Reasons for Optimism Amid Campus Changes

Having been a student as construction for these projects began, I am eager to see them finally come to fruition. I sympathize with community members who are critical of changes; watching many spaces that were essential aspects of my first two years be blocked off and demolished was dismal, to the say the least. But I can’t agree with the sentiment that campus is somehow irreparably marred by these changes.

For one, judgments at this moment seem based on an external perspective, removed from the experience of navigating, working, and living in these spaces. From a similar aerial view, Dillon Gym and Little Hall (with all their Gothic charms) form a vast divide between campus areas. But for the seasoned community member, their hallways and arches give safe passage, and with time become part of a natural flow.

I am optimistic at the potential of these new spaces. Even ignoring the benefits that more modern facilities lend to the University’s goals in accessibility, sustainability, and research, these are places where people will learn, grow, collaborate, and change, forming the intangible yet unshakable attachments which serve as the foundation of the lifelong interest in and dedication to the Princeton community.

So I say: Give people time to break them in. And when you next return to campus, give yourself a chance to get lost and explore them, just like when you arrived for your first year. It’s a rare magic that I can’t wait to try again.