“Could we ask for a better day than today?” said Shirley Kelly, interim president of Skyline College to the beaming crowd.

Indeed, the sun shone proud behind the wisps of incoming fog as Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” filled the air. Lying on an adjacent table were 10 hardhats and sparkling gold shovels that would be used moments later with much pomp and circumstance for the groundbreaking ceremony of buildings 6 and 7A.

The new student service center (6) and science annex (7A), as well as a host of facility upgrades on campus, are finally coming to fruition as a result of the passing of Bond Measure C in 2001. The measure gave the district $207 million for renovation and expansion purposes, something that many in the school, district, and state feel is a necessity.

“I’m very excited-this is a big deal for many reasons,” said Mark Drummond, chancellor of the state community college system. “We’ve been on a starvation diet for the past 30 years in regards to building projects. Now it’s win, win, win, this is definitely a big win.”

“We all worked very hard for measure C…our facilities were outdated and crumbling,” said Karen Schwarz, member of the San Mateo County Community College’s (SMCCCD) board of trustees during her speech at the ceremony. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the community. They heard about our difficulties-they came and helped us…and I can’t commend the students enough for collaborating to have a new student building.”

The students-a point that every speaker and official at the event made-were ultimately the bottom line in the plans for new facilities. According to Ron Galatolo, chancellor of the SMCCCD, during meetings in building 5 he could look across the quad and see, “students on cold mornings huddled together.” Noting this, he realized that a student service center was needed.

“There really was no place for students to go and meet and spend quality time with fellow students,” Galatolo said. Galatolo also spoke of the student initiative that spearheaded the new service center, which increased student fees but was not enough to cover the total cost of the building. Luckily, measure C covered the difference.

“I had said to the students, ‘You may not have enough money to cover the cost, but I’m going to support this bond,'” Galatolo said. “As for the science annex, that’s a different spin. The building is so dated and is in such disrepair that it would be a better use to build new facilities rather than to try to retrofit and renovate [the older facilities].”

The new science annex will contain state-of-the-art labs for biology majors, the highlight of which will be a microbiology lab, and in the new student service center there will be a cyber café as well as a study room and a game room, featuring pool tables and other amenities.

“It will definitely be a dry area from those moist days we have on campus,” said Ilka Barcala, president of the Associated Students of Skyline College (ASSC). “It will be really beneficial to the students.”

Though it seemed like a relatively small undertaking, many people attended the event including former Skyline College presidents, assembly men and their representatives, and former ASSC members, including Hien Kieu, who traveled from UC Davis to attend the ceremony.

“I’m very excited and honored to be part of such a wonderful event,” Kieu said. “I think it’s really great.”