At this Rose Cafe, Mr. Chris VanDruff discussed his job and the process of maintaining West Campus. It provided a lot of insight as to the work that goes into maintenance requests and also how construction projects are carried out.
One interesting topic that stood out to me was the discussion of how the five main West Campus houses were built, with Cook House built first and the other houses built later. Since the management decided to speed up the building process of the remaining four houses on a dwindling budget, many corners were cut in regards to the quality and design of the buildings. For example, Mr. VanDruff mentioned that Bethe House has many electrical problems due to sub par fan switches that were installed throughout the entire building. In contrast, Mr. VanDruff mentioned that the Gothics receive much fewer maintenance requests in comparison, even though they are much older buildings.
Mr. VanDruff also discussed the importance of safety on West Campus, discussing the gates that were installed to block off traffic and the importance of fixing door maintenance requests. It was reassuring to hear that any maintenance requests regarding safety are placed highest on a priority list of requests. Attending this Rose Cafe helped me realize the logistical work and process of maintaining West Campus. It definitely gave me a greater appreciation of the skilled workers that work to address maintenance requests and for the durability of the Gothics buildings.
Prof. Blalock also touched on the “cutting corners” thing in last week’s Rose Café, as well as his own involvement in the installation of the gates. I hadn’t heard of Bethe’s electrical problems though, and it’s very interesting that the gothics actually have fewer maintenance requests. I wonder how much of that is because people in the gothics are already expecting things to be old and/or in disrepair.
Although I was surprised when he told us how some requests can remain untouched for a long period of time, it was very reassuring to hear that the requests regarding our safety are addressed first and with a sense of urgency. It definitely makes me think that the school is looking out for its students and wants us to stay safe.