DJAMILA NOELLE GROSSMAN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Program coordinator of the alumni office, Anne Lopez, overlooks the Alumni Plaza, a project she advocated and defended since the planning period.

After final adjustments and tweaking on gold letters and fountains, the Alumni Plaza is just about finished, only needing some finishing touches, said Anne Lopez, program coordinator of the alumni office.

Anti-skateboarding devices will be the final installments because there has already been damage done to some areas, Lopez said.

The Alumni Plaza was officially opened and dedicated to the students last October, and despite angry comments during construction from students and faculty, there has now been almost exclusively positive feedback, Lopez said.

Alana Deyoung, an interdisciplinary studies freshman, said she likes the Alumni Plaza because it is nice to go outside and do homework between classes.

"I don't think it's a waste of money," Deyoung said. "It's good to keep the campus looking nice."

Difficulties with the gold letters occurred in the beginning of the project because the university had never tried the technique before, Lopez said, but after they found the right glue the problem was fixed.

"It's doing beautifully," Lopez said. "It didn't happen overnight, but I couldn't be happier."

Fountain adjustments included raising the edges for the visually handicapped, and the water jets also had to be lined up, Lopez said.

Lopez said the fountains use minimal water and the pools of water are designed to fall in shaded areas of the base to prevent evaporation, Lopez said. The soothing sound and cool mist make the fountains a nice place to be around during summer, Lopez said.

"The fountains are as user friendly as we could possibly make them," Lopez said. After all, they are "artistic fountains," Lopez said, and a great deal of thought went into them.

A problem also occurred with the surrounding trees, which were supposed to be evergreen elms but they lost their leaves last winter, Lopez said.

"After the first couple of years they should not be deciduous any longer. I don't know what to say, we were assured they were evergreen," Lopez said.

Maintenance work for the Alumni Plaza is being paid for by the facilities management budget, Lopez said, and no student or department funds are being used.

About 1,200 alumni contributed to the plaza, and everyone can still donate, starting with a minimum of $250, Lopez said. But those who want their name eternalized in gold letters above the Heritage Hill sign have to pay $500,000.

Lopez said as an area in the heart of campus where students, faculty and staff have a place to sit, the Alumni Plaza is exactly how she wanted it to be.

Alandis Johnson, a pre-business sophomore, said she thought the plaza was "a pain and a hassle," when it was constructed, but she likes it now.

"But I'm not particularly happy that the fountains break down all the time,"

Johnson said.