Allen Hall’s aging facilities have led to student and faculty complaints, raising questions about whether the building meets modern classroom expectations.
Built 40 years ago and home to the Division of Continuing & International Education, Allen Hall contains 19 classrooms, an English lab and a computer lab.
Another concern among students and teachers is the noise produced by the building’s air conditioning system.
With South Florida’s heat and humidity, air conditioning is essential for maintaining a comfortable classroom environment. However, the building’s air conditioning units create distractions during class.
“[The] environmental comfort is highly compromised,” said Dr. Esber Andiroglu, who teaches in Allen Hall every spring semester. “The HVAC unit is very loud and [the rooms are] often humid with strong air drafts, [making it] difficult to carry out presentations and discussions with students.”
Neve Clark, a senior who had a class in Allen Hall last semester, said she experienced a similar issue. Her class was moved to Dooly Memorial because the air conditioning was so loud that students could not hear their professor in the Allen Hall room.
“I experience constant disruptions with the technology which makes teaching quite difficult at times,” said Elayna Christine, a professor for JMM 108 Writing for the Digital Age. “I’ve had the computer shut down, disconnect, or lock me out in the middle of a lecture and I’ve had to call classroom support to help.”
Dr. Andiroglu said students have approached him with complaints about the classrooms’ temperature and excessive noise. He said these conditions can interfere with presentations, discussions and other classroom activities.
Yet the University of Miami says it inspects the building constantly.
“The Facilities and Operations Department conducts daily inspections prior to the start of classes and again during the middle of the academic day,” said the University of Miami in a statement to The Hurricane. “Routine maintenance is identified and resolved through all inspections. Most first floor classrooms at Allen Hall received new AC units this summer as part of routine classroom enhancements and, in part, from faculty feedback.”
As classrooms have become increasingly dependent on technology, students and faculty say Allen Hall’s facilities have struggled to keep pace.
The Miami Hurricane Instagram posted a story on Sept. 16 asking followers whether they have experienced any issues in Allen Hall. The story remained live for 24 hours, and responses included complaints about inconsistent air conditioning, with one student writing, “unpredictable [AC], one day not working, next day freezing.”
Other students reported seeing “roaches running around Allen,” while another said Allen Hall “is the furthest from everything and feels way out of place for business school classes.”
These issues can affect a student’s classroom experience before the lesson even begins.
“It’s a terrible environment,” said Christine. “I’d like to see Allen Hall torn down.”
As long as Allen Hall continues to be used for classes, students and professors will continue navigating the challenges of an aging building