Sam Caravana is a sophomore from Granville, OH
CHRISTA SCHRODEL / THE DEPAUW
College campuses revolve around aesthetics, and DePauw University is no exception to this rule with its administrators pushing for many updates and additions on campus. The most recent updates are the Welch Fitness Center, Reavis Stadium and the facelift of Anderson Street.
In 2012, Anderson Street was transformed from a dreary one-way road leading away from the university to a grand entrance that funnels visitors toward the center of campus. The update included expanding the road to two lanes, renovating the sidewalks, building a gateway and installing lightposts on both sides of the street. If that wasn’t enough, DePauw with the help of a donor, renovated three historic homes located on the street as well. Despite the vast amount of work and money invested into the Anderson Street renovation, there remains a blemish.
The sole imperfection on Anderson Street is not the two fraternity houses located on the stretch as many would suspect, but instead is a building built and maintained by DePauw. Anderson Street Hall is located on the east end of the street and is the last building on the north side of the road before one enters the center of campus. The building, which houses both upperclassmen as well as the Office of Campus living, is undeniably hideous.
With its box-like architecture and stucco facade, the dual-purpose building clashes with the many historic looking structures that line the street. While the building’s design is poor, it's in even worse condition. On its westernmost side, the building is in disrepair. Pieces of the siding have cracked and fallen while its gray stucco surface is riddled with stains.
While the obvious solution to the issue is to simply tear down the eyesore, this expensive action is unnecessary. Instead, the university can afford the preservation of its perfect entrance by simply equipping the building with a brick facade.This low-cost renovation will allow the building to blend into the campus and fade from sight, instead of attracting attention to itself and its pitfalls.
While DePauw administrators may not want to admit it, they have failed to realize the the perfect entrance that they set out to create. Despite this initial failure, perfection is not out of reach. To cover up the blemish that is Andersoon Street Hall, all that is needed is some brick and mortar.