Concrete destroys campus beauty
Letter to the Editor
When I was a kid visiting this campus, soaking up the Saturday morning football atmosphere and the cool fall air, there was always one particular memory of Notre Dame that stood out. The campus, full of large oak trees, famous buildings, and expansive greenery always made an impression in my head. The beauty of this campus alone could have sold me on coming here. Ever since I arrived here, it seems as though the campus is transforming from its former into a concrete jungle.
Everywhere I turn, in any direction, there is a concrete path to guide me. The concrete sidewalks have swallowed up almost all of the lawn on North and South quad. Right in front of my dorm, they decided to connect two roads with an adjoining road right through the middle of the West Quad. Did they consider tearing up some of the old sidewalks that lay there before? NO, they simply connected all of the former paths with the new road! Now the West Quad looks more like the west side of Los Angeles, bare of any grass or trees. The campus looks very grey and depressing, seemingly to reflect the moods of a lot of students. Ever since a Dutch Elm disease hit the South Quad, wiping out a number of the large trees that once created a green canopy in the spring, South Quad now resembles a bleak Chicago alley. It's a shame too, because we are definitely not lacking any beautiful buildings in that area either.
What needs to be done on campus is to end of all utilitarian improvements to the campus. What I mean is that they need to stop placing sidewalks were they are unnecessary. First of all, every diagonal and shortcut sidewalk should be eliminated. If our buildings were spaced out miles apart I could see the point in having them, but everything is relatively close enough where could have at least 40 percent less sidewalks. Besides, if people feel that the extra 20 seconds they save is worth it by cutting through on the lawn or using one of the unnecessary sidewalks, then they should invest more time in leaving earlier for their classes. I can't understand how anyone could argue with me. There is no doubt that there is an excess of sidewalks. If you consider the Debartolo/Business school quad, you would have to agree that there is definitely a lack of warmth and comfort. Besides the fact there aren't any large trees, there is again an abundance of sidewalks. I am sure that if we eliminated all of the extra concrete on campus, and convince the student body to stay off the grass for the most part, then they would comply. It seems everyone takes pride in our campus; all we need to do is bring it to everyone's attention that we are corrupting its former beauty by depriving it of its natural beauties. Other schools that have large lawns have not given in to utilitarian pathways (Duke, UVA, Dartmouth), and neither should we.
Notre Dame thrives off its campus beauty; we should do everything in our power to keep it intact. Get rid of the sidewalks, and throw a few large trees in where necessary. If Father Sorin envisioned a concrete jungle for our campus, he would have settled 90 miles west in Chicago.
Albert Gembara
Keough Hall
March 22, 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, March 24, 2000
