By Iesha Fluellen
Staff Writer
It’s no secret that Northeast Texas Community College has undergone quite a bit of change within the past few months. With classes for the 2016 fall semester beginning this week, things around campus have been a little different for those who are familiar with the campus and also very unusual for the new incoming freshmen. Currently, the location of the biggest change is the Humanities building.
As students make their way to their classes, they often are surrounded by construction workers that can be seen in every area of the building. Although there is so much work being done everywhere, classes are still being held. It’s been quite an unusual experience for some of those who are new to the campus such as Freshman NTCC women’s soccer players, Alyse Hooks and Bri Arnold. “I’ll admit, sometimes I get distracted when I see the guy on the stilts walk by,” said Arnold, “Or when I hear tools in the hallway, but my professors still did fine.”
With all the construction going on in the building, temporary signs of the room numbers have been placed on each door to help students find their classes. “I was a little lost at first, but I got help and found my class”, said Hooks.
Although a few students were having trouble finding their way around, there were some who were more in-the-know and came to the campus knowing what to expect. “I followed the Twitter page,” said Joy-Lin Carter, an NTCC student who was well aware of the drastic changes to the building.
The faculty of the building have had to adjust to the changes and continue to teach their classes. During this first week, there were no desks or tables for the students. Only chairs. The walls were freshly painted and completely bare, making the classrooms not seem like classroom at first glance. Art Professor, Debbie Strong actually had to move her class to another building due to the fact that her usual room was still under heavy construction. “We just had to overcome and adapt,” said Strong, “the students were real flexible and I knew some of them from previous semesters, so it went pretty easy.”
As some instructors temporarily relocated their classes to other buildings, others were putting chairs back in place and furniture back together and continued to teach their classes as construction happened all around them. Classroom chaos was not the only thing to note this first week back at NTCC, however. With the ongoing construction, the restroom facilities in the Humanities building were not accessible. Students and teachers were able to use bathrooms in the near Math and Science building. Executive Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Ron Clinton said, “We’re excited to start the new year this way. It reminds me very much of the beginning of the college. It sort of recreates that same excitement.”