Summer is a magical time when the student body withdraws and all of the dust, dirt and fingerprints of the previous year are vacuumed, polished out, and covered with a fresh coat of paint. However, coming back to see construction trucks, professors carrying their office across campus and a fenced-off Jesus Mural is like the curtain rising before the actors are in place.

While crews have been hard at work across campus all summer, many of the construction projects remain unfinished. We’re excited for the parking structure and the beautiful new Talbot complex, but both large-scale constructions stand undone. Fully completed additions include the bright-as-the-sun video-display sign on Biola Avenue and the expansion of the Marshburn Building.

It is a wonder Biola did not put more resources into finishing the big projects before starting on the smaller ones. Why did the school feel the need to repave the temporary parking lot behind Hope Hall when the new structure isn’t finished yet?

Students have voiced many complaints about the construction, and we feel a responsibility to dispel some rumors. Students murmur that the influx of students and increase in tuition is motivated by building expansion price tags. However, the new projects in the construction process are not funded by student tuition dollars, but entirely by donor funds from outside resources.

That’s not to say there are no reasons for valid concern. All these expansions are intended to accommodate our growing student body, and while they will ease the pain for now — are they really long term solutions? The parking garage offers 780 spaces, and once it is completed there should actually be extra parking. It is apparent that the parking garage may only be a band-aid for an ever-increasing rate of enrollment. And while the new classrooms in the Talbot complex will help, we’ll soon fill those as well.

We don’t want to leave you thinking we’re not grateful for all the changes — we’re ecstatic to see the administration responding to student needs. Despite the exasperation construction has caused on campus, the end result heavily outweighs the temporary inconvenience. Unfortunately, even with the expansions, we will continue to hear “There’s just way too many people.”