Scobey Hall was struck with mold six years ago. And yet, people are still educating, advising and maintaining everyday responsibilities in the mold-infested building.

While SDSU seems like a fairly modern and updated university — with the new Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium and the Wellness Center expansion in the making — what has been left behind is seemingly forgotten. 

 Over the last few years, multiple buildings popped up across campus and several other buildings were renovated, all while knowing about the mold problem in Scobey Hall. Along with Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium and the Wellness Center expansion, the Performing Arts Center will receive Phase II of its expansion, the Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering building (AME) was just completed and Brown Hall was renovated last summer.

 But what about Scobey Hall?

 We, at The Collegian, believe faculty and students in the psychology and sociology departments, who are currently housed in Scobey Hall, are being put on the backburner.

  According to administration, Hansen Hall is only a temporary solution for psychology and sociology departments as they are moved from Scobey at the end of this semester into the residence hall’s basement and makeshift offices. But there is no long-term solution.

 Hansen Hall will become a three-stop shop on campus at the end of this semester. It will serve as a residence hall, office space and classroom space. The relocation of these two departments into Hansen Hall is degrading, disrespectful and disheartening for the students and faculty involved. 

Not only is the temporary solution less than ideal and will not work, but there are going to be four less classrooms because of the renovation in Hansen’s basement. SDSU is already struggling for classroom space as it is. This only creates more tension in that fight for space. 

It doesn’t help that Hansen Hall’s basement isn’t handicap accessible and that two entire departments are getting shoved into the basement.

We, at The Collegian, think faculty members are working too hard and students are paying too much to be shoved into a basement and forgotten.

 The carelessness and lack of planning for some of the departments is not only seen in these relocations, but also in numbers. When comparing 2015 to 2016, the College of Arts and Sciences is down 67 students, while colleges like engineering and pharmacy are seeing higher numbers.

 Those numbers aren’t surprising, considering the two colleges with rising numbers have some of the nicest and newest buildings on campus. Do these numbers show a correlation between better care of academic facilities and retention? We think so.  

 We see where loyalties lie — and it’s not with the liberal arts. 

We believe the College of Arts and Sciences deserves more. The college’s faculty and students deserve to be listened to and they deserve answers.

After taking six years to address this relocation problem, you’d think the university would be capable of coming up with a real solution. But they haven’t. It’s only “temporary.”

 The university is crafting the next strategic plan for SDSU and we believe university administration is failing by disregarding the needs of students, faculty and liberal arts programs. 

The administration needs to be held accountable, the students need to be heard and the faculty need to be respected.

 Supposedly, administration’s overall mission for SDSU is to put students first. So, prove it. Show the students that they are cared for and important, regardless of their major.

 Put forth a strategic plan that is actually strategic, with long-term solutions for more than athletes and bigger programs on campus.

The students and faculty of this university deserve it.

 

Read more about the Hansen Hall relocation here.