Editor:

I am writing concerning the Orson Spencer Hall building known as “OSH.” I am both an employee and a student of the U and spend countless hours in OSH. My concern is the proposed building renovations to the building.

I don’t know the specifics of when OSH will be under construction. I also don’t know why the U and state would invest significant time, money and other resources in an old, quasi-dilapidated building for the purpose of preserving an historical artifact. I value historical buildings, perhaps more than the average Joe, but for all those who claim OSH is “the jewel of campus” as one U professor used to claim, I wish to point out the heating system that clicks, clacks, and snaps when warming up. It is an unsurpassable distraction to any classroom or office.

The classrooms and offices are not tech-savvy by any 21st century standards. Not to mention the structure of the building itself. Has anyone else been lost trying to go from room 175 to room 232 and then to 208?

It is nearly impossible to avoid jealousy of our neighbors in the beautiful LNCO and even those in the business circle with wireless Internet connections.

I don’t propose to tear down the edifice; after all, it is a piece of U history. I ask anyone who reads this to stop and consider building a new building in its entirety.

From my short-lived experience in renovating, it can be just as quick and cost-effective to build a new structure than to renovate, remodel and update.

Why not preserve OSH for what it is: a 1960s relic and build the people of OSH a whole new building? After all, it does happen to house the largest college on campus-the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Just a thought.

Jennifer Lambert

Senior, Behavioral Science and Health/Political Science