I debated writing this column because frankly, it’s petty and shallow but damn it, I can’t be the only one bothered by this.
I want to talk about the travesty that is navigating Ferris’ campus.
Am I referring to the insane daily traffic and complete lack of parking? The seemingly suicidal pedestrians that throw themselves in the path of two-ton vehicles? No. I am talking about the absurd layout of north campus.
During freshman year, I didn’t drive around campus much. I lived in a residence hall, so why would I? So many times, I took for granted that beautiful little road formerly known as North Campus Drive.
I say formerly because it’s deceased; it was murdered by a lack of common sense and the poor planning of “The Man.”
Now most of you kids don’t know what I’m talking about but picture this: you could drive east past the Science Building. You don’t have to drive all the fucking way around to Warren, and then Oak and then Ives just to get back to civilization. You could just go straight past the Automotive Building to Ives.
THERE WAS EVEN MORE COMMUTER PARKING ALONG THE SIDES OF THE ROAD.
But why, how, would such a perfectly convenient stretch of road be destroyed? The answer is simple: North Hall.
I’ve bitten my tongue until now, not expressing how much I dislike this eyesore of a building, built to appease freshmen and their parents. But I’ll be damned if that isn’t the reason that hundreds of students have to drive in circles every day just to get to and from classes.
To add insult to injury, if you look at the new campus map (above), there is maybe a 30-foot stretch of grass and sidewalk between the North Hall resident lot and the connecting road to Ives near the Automotive Building. 30. Feet.
Or Christ, even connecting that lot to the University Center parking lot would be a massive improvement, which, allow me to point out, is an even smaller gap.
But no, that would be too easy. Too beneficial to the students that pay thousands of dollars into a deeply flawed institution every year.
So here I sit, a plea in my heart, stripped of commuter parking, convenience and sanity. Waiting for the day that the administrators come to their senses and fix that which they have so badly broken.
Catch up on last week’s Chat with the Chief by clicking here.