Photos // Evelyn Kowalski
The entrance near the SAC was blocked with equipment before being finished the week of Sept. 23.
By: Evelyn Kowalski
Staff-Writer
Since the beginning of the fall semester, there has been construction in the entryways of Wiekamp Hall to replace the over 20-year-old doors and vestibule flooring. The new doors will operate more efficiently for both students and faculty entering and exiting the building. However, many who frequent the building aren’t pleased with the disturbance the construction has caused.
The construction was originally going to start this past summer; however, there was a supply chain problem, and the vendor under contract took longer than expected. Due to these circumstances, the Facilities Department was planning to wait until next summer to start construction, but decided to start this semester since the old entryway doors were failing and they wanted to finish the project as soon as possible.
“Our ultimate goal is to do what is best for the students and other tenants of the campus,” Aaron Hoover, director of facilities management, said. “In an ideal world this project would have started in the summer, but because of circumstances…the timeline was pushed back and the need was great to install the new doors.”
The SAC-side entrance is now finished, with new doors and flooring making it more secure and efficient.
These new entryway doors will make the Wiekamp Hall building more efficient for faculty and students once they are finished, but some IU South Bend community members frequenting the building have had problems getting to class or have been disturbed by the construction while in class.
Student Dixie Wagoner said, “During class, my professor had to change rooms because of noises coming from the construction. It was very distracting since my classroom was right next to it.”
Professor Rowenna Miller said, “So occasionally it does get a little loud, we try to be flexible and close the door if we need to. Sometimes we get a good laugh at the fact we get interrupted by a drill or something in the middle of discussion.”
Another student, Jamie Zheng said, “Because most of my classes are at the end of the hallway, I usually enter through the side entrance, but because of construction I have to enter from a different entrance. It doesn’t really affect me, but at the same time it also disrupts my schedule a little.”
Others see the benefits of the construction, not just for students and faculty, but for the building.
Professor Mark Andrew Sniadecki stated that he is glad they’re keeping up the building and that it’s an encouraging sign for the health of the university.
The main portion of the construction is to be expected to finish in the coming weeks, however, there are minor parts of the construction yet to be completed, including replacing the lighting, flooring and painting, which are to be expected to finish at the end of October.
Other projects that are underway include replacement of the roofs of both Parkside Hall and the Administration Building and painting the balconies at River Crossing Campus Housing, which is scheduled to start in the next few weeks.
Students and faculty in the building see this while the courtyard entrance is under construction.