University limits construction

There will be no more 7 a.m. wake-up calls for students living in residence halls near campus construction, thanks to efforts of the IU Student Association.\nIUSA members met Dec. 1 with the University architect, the director of the bureau of facilities and the director of administration to discuss a proposal to limit construction hours. The plan focused on construction near residence halls, said sophomore Justin Barnes, IUSA University Division representative and sponsor of the bill. \nAfter discussion, the University agreed to re-write its construction contracts, so construction within a block, or 400 feet, of a residence facility cannot begin before 8 a.m., except in cases of emergencies.\n"It was a very reasonable request," Robert Meadows, assistant vice president of facilities, said. "We have to remember our customers are the students."\n"I think this will greatly benefit students. It will create a more student-orientated environment for students in residence halls, and really all students," Barnes said.\nThe new provisions will not take effect with current construction projects because they are already under contract. It will affect all new construction projects and will immediately affect internal employees' projects, Barnes said.\n"Everything we set out to do was accomplished and then some," said junior Ben Piper, IUSA legislative relations director.\nIUSA lobbied the University to reduce loud construction near the business school during finals week last semester.\nThe University has further implemented changes by halting loud construction at the graduate business school last weekend during testing, Meadows said. \n"We are here to provide an atmosphere and facility where students can learn," Meadows said.\nThe idea for the revamp of construction hours was sparked by students' concerns with construction outside of Read Center at the beginning of the fall semester, Barnes said.\n"Students came to us with a problem, and we wanted to come up with a solution," Piper said.\nBarnes, Piper and other IUSA members formulated a bill, which was passed by the IUSA congress. IUSA then contacted administrators to present them with the proposal.\n"We knew we had to be successful or nothing would happen," Piper said. "Administration was extremely willing to work with us."\nBut the debate about construction is far from finished, Meadows said. \nOne of the areas of concern to the administration is the proposed construction of a new science building, Meadows said. The University is talking to several firms about solutions to the possible noise problems during construction.