Perhaps the most noticeable change on campus since students have returned from winter break is the construction on the temporarily closed Faunce Arch, first announced in Morning Mail in late December and again on Monday. Ricky Gresh, senior director for student engagement, said he is "99.99 percent certain" the arch will reopen by Monday.
After the closing was postponed indefinitely last semester, construction began over break due to the "significant amount of structural work" needed in the arch for the creation of the Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center, Gresh said. After the renovations, the interior will be lined with clear glass.
While in the past the arch's interior was primarily used for displaying posters of various student organizations, with the renovations, one side will open into the new campus center. Further details of the construction plan can be found on the campus center's Facebook page.
When the arch reopens, the pathway that opens through the arch will only be approximately six feet wide as renovations for the campus center continue.
A temporary wall will be put up around the narrower path and construction will go on through the end of the semester, Vice President for Facilities Management Stephen Maiorisi wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, adding that the full width of the arch would be open during Commencement for the procession to pass through, per Brown tradition.
Students interviewed by The Herald said they were not particularly inconvenienced by the temporary closing. Pedestrian routes on either side of Faunce — by Hope College and Hunter Lab — are open for use.
Faunce Arch "is an essential way to get through campus," Roman Gonzalez '11 said, but he added, "It's only temporary, so I think kvetching is kind of pointless."
Certain students seemed unaware of the closing altogether. As Liban Mohamed '12 said, "The only place I go is Barus and Holley, so why do I care?"
