This editorial represents the opinion of The Bona Venture staff.
Drivers might have found themselves inconvenienced behind the Reilly Center around lunchtime Monday. Anyone attempting to drive around the back half of campus found his or her progress stymied by an unannounced closing and had no choice but to loop around the long way to reach his or her ultimate destination. The campus Notice Board offered no warning of the closing.
But why? Why was the student body given no warning to the closing, and why was the road closed in the first place?
According to Phil Winger, associate vice president for facilities, the road was closed to accommodate a much larger vehicle: a crane.
In an email, Winger said the crane was present so a replacement for a heating unit could be installed on the roof of the Reilly Center’s Hall of Fame wing. The replacement was deemed an emergency repair, as the old heater was only discovered to be broken on Thursday, Oct. 18. The crane, used to get the replacement where it needed to be, blocked the road at the busy time when many students are looking to grab lunch at the RC Cafe. Of course, because there was no notification of the closure, many students had to find out the hard way.
Regardless, the facilities staff members deserve a lot of credit. This is an old school with many old buildings subjected to daily use by considerably large amounts of people. Anyone whose job it is to maintain these buildings and grounds has their work cut out for them.
While it’s fair to be upset about a surprise road closure, it’s also important to understand that sometimes people who have a job to do have to do it when they can.
Considering the maintenance workers were not sure when the new heater would come, and that once they had the heater, it only took an hour to install, they didn’t make bad time at all. The bad timing was just when they happened to get the heater, a factor completely beyond control.
However, this does not excuse the lack of proper notification given to students. The Notice Board is a powerful tool that is used quite frequently on campus. Why wasn’t it in this case? Finding out about a road closure while on the road could be described most accurately as inconvenient.
As for the inconvenience of the closed road, Winger conceded it should not have been closed with so little planning. He also said that it would no longer be an issue in times to come.
“We should not, and will not, shut off traffic in a roadway without more communication, or detour plan, in the future,” Winger said.
Normally, it is the Safety and Security staff who are responsible for any road closings, but Winger was sure to set the record straight on that as well. In his email, Winger accepted responsibility for the maintenance faculty, saying Safety and Security were not informed this one was to take place.
“This is on me and my facilities staff,” Winger said.
And good on him for accepting responsibility for their mismanagement in what was otherwise a job well done. The maintenance staff completed the installation of a major appliance within an hour, at what happened to be an unfortunately busy time of day. That is no easy task.
So here’s to those who keep this school running, who did the best they could in the worst of times. Let’s just hope they use the Notice Board next time.
