Science
building boom includes CSULB
By Danielle Grossman
On-line Forty-Niner
Rosie
Raya knows just how run down some of the
equipment and the computers have become
in the science department.
The Cal State Long Beach student, getting
her second undergraduate degree in mathematics,
recalls a geology class that she took, which
left her with a particularly bad experience.
Students were sent to do experiments such
as surveying and testing soil, but problems
arose each time. After being given lab instructions
— which Raya says didn’t always coincide
with the experiment — the students took
their kits of instruments and materials
(put together by the professor) into the
field.
But completing the assignments were virtually
impossible since most of the instruments
were either broken or did not work properly.
In fact, several students personally bought
their own instruments so that they could
complete the assignments.
Back in the lab, students were unable to
process the data they had collected in the
field due to poor computers.
“We’d be in the middle of putting data in
and the computers would shut down,” Raya
said. “It would happen constantly.”
Making it even more impossible to complete
assignments was the fact that this malfunctioning
program, which allowed the students to enter
data and compute it, was never fixed.
In addition, students found it difficult
to observe things like fossils under the
microscopes, which were in poor condition.
Because of these problems, students complete
very few assignments, and yet still received
grades.
“It’s sad really because the professor ended
up giving us all B’s and C’s, and we hardly
did anything,” Raya said.
Though Raya took the class in 1990 while
getting her first undergraduate degree,
she doubts that things have gotten much
better.
CSULB is not the only college with antiquated
science equipment and rundown buildings,
though. A wave of new science buildings
are being constructed and renovations are
taking place at campuses across the nation,
including eight of the California State
University campuses.
According to Robert Loeschen, associate
dean of the College of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics, many of the science buildings
and programs around the country were built
in the ’50s and ’60s, including CSULB’s
science buildings, Peterson Hall 1, 2 and
3.
“Many of the science buildings across the
country are anywhere from 45 to 50 years
old,” Loeschen said. “Science programs have
changed dramatically since then and we need
different facilities.”
The process of getting new facilities is
a long one. CSULB has been working on getting
a new science building for 15 years now.
“The state said to renovate first, so we
did,” Loeschen said. “We tried to renovate
Peterson Hall 3 while we were in it, but
that didn’t work, so the state said we could
go ahead and build.”
When it comes to proper facilities for science
classes, constructing new buildings is sometimes
easier than renovating. For example, chemistry
classes utilize fume hoods that dilute chemicals
to keep them from harming the students and
the environment. Renovating and adding labs
like these to an existing building is difficult
because proper air systems and ducts need
to be built into the walls, making it much
easier to just start from scratch.
CSULB and other California campuses are
all but relying on Proposition 47, a $13.05
billion bond for construction and renovation
of public education facilities, to fund
new buildings and renovations. If passed,
Proposition 47 would allocate the money
to all schools, including $495.9 million
to the CSU system with $23.6 million going
to CSULB.
The $3.7 million would be used to build
the new molecular and life sciences building,
not yet named, which would provide more
lab space and offices as well as labs with
fume hoods. The $1.2 million used to renovate
Peterson Hall 2 and 3 will update labs,
fume hoods and building codes, and the remaining
$18.6 million will be used to update and
renovate the University Library.
When the renovation of Peterson Hall 2 and
3 is finished, Loeschen says that Peterson
Hall 1 will either be converted into offices
or torn down.
If Proposition 47 is not passed, Loeschen
says that the new science building must
use old equipment.
According to the CSU Web site, the funds
from Proposition 47 will be used to build
classrooms and upgrade older buildings to
accommodate the more than 130,000 new students
who will enroll at CSU campuses by 2010.
The funds will also be used to update laboratories,
libraries and research facilities; wire
classrooms to give students access to technology
and computers; and make safety and seismic
improvements.
However, Proposition 47 is only half of
the bond, and voters will get a second chance
to vote on the other half, a $12.5 billion
bond on March 2004’s ballot. Since Proposition
47 is only half the bond, a campus that
receives less money this time around, may
see more money come its way in 2004.
The proposition allocates money to the campuses
based on their need and the five-year plan
they submitted to the legislature. Based
on this need, some schools will receive
more money than others. For example, if
passed, Proposition 47 would give CSU Stanislaus
$47.9 million while giving CSULB $23.6 million.
When asked about the amount differences
between schools, CSU Spokeswoman Clara Potes-Fellow
said that it is impossible to compare schools.
“Each school is different,” Potes-Fellow
says. “Each school has different support
from their surrounding communities, and
each campus develops at a different pace
according to the conditions of each community.”
Those not in favor of the bond, such as
California Sen. Pete Knight, R-San Bernardino,
believe that passing more bonds will only
create more debt for the state.
A report by Paul E. Barton for the Educational
Testing Service says students are not being
adequately prepared for the demand for careers
in the sciences and mathematics. With the
baby boomers’ retirement after 2010, the
workforce is expected to decrease in numbers,
but Barton is not sure that current college
students in the science and math fields
will be adequately prepared to take over.
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