Pete Moye’
News Button

The construction and renovation of the gym has been in progress since October 2010. Renovations are said to take up to June 2012.

It has not just affected the Cerritos College wrestling, volleyball and basketball teams but also its students. The parking lot near the bookstore and the gym has been fenced off and has students having to go around the construction.

Cerritos College athletes have to travel to Excelsior high school, three miles away from the college campus to attend practice.

“Not being in our facility and cleaner place makes it difficult for us. Also not being closer to the locker room makes it harder for us to stay fungus free since we got to travel three miles back to Cerritos to shower,” freshman Cerritos College wrestler Zachary Mitchell said.

Cerritos College wrestling Head Coach Don Garriott expressed his thoughts on the continuation of the construction that is taking place.

“It is hard to run practices at excelsior because none of our stuff is there. The guy’s have to change in the Cerritos locker room then travel to Excelsior, then back to Cerritos to shower after practice,” Garriott said.

Teams have held their home games in other high schools and also some of the teams haven’t been able to host the events. Spectators of the Cerritos College teams have to travel and go to an unfamiliar school.

Volleyball assistant coach Nancy Marin said, “We don’t feel like we have a sense of home everything is a lot easier when we’re on campus…having to tell people come to our home game that’s not really at home it puts a damper on our spirits of having a home game”.

Many of Cerritos College’s athletes are disappointed because they will transfer out and leave without ever having played a game in the campus gym.

Sophomore and Criminal Justice major Madison Guastella of the Womens volleyball team said, “Its upsetting I’ve been here since the spring of 2010, I practiced in the gym and that was the last time cause that summer was when they started construction and we were told it was supposed to be done by the end of our season last year and they just keep extending it”.

Both the women’s volleyball and men’s basketball teams not only have to deal with the issue of commuting to Excelsior High School with all their training gear but the practice gym is not up to college standards.

Basketball Head Coach Russ May said, “We’re playing in a facility that’s not a college size court and it does affect how we practice and how the guys do respond when we get in a college size court”.

Students have to struggle with the parking that is located by the bookstore and the gym. Parts of the staff parking and student parking have been blocked off with the fences of the construction that is taking place.

Computer science major NJ Flores is one of the students who parks in the parking lot adjacent to the construction site.

He said, “Since last year I can already tell it’s already gotten a lot harder to find parking, so when I come to class I have to park farther and farther away from here”.

“The construction has taken up a large portion of the parking out in front of the gym. Which has made parking more difficult here at the school,” Garriott said.

Classes have also been placed in different locations on campus ranging from the Dance studio to the Classroom Building. Classes like pilates, step aerobics and yoga have been also affected by the gym construction.

“It’s unfortunate for the students to walk to the other side of campus for a class that would have to take place in the gym,” Rebekah Davidson Cerritos College dance professor said.

The teams and classes are not the only things that have been displaced by the construction. The people who use to enjoy playing handball next to the gym have also had to relocate such as Sophmore and undecided major Robert Garcia.

He said, “The handball courts haven’t been here… I have to go play handball far like to Cerritos Park East”.

Cerritos College Vice President of Business Services, David El Fattal, was unavailable for comment.