Xatal

At every college I’ve ever taken a tour of, there’s always been several ongoing construction projects on the campus.

For high schools, construction projects are typically a large deal, since the school is small and the construction crew interferes a lot with the day-to-day hustle and bustle of the school. Projects are also usually limited to a renovation, though in cases of large expansion, new wings or buildings may be built.

But at colleges, construction is pretty much ongoing. Due to the larger income from tuition and possibly state funds, colleges have a lot more money at their disposal to keep the campus up-to-date and, as necessary, expanded. This keeps the school modern, attractive, and accommodating for everyone. You know that well-known fact about how the Golden Gate Bridge is always being painted because it’s so large? Think of your college like that: when one project is finished, another project will be needed.

Currently at UCSC, several of the ten colleges are under expansion, a new biomedical building is being built, the library is being renovated, and a dining hall is being redone. Other schools I had seen through tours always had construction going on in some form.

Although the construction can be a bit aggravating (if you’ve never woken up to jackhammers at 7 AM, you are lucky) and a bit of a hassle to have to navigate around, the end product is just about always better than the way things. Whether it’s a whole new building or an improvement to an existing one, be happy to see that your tuition dollars are being well-spent.