I am in love with the Ohio State University campus. It’s my baby. That’s why I don’t mind so much the ten bazillion construction projects that have been simultaneously going on lately. I’m even willing to put aside my aggravations about constantly having to choose new and out-of-the-way alternate routes to and from my classes as a result of the construction.

Although I definitely don’t quite understand why so many construction projects had to be done at the same time, I do understand the necessity of them. Many of the roads and buildings on this campus have been in bad shape for too long. To give them a little face-lift, or in some cases extreme makeovers should be considered an investment for future students and alumni.

Not only do we want to be proud of our degrees earned at Ohio State, but we want to be proud of how beautiful of a school it is as well. Understanding that this is a burden that must be carried by current students for the sake of the future, I feel that most of us have been real troopers through this time of construction-mania.

Upon hearing that the Oval would be renovated as well, I was thrilled. My absolute favorite part of the campus, which I think is already very beautiful, is going to be improved upon. But let me tell you, that thrill wore off far more quickly than preferred when I heard that construction would begin May 1. I was no longer a happy trooper.

I’m not saying that the renovations should not be done. By all means, renovate the Oval. It’s an investment, remember? The part that really gets under my skin is that the majority of the Oval would be closed off during an Ohio State spring. Spring and the Oval are an Ohio State tradition that cannot and should not, by all means, be separated from each other. Ever.

After a cold Ohio winter of schizophrenic weather, spring on the Oval is viewed by most students as practically a sanctuary; the light at the end of the tunnel. Whether students are studying, picking up new gal pals or just hanging out with fellow students, these moments are priceless. For the administration to take that away from us is an insulting and blatant disregard to the very students who are funding the project.

It is to my understanding that construction had been set to start May 1 so that the Oval would be finished before the beginning of fall quarter. The general consensus I feel from fellow students is that construction should be moved back to begin in the summer. First and foremost, it would just make a lot of sense. There won’t be as many angry and Oval-craving students on campus during summer.

Remember, spring on the Oval is a time-honored tradition. And the May 1 development is particularly tragic for seniors such as myself because this would be my one and last time to truly enjoy the Oval before graduation. Now, not only will we be having our spring on the Oval taken away, but the coveted graduation pictures on the Oval are going to be an unwelcome eye sore.

Furthermore, I highly doubt that students would mind if Oval construction did get moved back to summer and had to overlap into the beginning of fall quarter. True, it would be nice to have the Oval completed before the new school year. But if it comes at the price of sacrificing spring on the Oval, a few weeks of construction into the fall becomes a microscopically miniscule bump on the road.

But perhaps what bothers me most about the Oval renovation project, aside from the whole spring thing, is the administration’s lack of consideration for the needs and the mental-health status of its students. For most of us, we need the Oval, especially during the spring. Perhaps the administration underestimated the meaning of the Oval to current students, I’m not really sure.

But either way, it is disappointing. We students have been real troopers during this year’s torrent of construction-happy projects. The least the administration can do is to let us have our spring on the Oval.

Jen Choi is a senior in English. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].