Plumbing issues block two important pathways on campus

Students find important pathways blocked as the third week of the semester start

Feb 11, 2023

As the semester starts to settle in, foot-trafficked paths connecting to public transportation and health services are blocked by construction.

A broken hot water line pipe led to construction on the right side of J. Paul Leonard Library. The repairs began on Wednesday, Feb. 1, according to Robert Andrews, Associate Vice President of Facilities Services.

A GGX reporter spotted the leakage on Tuesday, Jan. 24 for the first time. The original source of the leakage is unclear, but it started a week before students returned to classes for Spring 2023.

Students started to bypass the outpouring by walking on the grass area as construction site fences blocked the sidewalk.

The path towards the health center from the quad is also blocked off by construction.

“I think it is because of a water leakage and they are changing a few tubes,” said Oscar Portillo, an employee of the facility services for seven years. “They are repairing water pipes that I suppose will take two or three weeks more but I’m not sure.”

Now with the path blocked, students must take a detour to get to the health center.

“I just showed up and it was closed. They didn’t even put out a notice or anything which would have been nice,” said Alejandra Díaz, a fourth year student majoring in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism. “For new students, it’s kind of like an inconvenient thing. I don’t know why it didn’t get taken care of over break.”

New and returning students were never informed of the precaution for both the construction sites. The health center was contacted but didn’t comment on the blockage.

“It was surprising that it was there. Many students come and go and now they have to go all the way around.” said Yazmin Rodriguez, a second year student majoring in Child & Adolescent Development. “I have an appointment there and they didn’t say anything regarding anything going on there.”

[Additional reporting by Letícia Luna]

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About the Contributors

Adriana Hernandez, Editor-In-Chief

Adriana Hernandez (she/her) is the Editor-In-Chief for Golden Gate Xpress. She is majoring in journalism and minoring in media literacy. Adriana has a passion for storytelling, culture, art, and design. She previously wrote for The Skyline View, the student newspaper of Skyline College. In her downtime, she enjoys reading and watching films. For any inquiries, you can contact me at [email protected].

Chris Myers, Staff Photographer

Chris Myers (he/him) is a photographer for Golden Gate Xpress. He is a photojournalism major with a minor in buisness administration. Currently based out of San Francisco and his current hobbies consists of snowboarding, golf and softball. He is really appreciative of the hundreds of inches of snow that the Sierra Nevada has recieved this Winter.

Letícia Luna, Editor-In-Chief

Letícia Luna (she/her) is the Editor-in-Chief for Golden Gate Xpress. Leti has been pursuing a career in journalism since her time at Laney College, where she was editor-in-chief of the college's student publication The Citizen. Connecting to people and giving them voices is what brought her to journalism. Letícia was an audience intern at the San Francisco Chronicle during summer 2022 before transferring to SF State. In her spare time, Leti can be found exploring the outdoors and hanging out with her friends.

Miguel Francesco Carrion, Visuals Editor

Miguel Francesco Carrion (he/him) is a fifth-year photojournalism major and Asian American studies minor. While he claims to be a country-singing, Bronco riding cowboy in another universe, he is currently serving as the visuals editor for the Golden Gate Xpress. Outside of school, he works as a freelance photographer and videographer, and his work has appeared in BBC North America, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Positively Filipino Magazine and The Filipino Channel. When not working, you can find him at The Pub or in the back of his friends’ cars belting Zach Bryan lyrics out of tune.