The sound of trucks and bulldozers and hammering is a constant buzz on our campus.

Rain, snow, dust storm or shine, construction is plentiful in all areas of campus. CSU is renovating Animal Sciences, the Lory Student Center, the new Laurel Village housing near Corbett, Moby Arena and the Behavioral Sciences Building.

“Construction along the front range in the state of Colorado continues with rigor through the cold weather,” said Mike Rush, university architect and chief building official of CSU.

Intense rainfall and possible snowstorms won’t be causing delays.

Big projects always have a number of weather days built into the schedule, according to Rush. Even on days off, there are general contractors working away in their trailers.

“(Work) is not as heavy as it has been the last three to four years,” Rush said.

In the past, CSU has seen entire buildings go up in the last six years — BSB, Computer Sciences and Academic Village. Morgan Library saw the addition of the Study Cube and the Rec Center was completely overhauled.

“We had a lot going on and we hit the market at the right time. This has helped us deliver value,” Rush said.

Although the inconveniences can be great for students and faculty, we are increasing the value and aesthetic appeal of our campus, according to Rush.

While students complain about the number of projects, there are others that believe the work is not progressing fast enough. Some buildings, such as Eddy and Gifford, have been problematic for years.

“We have leaks in several buildings of that age and we just try to get on them quickly,” Rush said.

Many of the academic buildings on campus were constructed from 1950 to the early 1970s and are in similar states.

Eddy is one of the upcoming buildings scheduled for much-needed renovations.

Patrick McKee is one of the professors housed in Eddy as part of the philosophy department.

McKee brought up the issue of air conditioning units producing moisture in the ceilings above offices.

When asked about a leaking problem in the building, Mckee said, “The problem isn’t ‘rumored’ – it’s a fact well known to all who work in the building and to the physical plant folks who fix the problem.”

General issues such as this have been problematic for staff and faculty on a semi-regular basis, although the air-conditioning is usually only a problem in the summertime.

“Take a look at the classrooms in the basement of Eddy – like Room 5 (southeast corner) and you will see a major problem – the rooms are too wide for the instructor to address the whole class – you either talk to those on the left, or to those on the right,” McKee wrote in an email to the Collegian.

Eddy and other buildings are part of a list of Five Year Priority and Two Year Priority projects, which are decided upon at annual forums. These forums ask for community input, Rush said.

The LSC revitalization was not only discussed in these forums, it is also partly funded by student fees.

“It’s not something that happens behind the scenes,” Rush said.

Working with the Student Fee Review Board, students voted to fund the project.

According to Chelsey Green, a member of the SFRB and executive director of RamRide, most of this cost will not be seen until next year, when the Lory Student Center is completed.

“There will be a student fee for building maintenance,” Green said, emphasizing that students are paying for upkeep of the building, but not the actual building process.

Green also encouraged students to find out where their student fees go, denying the rumor that our fees go towards various projects around campus.

“No ASCSU fees go towards renovations and construction,” Green said.

Collegian Senior Reporter Mariah Wenzel can be reached at letters@collegian.com.