When you enter the Brown building, it’s easy to note the mixed-match tiles, elevators that creak as you use them, and classrooms with poor air conditioning. The entrance is also not handicap accessible. If you step into the auditorium on the north of the campus, you’ll notice that the backstage restrooms only occasionally work. If you go past the bungalows into the back parking lot, you will find what’s known as the black box, where hundreds of students conduct musical theater rehearsals, BSU meetings, or otherwise use it as a safe space. In the black box, there are ceiling pieces that have fallen and broken seats that have yet to be fixed.
“Construction means improvement for the school, so everyone will benefit,” said Caroline Rhude, an AMPA English teacher.
You may have already noticed that construction has started on the Hamilton campus. This $402 million dollar project is scheduled to conclude in 2029, but until then, the current students will experience an abundance of changes.
12th-grade Humanities student Yonah Gereboff said the baseball team has already been impacted by the changes. “I think the construction is an important improvement to the school,” he said. “It may be inconvenient, but better for the future.”
Once the football season concludes, work on the track and field is planned to begin. Our current track lacks the synthetic rubber that our competitors use. Although this displaces our current cross country team, the new track will improve runners’ experiences.
Mayra Gonzalez, a ninth-grade AMPA student, said the school needs this “very much needed improvement.”
Right next to the track is our senior student parking lot. In front of the school, there is parking reserved for visitors and faculty only. For decades, the senior parking lot has acted as a place for students to park if they drive themselves from school. Since an abundance of Yankees don’t live near Hamilton, this provides a safe place for them to place their cars in a secure parking lot close to school. The construction team plans to start using the senior parking lot this semester, displacing all of the seniors that park in the parking lot.
When the construction is completed, there will be 59 new classrooms, updated facilities, including the athletics center, cafeteria, and Norman J Pattiz Concert Hall.
“I wish it would happen faster, but I think it’s great improvement,” said Chiara Van Ert, a 10th grade AMPA student.
