With the construction of the Student Success Center on N. Perimeter Road, some people in the campus buildings by the construction are experiencing the effects of the noise.
Notably, construction is next to Mustang Commons, also known as Building 15, which houses several cultural and affinity student centers moved there this year. The Student Success Center is expected to open in fall, 2027, according to University Spokesperson Keegan Koberl.
READ MORE: Affinity spaces moving to create classroom space
Anjali Pamnani studies in LA CASA every day, a Latino-oriented center located in Building 15, right next to the construction. She said the noise is a little distracting while she is doing her homework and that she has heard it from other spots on campus like the bioresource and agricultural engineering building.
“I’ve noticed the sound can sometimes overpower the speakers on my headphones and I also have noticed, this isn’t like me, but I do know a lot of students take naps in LA CASA, which is inside of that study room, and I’m sure like their naps are probably really bad with the noise,” Pamnani said.
However for economics junior Arturo Ordaz, who also studies in Building 15, he has heard the construction but it has not affected him.
“This is a very lively space in general,” Ordaz said.
Mechanical engineering freshman Evy Ramirez, who studies in Building 15, also said the construction noise does not really affect her.
“It’s mostly when I don’t have my headphones on,” Ramirez said. “Like usually I’ll study with my headphones so it’s not really that much of an issue.”
Koberl said construction primarily takes place Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. though occasionally work happens outside of that window. The project team works to limit noisy work during finals week.
“In the six months since construction started, the project team has worked diligently to minimize noise, elicit feedback, and inform the Cal Poly community of construction activities,” Koberl said.
Koberl said in the past few weeks, the building’s steel frame was completed and the steel floor decking installation happened, two intensive construction activities.
In the Faculty Office North Building, which houses the CLA Advising and Student Resource Center, some people who work out of the space have noticed the noise.
“The construction is definitely really loud, especially because our hallways are very echoey,” said Anna Abelgas, a communications junior who works in the building. “When our doors are closed, it’s a little bit more manageable, but overall it’s loud, and it’s noisy and it’s pretty frequent.”
Abelgas said they keep their doors open so that students feel welcome. She said that they should get a better time frame of when to expect construction to be loud so they can prepare.
“Some days, especially when it’s long and it’s pretty busy, especially now during registration, it can be a little frustrating to have extra noise on top of work,” Abelgas said. “It’s more annoying and frustrating but not necessarily a deterrent at least for me.”
For some people teaching classes, they have been affected by the noise as well. Pamnani recounts the noise during her class in the bioresource and agricultural engineering building.
“Sometimes my instructor would have to pause speaking for a few moments while there was something particularly loud going on in construction,” Pamnani said.
For graduate student in biology Faith Hanshaw, who teaches classes out of Fisher Science, when she teaches in a classroom with the door outside of the building, she has had to close it due to noise.
“We definitely notice it,” Hanshaw said. “We hear it all the time. I think it’s a pretty easy solution of closing the door so it’s not a huge deal but we definitely can hear the noise sometimes and I’ve had students ask me to close the door so that they can actually hear me. So, it’s a small impact, but we definitely notice.”
But for Hanshaw this is a hard situation because the construction is something that needs to happen and she talked about how there are not always great times for the construction to occur.
“I think the workers are doing their job and their job happens to be noisy,” Hanshaw said.
Pamnani talked about how she thinks a lot of students feel as though the campus is more of a construction zone than an actual place of education.
“I feel like as a student, I’m very used to seeing construction and construction workers all around campus and I know a lot of other campuses are not necessarily like that,” Pamnani said. “So it does kind of make me wonder like what a campus that was actually quiet would be like to attend.”
Koberl recommends people report excessive noise to the Facilities Help Center at 805-765-5555 or facilities-cbs@calpoly.edu.
