leak in the roof of Arjona. This 40-year-old book collection was just one of the things affected by the water that trickled down through several floors of Arjona. The water seeped through a point in the ceiling that had been weakened because of periods of freezing and cooling. More damage occurred last Monday when pipes burst in Arjona. Three classes had to be relocated and students and faculty were once again reminded of the ongoing dilapidation of the building.

However, students should be patient, as the staff of Architectural and Engineering Services is doing everything it can to maintain Arjona and Monteith until new buildings are built to replace them.

After the new buildings are constructed, Arjona and Monteith will be destroyed. Students will no longer have to wear winter coats and scarves in one classroom and strip down to T-shirts in the next.

The missing tiles, leaky roof and varying temperatures in the buildings will not be missed by those who use them. The buildings are falling apart faster than the university can renovate them. But rest assured, any problem that arises will be handled immediately. The university is not going to allow two buildings that are still constantly used to entirely collapse before construction begins. UConn should be commended for keeping up with the problems that arise.

"Two years ago we replaced the roof of Monteith and we are now trying to get a new roof on Arjona," said Jim Bradley, associate vice president and executive director of Architectural and Engineering Services. "The roof is intended to have a five- to ten-year service life, so it is not expensive."

Arjona and Monteith will be maintained and the issues that arise will be addressed until construction of the new buildings begins.

One building, which will hold only classrooms, will be built between CUE and the Student Union, according to Bradley. The other building will be slightly larger and consist of classrooms and faculty offices. It will be located near the library, near Dow Field. Construction will begin in November for the smaller building and construction for the larger building will begin in February or March 2010.

It may seem like Architectural and Engineering Services is not doing enough, because problems keep cropping up. These problems can and should be expected, but the problems are being taken care of. Wyss should not have lost his valued book collection and classrooms should not have to be moved, but those are consequences of having old buildings on campus. Planning and construction for any building takes time and students should not expect new buildings to be built overnight. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools