This campus is beautiful. I mean that – even with all of the ongoing construction. There are sections, like the Staller Steps, or the fountain near the Administration building that just bring a sense of relaxation to anyone around to enjoy them.
However, that beauty is quickly coming to an end. Soon, one of the more peaceful and open sections of campus will be replaced by a four-to-five story dormitory and cafeteria that will make one of the few remaining open areas on campus cramped.
Expected to be completed by 2014, the new complex will include two new dormitories and a new cafeteria. Also included in the plans are the closure of the Student Union following the completion of this project.
Most college campuses, especially in the Northeast, show their heritage through the aged buildings on campus. The old brick and mortar buildings stand as a testament to all that the university has accomplished. Some of these buildings date back to the 1700s in the case of the Ivy League. Shouldn’t the older structures be the ones that are most worth preserving?
We’re a young university when compared to others in our area, we’ve just passed the half-century mark. How would it feel to one day bring your children back to this campus, say 20 years from now, and not be able to recognize most of the buildings? It would feel probably as if you had lost a part of your personal history.
Not only will the building of these new dormitories further decrease the open space on campus, but they would also become an eyesore on the skyline. Sitting outside on the patio of the Wang Center, it’s nice to look out and see blue sky and trees. Imagine looking at that same skyline a few years from now, and seeing dormitories instead of that once wide open sky.
It’s sort of ironic in a way. By adding new buildings, we’re actually beginning to destroy the heritage of our own university.
This isn’t to say that modernizing the campus’ structures is inherently bad. It’s important. Even the oldest universities have constructed new buildings in recent years. They’re easier to maintain and some people enjoy walking into a modern building the first time they visit a campus.
There just simply is no need to attempt to condense the entire campus into one very small section of an enormous plot of land. If we really wish to expand our campus, why not venture into areas that aren’t being used? Sure, that would involve removing portions of the larger wooded areas on campus, but it’d be better to have some breathing room.
Stony Brook has accomplished a lot in its short life, and we will continue to do great things in decades to come. Let’s just be sure that the Stony Brook we know now, will be the same decades from now.
Nick Batson
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As an alumni I have to disagree wholly with the authors intention here. The space the new building looks to occupy is effectively wasted space, most of which is either wooded area, parking lot, or the so called “dragon walk.” Currently the patio of the Wang Center overlooks the grey barrier wall the encapsulates the pond, and I don’t imagine this will impact the skyline all that much regardless.
Truthfully, SBU architecture can use the facelift. and Im proud to see my Alma mater developing into a nationally recognized campus. Until they are tearing down the SAC, the HSC, the Wong Center, or any of the other more iconic buildings, I dont believe this is an issue. The student union, just like many of the other buildings of that generation are generic pieces of construction reflected throughout the SUNY system and do not contribute much to the image of SBU, no where near as significantly as some of the dorms (tabler, roth, and kelly) or the above mentioned buildings.
I completely disagree with this entire article. We are an expanding campus, and it will be great to see new dorm buildings given the apparent shortage. The Union should have been replaced years ago; it is old, unkept, not up to code, and is overall extremely ugly. I’m glad to see some new, modern buildings like the Simons Center and this new addition. Our school has no architectural heritage or specific design with its buildings, so I can’t imagine that this would really make SB uglier. It’s better to renovate, replace old buildings, and take advantage of unused open space rather than cut down forestry. I will admit the location is somewhat odd, but it’s good we’re taking advantage of the unused space by the Wang Center rather than areas around Roth Quad. Stony Brook is growing, and may not even be part of the SUNY system for long, so it’s important for us to expand and modernize our campus.
As an aside to the author and people at the Press: I don’t mean to offend, but your prose and grammar seem very weak for a college newspaper. I know the press typically isn’t exactly written at a journalistic level, but the editors here really need to get their act together, especially with the print issues. It’s embarrassing that our school has MULTIPLE newspapers and not one of them looks like a final draft. We need one single newspaper with people who can write at a college level.