SCENE THE
THE
Fall Issue 1
September 18, 2020
THESCENEFP.COM
www.thescenefp.com
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
Leveled towers bring nursing center into view By the Scene staff
Forest Park looked like a completely different campus to students and employees entering from the east this fall. Over the summer, workers finished demolishing a large, four-story brick section of the main building’s east wing, better known as A and B towers. The new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences is now clearly visible from College Drive. The site is being graded for a plaza with landscaping and artwork. “(The demolition) went as planned,” said Ken Kempf, manager of the St. Louis Community College engineering and design staff. “We really didn’t have any ‘wow-we-didn’t-expectthat’ type of moments. It was pretty smooth.” The COVID-19 pandemic canceled on-site classes beginning in March and sent most students and faculty members home for remote learning. But employees of Ahrens Contracting, which STLCC hired to demolish the towers, kept working, except for a couple of coronavirus-related delays with subcontractors, supplies and the permitting process. “The final committee that had to sign off on the demolition permit didn’t meet for a month, and then they finally met by Zoom, and I guess there was some controversy on whether it
See Demolition page 4
Sports safety
College in the age of COVID-19 See photo spread on page 2
WE’RE BACK (sort of)
By Markell Thompkins The Scene staff
Forest Park is offering in-person classes this fall, but only a few hundred students are allowed on campus at a time due to COVID-19. Many are working from home. Hallways, lounges, offices and the cafeteria are nearly empty. Signs remind people to wear masks, wash their hands and practice social distancing. “It’s so different,” said Kathy Boykin, 50, administrative assistant Boykin in Academic Success and Tutoring. “I’m used to a lot of activity down here in the center. It’s kind of quiet on the entire campus. It feels different, and it’s going to take some time to adjust.” In a random survey McMurray conducted by The Scene the first week of school, several students and employees commented on how different things are this fall compared to other semesters. But business major Caitlyn McMurray, 19, couldn’t make a comNumbere parison because she’s a freshman. “Things are going pretty well so far,” she said. “Getting used to being online is a little tricky. I’m more of an in-class
Photo by Casaan Whitney
Mike Overman, athletic director for St. Louis Community College, speaks to coaches and players with the Archers men’s basketball team on Sept. 3 in the main gym on the Forest Park campus. He discussed precautions being taken this semester with all sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Fred Ortlip
Philip Teare, financial aid campus manager at Forest Park, assists Brittni Hubbard, 20, who is studying radiology technology, with documents on Aug. 26 in the Student Center lobby. person. It’s a little more difficult for me to learn online.” Boykin and McMurray said the college has put in place strict rules to slow the spread of the coronavirus and that most people seem to be following them. Minini Numbere, 34, program coordinator for clinical laboratory technology, agrees. “The management of the school has taken great steps to make sure that students can return back to campus safely,” he said. Numbere acknowledged that remote learning has been challenging for some students, but he sees it as a necessary step during a health crisis. “It can be a strain initially, but I think it’s something that students are going to get used to,” he said. “We’re hoping it’s not a new normal.” Employees also have had to learn new ways of doing things. “It’s weird giving people textbooks now,” said Deja Gibbs, 22, assistant manager and head cashier at the Forest Park bookstore. “Used to be, you would be close to them, but now you have to have to kind of stand back behind a (plexiglass shield).” St. Louis Community College closed all its campuses, including Forest Park, in midMarch, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Administrators worked over the summer to come up with procedures for reopening this fall. Students could choose from four types of classes: face-to-face, hybrid, online and live virtual lecture. “I’m very excited to be back on campus,” said Martha Harvey, 71, a Gibbs
Photo by Fred Ortlip
This water fountain in D Tower was taped off earlier this summer. Now water is only available for bottle fill-ups. reading tutor. “I missed everybody.” Harvey said the biggest challenge has been following all the COVID-19 precautions to keep herself and everyone else safe. Abei Tajabi, 26, a student assistant in Campus Life, stood outside the Student Center the first week of school, answering questions, giving directions and making sure everyone was wearing a mask. “I feel safe with all the precautions being Tajabi taken,” he said.
With few students on campus, social distancing w
Photo by Fred Ortlip
Ellen Gough, head of auxiliary services at Forest Park, wears a mask while helping students in the bookstore.
College in the a
Students returning to Forest Park employees, social-distancing signs cafeteria, taped-off water fountains a college effort to protect
A student strides past a social-distancing line outside a Student Center office.
Photo by Fred Ortlip
Carrie Ford mans the Student Center information des masks and practice social distancing.
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THESCENEFP.COM
Sept. 18, 2020
was a breeze on the third day of classes.
Photo by Fred Ortlip
Photo by Fred Ortlip
The cafeteria has limited seating, and no meals are being served, so students and employees must spread out and bring their own food.
age of COVID-19
this fall were greeted by mask-wearing s, reduced class sizes, a near-deserted s and one-way stairwells. All are part of t people from the coronavirus.
Photo by Fred Ortlip
A colorful sign tells visitors where to stand and wait before entering the Access Office in G Tower as part of social-distancing requirements. Photo by Fred Ortlip
sk, near a digital sign that reminds students to wear
Sept. 18, 2020
Layout by Katelyn Clancy The Scene
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News Demolition
was legal and whether they could make a decision,” Kempf said.
‘Fascinating’ process
The only employees on the Forest Park campus this summer were those in “essential” positions, so it was eerily quiet inside buildings. Outside, people got used to the constant noise of excavators and other heavy equipment and the sight of men in fluorescent vests and hard hats walking around in a
Scene THE
The Scene is a publication written and designed by students at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Office: F Tower, Room 408 Phone: (314) 644-9140 Email: the_scene_fp@yahoo.com
All text, photos and other content are property of The Scene and may not be used without permission. Views expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Community College, its board of trustees or administration.
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large demolition zone surrounded by a chain-link fence. Campus police officer James Kenner found the demolition process “fascinating.” “Normally, when they tear down buildings, they either implode them or use a big wrecking ball,” he said. “But the foreman told me they couldn’t use either method. They couldn’t risk damaging the new building. They had this machine with a big alligator-like mouth, and it had steel teeth and it would just bite sections out (of the towers).”
‘Bittersweet’ change
STLCC spent $39 million to construct the 96,000-square-foot, four-story Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, north of A Tower and west of the college’s physical education building. It’s mostly glass with brick accents. The center houses classrooms, laboratories and offices for nursing, dental hygiene and eight other health-relation programs. It opened in the fall of 2019, as workers were preparing for demolition of A and B towers. “It went much faster than I expected,” said Campus Live Manager Donivan Foster, who worked on campus two days a week this summer. “Every week, you could see that they were making progress.” Foster said the history of A and B towers, which dated back to the 1960s, made the demolition “bittersweet.” “But it’s exciting, and I like change,” he said. “I’ve heard so many people say that they wanted the ‘front door’ or the entrance to campus come to life. I get a sense that the community is excited, too. They think it looks really nice.”
Photo by Casaan Whitney
Above, workers are grading the space where A and B towers were demolished to make way for a plaza next to the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences. Below, the towers are shown on June 11, after windows had been removed.
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