Fellow Bearkats, we must discuss the appearance of our home. Sam Houston State University is known for its outdoorsy campus. It is about 368 acres of nature blended with man-made constructs. However, we have seen a wave of construction scattered across our campus.

During the Summer II 2017 semester, a section of Bowers Boulevard was dug up. It started at the intersection of Avenue H and Bowers Boulevard and ended where Bowers Boulevard meets Avenue I. This made walking to campus a pain. Students had to choose which side of Bowers Boulevard that they wanted to walk on, and if you chose incorrectly it added five or more minutes to your trip. Fortunately, Bowers Boulevard has been freshly paved and is rather pleasant to cross. Even though the construction workers forgot to add the crosswalk ground markers, it still looks great.

This semester, I tried my best to ignore all the heavy equipment and easily assembled barriers, until walking through Bearkat Village. Normally, I would cut across Intramural Field 1, but to my surprise, most of the field is blocked off by a chain-link fence. Inside of that fence is an entire construction camp. Unfortunately, I had to make an adjustment in my daily routine to find another way around. I used to be able to leave my apartment and make it to class in about 15 minutes or so, but now I leave 30 minutes early to make sure I don’t run into unexpected construction.

While the construction is unsightly and inconvenient, there are also times that the construction brings the unwanted noise. When I was attending one of my classes, I was disturbed by a constant drilling sound that rang on-and-off for several minutes. In addition to that, construction workers constant yell to one another. I don’t mind the yelling, but when you look over at them to see what on earth they are yelling about you’re regularly greeted with a sneer. I know the stereotype is that construction workers aren’t the friendliest people, but they are literally tearing apart our campus. I think it would be nice to get a neighborly nod at least, instead of a mean mug.

I am happy to report that the sewage smell that was occasionally wafting around the Lee Drain and Academic IV buildings is gone. I assume it was the construction that invited the unwelcome smell. Even though the construction has bothered me on multiple levels, it is a necessary evil. I know it may take longer to get to class, but I appreciate the new pipes that are on our streets. I enjoy the smooth paved road of Bowers Boulevard; however, I still question what construction workers are doing to the Administration Building, but I am sure it’s worth something. I also need to mention the newly planted foliage and trees around the Evans building and am also excited to see the Lowman Student Center updates, even though I will graduate before it is finished.

At the end of the day, I will leave some wisdom for my fellow Bearkats that want to make the best of our construction situation. Leave earlier than you normally would. Pay attention to SHSU emails or campus alerts. Also, read The Houstonian for updates on construction and general campus news to help better navigate through our patchwork campus.