View Counterpoint Article:
Vibrant Campus Needed
If someone asked me to list the qualities that describe me, before I'd go into descriptions of my appearance or religious beliefs, I'd proudly say, "I'm a Buffalonian."
And I'd mean it.
True, there's enough about our city that would make anyone want to leave. But there's also a fantastic reason for young people to stay. And it's called UB.
But I'm afraid that our school is about to make a huge mistake with its plans for building the Lee Road development. In going ahead with proposed plans for what will certainly be an impressive and beautiful new wing of the campus, the project could also be a potentially damaging option for revitalizing UB's North Campus and the metro Buffalo area.
While the project offers the ultimate in on-campus student life, the other side of my Buffalo-bred mind tells me that maybe putting all of these accoutrements right on campus might not be so great for the Western New Yorkers who live beyond the borders of Maple and Sweet Home Roads.
The project's presentation plans, which are available online, says in its mission statement that the new Lee Road should have "urban flavor."
Maybe UB should consider that it already has an urban flavor. It's called South Campus.
Why do people forget that we are only 10 miles from the deserted downtown that Buffalo has become? Development should be made in areas that are underdeveloped, like areas of our beautiful downtown.
What if there was an option for a trendy, modern apartment-style residence hall in the middle of downtown with regularly scheduled buses to both campuses? Retail and restaurants would blossom, movie theaters would return to downtown, and we'd all have a place to go on the weekends that was separate from school life.
Instead of building a conference center where the Commons now sits, how about encouraging the utilization of established buildings like the Jacobs Executive Development Center which occupies downtown's Butler Mansion?
What troubles me the most about so many UB students that I've crossed paths with is their utter lack of knowledge of the Buffalo and Western New York communities that border their lovely, man-made-lakeside North Campus. I can't tell you how many times I've given a student directions to a club or theater off-campus, and I had to tell them where Niagara Falls Boulevard was.
While presenting UB students of the future with what will essentially be a state-of-the-art residence village, I'm afraid they'll forget that there are other villages and neighborhoods dying to be shopped and lived in.
I worry about the day when students won't have to ask for directions to Niagara Falls Boulevard because there will be nothing there.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
