Looking to the new, overlooking the old

Palomar College is in the process of constructing more buildings—so what?

Palomar College is currently adding on new buildings to the campus. Some of those buildings include ones that are already up and running, such as the Humanities Building and the Nursing Education Building. There are also various construction zones on campus, some of which are remodeling projects for buildings we already have, most noteworthy, the library. While some may see this as being progressive, it can definitely raise some questions.

For example, why is a baseball field’s remodeling coming before the remodeling of the Art building? It conveys a sense that one class trumps another, or that one is somehow more deserving of a reboot than the other. It also is disgraceful to see these debonair buildings standing tall, in stark contrast to the pitiful brick-buildings beneath them—it takes away their importance.

We do see some other building/remodeling projects on campus, along with that field.

The expansion of the new library is especially talked about right now. Though it’s a great idea, why couldn’t some of the classrooms have been renovated first? For example, the Art building seems like the step-child of the campus. What happens if the school runs out of money? Why is the Baseball field or expanding the Library more important than the Art building?

Another eye sore are these little, old classrooms toward the back of campus that continue hosting classes; truly, they merit immediate attention. Why did they focus on the Baseball field instead? It just doesn’t seem right that those buildings will have to wait out their turn before they get the “makeover” the rest of the buildings are getting.

$694 million was pitched for this project, and it’s hoped to last until 2022. Why put all of that money forward right now on what isn’t necessary? What happens if the money runs out before the older classrooms get their new look? It’s a potential waste of money and resources, if things don’t go according to plan; all projects have unexpected costs and setbacks, so it makes one wonder if the buildings on hold will have to suffer if something were to happen.

The overall goal is to be innovative so as to help the students get a better quality education, which is commendable. But why fix what isn’t broken yet, and overlook what needs to be fixed? That’s my main concern. Palomar could definitely have used some priority in the way they planned out the construction sequence.

It isn’t right that those “lesser” buildings have to wait their turn to be revamped; buildings don’t just pop up overnight, so people in buildings like building C will just have to be patient, I guess. Fair or not fair.