Everything that’s wrong with the new Academic Building on College Ave
Even the new academic building is getting RU Screw’d
It’s a new year at Rutgers with much to look forward to. From having a Starbucks truck drive up and supply us with our daily PSL fix, to getting a couple of amazing new buildings all around campus, it is bound to be a great year.
However, with The Yard getting plenty of attention for its sleek design and beautiful apartments, it seems Rutgers may have overlooked some of the other new buildings coming to College Ave. Lost in all the glitz, glam and extremely bright lights from the 320-square foot LED outdoor monitor that The Yard boasts, lies one of the most awaited academic buildings to come to College Avenue in a while – The Academic Building.
“The $116 million Rutgers Academic Building,” reports Rutgers Today, “…contain[s] modern lecture halls, large and small classrooms, informal learning spaces as well as conference rooms and faculty offices and will be the new home of the School of Arts and Sciences.”
Now, this is all fine and dandy, until it all starts to fall through the cracks – literally. Upon a closer look at the infrastructure, it is obvious that the building was not quite ready to open up its doors just yet. From exposed drywall to unfinished stairwells and obnoxious technical problems, its opening seems questionable. And the lack of concern by Rutgers University for the students’ safety and comfort is definitely worth raising an eyebrow or two (I would raise more if I had any extra ones).
The overwhelming smell of the paint and building materials does not help in easing the students’ transition, as these bothersome smells fill every inch of the building.
Throughout the building there were countless rooms which suffered through the transition of the new academic year. The first being lecture hall 2160 which suffered from technical difficulties that only allowed one of the two screens to function properly for the first week of classes, and lecture hall 4225 which had no functioning AC for a room filled with 247 students.
Visible cables throughout the building create not only an eyesore, but also block the view for students sitting in the back rows. And apparently the university’s solution to this particular problem was to just roll them up, instead of oh I don’t know, getting rid of them.
And last but certainly not least, the confusing floor plan of the building is not aided by the lack of signs throughout the building – which starts outside where there is absolutely no distinction between the East and West wings.
Although the buildings are truly appreciated, it’s questionable why it was so rushed to be opened in such an unfinished state. Personally, I would have much rather stepped into dingy, old, Beck Hall than walk into the Academic Building with a handheld fan/mist bottle and gas mask in order to survive the scorching hot lectures and toxic fumes that engulf the entire building.