Timeless feel of campus endures despite change

Walking across campus takes Keith King back in time.

King, a UNC alumnus who taught a journalism course last spring, says despite all the cranes and construction, he feels like a student again.

“It’s like I stepped back 25 years,” says King, who graduated from UNC in 1982. “It was interesting. The trees were there. The buildings were there. People were lying on the grass.”

Nostalgia is just one of the emotions alumni feel as they walk across a campus that is now filled with “Do Not Enter” signs, fences and torn-up sidewalks.

With the progression of the Master Plan — a blueprint for campus growth that includes new buildings, increased green space and thinned traffic — conversation lingers among students and alumni about whether UNC can maintain its identity as it moves forward.

Frank Brown, a 1972 UNC graduate, says his daughter, sophomore Amy Leigh Brown, constantly complains about the construction. He says he constantly has to remind her that the change is for the better.

“If you’re going to expand and meet the need of kids today, someone is going to be inconvenienced,” he says. “You just have to learn to deal with it.”

Even with the revamping of campus, the architectural design hasn’t changed much from Brown’s days at UNC, he says.

“I don’t think they’ve torn any of my classroom buildings down,” he says, adding that most of the buildings — such as Carroll Hall — have only undergone interior renovations.

“Though the shell of the buildings may not be the best, they’re built to last.”

King, now editor of The Cary News, says he is glad the campus is undergoing a face-lift.

“You get through the construction,” says King, who was a student when the construction of Davis Library was underway. “It’s amazing to see all of the work that goes on.”

King says he believes even when the construction is complete, people will still have the same feeling about UNC as they did before.

Louise Spieler, who graduated from the University in 1982, says though the construction is difficult to live through at the moment for both faculty and students, it’s going to be great for the campus in the long term.

“It seems like the administration is trying to do a good job of maintaining the character of the school but at the same time making sure that we keep up-to-date with our buildings,” Spieler says.

For Spieler, who just started working as the assistant dean for distance education and executive education in the School of Journalism, the biggest changes on campus are the new additions of Davis Library and the George Watts Hill Alumni Center.

“It’s nice that they’ve been able to maintain the traditional look of the interior of the campus by adding the newer buildings on the outside,” she says.

For the fresh batch of students entering the University, who are more likely to benefit from the aftermath of the construction, the noise and roadblocks are a small price to pay.

Abby Keiper, a freshman psychology major from Greenville, said the construction doesn’t really annoy her.

One of the reasons Keiper says she chose to attend the University is because of the beauty and layout of campus.

“It was a good factor in choosing. I didn’t want to go to an ugly school,” she says.

Allison Nichols, a freshman from West Chester, Pa., agrees.

“(Construction) is very prominent,” she says. “But I’m sure that whatever they are doing will be worth it in the end.”

As he looked around the Pit at students passing, Frank Brown said though the campus is a different environment from when he attended the University, the spirit of UNC remains.

“UNC is a special place, no doubt about it. Even my daughters say that,” he says. “The campus gets more special the further you get removed from it. It’s a neat place to be.”

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.