How’s about just Ackley Hall?
BY RONNIE BLACK
Some parts of this campus have an identity crisis. Every building, structure or patio seems to be named after someone. This spring, the school will be dedicating the space in Ackley Theatre as the Clara Hitchcock Fitzpatrick Jones ’09 Concert Hall. What? Ackley is already referred to as a hall, a theatre, and a chapel. What else could possibly fit into it? Apparently a concert hall. I would never want to make fun of an alumni, but also the fact that this woman has several last names makes this title a mouth-full. In addition, the fact that she graduated a hundred years ago makes the ’09 portion very confusing.
However, this is not the worst offender. Take the address of the college. Is that 3 College Circle, 1 Brennan Circle or the Ames Circle, because I think we should really make up our minds before naming it again.
Likewise, we name things that seem minor. For example, the Withey patio is actually dedicated to Thomas L. Benson, who was a former president of the college.
It seems like we are running out of things to name. The Gorge and the skate park could also use some affiliation. North is the only dormitory not associated with a “big wig,” which is why it keeps its namesake derived from a compass heading.
Let me see, am I forgetting anything…
Oh, yes! There is even the Leydic Memorial Ropes Course. If you are new to GMC, I encourage you to go see this monstrosity of wood and steel cables. It is as if God himself told someone to build something grand and left out the blueprints. The point is we even memorialized the rope course with a name.
Also, there is the Surdam Library. I mean that’s what it originally was. Now it’s the Surdam Art Building. There is also that Frankenstein’s monster of a building Ames/Terrace. One building, two names, two sections – class rooms and dorm rooms – fighting academic ignorance side by side. I think the idea was if they attached an academic building and professors’ offices to the side of a dormitory, students couldn’t miss class, because they already live there.
Also, the name of the Bozen Wellness Center was greatly debated because it will be converted into a residence hall for students that have high academic achievements. Eventually, everyone decided that a name change was unnecessary. For years to come, we will hear students say, “Yeah, I went to a wicked raging party in Bozen last night.” According to the administration, having a dorm so close to the library means that it will encourage its residents to study more. I have something to say about this – eighteen- and nineteen-year-old boys and girls are interested in far different things when they get to college and realize that mommy and daddy are no longer looking over their shoulders. You can lead young adults to the library, but you can’t make them study.
But, I digress.
The main issue at hand here is some of the infrastructure on campus has too many names. So, whether you go to Ackley Theatre or the Clara Hitchcock Fitzpatrick Jones ’09 Concert Hall to see a choir concert, I hope you enjoy yourself. I understand that the names are important figures who either donated money or made a large impact on the school while they were here, but I think now we are just getting out of hand with it. Maybe the professionals over in Pollock and Richardson should think about a name before it is randomly assigned to a building or part of a building. Or, are they in Williams and Bentley? Well, you get the picture.
Short URL: http://www.themountaineer.org/?p=486
Posted by Ronnie Black
on Apr 8, 2009 Filed under First-Person.
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