
By Ellen Weiss
As the new school year stretches its fledgling wings, it is obvious that the overall appearance of campus is somewhat different than it was last year.
As soon as the spring semester ended, construction crews moved into the Memorial Union to begin the process of renovation after nearly one and a half years of anticipation.
The most obvious change in the physical outline of the union is the relocation of the student bookstore, formally located on the first floor of the union in plain view for anyone seeking to find textbooks, school supplies or ESU apparel. Now, however, the bookstore has been moved into the basement of the union, in the space formally occupied by the Office of International Education which moved into a space in Morse Hall that, in the past, was used as part of the student dormitories.
Phew!
As you can clearly see and have most likely experienced firsthand, this whole relocation process has made things a bit convoluted and at times downright confusing. The widespread relocations on campus have made it a more difficult for the average student to navigate his or her way around campus without taking a detour or even backtracking to find the location they are looking for.
Students and faculty are not the only ones directly affected by the construction process. When visitors come to ESU they will have one of two thoughts about the renovations happening on campus. They will be impressed that ESU is taking the initiative to improve the campus, or they will be annoyed by the difficulties associated with getting around a campus under construction.
Either way, a significant impression will be made on visitors to our campus. An impression they will take away from ESU and relay to others.
Returning students are bound to notice differences throughout the campus. The library is different; the union is under construction; some of the dormitories have received a facelift. These are all good things in the long run, however, at the current moment in time they seem more as inconveniences than anything else.
The main way to solve the issues students and staff are facing with the renovations is communication. The renovation should be documented better on its website, www.emporia.edu/murenovation.
Maps should be made available on this website and placed at strategic locations throughout the campus. These small changes would be infinitely better than the current situation, wherein it seems that students are left to figure out the changes on campus for themselves.
If the administration does a better job of communicating what areas of the university are being affected by this process and when, then the problems that we are currently facing could be lessened or, ideally, solved altogether.
In two years, these inconveniences will be a thing of the past. But for now, it is an annoying fact of life here at ESU. The easier it is for students here on campus, the better experience it will be for everyone. It starts with the little things.























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