Summer
maintenance makes noise
By
Jon Lowell
Summer Forty-Niner
There
is a significant difference between campus
life during the school year and during the
summer break. As soon as the spring semester
finals have finished, the day to day campus
student volume drops off considerably. Only
hardcore students and faculty can be seen
wandering the paths of the campus. Some
students are taking a summer class because
they need one more to graduate.
"I
just want to get as many classes done as
possible this year," said Travis Nyquist
of Huntington Beach.
Whatever
the reason may be, summer semester students
and faculty are a select few and the campus
as a whole is relatively quiet. It is at
this time that the Facilities Maintenance
department has the opportunity to make some
noise.
Since
Cal State Long Beach's enrollment is one
of the state's largest and continues to
grow, student traffic during the school
year does not allow the department to complete
various tasks.
"Some
jobs can be disruptive to classes."
Robert Quirk, director of the department,
said.
The
department has spent the summer semester
repairing boilers, waxing floors, trimming
trees, installing sprinklers and replacing
plaster at the pool. These jobs, if performed
during the school year, would be dangerous
because of the number of students walking
around campus or would be too noisy and
disruptive to classes. Due to the age of
some of the buildings on campus, there have
been some major upgrading projects that
have taken place this summer as well. The
Psychology, Nursing, and LA5 buildings have
been painted, chair rails, white/chalk boards
and new carpeting have been installed. On
the Language Arts and Psychology buildings,
there have been some roof repairs and maintenance.
These types of jobs occur periodically when
the aging of older buildings requires them
to receive maintenance.
The
summer is also spent working on the various
athletic fields. The George Allen Field
has been leveled out in areas that needed
it. The main athletic field has been used
for several events this summer. Most recently
the Vans Warped Tour was held there. The
field was in need of repairs as stages,
generators, forklifts and automobiles were
used during the all day event.
With
the current situation of the state budget,
funding for more staff just isn't there.
"The
department must do the best that they can
with the resources that have been allocated,"
Quirk said. "I'm very proud of the
entire department," Quirk said, "They
do a great job and should be commended."
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