Jersek: Campus green spaces are becoming too much of a good thing

Although outdoor green spaces are enjoyed and appreciated by many Clemson students, they’re growing to be too much of a good thing at the expense of other opportunities. The creation of more green spaces might not be what the University needs right now — additional housing or entertainment could be more beneficial.

There are numerous open, green spaces for students to utilize, including Bowman Field, North Green, Porter Lawn, Trustee Park, President’s Park and the Upper and Lower Intramural Fields.

Regardless, construction is progressing on the Johnstone Hall and Student Union area in between Tillman Hall and Core Campus, where the University plans to use the cleared area as a large green space. As construction progresses, the area will be mostly covered in grass and will have two sand volleyball courts.

Once that area on the east side of Core Campus is completed, demolition will begin on the west side with the clearing of the Facilities Central Store and Shops Complex. That area will also be mostly covered with short grass and two sand volleyball courts.

These “multi-functional” green spaces, as the Clemson University Facilities website describes them, “will facilitate the placement of tents and booths with electrical hookups for student events. The areas will also be usable for parking related to high-capacity events.”

The Johnstone Hall and Student Union area specifically has already been used for parking and tailgating during the last two Clemson football games against LSU and Troy.

Parking and tailgating for less than half of the weekends during the entire year should not be prioritized over the student experience, especially this close to the heart of campus. If more parking for events like football games and concerts is what the University needs, it should be focused away from Core Campus.

One idea is to add two more buildings next to Holmes Hall and McCabe Hall, which would provide at least 500 more living spaces and decrease some stress on commuter parking. This would also take up less than half of the cleared space, leaving the rest to be recreational spaces or study spaces with proper seating.

Another possibility would be to add new restaurants that aren’t fast food chains, which would cater to people with allergies or specialty diets.

It would be nice to have at least some outdoor seating and study spaces, or introduce something unique to Clemson that could breathe new life into our historic campus.

Clemson’s campus is not at a loss for green space; it’s at a loss for housing, entertainment, food and character. These newly cleared spaces are a concerning amount of square footage for purposes that the University is not in desperate need of.

To find out more about ongoing, on-campus construction projects, please visit the Clemson University Facilities website: https://cufacilities.sites.clemson.edu/

Cole Jersek is a junior world cinema major from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Cole can be reached at [email protected].