Photo by James Steinbauer, Editorial Editor
Maddie's Matters
By Maddie Laplante-Dube, For The Miami Student
Since I moved off Western Campus my freshman year, I've felt an impending sense of doom as to its fate. My first college home, Mary Lyon, is one of the smallest dorms on campus, with beautiful double windows and old, polished hardwood floors. Living there made me feel like I was a part of something important, part of the long line of women who had walked its floors while they attended Western College before it closed in 1974.
I thought the worst thing Miami could do to Western is overshadow Mary Lyon with the looming, mismatched-stoned dorms that just opened this year. I was wrong. The scheduled destruction of Patterson Place is the worst thing that Miami could do to Western, and itself as a whole.
When I read Elizabeth Greve's article on the slated razing of the museum that welcomes students onto Western in favor of a dorm that would house 300 more beds, my heart dropped. Western's little skyline has been continually altered throughout my time here as a student, and it's been somewhat exciting to see the little improvements and alterations that Miami's long term plans are making on campus.
Sure, the grounds surrounding the new Western dorms are good-looking. But I am so disappointed in the decision to take down Patterson Place as a way to meet the needs of this ever expanding business disguised as a university.
Vice President for Finance and Business Services David Creamer (as quoted in Greve's article) said that Patterson Place's "preservation is a cost students end up bearing and we need to measure what students can afford now and in the future."
I wonder if this careful consideration of what students can afford was taken when the university charged $100 per semester from each student to fund Armstrong.
I wonder if this careful consideration of what students can afford was taken when it was deemed necessary to charge students $100 extra for each credit hour they took in Farmer's School of Business.
I wonder if this careful consideration of what students can afford was taken when the decision to charge freshmen living in the newly-renovated Anderson $300 on top of room and board was made. (The building has since had multiple issues, including one incident that flooded the basement with the residents' own sewage.)
Students already cannot afford college. They cannot afford books, they cannot afford housing, and they cannot afford the credits they take. Even more so, they cannot afford to be a scapegoat for the administration.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Miami University is the most expensive public school in Ohio, and according to the U.S. Department of Education's College Affordability and Transparency Center, it is the No. 1 Public University in the United States (four year or above) with the highest net prices by a margin of $2,000 dollars. Even with scholarships granted, affordability for the students is so clearly put on the back burner that Creamer's statement is almost entirely moot.
The destruction of the historical Patterson Place cannot be put entirely on the students. This demolition project is less about affordability (renovating the museum would cost $500,000, whereas building a new dorm would cost $27 million) and more about relevancy. Instead of remaining relatively selective, Miami has chosen to hand out beds to an even bigger incoming freshman class.
I love my school. I love my experiences here. I love Western. But I am increasingly disappointed with the way Miami chooses to spend its money and treat its students, whether it be by closing off its regional campuses or by using a feigned concern for what the students can afford as an excuse to tear down something historical.
The slated destruction is an aggressive symbol of the university's priorities to its own roots, of its egocentric ideas of improvement, and of its inherent need to stick to a renovation plan over all else.
Read More
Not my Miami
By Frankie McKnight | 15 hours agoContributing writer Frankie McKnight examines what "my Miami" means after an alumnus claims Miami is no longer what they knew.
Why out-of-state students should refrain from voting in local and state elections
By Harry Hittle | YesterdayShould out-of-state students vote in local and state elections? Contrinuting writer Harry Hittle examines the moral dilemnas that come with this decision.
Not getting a job straight out of college is OK, and can be encouraged
By Molly Francis | 3 days agoOpinion writer Molly Francis urges college students to consider how a gap year may be more beneficial than getting a job right after graduation.