Heavy-duty construction is taking place on the street the math building faces. Power, internet, water, the works. The torn-open street will be closed until August.
Due to the construction, it's loud on the bottom and second floor on the front of the building. Hence, the department booked rooms in other buildings and scattered across campus for summer classes. While it's a small chore for the professors, it makes for a quiet building.
I don't hear students dragging their feet down the halls. I don't hear them blabbing too loudly to whomever on their phones. The building smells like books and paper - like a library with freshly waxed floors - instead of like summer b.o.
The professors I meet in the halls seem...more relaxed, even happier in some cases. Maybe they are enjoying getting out of the building, walking the campus before the day gets too hot. Trapped in a classroom or an office all day, it's easy to forget how beautiful the grounds are and how lucky we are that the tornado missed the university.
Before long, we'll miss the sounds of the vending machines, the elevator, the flipflops, and heavy sighs, but for now, it's peaceful.
A bit of change is good, especially in spring.
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