I’m just going to put it out there that this construction is not okay with me.

Apparently it’s not bad enough that the future chapel design is too intrusive, too modern and just too ugly for St. Teresas’ campus. I’m sure at one point in the very distant future all of the construction will be worth it, but right now, it just seems like we’re destroying the beauty and tradition of St. Teresa’s for nothing. Oh wait, I guess it’s for two new classrooms and the ability to brag about having a chapel. Administration, I hope you understand that a building is just a building. Adding a brand new chapel doesn’t make us more Catholic, it just makes us stupid for spending so much time, energy and effort on something that’s just for show.

Fence

The eight-foot chain link fence that magically appeared overnight was the first of many unsightly changes to our formerly beautiful campus. And if you think about it, If you stand in the middle of the quad and look out to the parking lot through the chain link barrier, you’ll start to feel like a zoo animal in captivity. If we don’t watch out, the construction workers may start pounding on the fence and probing us with sticks from the outside. Maybe they’ll bring popcorn and snow cones to eat while they observe our strange behavior. I’m actually surprised they made the barrier metal instead of glass. Aren’t animals supposed to get distracted by shiny things?

Grotto

There are certain things that quintessentially define St. Teresa’s: the seal, Critter, red plaid, the auction pep rally, yard days, Sion volleyball and basketball games and the grotto. The tradition and legacy is one of the things I love the most about St. Teresa’s, and I feel like none of that matters anymore. All of the dirt and bulldozers are one thing. I don’t really mind that there are strange men on campus every day. I can get over the fact that I have to walk an extra mile and a half in the morning. What really bothers me is that the construction team dismantled one of the defining aspects of STA — the grotto. It served as a constant reminder of our mission, our ties to the Sisters of St. Joseph and the true meaning of STA.

Caution tape

Right now our campus looks like a crime scene. I know we aren’t perfect, but I didn’t think playing bubble shooter during a boring lecture was a reason for investigation. The fence was one thing, but now you’re really going to make all 500 of us detour to get from M&A to Donnelly every time we switch buildings? Really? I’m still hoping someone is going to pop out of the bushes and yell ‘Happy late April Fool’s Day, STA! We’re just kidding about destroying your campus!’ Unfortunately, I have a gut feeling that that’s just wishful thinking.

Trees

I know some of the trees in the quad smell like rotting food, but that doesn’t mean we should get rid of them. Too late. But I love the gaping holes in the ground where all of those 100-year-old trees used to stand. Taking pictures at pre-prom was a little difficult because of the ‘hard hat area’ signs everywhere. I’m sure class day will end in disaster when our stark white caps and gowns gradually turn brown from stray dirt and dust. And I really would rather not sit through a baccalaureate mass on my graduation day with a backdrop of broken rocks and bulldozers. Seriously, you couldn’t have waited another month until everyone is out for summer?

A metal fence, yellow bulldozers and a few ‘under construction’ signs aren’t going to make us more Catholic. You can try, but making us use netbooks, using us the guinea pigs for programs like Moodle and PowerSchool, and adding another building isn’t going to change who we are or what STA is as a whole. Change is good to an extent, but this time, it’s gone too far.