Many students and alumni of the University of Maryland, College Park might be shocked to know that the institution was founded as an agricultural school, not a parking lot.
Its stated goal to research farming techniques was perfectly suited to the rolling landscape of the former plantation. Today, the only identifiable remnant of the 1856 Maryland Agricultural College's mission is the small barn nestled between a high-rise dormitory and a sea of asphalt.
So after reading that one of the few green areas on the north end of campus would be paved over, I was dismayed. A patch of woods near the Comcast Center is slated to be paved over to make way for maintenance sheds and bus and truck parking, which are being relocated from behind Fraternity Row for the construction of new high-rise student housing.
Nine acres of woodland may seem like a small thing to get excited about on a 1,250-acre campus, but that space provides a place for professors to teach and a place for life to flourish. Anyone who's attended a Terrapin football or basketball game can attest that the only other wildlife on that end of campus is the drunken hordes of tailgaters before, during and after games.
I lived on North Campus for two years as an underclassman, wondering when it was that the university had decided to invest in the beautiful mall, surrounded by the stately classroom buildings and large willow oaks, and yet abandon the other end of campus to miles of parking spaces.
I remember finally getting a parking permit as a junior and being forced to schlepp my groceries from the Comcast Center, past the mall, to my apartment in Kent Hall. The 20-minute walk afforded brilliant vistas of concrete and pavement, with an occassional blue-light camera to accompany me, but only a few patches of grass and trees.
The university says it is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and it strives to be the greenest campus in the country. And yet, when I visit, I invariably see new construction, not new gardens.
Of course, the students need a home, as does the fleet of shuttle buses. And theoretically those buses encourage more people to use public transportation instead of driving into campus and increasing the need for parking spaces. So someday, I'd like to visit my alma mater and discover a new parking garage surrounded by trees, walking trails and picnic tables where Lot 9 used to be.
I find it hard to believe that on the university's entire campus, there is no better 9-acre tract available to develop. The university should be committed to accomodating commuters, dormitories and a few green spaces for everyone to enjoy. The university should take advantage of the innovative thinkers it nurtures, bringing them together to develop a solution that benefits everyone.
