Installation of new railings began on SLOHS campus last Friday. Photo courtesy of senior Ki Jouet.
The center of San Luis Obispo High School campus is the quad, an area that was once a place for people to sit down and eat lunch with their friends, host activities, and provide a quick walk across the school’s hill.
Now, after the renovations that are still ongoing, this is no longer the case.
Designated walkways have been put in place, and to make it worse, railings are currently being installed along these pathways. This completely defeats the purpose of a large space such as this.
“I really don’t like the railings because I liked how open it was and you were able to walk through if you really needed to go fast. The ramps are good for people who need them, but if you don’t need them, you aren’t able to walk fast across campus. The railings are gonna be much more constricting,” said junior Frida Vega.
Although railings are legally required along walkways under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is a “civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public,” the design of these paths and railings don’t make any real sense for anyone, disabled or not.
Where they have been placed are not in places that have high risk of falling, and aren’t made so that disabled people and others can maneuver with ease.
“We have to respect everyone’s opinion, but when you have so many students on campus and everyone’s rushing to get back and forth to class, whatever is the best way to provide a safe environment for the students is the most important, especially those that have physical limitations to get back and forth in school,” said licensed vocational and SLOHS nurse Elizabeth Valencia.
Keeping students safe and happy is extremely important, and finding a way to do that in a better way than what is being done now can and should be considered.
When the quad was still in its previous state, it was always a wide-open and welcoming space.
SLOHS administration has said that the area will be returned to what it was, at least a little bit with some safety changes, but this evidently doesn’t seem to be true.
Students will now have to zigzag their way up the hill while being crammed into extremely narrow paths, not even being able to get across the expanse quickly nor participate in large school events that used to be held there.
Not only is this an irritating change, but students are tired of the constant construction in general.
This unnecessary addition is just lengthening the amount of time that SLOHS feels more like a simple construction site rather than a school.
“I know [the new quad] is gonna look great, but it’s kind of bummer that everything’s still under renovation because when I came here as a freshman, they were still building the track and the new building and I was really hoping that by my senior year, everything would come together,” said senior Jeremy Boudreau.
It has been said that the school plans to complete even more construction projects in the future, keeping the school in the unfinished state it’s been in for many years now.
By asking what students feel, need, and what they want our campus to look like, these unwanted effects can be more quickly resolved.
Let’s make SLOHS a nice campus for all Tigers!
Source: sandiegocablerailings.com
