Friday, April 17, 2009

THIS PLACE MATTERS

Recently administration at UNCG has started to discuss the fate of the Quad located in the center of campus. Seven historic buildings are at the point where the decision must be made to build anew or renovate. For those of us who study Historic Preservation, there is no question that the option to renovate and save these historic buildings is the only way. Over the past 10 days, Chancellor Brady has held a Forum as well as an open Board of Trustees meeting. During the first meeting it was clear that preservationists were in the large majority. The second meeting however was stacked with undergraduates who work for Residence Life. (Now I wonder who asked them to come? Hmmm....) It was pretty obvious that they were asked to attend the meeting based on their complete ignorance to the issue at hand. Where were their concerns during the first meeting? No where - they could have cared less. If the decision is made to save the Quad, those who spoke out against it will likely only acknowledge the issue in passing because they were never truly invested in it to begin with. I don't yet know if the decision will be made to keep or demolish the Quad, but I hope that the Board of Trustees listened to what we had to say. 
In a high-tech world where our classes, friends, conversations and relationships can take place over the internet, we truly need our historic buildings to provide us with a tangible connection to our past. I can only hope that Chancellor Brady and the Board of Trustees understand the importance of the Quad in the built landscape of UNCG. It is in their hands now to either save history or destroy it. 

Below are some photos taken of a good number of us on the Quad (minus Sarah who was a huge part of this but unable to attend). The slogan "This Place Matters" is from the National Trust Campaign of the same name which has encouraged readers to take a photo of themselves in front of a historic building and declare to the world that "THIS PLACE MATTERS!"