Complaints over Catz Construction
St Catz students with exams this term have been distressed by "unacceptable" inconvenience caused by building, refurbishment and window replacement projects on the college site.
One finalist told The OxStu that the building work outside her room - which continued periodically for most of last term - resulted in a "constant drilling sound," so loud that "it was impossible to work". In first week of this term, some finalists were woken up by builders telling them to leave the rooms so that the windows could be restored, though the students had received no prior warning of this.
Furthermore the college had initially planned for building work to continue until May 28th, requiring finalists to move out of their rooms just a few days before their exams. However a motion was passed in a stormy JCR meeting in second week, mandating the JCR President "to demand the Master, Home Bursar and Finance Bursar face the JCR's concerns over what seems like a gross oversight of the fact that Catz is an academic institution", and the college has since altered the finishing date to May 25th. A number of exam candidates affected before this date will be offered a second room and now no student will be asked to move their belongings from their room.
JCR President Pete Date told The OxStu: "Stopping the work a few days earlier is not ideal, but we realise it is going to cost the college. They did not forsee how much disturbance this would cause."
Yet students remain upset by this extra hassle during the stressful run up to exams. A Law finalist told The OxStu: "The main problem has been not knowing what's going on. We need much better communication between the SCR and the JCR to prevent this sort of thing happening again."
Another final year student at Catz added: "It just seems like the college is putting conference guest first. I don't think guests would be treated in this unacceptable way".
However in a letter to the students, the Home Bursar James Bennett has stressed that students are not being treated any worse that conference guests. He insisted: "In fact... the majority of the time spent on the new building and staircase refurbishment work... [will have] the consequential effect of causing disruption to conferences." Bennett was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
13th May 2004