The hill by East Quad is being renovated to provide students with a safer and more accessible route to classes from the area, East Quad Senator Tamar Ariel '10 said. The project is scheduled to be completed by April 1, according to Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins.

The renovation will elongate the hill and put in a new railing that is more secure than the original one, Ariel said. The middle of the hill will be filled with gravel to provide better traction against rain, ice and snow, according to Class of 2010 Senator Jenna Brofsky.

The original railings would fall down under the weight of snow in the winter. "Students constantly complain that they fall and slip," Ariel said.

"This is something that has been brought up for years. It's something that anyone who runs for Student Union puts in their campaign," Brofsky said.

Brofsky and Ariel said they went from door to door in East Quad in the beginning of the year to gather students' opinions on the state of the hill. "Students have always been supportive of getting work done," Ariel said. After Brofsky and Ariel's campaigning efforts, the idea was raised at a meeting of the Campus Operation Work Group, an organization of students who meet monthly with Collins. "We were able to prove to Mark Collins that this was a priority, and he was receptive," Brofsky said.

Once the project was put on the Campus Operation Work Group agenda, the group began to think about different options. "We wanted to make it safe and also relatively easy to maintain," Collins said. Collins worked over the summer and with the group, the current construction plan was formed. The exact price of the renovation is unknown at this point. "You can't put a price on safety," Collins said.

"The biggest effect will take place next year" since the winter season is all but over, Ariel said.