By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Considering the current physical state of campus, and in particular the UA Mall, our administrators have a difficult choice to make.
During a tour of the underground Integrated Learning Center last Thursday, it was announced that construction on the new facility was more than two-and-a-half months behind schedule. Originally slated for completion next May, the ILC will now not open to students until August. And, considering the surprises and problems associated with a complex project such as this one, that date could easily be pushed back as well.
"This is the first time we've ever done something like this underground," said Brian Dolan, UA construction project manager for the ILC.
So the dilemma facing UA president Peter Likins and ILC construction officials is this - open the completed part of the building for freshman to use next fall and then open the rest of the facility in the spring of 2002, or wait to open the whole thing at once.
Certainly, both options have their advantages and disadvantages, and Likins and UA officials certainly want to avoid putting students near the heavy construction machinery and workers. But if those concerns are properly addressed - and they easily could be - the UA should seriously consider opening the completed part of the ILC in the fall for a few reasons.
First, the UA is strapped for classroom space. This is no secret to the administration or students, and the ILC was designed partly to alleviate this problem. The ILC's west wing has four state-of-the-art lecture halls that will seat more than 700 students.
Also, it would be somewhat of a morale boost for the student body to be able to walk in to a building that has been under construction for two years, as it will have been next fall. For 24 months, the central portion of the Mall - once the center of lunchtime activities, and tailgate parties for that matter - has been non-existent. We'd finally get to see what's behind that blue fence, even though the entire project would not yet be done.
Whether or not finishing the west wing of the project before the advising rooms and courtyard is an important point to consider. But, given that the cement work has already begun and the underground utilities - including sewer, electrical and water - are finished, it seems like it could be done. Plus, its only mid-September and the project's planners have about 11 months to work with.
However, as of Thursday, it seems that Likins and the ILC officials are poised to go a different route and open the entire ILC in the spring of 2002.
"We've been holding our breath a long time, we might as well hold our breath until the whole thing is done," Likins said Thursday.
This might seem like the best alternative to the administrators, but they should give serious though to changing their stance. Ultimately, of course, the goal is to have everything run smoothly between now and August so the facility is open when students return to campus. If things continue to run a bit behind schedule, however, the UA should open up the lecture halls and let students and faculty members start to take advantage of the ILC. Isn't that what it's there for?
This editorial represents the collaborative stance of the Arizona Daily Wildcat opinions board.
