Elijah Cabatic, Staff Writer
About four months ago, I wrote an article about the then ongoing construction in front of the school. I was provided with renderings, and while I didn’t say it in the article, I wasn’t particularly impressed because it looked kind of bland. It had the look of something you would see in an average city park. I thought it might look better in person, but it doesn’t. I decided to reinterview all of those whom I interviewed in my first article and see what they think of the finished product.
Principal Duszynski, when interviewed in September, said the construction would be finished in November, which it wasn’t. Duszynski’s reasoning was, “I think there werewas some delays around getting some of the material for it.” She also said that many students “like seeing more plants than they do concrete” and that “things that are living are nicer to look at and be around.” She also said that the extra shade was something some students enjoyed about it. To wrap up our interview, she said, “We had a committee who designed the plans and I would like to thank the committee/”
Jayvis Choy (11), who was optimistic about the rendering when I first interviewed him in September said, “It’s pretty good. There is definitely less room than there was before to just sit down, with all of the dust trails.’ He also thought it was an improvement over the previous iteration as it said it was “better than before” and “and more spacious” though he repeated his gripe about the removal of seating that happened during the renovation. Overall he had a positive view of the construction as he believes it improved the look of the school.
Someone who had a less positive review was Valerie Or (11), who said, “It’s certainly new. I don’t think it’s good or bad; it’s just different.” Her apathy towards the finished product shows in what she thought of it as compared to the original. She said, “Maybe it’s worse because they spent a lot of money on it, and I feel the money could’ve been saved”. I can’t help but agree.
I wouldn’t say it’s bad per se, but rather nothing. The big ‘Mills High School’ sign is kind of gaudy, but besides that it’s just generic. It doesn’t distinguish the school from any other, and it removed the wings from the facade which I thought was a fun bit of flair which tied into the building’s general architectural vision. The aggressively gray structure sticks out and blocks the colorful red and yellow buildings. That isn’t even to say anything about the structures themselves which have a slatted roof that is a semi-effective shade for most of the day, but is ineffectual during high noon when the sun just cuts through the slats, and when it rains it acts like a tree gathering water into bigger drops. In general, you’re better off just getting shade from the trees.
Overall, it’s not terrible, or anything really. It’s just nothing. For some like Jayvis Choy and some of the students who talked to Principal Duszynski, it is an improvement and they like the aesthetic value it adds and the extra shade which is great. I tend to side more with Valerie Or and have a general apathy towards it. It’s fine, but it also could have been better.
