Students are annoyed by the construction at the library. There are so many questions left unanswered…

Claudia Corrigan | Opinions and Co-Spread Editor
Staff photo by Becky Swig

As construction continues on the perimeter of the senior quad after arrival back from Ski Week, students remain in the dark about the hasty construction. “Is Menlo building a window or a wall?”

The alleged purpose of Head of School Than Healy’s new office is to connect the administration to the students through a large, windowed observatory-type office and conference room, as well as to provide the admissions staff with a larger work area. But by removing the Silent Section during (arguably) the most difficult and stressful time of the year, construction seems to have pushed the students further from wanting to “connect” than ever. With the makeshift wall separating the library from the construction site covered in signs, “You can’t silence our silence,” the student body seems outraged about not having been warned about their lack of study space second semester.

On top of the change in physical space, the clammering of construction that has engulfed the quad not only disturbs the avid studiers in the library and in classrooms, but also Menlo students just trying to catch a moment of peace while lying in the sun.

It seems to me that while attempting to build physical transparency between Menlo administration and the student body, the recent construction is an example of Menlo failing to enlighten its students to its current plans – which, in turn, creates a thicker barrier between the two than previously felt.