Flipper wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 10:33 am
The demolition of the Space Muffin (Student Services was the technical name IIRC) was a tough one. Spent a ton of time on the couches there studying...thy had pretty good vending machines too
"Space Muffin" - LMAO! I was in there but not too much. Wasn't the bookstore in the bottom of it at one time? I seem to remember buying a hoodie and some books there at some point. When I did campus tours one summer, I had a meeting in one of the offices upstairs, but don't remember that area all that well.
For me personally, I hated seeing the Greek houses go on the west side of campus because of what they did with that area by making it yet another frickin' parking lot. As if BG doesn't have enough surface lots, they go and add yet another one, and this one in the inner campus corner. I don't mind the commuter lots because they're on the outside of the core, but I hate all the surface lots on the inner campus, especially the large one between the library and Anderson Arena. All those surface lots really detract from the appearance of campus. At some point I wish BG would go with the new-look parking garages you see everywhere nowadays. Yes, they're more expensive to build than a surface lot, but the new designs you see popping up on other campuses have really nice facades that make it hard to even tell that they are a garage, they almost appear to be an academic building. They also put retail (like food options) on the ground level and they really tie into the campus fabric instead of sticking out like a sore thumb with also being an eyesore.
I do however like what they did with the campus gateway project by removing the admin building. That has really improved the look of that part of campus, and especially will when the trees grow there. I had a lot of classes in West Hall that made me miss that building going too, but it does look better. And thank God they tore down the Family & Consumer Science building, that thing was hideous. That was quite possibly the ugliest looking building on campus in the school's history. I kind of miss the old union but the current one is better. The Greek area on the south side is an improvement. I thought Prout Hall was a cool location but I never lived in it. I thought Harshman was rather unappealing (so is Kreischer) but that area is so bare now. It's like the front door for the inner campus and now looks, well, empty and open. I'd really LOVE to see them do something similar to the gateway project there as well. That would be a fantastic look! But I dread at even the thought of them making it into another damn parking lot.
All in all, I'd have to say the look of the campus has slightly improved since I was in school there. Some things I like better, some I do not. But that said, it still has room for a lot of improvement. I've been saying it for years and years, and I can't stress enough the importance of what the appearance of the school means to prospective students. It's what they see when they step foot on campus and the look and feel is a big part of what they take with them during their visit and after. This is where BG continues to get rolled over by some of its peer in-state competitors. Yes, obviously the housing, academics buildings and facilities must be up to par - no doubt. I actually think many of them are at BG. But where BG continues to lag is the campus appeal. I live near a very affluent area in Ohio and I know a guidance counselor at an affluent and influential school in that city, and she tells me the same thing year after year after year - that kids just aren't looking at BG whatsoever. Many of them won't even visit because of what they've heard about it (a lot of it revolving around its appearance, especially compared to other schools they're looking at) and many of the ones who do actually visit return not liking the appearance compared to the other schools they're also visiting (like Ohio and Miami). People can downplay the appearance issue all they want, but I'm telling you, it matters. It matters a lot to the 18-22 year old demographic. I once had a friend tell me that if you equated dating to choosing a school, BG would be that girl who had a "great personality." We all know what that implies. I've been to over 250 colleges and universities and I can say without hesitation that BG lags not just compared to its in-state peers, but nationally. It needs to continue to improve if its ever wants to not only reverse that trend, but if it also ever hopes to attract some of the students that are pushing it aside and choosing its peers instead.
After all that said, it really bothers me the way I hear BG portrayed. But I do see and understand where much of the criticism comes from. Hence, my passionate post. As for Anderson Arena, I do hate to hear its going to be gone. But I do understand why it's happening.
