Both N. C. State students and outsiders have called the campus ugly, and it is a reputation that sticks despite campus-wide improvements. Campus Squeeze, a Web site specializing in college stories and entertainment, ranked the University the seventh ugliest college campus in the nation.
With the new wolf statues outside of the Free Expression Tunnel, there is an apparent effort to change the perception many have of the campus.
Taylor Johnson, a freshman in business management, said she thinks that the campus is not very attractive.
“There is always construction everywhere and the entire campus is made of brick. There is one area that’s pretty, the Carolina Court,” Johnson said.
Thomas J. Skolnicki, a member of the University Landscape Architects, said he does not think our campus deserves to have that negative reputation and questions the people who are putting it down.
“I wonder if people have the right framework to compare our campus to others,” Skolnicki said. “I go to other campuses and I see things that are great, and things that are not great.”
Kevin Tighe, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said because the students see campus everyday it gets tiring.
“I feel like people have the classic ‘grass is greener on the other side’ perspective,” Tighe said.
Skolnicki said out of the criticism came an update of the physical master plan of the University in 2007 that deals with beautification and aesthetics.
“They [visitors] do not see all of campus. A lot of people don’t see the Brickyard, the Court of Carolina, or the Honors Village,” Skolnicki said. “One thing everyone sees is the edges, Dan Allen Road, Western Boulevard, and Hillsborough Street. [The master plan] addresses the edges so that they show the beauty of all the campus.”
Sarah Spitzfaden, a senior in biological sciences, said she thinks whatever they build next should not be brick.
“Stop with the brick. There is one building that is beautiful next the to library, Patterson, because it is the only one that is not brick,” Spitzfaden said.
There are many large projects planned for the future, such as the renovations of Talley Student Center, the Achievement Drive gateway, and new ways to get around campus, Skolnicki said. There are also many smaller projects in work to improve every space available. “We planted on the south side of Thomas Hall, we added a brick-wall slope in Williams, planting on Pullen Road near Clark Hall to refresh that area, lots of small things like that.”
Johnson said, “I would remodel most of the inside of the buildings.” Spitzfaden said, “Update Harrelson, because it looks like it’s going to fall to the ground.”
Many students do not want to pay any more money than they already do, however Skolnicki said the money is not coming from the students.
“The money is from appropriated funds that the campus receives from the state legislator,” Skolnicki said. “We look forward to making campus better and better. We hope the perspective changes soon.”
“I think that they are trying to make improvements, but I think that the campus could be updated,” Spitzfaden said.
“Right now it is kind of ugly because of construction, other than that I don’t think there is anything wrong with it,” Tighe said.
“I am excited about what we do on campus. We are working hard to do it,” Skolnicki said.
