Why the university shouldn’t renovate unless needed

I don’t often talk about the buildings on campus. They’re there. They exist. We perform activities and hard work inside lots of buildings every day of the week. Despite this, we never actually give the buildings credit for being there. We acknowledge them in no way. Well, that’s about to change right now.

When you go to your next class, do me a favor. Kiss your hand and then touch the wall of the building or something. I just laughed out loud; you don’t actually have to do this, but you get what I’m saying. These buildings deserve credit. After all, they do prevent you from freezing to death in the sub-arctic conditions known as Fargo, North Dakota.

Many of the buildings were built prior to 1970, which is pretty insane. There’s so much history in these buildings that we rely on every day. The oldest building on campus is the “Old Main.” It was built and started operating in the summer of 1893 and still is to this day. It’s located between Dinan Hall and the Library. Old Main just looks like an older building. It almost seems like a castle of some sort, suggesting medieval times weren’t that long ago at the time Old Main was built. I hope they never redo anything in that building. That’s about as historic as it gets. Think about it. Old Main was built 21 years before the first World War even started. The fact that it’s still here is crazy as it is. Who knows, maybe some director will want to use that building as an insane asylum one day and the university will be swimming in cash? Maybe then we can pay for more parking spaces at the Wellness Center so everyone can park there.

Ladd Hall is also a really old building. Located across from the Memorial Union, it was built in 1910. Wow, another building built before the first World War. It was built because the first chemistry building was destroyed by an explosion and subsequent fire. (How could there even be a fire in North Dakota? You would think the wind would take care of it). Thus, the everlasting Ladd Hall was created. Just by looking at it, you can tell it’s old, but you wouldn’t think it’s over 100 years old based on the exterior. It’s in surprisingly good shape for being that old. I hope they keep Ladd the way it is for as long as possible. There is so much history to be kept and enjoyed within the building. Barring any setbacks that would require remodeling, it should be kept the same for more and more students to experience.

I feel like remodeling can be a slight disadvantage. Klai Hall, which was built in 2008, is a beautiful building made for students studying architecture. When I look at new buildings, it can make me feel overwhelmed in a way, whereas when I look at Ladd Hall, the expectations seems much less, so I feel an extra incentive to overachieve. It also costs a lot of money to remodel a building.

We’ve recently been spoiled with renovations. The Wallman Wellness Center added an aquatic addition in 2016, not to mention it looks like a mini Life Time Fitness as it is. There are also high-rise residence halls being built right next to Seim Hall, and I’m pretty sure the dining centers were recently renovated as well. The library also looks great. Bottom line, don’t throw money into renovations when there are sidewalks and streets that need to be heated.

Please, North Dakota State. Don’t take these buildings down unless a fire burns it down or something. There is so much history with these buildings, history that won’t be made up for hundreds of years if they were torn down. It’s only a matter of time before the cruel and everlasting wind blows them down, so just give them a chance.