Graduating student reflect on campus construction

An eight-year phase of construction on the BYU-Idaho campus began in 2002 with an addition to the Ezra Taft Benson Building.

“This is the most intense construction period in the history of the school,” said Chuck Front, director of physical plant, in a 2002 BYU-Idaho news release. Since that time construction has been an ongoing process. The campus is coming to the end of the construction period.

“It’s been interesting to me to see the campus before the construction, and then next semester to see the campus without construction,” said Elizabeth Anderson, a senior studying English.

“I remember they used explosives on the stairs between the library and the MC. That was fun because they used sulfur-based explosives that would shoot these big, old yellow clouds into the air.”

Mariah Vanweerd, a senior studying elementary education, first came to campus in 2008, and is graduating this semester with her bachelor’s degree.

“It’s kind of annoying when certain buildings are blocked off, and you have to go all the way around. It’s especially annoying when it’s raining or snowing. That’s the most negative thing I’ve seen,” Vanweerd said.

Vanweerd said that making room for everyone is one of the most positive aspects of the construction.

“They really have emphasized the spirit of gathering. That’s one thing that I’m really excited about with the building of the BYU-I Center, that we are going to be able to gather there together as one student body,” Vanweerd said.

The ground breaking for the BYU-I Center occurred in October 2006. Four years later, the dedication has been scheduled for Dec. 17. Despite any inconveniences the construction poses, some students see the positive side of it.