Jerry ZurekIn the past month and half, the residents of the Cabrini Apartment Complex have had to deal with a lot of things going on around their housing arrangements. Inside it is like it has always been but when you walk out those doors you are in a huge construction zone.
Due to the construction, the residents of CAC can’t even drive up to the front of the building and get dropped off at the door because of the huge gates that are locked at all hours of the day. Most CAC residents have to end up parking at the Dixon Center because of the lack of parking spaces on Residential Boulevard.
It is something that CAC residents have been able to cope with. We know that nothing is going to change for the time being and that it is just going to have to be accepted.
What I don’t understand though is the lack of lighting on the Mansion lawn. While the residents park at the Dixon Center, the easiest way to get back to the apartments it to cut though the Mansion lawn. That is easier said then done after 8 p.m.
It is pitch black behind the mansion. There are no lights coming from the Mansion itself and the closest rays of light come from the path behind the houses and then from the new SET building.
As a resident of the CAC, I hate the feeling of walking across that lawn at night. I don’t know what I might step on or run into. If I have to walk back to my room after the sun has gone down by myself, I feel like I have to talk to someone on the phone just incase I fall or hurt myself.
We either have to feel our way around the lawn carefully or start buying flashlights. I have seen many people, and have been one myself, pull out their cell phones to use the light from them.
Also now that it is autumn, all of the acorns from the trees have been falling to the ground. There is an abundance of these acorns and it is very easy for a person to slip and fall on them even in the daytime. Also the ground is very uneven. If there is a small dip in the ground, it is extremely difficult to see and could be caught off guard.
Public Safety has turned on the lights from the tennis court a few times but they are very inconsistent. If they are turned on, you never know what time they will be turned off. Some nights they are on until midnight, other nights they are turned off at 9:30 p.m.
The other concern I have is how well lit up other places are. For example, the new SET building is so well lit up; I could probably read a book outside at night. But how many people use the SET building at 11 p.m.?
I think that it should be lit up because of the students that use the pathway in front of the building, but why use all the energy there when so many students use the Mansion lawn to get back to their rooms?
If there is no plan for more lighting around the tennis court area, then I think there should be specific times when the tennis court lights should be turned on and off. I think that if the CAC residents know what times the lawn is lit up, then it would be easier for them to plan a time to get back to their rooms instead of walking thought the darkness.
If the residents of CAC have to park so far away from their building, there should be something to make us feel more safe walking back to our rooms at night. I think that a flip of a switch on the tennis court lights would make many feel more comfortable while trying to get back to their rooms.
Posted to the web by Brian Coary
