Due to the ULab’s delay in opening, the previously mellow University Prep hallways have closely resembled the bumper-to-bumper traffic seen out the car window on the way to school. Frequently, students place bets about whether they think the construction project will be completed by spring, in comparison with the school’s estimate of this fall. Every day, the sound of power tools across the street reminds everyone in the school why there is an overpopulated student body crammed into the strained campus. While the community has the right to be frustrated over the inconvenience, we also need to show flexibility.
Since breaking ground on March 4, 2022, the ULab project hasn’t played a significant role in the day-to-day lives of students. However, the slow construction is no longer harmless, as the school admitted more students than the main campus can comfortably hold. In comparison to last year, the sixth-grade class grew by 15% and the ninth-grade class increased by 13%. Classrooms, offices and study locations have shifted dramatically since the bell-ringing ceremony last June, and lunch lines have snaked their way down to Founders Hall.
The administration should have taken into account that construction estimates are frequently wrong and played it safe by only increasing class sizes until after the ribbon was cut for the ULab opening.
However, despite the importance of holding those responsible accountable, it is crucial to understand our privilege. While we have to go to school at an overcrowded campus for no longer than a year, many kids have been doing it for their entire lives. In 2019, 60% of fourth graders and 66% of eighth graders attended a public school with overcrowded classrooms according to the National School Boards Association. Our community has become so accustomed to the luxury of space, that for just a short period of time, we cannot adjust to most student’s reality.
Everyone knows the significant advantages that the ULab will bring to the UPrep experience, so the five extra minutes in the lunch line, or the adjustment to having a class in a former office, will just be a small speed bump in the general UPrep experience.