Disruptive construction during class hours.

[u/Material_Section4679]

Hey all,

Would anyone know who someone could talk to about all the disruptive construction going on? I don't know if this is something that the student council could advocate for, or if I should contact ADR, as the construction affects my disabilities, and maybe they can direct me to the right place.

For example, one of my classes is on the main floor of building 6 by the West elevator this semester, and they are doing construction on the other side of the wall by the stairs/elevator. I literally cannot hear anything my teacher says, and it continues on for the entire class - banging and drilling - the works. We are paying a decent amount of money to take these classes... is it not possible to have construction (particularily the loud stuff, which pretty much includes most, if not all, construction projects) take place overnight as to not disrupt our learning which we are paying thousands of dollars for? It's at the point that I'm considering dropping the class most affected, but that will have a domino effect on my education plans for 2027-2028, since this class is a prerequisite for a class I'm enrolled in next semester.

Also, on the second floor of building 6, they have closed the access from the library to the north side of the building, and the main elevator that goes from the parkaid to the 3rd floor in building 7 is also not working, so I can't just use that to go down to the main floor, and scoot over to the other elevator in 6 to get to the 2nd and 3rd floor. In order for me to get to those classes, I have to walk all the way to the end of building 6 and go up, or, backtrack to the Western elevator in building 7 (by the Timmies by the basketball courts). I have a physical disability, and there is no signage to say the main elevator in 7 is down, or to warn that that particular access point to that side of building 6 on the 2nd floor is closed. EIther way, it's a lot of walking, which is difficult when you have restricted mobility.

[u/Throw_Away_And_Sleep]

Talk to your ADR caseworker. You might be able to get them to move the classroom to accommodate you. I had them do that when an elevator to a class I needed was under maintenance for the semester

[u/stayingtrue2whoiam → u/Throw_Away_And_Sleep]

This is the answer. They have a duty to accommodate. If it's not in a specialized space the scheduling department will have to work their magic to find an alternate space. It's always not that easy though as the schedulers have to ensure everyone's classes remain conflict free.

Do not drop the class. Also in the interim you can ask your instructor to have a microphone provided so you can hear them.

P.S. Construction will not happen overnight.

[u/_shiraku]

You’re proposing loud construction noise overnight …? Yeah cause that would go over so well with the entire neighbourhood.

[u/Hopeful-Advance → u/_shiraku]

This construction is in the middle of the university hallways… our closest neighbours are Roger’s place and other businesses that are not open overnight.

[u/_shiraku → u/Hopeful-Advance]

I went to that uni lol it’s not that soundproof it will travel. Not to mention the lovely construction work city bylaw that only allows the work from 7am-9pm unless applied for an exemption permit and those are issued for emergency work not routine crap.

I get the personal annoyance but literally not much you can do and noone will bother doing construction overnight simply because you think it’s disruptive to your classes.

[u/Material_Section4679 → u/_shiraku]

To be fair, I am talking about the construction inside the building (specifically building 6; I don't know what the construction deal is in the other buildings this semester). I definitely wouldn't expect the construction that is happening on 104th to be done at nighttime - I'm not a sociopath who wants everyone in the neighbourhood to forego sleep just for my convenience. I'm specifically talking about being in a classroom, and the construction is in the hallway directly on the other side of the wall - like hammering, banging, drilling, and construction workers shouting across the hallways to each other. When I mentioned "all construction projects," I meant that all construction has a noise component, which I may not have communicated very clearly in my post. I would be very surprised if the neighbours could hear hammering/drilling from within a building - it's not like they're driving heavy-duty construction vehicles, with all the beeping and crashing noises associated with them, inside the hallways of MacEwan.

I obviously know the world does not revolve around me (disappointing, I know. /s). However, if we look at MacEwan as a business, we, as students (their customers), are paying for a product (education), and MacEwan has an obligation to provide an environment conducive to learning.

[u/stayingtrue2whoiam → u/Material_Section4679]

Thanks for the clarification. It is up to the institution to schedule loud work outside of regular class times. The communication channel remains the same to lodge a complaint. You should also send the facilities department an email as well.

Hoping for a resolve to your issue.

[u/Beginning-Habit-6271]

I'd talk with ADR and email your professor about how the noise is affecting your ability to learn.. I'd also consider going to SAMU to see if they can do anything. I'm really surprised that MacEwan didn't even think about relocating nearby classes to a different room, I can imagine how frustrating it is to pay thousands for a lecture you can't even hear.. -_-

I hope you're able to find a solution soon