Looking around campus, students may notice that some buildings, classrooms, restrooms and water fountains are nicer than others.
Thanks to state funding and Measure E, the college has been provided with $396 million for new facilities, David Miller, assistant director of Maintenance and Construction, said.
The best-looking buildings on campus are the part of the new science complex that was recently built; they are a combination of the Chemistry, Physics, and Natural Science buildings.
“The new science complex is the most state-of-the-art facility that is on campus right now,” Miller said. “It has all new computers, desks, whiteboards and a new air-conditioning system.”
The Humanities and Business buildings are the worst buildings on campus, a reason being because they are the oldest buildings on campus, Miller said.
“The Business Building is one of the reasons for the new bond because of how poor it looks,” Miller said. “The Humanities Building should be rebuilt in the next year and a half.”
The buildings that are being renovated are going to be either upgrades or total renovations, Miller said.
Through Measure E, all restrooms will now be brought up to standards that are set because of the Americans for Disabilities Act of 1990.
“We build the buildings for a fifty-year life span and all that leaves us to do is retouch it every few years,” Miller said.
The maintenance workers are responsible for the electricity, air conditioning, welding, carpentry, painting, mail, incoming and outgoing goods, construction, vehicle maintenance and recycling on campus.
“We do a lot to make sure that the campus looks good,” Miller said. “One way we keep buildings from looking old is by painting them every five to seven years, depending on the building and how much sun it gets.”
The best classrooms on campus belong to the new buildings, while the older buildings seem to be the worst, only because they do not have all the new features that the new buildings do.
“We can’t do much about the classrooms in the older buildings, but electricity works equally throughout all the buildings and we are working on the air conditioning in the older buildings,” Miller said.
Elevators require the most maintenance on campus due to their importance, Miller said. All of the elevators are in good condition except for the one located in the Maintenance Building, he said.
“Since elevators are important, we make sure we fix them in a couple hours when there is a problem,” Miller said. “They need as much, if not more, maintenance done than anything on campus.”
The worst restrooms on campus are located in the Business Building, Miller said, while the best are the ones in Science Building as well those restricted to faculty.
“I have gone inside a lot of bathrooms around school and they all seem to be in pretty good condition,” Evan Kono, undecided major, said. “I wouldn’t have a problem using any of toilets here,” he said.
However, not everyone agrees.
“I have never used any bathroom on campus,” Andre Knox, film major, said.
“They are like an enchanted forest. I feel like I will go in and never come out.”
Drinking fountains are harder to give a grade to because the water tastes the same in all, but the water seems to be coldest in the Administration Building.
“The water tastes fine to me,” Kono said, “I drink out of the water fountains on campus all the time.”
While not all campus facilities are in top-notch condiition, that is something the college is looking to change soon.
“Thanks to Measure E, the college is going to look a lot better over the years to come,” Miller said.
