Welcome to the never-ending story of campus construction. You arrive bright and early for your first day of classes, only to face pedestrian traffic jams, be corralled into tiny fenced pathways and herded through narrow temporary corridors. And believe it or not, most, if not all, university officials say that this is the way it should be. According to campus leaders, UCLA should always remain in a state of construction and planning flux. New buildings and new facilities mean new research and new academic and athletic programs.
Construction is a tell-tale sign of a growing campus.
The world of academia is highly competitive, officials feel, and the ever-evolving campus is an integral part of any university's survival. UCLA's constant metamorphosis takes on added difficulty because of California's earthquakes and the lack of land in an urban location. We are not in a rural community. Campus planners must constantly try to envision the future. Part of their challenge is having to keep up with the changing climate of university life.