‘Monstrosities’
change face of
Univ. of Penn
By Jonathan Cuba
■ The Daily Pennsylvanian
U. of Pennsylvania
Some would probably call it a gross
understatement to say that the U. of
Pennsylvania is extremely proud of its
heritage. It is practically impossible to
exist on this campus and not come in con
tact with this history on a daily basis.
However, in its great obsession wnth the
past, the university has overlooked some
of the truly fundamental details that
make this school great.
I’m talking about a topic of recent
headlines — architecture. I know that
nobody wants to admit to it, but many of
the more modern buildings on this cam
pus are quite ugly. However, a greater
emphasis on utility rather than on aes
thetics is allowing these monstrosities to
take over our campus uncontested.
One of the things that makes the uni
versity more appealing than many other
city schools is the fact that we have a dis
tinct campus. Surrounded by a bunch of
great old buildings, we are set apart from
the rest of the city.
But recently, there has been much con
troversy concerning the future of these
buildings. A few weeks ago a couple of
graduate students circulated a petition
to stop the demolition of the Morgan,
Smith, and Music buildings
This was prompted by a
College/Engineering Planning
Committee proposal that a multi-million
dollar science facility be constructed on
the site of the three buildings
The petitioners' argument is based on
the premise that the buildings are his
torical landmarks, but the committee
believes that they are under-utilized and
an unpractical use of space.
One man who I feel should understand
the petitioners’ concern better than any
one is Sheldon Hackney, president of the
University and a Ph.D. in history. \et,
when asked about the future of Logan
Hall, he said, “Iogan Hall and College
Hall were built at the same time. They’re
the same style, same architect, same
exterior materials. So I don’t think that
Logan Hall needs to be preserved for his
torical purposes, because College Hall is
there."
There used to be two more buildings
just like College Hall. I wonder if a sim
ilar philosophy led to their destruction.
“Heck, why fix ’em? We got two more just
like ’em.”
Should they not have bothered to
refurbish da Vinci’s “Last Supper
because it would cost too much? There
are a lot of other da Vincis that are still
in good shape. Besides, do you know how
many “Last Suppers” were painted dur
ing the Renaissance?
Many of these old buildings will even
tually need refurbishing, and if we find
it reasonable to demolish them because
they have become “obsolete, then our
history, which we are so proud of, will
come to exist only in words. And sooner
or later, it will simply fade away.
661 wasn’t rubbing
it in-1 just wanted
Eddie to know
the score of
last night’s game.”
Alex Sum • University of Washington • Class of 1990
fSte ArA'
Go a 1 lead and gloat. You can
rub it in all the way to Chicago
with AIX1' Long Distance Service
Besides, your best friend Eddie
was the one who said your team
could never win three straight
So give him a call It costs a
lot less than you think to let him
knew who's headed for the Playoffs
Reach out and touch someone ®
If youll like to know more alxaut
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