Leslie Hitchcock, News Editor

Following the precedent of continual campus construction set for the 1997-98 year, is the installation of new windows in Bowie and Hoey Residence Halls and Mountaineer Apartments.

The removal is being completed by a professional window installation company that was contracted by Appalachian State University, said Director of Housing Brad Reid.

The construction began Tuesday, Feb .3 and will continue for the rest of the month.

The workers will work from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.  It is estimated that each room will take approximately four hours.

According to Reid, removal of the windows requires breaking the window pane inward into the room.

Students living in the halls were asked to remove their personal belongings  from the window area, Reid said.

“Most of the glass will stay inside the room, but the contracting company roped off an area around the building that could have glass in it,” said Reid.

The new windows have a high thermal factor which will insulate the rooms more efficiently, Reid said.

“The previous windows were single paned, and these are thicker,” he said.

To ensure the safety of students belongings in the residence halls the Department of Housing hired several students to moniter the the contractors work, said Reid.

Reid recommends that after the contractors finish with the windows, students should check out a vacuum cleaner and run over the area around the window with it.

“In Bowie and Mountaineer Apartments the workers only picked up the larger pieces of glass,” he said.

Students in Hoey were notified of the construction on Wednesday by a flyer which was handed out

The rest of the residence halls will receive new windows, but not for several years, Reid said.

“The remaining residence halls won’t get windows for a while because of the time it takes for the process,” he said.

First, the university must designate funds to begin the construction process, Reid said.

After that, the university must undertake the process of selecting and hiring an architect.

The contractor must then present drawings and answer questions about the method of their work, Reid said.

When that is finished, the university must bid out the contractor, who is then awarded the job.

Emily Vaughan, a resident of Hoey, feels that the construction is a necessary evil.

“I think that there is a better time to do (the construction) but people are reacting badly to it,” she said.

“I wish they could have done it in the summer, but people should get over it.”

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