Adriana Ruvalcaba
The Runner Staff
As CSU Bakersfield prepares to remove two of the three east modular buildings, students that have classes in those buildings have will be relocated to other classrooms.
Once the modular buildings are vacated, they will be removed from campus.
The Intensive English Language Center’s students, who are in Modular 1 will now be taking classes on CSUB main campus instead of the modular east buildings beginning this winter quarter.
“The changes for the students have been positive,” said IELC Director Gilbert Cho. “The IELC department and students will have further access to newer technologies and advanced classrooms. But more importantly, we feel more connected to the campus now. In the modular we felt like we weren’t even on campus.”
CSUB will be removing the modular buildings, according to the memorandum released Dec. 14 from CSUB President Horace Mitchell.
The modular buildings are estimated to officially be off campus by the end of February.
The departments and offices located in the modular buildings will be relocating to the old student housing complex. However, the IELC students are unable to be taught in those rooms. Their classes will now be held in rooms located in Dorothy Donahoe Hall, the Education Building and in other places around campus.
The IELC is a program that provides instruction to non-native English speakers. Students currently enrolled come from Vietnam, France, Brazil, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and China. Many of these students will continue their academic plan by enrolling into undergraduate programs at CSUB.
“Being in the regular classrooms gives them an idea of what they are going to do in the future,” said Yuri Sakamaki, who is a faculty member that has been with the IELC for seven years.
Sakamaki said she also hasn’t heard any complaints from students yet. She said the modular was old, had pest problems and felt far away from the other students.
“It’s good taking classes here,” said Bashayer Alharbi, 22, from Saudi Arabia. “Now we meet students on campus.”
“We looked like we were excluded from the university, and now you feel more included,” Mohammed Alkhumaryi, 26, from Saudi Arabia.
“The reason why you come to an institution was to be engaged with other students.”
The issue wasn’t that CSUB students were unfriendly; they didn’t know about IELC students.
“They don’t know what I’m studying. I tell them ‘IELC’ and they say ‘what’s that?,’” said Zenny Nguyen, 22, from Vietnam.
She would explain the program, what she was learning, and where it was located.
The students said the change is creating experiences they wouldn’t get if they were to continue in the modular buildings. Nguyen said the campus reminds her of the ones she’s seen in American films.
“I’m studying university, not just English,” said Nguyen.
The diversity can also enhance the experiences for other students on campus.
“It’s a good thing for CSUB students to get to know them,” said Sakamaki.
Associative Vice President of Facilities Pat Jacobs said that there will be another building for student services or other administrative offices but that’s probably not going to happen for several years.
To get the buildings off campus will cost around $50,000 to $70,000, but they’re spending over $40,000 on the lease.
The need was to try get rid of the old, outdated buildings that were costing forty thousand dollars a year and save the campus money.
The modular buildings were first established 21 years ago and haven’t been renovated for a long time.
“When the folks move out and the company that owns those buildings come in to removed them, students will need to stay away from that area,” Jacobs said. “We will barricade the area off so the people wouldn’t be able to go into those areas.”
He added that students will not be able to park there while it’s being relocated because there will be heavy trucks and equipment to remove the buildings.
“At the most, it will take a week,” Jacobs said.
