CSUN on long road to recovery

Students who returned to Cal State Northridge this fall found their campus appearing less chaotic and more apt to benefit their needs, as services and facilities that were shut down became accessible.

CSUN is at last returning to normal after being near the epicenter of the Jan. 17 earthquake that caused structural damage estimated at $350 million.

Buildings that were either completely totaled or partially lost are now being restored, while construction noises that might effect ongoing classes are being kept at a minimum.

CSUN structure s that still need repair include the Administration and Fine Arts buildings, as well as one-third of its Oviatt Library. About half of the classsrooms on campus will be back in full use by the semester's end, CSUN officials estimate. The campus conti nues to seek financial aid at the federal and state levels, and about one-third of the $350 million has either already been collected or is en route, California State University officials said.

According to a Sept. 4 Los Angeles Times editorial, t he Federal Emergency Mangement Agency has offered to pay about 90 percent of the total repair cost.

The campus resumes a new school year with students being in a "calmer, happier state," said the university provost, Louanne Kennedy.

Last semest er, CSUN needed 450 trailers to accomodate both classrooms and offices. The need for such temporary facilities has reduced significantly this fall, campus officials said. The majority of construction necessary to fully restore the university is expect ed to be complete by the end of the academic year, CSUN officials estimate.

Perhaps the greatest advantage to CSUN's returning students this fall is the re-opening of their main library on Wednesday. The library had been de clared structurally unsafe for occupants after the earthquake, forcing students that needed to do reseach to bus to UCLA, which was nearly an hour away.

"It feels like a normal campus again," Kennedy said, and the students have "incredible energy" this term.

Kennedy now considers the quake a learning experience, as "everyone went through something important together."

As consrtuction repairs those areas hit hardest during the quake, and emotional scars begin to slowly wear off, Kennedy predicts CSUN may very well become the "world's expert on coming through a disaster."