Sitting on Simple Change: Proposal for Replacing Desks in The City College of New York’s NAC Building
By Team Error 404
Mohammad Jobair, Nusrat Patwary, John Caulfield, and Rivka Bar-Chaim
Introduction
Imagine having in your hands the tastiest, juiciest looking burger you’ve ever seen in your life. You’re salivating at the thought of eating it. And you go in to take a bite, only to realize that all its contents just slipped out and fell splat onto the floor. That’s how the desks at CCNY feel. The content is there, but it just can’t support itself. The desks at CCNY could use a huge revamp. Some desks are broken, some desks are flimsy, and some desks are just too small. When we rely on these desks to put our notes, laptops, and writing utensils on, this is just unacceptable. It’s obvious that the desks at CCNY need to change, but don’t just take our word for it, we put out a survey which shows what other students think of the desks, and the results are clear. The majority of respondents, over 72%, have had negative experiences with the desks in the NAC building. There are even studies that have shown that there is a correlation between the quality of the desk space and the quality of learning. Imagine if we had a brand-new set of desks which were very comfortable, with lots of space for everything one could need, along with the accessibility to accommodate students with disabilities and various body types. We’ve established that the desks need to be changed, but how are we going to do that? Well, we have come up with a plan of action, and have worked out the cost benefits to get our desired changes into fruition.
Action plan
Step one: The first thing that needs to be done in order to replace the desks at the NAC center would be to evaluate what is needed. We will collaborate with the City College department of Property Management to evaluate how many desks need to be replaced. This will include calculating various needs that are not met with the current desk situation in the NAC including calculating the number of desks that are needed for those who are left handed and the number of students who need accessible desks. We would then need to determine the total number of every type of desk needed.
Step two: After evaluating the various types of desks needed, we will work with the department of purchasing to use both the cost-benefits and calculated budget within this proposal to purchase desks for the replacement. After budget approval we will be able to order cost-effective, variety inclusive desks for City College. Finally, the department would have to order the desks from the manufacturers, with staggered delivery so that the shipments won’t be too overwhelming.
Step three: The removal of the old desks from the NAC building will also need to be staggered to avoid a situation in which this change would affect class schedules or disrupt the important day to day academic environment at CCNY. Before removing the desks from the classrooms, we will need to come up with a plan of action. This will include hiring people or assigning employees to the task of removing desks, which will likely be a job that will be done daily for a period of several weeks. The removal itself can be done by scheduling the delivery of a small, manageable number of desks every day which would need to coincide with the removal process to ensure that no classrooms are left without desks and no classes are disrupted.
Step four: In addition to hiring people, we will need to figure out a plan for recycling the old desks so that the materials are not wasted. This would include donating any leftover useable desks to non-profit organizations. It would also entail recycling most of the desks because they are mostly in bad shape. This can be done most swiftly by hiring a private company such as Royal Waste Serves which deals with removal and recycling on a large scale, or relying on free service from the New York Sanitation Department.
Step five: For this plan to remain efficient it is important to keep in mind that nothing is everlasting and that the new desks in the NAC building might be susceptible to breaking. This means that we would need to implement a plan for the upkeep and replacement of broken desks so that the state of the desks in the NAC building never returns to the state that it is in now. To do this, several employees may need to be given the responsibility of making a yearly assessment for which types of specialized desks are missing and how many desks need to be replaced. If we keep track of and replace desks on a yearly basis, it will prevent another situation in which large scale funding needs to be given to a replacement of this magnitude ever again.
Cost/Benefit
The desks currently in the classrooms of the North Academic Center fail to meet the need of the student population. The advancement of technology and the current usage of electronic devices for note taking have rendered the current desks obsolete. A current typical desk is not comfortable and does not have adequate desk space. Replacing the desks would greatly benefit the students at the City College of New York. The desk replacement can be spread out over a ten-week period, doing five classrooms a week, until completion. With approximately 25 desks per classroom that is 125 desks a week.
