Photo slideshow by Alex Keil, Sports Editor
St. Thomas students have a lot in common with the trees left standing in the lower quad this summer.
Most of the quad is blocked off as the landscape is tailored to accommodate the new student center; students and trees alike are scarce as the university deals with the construction. Mark Vangsgard, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, has overseen the construction literally through his office windows.
“I get firsthand supervision because there are very few things on campus that are as important as the quad,” Vangsgard said. “So anything that happens with it is very noticeable to the campus community.”
The construction, which Vangsgard expects to be completed by the start of fall semester, has left one north and south path through the quad and no access going east and west. Several students described the situation as “inconvenient.”
Orange plastic fences protect a few trees that will remain standing. For now, they are surrounded by a field of rubble and heavy machinery. One old tree that can been seen from Vangsgard’s window is flanked by a large pit on one side and a heavily beaten tractor path on the other.
“You can see this old boy in front of my window here,” Vangsgard said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep the tree viable, but sometimes even a year or two later they end up dying just because of the disruption of the area around them.”
If all goes as planned, a larger quad with several new features will be open by the time most students arrive for fall semester.
“As disruptive as all this looks right now, it will be fully completed with new sidewalks, new irrigation system, new lights, entirely re-sodded and ready to go for the start of school in the fall,” Vangsgard said.
Students adjust to fenced off quad
Junior Chrissy Miresse nearly biked into one of the green fences that barricade the quad on her way back to campus one night.
“The green mesh over the fence just kind of secluded it, and I almost ran into it,” Miresse said. “It’s hard trying to ride a bike through here. This makes it kind of inconvenient.”
Miresse said she “has no idea what’s going on with all the construction,” and she is worried about the trees.
Sophomore Joe McCullough gives campus tours to potential St. Thomas students.
“It’s been interesting to find new routes and stuff like that,” McCullough said. “It’s tough to try to sell the campus when there’s that going on.”
McCullough tells his tour groups to imagine a completed campus and that “it will all be worth it” when the quad and the new student center are open.
“I’m glad it’s going on now rather than during the school year when it’s really busy,” McCullough said. “Hopefully they will be done when most of the students come back.”
When students once again fill the lower quad this fall they will be joined by 59 newly planted trees.
Alex Keil can be reached at amkeil@stthomas.edu.
someone should tell her that it is not a bike route.
I know some folks are pretty upset about how many mature trees have been cut down– I’d be curious to know how the 59 newly planted trees compares quantitatively to the number of trees that have been cut down in total. I know there was a bulletin article that said it was 28– but it said 28 in the quad and I wonder if that includes the other trees that have been cut down as part of this project, that were not located in the quad.
That redesigned quad layout picture looks awfully similar to the old quad…considering Foley theatre and Oshaugnessy hall are still labeled on it and the fact that it says “UST Existing Conditions-2008” oops
Kathryn, when replacing trees, its usually required that the college or business or whatever, has to replace the trees inch for inch using the trunk diameter as the yardstick, if you will. So, the new trees are generally younger and thus smaller, so more need to be planted to account for what was cut down.
Kathryn, The new student union was needed. The University is about needs of its current and future students. Green space “folks” need to trespass elsewhere.
This just seems pointless to even discuss…..its construction. Its also summer so the number of students affected is minimal. And it is not pointless construction. This article attempts to make this seem like something that people should be upset about. Even the picture captions contain disdain for this project. Luckily most people don’t check TM during the summer so they dont have to be “swayed” by this piece of “journalism.”
TJ- The “[g]reen space ‘folks'” I was referring to are actually all current staff, faculty, and students. I would hardly call their concerns “trespassing.”