Cafe Ventana’s food reportedly tastes the same even with nuclear waste mixed in.
Photo by Sharon Roth
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UCSD has made several notable changes around campus as it welcomes students back for the socially-distanced Fall Quarter. However, one particular change came unexpectedly for many students: the geography of the campus after months of construction carried out over Spring Quarter and summer break. Returning second-year Saira Ahmed commented that, upon returning to campus, she was “so confused” by the new layout. “I didn’t expect to have to find my way around all over again. I got lost on my way to 64 Degrees. Not because I don’t know the way, but because they blocked all the damn roads to construct whatever God hath next wrought.”
Construction is nothing new on the UCSD campus, but students such as Ahmed are “surprised” to find new blockages and detours that didn’t exist before they left campus in March. “You’d think they’d give it a rest while the world falls apart!” Ahmed commented. She then claimed all the problems started with “that giant light pole.”
New detours around the construction have been causing problems for students trying to maneuver their way to classes. Miles Walker, a first-year student, claimed to have spent two hours trying to get past a detour. “Google Maps kept leading me into construction blockages, there is no escaping them!” Such delays have had far-reaching consequences, including missing persons reports and frantic wellness checks. “My friends thought I died on my way to lunch. They called my family and everything,” Walker elaborated. “It’s kind of sad, really. I’ve been thinking of legally changing my last name because it’s being used as evidence that I’ve been prophesied to ‘make a new path’ and deliver students to their classes on time.”
The nature of what is being built has been kept quiet by UCSD administration, but many have begun speculating what new projects Chancellor Khosla has authorized. Third-year student Levi Jones reportedly got into an argument with his roommate over this matter. “I told my roommate that I clearly overheard one of the workers say that they are building a new college to house all the raccoons on campus,” said Jones. “But my roommate said that they were obviously building a complex underground tunnel system specially for the people who use bikes and Bird scooters, to reduce the number of students who get run over by them. One thing we can agree on, though, is that whatever is built will be an affront to humanity.”
Despite all the disagreements regarding the nature of what is being built, there is one common point that everyone seems to agree on: there is no end in sight for construction on campus. Every student interviewed mentioned that construction projects have existed around campus since their respective first years. “I wouldn’t recognize this place without construction. I can’t even imagine what that would look like,” Jones asserted. “This pandemic may break the economy and change all of our interactions, but nothing can come in the way of construction at UCSD.”
At any given moment, Ayushi Banerjee can be found in a vine-covered back alley cafe, drinking hot chocolate and passionately dismantling the stigma around talking about issues of inequality and discrimination. Just like the word "moist," this dog lover is "valid" and "funny." And yes, Ayushi likes sushi.
