Northwestern University recently announced plans to renovate areas of campus in order to make campus more “pedestrian friendly.” One way in which the University hopes to do this is by landscaping and increasing the amount of green space on campus. However, shouldn’t the University be focusing on a way to make its campus more “student friendly?” The University plans to build a new mid-campus green field as part of their project to create a more pedestrian friendly campus, but this space is not necessary and the money and time used for its construction would be more helpful if used elsewhere.
The University noted on March 26 that tuition for the year of 2012-13 would increase 4.3 percent and that part of the money from the increase would go to “improvements and maintenance of the University’s facilities and information technology systems.” Does this new mid-campus green space, which will be replacing two parking lots, fall under the category of maintaining and improving facilities?
I’m sure some people are thrilled about this new lawn, and when I first glanced at the email, I thought it was a great idea too. Then I started thinking about when the green space would be used and if it would be important to the majority of students at Northwestern. I started thinking about all of the other spaces we have on campus and how much they are utilized. We have the Lakefill, Deering Meadow, Long Field up north and Garrett Field near Ford. I think that these green spaces really add to the beauty of campus, but it's ridiculous to think that more are really necessary.
Most of the year it is too cold to be hanging out outside, and it is very unlikely that a lot of Northwestern students have the time to be throwing around a Frisbee. The idea of beautifying the campus and making it more pedestrian friendly is important, but the University should focus on other improvements to campus, like renovating classrooms and dorms, for example, rather than landscaping the campus. The numerous fields that go untouched should be evidence enough that the green spaces are not utilized. Instead of building new green spaces, the University should find ways to encourage more usage of the ones that are already built.
The renovation of Allison Hall last summer is an ideal example of a useful renovation. The refurbished dorm provided over 400 students with beautiful furniture, new bathrooms and tons of space. Students refer to the dorm as “Hotel Allison,” calling attention to the beautiful building and their envy of people who live there. Many students who live in dorms like Sargent or the Mid-Quads, which haven’t seen renovations in decades, would appreciate if their buildings were renovated so that the rest of the student body could live in such beautiful conditions. Northwestern has improved certain aspects of campus, like their 2009-10 remodeling and remodernizization of Harris Hall. This type of construction is ideal for the entire Northwestern community because a large amount of the student body is able to benefit from big classrooms and comfortable seats in the new beautiful building. Renovation of a building or a dorm is more expensive than landscaping, but every bit of money can add to a larger, more needed project.
Another aspect of this new green space that I found troublesome was that in order to build it, parking lots are being torn down. I agree that it is visually nicer to have green space than to have a parking lot, but the students actually need the parking lot. The Northwestern News Center’s article on the new green space indicated that the University’s plan “calls for the creation of additional green space in the center of campus and pushing parking to the edges of campus.”
Parking on campus is so scarce that only upperclassmen and people who live a certain distance away are allowed to have parking passes. It is important that the University provides places for students and faculty to park their cars, and it is definitely more important than providing a space for kids to toss around a football. The parking problem is an issue that people try to avoid, but the issue is serious. If the university insists upon taking away and building over parking areas, they should find a way to make sure students and faculty still have a place to park.
The University is thinking in the right way in trying to improve its campus, but the University is not being practical as to what the students really need. The University should take time and more input from students on how to better improve their daily lives rather than increasing the tuition of the students that go here in order to appeal to outsiders.