Eastern Michigan University students are split in their opinions on the newly reopened and remodeled classroom building, Pray-Harrold.
While some believe letting students into the building with ongoing construction is a distraction, others believe the grand reopening saved students from another year of taking classes in dorm halls and other designated swing spaces around campus.
Junior Brittney Mackie said she “expected more,” since the building was closed for two semesters. While Mackie felt underwhelmed over the renovations that took place, she believed it was a much-needed upgrade from what the building was before.
“The building felt overhyped and didn’t really match my expectations, but it’s a much-needed upgrade from using dorm halls,” Mackie said. “What Pray-Harrold was before the renovations was horrible. Now I can take my classes in an actual classroom.”
Pray-Harrold is EMU’s largest building, consisting of seven stories worth of classrooms. Closing the building shifted teaching space to dorm halls such as Buell, Wise, Best and Downing, as well as specialty buildings such as the Alexander music building.
Mackie’s opinion on the renovations seemed mixed, and many upperclassmen reacted similarly, having very few issues with the renovations, but having several issues with the building opening prematurely.
When asked about his opinion on the building, junior Willie Hatcher said he appreciated the overall feel of the building.
“I like the way the classrooms look,” he said, “but I really don’t like the fact we opened early. It damaged the overall look, but the last Pray-Harrold looked like a high school compared to this.”
Njeri Karanja, a junior, echoed Mackie’s sentiments.
“I’m impressed with the inside display, although it’s still clear the building is an unfinished product,” Karanja said.
Freshman Katie Bower appreciated the building, despite a few errors she noticed.
“I like the building, although it’s kind of plain,” Bower said. “It was a good idea to open this building, because I would have hated the idea of taking classes in my dorm hall.”
While Bower approved of the building, some of her freshman peers held the same opinion, after only seeing the ‘finished’ product on the inside.
Freshman Julie Klein said, “It’s simply too cold for me.”
As temperatures throughout the week bounced between 60 and 70 degrees, students could oftentimes be seen wearing jackets to keep warm.
Klein went on to show appreciation of the building’s renovations.
“The little things, such as the comfortable chairs and the café area, are really nice,” Klein said. “I like doing my homework there because it’s nice.”
Jack Etsweiler, a senior secretary within the history and philosophy department, said he is pleased with the new surface, floors and air conditioning in the building.
“Yeah, the old Pray-Harrold was 43-years-old and it showed the wear and tear of a 43-year-old building,” he said.
Unlike some students, Etsweiler said he believes the renovations turned out fine.
“No, the renovations seem like money well spent and I have yet to find
anything I don’t like about it so far,” he said.
Kira Graves, a secretary in the sociology and criminology department, said a lot of the changes made within the building help to make it look more organized.
Graves said recent additions to the building including recycling and more bulletin board posting spaces for students is “resourceful” for the campus community.
“We have new stuff compared to our previous desks, but all the renovations are cosmetic,” Graves said. “Our cabins and some other things around the building are still the same— they only look better. Our replacement [King Hall] was horrible. It’s good to finally be back home.
Although students believed the unfinished product might prove to be an issue when trying to learn, the construction workers of Pray-Harrold said the building is almost complete.
Most construction workers believe opening the building didn’t affect their work progress much, but it still caused their pace to slow down.
“The students don’t make our job any easier, but it’s no problem,” said one worker.
As far as progress goes, the workers promised the job would be finished sooner rather than later.
“We’re close to being done and we’re pretty happy with the results,” the worker said. “All that’s left is electric, floor and miscellaneous things for a complete Pray-Harrold.”
