CivE department apologizes for increase in campus construction
Earlier this week the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering issued a statement addressing the sudden increase in construction around CMU’s campus, making many spaces unusable, and causing significant traffic delays as 5th Ave and Forbes Ave have had sections of the roads closed. In the statement, the head of undergraduate and graduate studies for the department cite the practicum portion of this year’s finals as being primarily responsible for the inconveniences, citing that “The inconveniences are deeply regrettable especially that they have come at a time of heightened scrutiny due to a cost and time overrun in the renovation of Wean Hall proposed during last year's senior capstone. We apologize for the effect the current delays are having on the current student body and we are doing everything we can to expedite the projects, including efforts to integrate AI into the project management systems and outsourcing additional labor from illegal immigrants being bused in from El Paso.” Students affected by the delays report the biggest issues at hand remain the recurring delays of the 61 and 71 bus routes that have been affected by lane closures, fearing delays of up to 10 minutes, 24 seconds and 35 milliseconds and causing large queues and congestion at bus stops. It is a well known struggle that many students are unable to walk between campus and off campus housings due to high concentrations of plants belonging to the family Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Juncaceae, often colloquially referred to as “grass”. Additionally, many students left stranded at these overcrowded bus stations share concerns that they may be vulnerable to women by traveling in smaller groups, though it has been over 50 years since the last reported incident of a woman being spotted near campus. Hamerschlag House continues to undergo renovations to install the planned seating area and overhang. Students, when asked about their thoughts, responded overwhelmingly with “Isn’t that the ECE building?” The shortage of housing for students continues to plague the upperclassmen with increasing rent and competition for on campus housing, leading many students to rent out unused beds when pulling all-nighters, or even challenge people to gladiatorial combat for the room in common room spaces. While the CEE finals are expected to continue for another two weeks, undergraduate students that have already completed their finals are being redirected to aid the graduate student projects in an attempt to shift the completion dates forward for fall 2024 and proactively begin plans for the spring 2025 finals. The CEE has stated its commitment to enable Carnegie Mellon University to return its normalcy and shed its nickname Constant Maintenance Underway.