Traditions Matter
So my alma mater, the college formerly known as Western Maryland College, has received a gift from local developer, Health Club magnate and WMC alum, to build a new fitness center on the school's campus. Which is wonderful. It is great to see that a successful alumnus feels compelled to give something back. However, there is one major problem with the building.
By looking at the drawings, it is going to be ugly.
Now, anybody who goes to a large campus probably has lots of buildings on campus built in the last 40 years or so. The buildings were not exactly designed to put forth a feeling of education and scholarship. UMBC may be a good school, but most of the buildings are drab and institutional looking.
Western Maryland was not like that. It was one of the more aesthetically pleasing campuses that you will find. Old, brick buildings, lots of lush trees, green grass. When I was there, even most of the newer buildings, particularly Hoover Library, were built in such a manner as to fit in with the aesthetic brick charm of the campus. Only the square, 1970's-esque Decker Center looked out of place, both inside and out.
The new Merritt Fitness Center, however, looks like a giant steel and glass spaceship will be landing on campus.
Unfortunately, this has become a trend with my alma mater. Back when the college made the name change back in 2002, I was at the forefront of those opposing the name change, as founder and chairman of the Coalition to Save Western Maryland College. Myself and many others argued at the time that the name change would hurt the school. The College already had high name recognition, particularly among government leaders in Annapolis, and changing the name could lead to lower name ID. Most importantly, however, was the fear that alumni at the school at the time and recent alumni who had just graduated would never give to the college.
The point was this; the name was part of what the school was. There was no good reason to change the name, particularly when nobody could provide a reasonable argument as to why the name should be changed in the first place. That fact probably explains why school leadership chose to announce the name change first, and tried to shut down.
Now, I don't hold any animus towards Joan Coley, any of the faculty administration who were out in front pushing the name change; only one member of the administration was rude and condescending to opponents of the change, and I will not print his name here. But the fact of the name, the fact that the name was part of the history of the college through the financial support of the Western Maryland Railroad that founded the college, the tradition of the school was not important.
This building I'm sure solves an important purpose, and it is a great addition to the campus (though I have no idea where they plan on building it; it will probably take out another parking lot, which is problematic for a campus already short on spaces). But the building is ugly and does not aesthetically mesh with the rest of campus. Aesthetics, for a 139 year old campus, matter. Traditions, for a 139-year old institution, matter.
And that is why, despite the fact that fundraisers for the college have called my house 20+ times in the last two weeks, that I don't answer that call. Just like many other recent WMC alums.
By looking at the drawings, it is going to be ugly.
Now, anybody who goes to a large campus probably has lots of buildings on campus built in the last 40 years or so. The buildings were not exactly designed to put forth a feeling of education and scholarship. UMBC may be a good school, but most of the buildings are drab and institutional looking.
Western Maryland was not like that. It was one of the more aesthetically pleasing campuses that you will find. Old, brick buildings, lots of lush trees, green grass. When I was there, even most of the newer buildings, particularly Hoover Library, were built in such a manner as to fit in with the aesthetic brick charm of the campus. Only the square, 1970's-esque Decker Center looked out of place, both inside and out.
The new Merritt Fitness Center, however, looks like a giant steel and glass spaceship will be landing on campus.
Unfortunately, this has become a trend with my alma mater. Back when the college made the name change back in 2002, I was at the forefront of those opposing the name change, as founder and chairman of the Coalition to Save Western Maryland College. Myself and many others argued at the time that the name change would hurt the school. The College already had high name recognition, particularly among government leaders in Annapolis, and changing the name could lead to lower name ID. Most importantly, however, was the fear that alumni at the school at the time and recent alumni who had just graduated would never give to the college.
The point was this; the name was part of what the school was. There was no good reason to change the name, particularly when nobody could provide a reasonable argument as to why the name should be changed in the first place. That fact probably explains why school leadership chose to announce the name change first, and tried to shut down.
Now, I don't hold any animus towards Joan Coley, any of the faculty administration who were out in front pushing the name change; only one member of the administration was rude and condescending to opponents of the change, and I will not print his name here. But the fact of the name, the fact that the name was part of the history of the college through the financial support of the Western Maryland Railroad that founded the college, the tradition of the school was not important.
This building I'm sure solves an important purpose, and it is a great addition to the campus (though I have no idea where they plan on building it; it will probably take out another parking lot, which is problematic for a campus already short on spaces). But the building is ugly and does not aesthetically mesh with the rest of campus. Aesthetics, for a 139 year old campus, matter. Traditions, for a 139-year old institution, matter.
And that is why, despite the fact that fundraisers for the college have called my house 20+ times in the last two weeks, that I don't answer that call. Just like many other recent WMC alums.
posted by Brian Griffiths at 5:24 AM
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