The cost of the project will only be the purchasing of the new desks. Current staff can handle the removal of the old desks and the New York Department of Sanitation can recycle the old desks at no cost. The desk that best meets the needs of the students is KI’s Intellect Wave Sled-Based Combo Desk – hard plastic top. The desk comes with a 15-year warranty and is made of durable material.
| Weekly Cost for Desk Replacement | |||
| Number of Desks | Price Per Desk | Total Cost Per Week | 10-Week Cost |
| 125 | $215.99 | $26,998.75 | $269,987.50 |
These desks will provide the best classroom experience for current students and appeal to future prospective students as well. The current state of the desks in the NAC building are an embarrassment to the university and scare away potential students. Using this cost-effective plan, CCNY can make its desks a source of comfort rather than a hazard to its students.
Experience:
John Caulfield is a current student at The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York; studying chemical engineering. John previously attended Queensborough Community College and achieved the Dean’s List his final semester there. John has a vast work experience, in various fields. His first job post high school was of a camp ranger for two years assisting in the operation and maintenance of a campground of over 400 acres. John enlisted in the United States Army as an all-wheeled vehicle mechanic and served four years. He has three Army Accommodation Medals, a Good Conduct Medal, Overseas Ribbon, and a Combat Action Badge. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Specialist. Over the last five years and currently John is a fleet technician for Nestle Waters North America.
Nusrat Patwary is a current student at the City College of New York. She is a freshman. Her major is undecided, but she is looking forward to studying computer science. She is very interested about learning computers and technology. In order to learn more about computer science she will join Girls Who Code during summer. Her first job was working as a library assistant at Newcomers High School. There she learned how to work and communicate with people in workplace. She also worked in preschool for two mounts during her summer break. She is very friendly person and she is very comfortable working with different types of people. She is very responsible. Whenever, she has responsibility she takes it very seriously, because she doesn’t want to disappoint anyone by her work.
Mohammad Jobair usually just goes by Jobair, or Mo because of all the other Mohammad’s in the world. He is a freshman Computer Engineering Major from the grove school of engineering at the City College of New York. His work experience basically only goes as far as interning as a P.A. for a small production company. However, the responsibilities given to him there was vast and covered many aspects of real life. The job would range from sourcing materials all around the city that was suitable for filming, to photo-shopping some posters for events, and even the boring office work of digitizing continuity sheets. Since he is generally introverted, his skills lie in his ability to think critically, analyze, and learn. Mistakes are okay to make but he makes sure he takes the necessary steps to learn from it and prevent himself from making the same one again. He finds a lot of interest in technological development to increase productivity and leisure quality. He also enjoys thinking beyond the scope of the observable universe. He likes to think about the deepest depths of our oceans or possible life on other planets, or even some unknown mechanisms in our own body. He is a quirky but always looking towards the stars.
Rivka Bar-Chaim is a chemical engineering student at the City College of New York. She got her high school diploma at Bnos Chomesh Academy in Brooklyn and became interested in science and technology through the Girls Who Code summer immersion program. Rivka’s first jobs were at summer day camps where she worked as a counselor and practiced the skills of responsibility and accountability. She has had three short term internships in which she worked with organization, data entry, and project management. Rivka’s skills include typing up to 70 words per a minute, using Microsoft programs such as Excel and PowerPoint, sending professional emails, and working with communication. In her free time she enjoys reading, gardening, type racing, and graphic design.
Conclusion:
Efficient desks are very important in a classroom environment. They allow students to focus and more learn effectively. It is crucial that we consider the comfort, quality, and desk space when it comes to the improvement of the desks at CCNY. The desks currently in the classrooms at the North Academic Center fail to meet the needs of the students. In fact, our survey shows that most of the students at City College have had negative experiences with the desks in North Academic Center, especially when it comes to desk space and comfort.
The current desks are uncomfortable, inaccessible, and do not provide enough desk space which has a major effect on students’ ability to learn. Our proposal for Replacing Desks in CCNY’s NAC Building provides a way to solve these issues in a cost-effective manner. By funding this plan, The City College of New York will not only be showing its dedication to a healthy learning environment but will also improve grades by ensuring all students have a sturdy and secure place to learn.
Citations:
Dunn, Rita. “Footloose and Fancy-Free: Kicking the Habit of Conventional Classroom Furniture.” The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, vol. 64, no. 6, 1991, pp. 369–371., doi:10.1080/00098655.1991.9955894.
Graetz, K. A. (2006). The Psychology of Learning Environments. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/the-psychology-of-learning-environments
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