By Mia Garcia, Staff Reporter
Did you notice there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony on campus earlier this month? No? – that’s odd, I mean, there were yard signs posted around campus that read, “Special Groundbreaking Event.”
Still not ringing a bell? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one in the dark, apparently.
There’s a lot of construction happening right now around Dominguez Hills. The “Special Groundbreaking Event” on Oct. 3 was to kick off construction of a new dining hall – included in “Phase 4” of the university’s campus-wide renovation project. The event was attended by CSUDH administrators, the board of Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), Toro alumni, and California State Sen. Steve Bradford.
Soon, there will be additional student housing, a brand-new health and wellness center, and a facility specializing in orthotics and prosthetics. All of this sounds great, honestly. What’s not so great, is that the university didn’t factor everyday students into the celebration.
I sent an email about this to Justin Gammage, President Thomas A. Parham’s chief of staff. He said the only students invited to the groundbreaking were ASI members and students who served on the referendum committee to fund the Health, Wellness, and Recreation Center.
The groundbreaking happened at an active construction site, so I totally understand that the university had to take certain precautions for the sake of safety – you can’t have a large number of students walking around something like that. But as a tuition-paying student, I think it would have been nice to at least be notified that something like this was going on. An event like this is a great way for students to see where their money is actually being spent.
I realize students aren’t always good about checking their Toromail, but I do know a lot of students who would have been excited to hear about the groundbreaking – that doesn’t happen every day. I check my email regularly, but I couldn’t find any mention of the event.
At the end of the day, everything that is being built right now at Dominguez Hills is for current and future Toros. Students want to be informed about the events and ceremonies happening on campus, and it would have been a big deal for students to at least know about something as monumental as a groundbreaking ceremony.
It’s already a bit of a struggle to get excited about the everyday happenings at CSUDH. We’re a commuter campus and most students are preoccupied going to and from classes or work. And while I don’t necessarily want to suggest the university send us even more emails, the apparent lack of communication about the groundbreaking ceremony is just another one of those missed opportunities that make you stop and say, “So Dominguez.”
Even as a senior, I still want to feel connected to campus, and I am sure a lot of other students feel the same way. Maybe we couldn’t all be there at the construction site wearing hard hats, but just a little more communication about the really big things on the horizon here would have us throwing up our “DH horns” with a little more pride.
