A Monstrosity

I’m a retired social worker and a member of the local community. The proposed 11-story UCSB Munger building would, in my opinion, create a permanent skyline monstrosity and, worse, pose potential risks to the students’ physical and mental health. I cannot imagine living in one of the top floors and trying to escape a disaster, such as fire or earthquake. And in these times of contagious airborne viruses, it is unwise to build windowless rooms. I’ve worked in a “tight” building where the windows (at least we had windows) did not open. Major HVAC problems occurred.

In this case, the concept of creating congenial communal areas is a good one. However, many students require long hours of privacy for study. And while the individual rooms provide privacy, rooms without windows bring to mind the lower hold of the Titanic. I hope this situation is not a case of “money talks” and that UCSB officials pursue other designs or greatly modify this one.

There has to be a better solution for our community and our future generations.