Post by UICJohn on Jul 18, 2013 21:02:19 GMT -6
So being a teacher has its perks - most notably having summer off. With that opportunity, I decided to take a bike ride and visit the campus. I have been to the campus for basketball games but other than that I haven't been around probably since graduation in 2005.
I tried to go around the soccer and baseball fields but they were all closed and the one entrance was being guarded. I thought that the area was open to students and the neighborhood for activities but maybe not. Also, there seemed to be a lot of kids there for some day camps and backpacks around and everything so also possible they just didn't want random people walking around. I was hoping to see if they were doing anything to the baseball field as of yet but unfortunately couldn't see anything from Morgan. I know that there were links posted to some renderings of possible changes to the soccer field. However, we haven't heard anything about any changes to it for sure and the field looked the same as I remember.
Most of the buildings that I had class in were the same. I did walk through some of the Lecture Centers that make up the quad and I did notice that they just had a nicer look to them. The center of them had just a nicer feeling with chairs and paintings by students in them. I did read that when I graduated they wanted to make up more campus oasis areas like that and I'm glad that they've gone through with that.
In addition, the new LEED Certified buildings on campus are impressive. I forget the names but I believe Lincoln Hall, Grant Hall and Douglas Hall are all LEED Certified now. Just looking at them they are much more pleasant to look at. Additionally, they are impressive in other ways (http://www.uic.edu/sustainability/initiatives/buildings.html). Some things of note are the use of much less electricity by really getting a lot of natural light in the buildings and cheaper and more eco-friendly air conditioning. In addition, around the building is vegetation that requires no irrigation because it is native and drought-tolerant. Personally, I thought they were quite impressive.
There were other smaller things that I noticed but was glad to see. In all of the windows of the class buildings were "Proud to be UIC" posters. These posters were of notable alumni. Things like this make you proud to be a UIC student. When you see other alumni that are successful you want to know about it.
I also noticed that they were tearing up an area on campus that I've always thought was underutilized. There is a fairly large field right off the corner of Morgan and Taylor Street. It was just an area with trees and a walkway that was all torn up. I always thought that a small pond and some benches would be perfect for that area and would be a great addition to the campus. The walkway was being torn up and it was roped off. I'm guessing that they're just going to repave the walkway but I hope they have some bigger plans for that space.
Now, just a few things that I didn't really like. It may seem minor but just make sure some areas are cleaned up. For example, the windows of the Lecture Centers. Make sure they're clean. Perhaps it is because it is summer break and few students are on campus. But things like that are noticed and they just make it seem like it doesn't matter. That doesn't create a positive atmosphere.
Finally, every single door I saw had a sticker on it - "Only UIC students, personnel or invited guests are allowed to enter and anyone else is considered trespassing on state property". Well, even though I'm an alum I don't fit any of those. Now, would anybody have stopped me? Probably not. However, I didn't go in any buildings. Technically I couldn't even go into the book store. It just seemed very odd and really felt uninviting and that's unfortunate being my alma mater.
I tried to go around the soccer and baseball fields but they were all closed and the one entrance was being guarded. I thought that the area was open to students and the neighborhood for activities but maybe not. Also, there seemed to be a lot of kids there for some day camps and backpacks around and everything so also possible they just didn't want random people walking around. I was hoping to see if they were doing anything to the baseball field as of yet but unfortunately couldn't see anything from Morgan. I know that there were links posted to some renderings of possible changes to the soccer field. However, we haven't heard anything about any changes to it for sure and the field looked the same as I remember.
Most of the buildings that I had class in were the same. I did walk through some of the Lecture Centers that make up the quad and I did notice that they just had a nicer look to them. The center of them had just a nicer feeling with chairs and paintings by students in them. I did read that when I graduated they wanted to make up more campus oasis areas like that and I'm glad that they've gone through with that.
In addition, the new LEED Certified buildings on campus are impressive. I forget the names but I believe Lincoln Hall, Grant Hall and Douglas Hall are all LEED Certified now. Just looking at them they are much more pleasant to look at. Additionally, they are impressive in other ways (http://www.uic.edu/sustainability/initiatives/buildings.html). Some things of note are the use of much less electricity by really getting a lot of natural light in the buildings and cheaper and more eco-friendly air conditioning. In addition, around the building is vegetation that requires no irrigation because it is native and drought-tolerant. Personally, I thought they were quite impressive.
There were other smaller things that I noticed but was glad to see. In all of the windows of the class buildings were "Proud to be UIC" posters. These posters were of notable alumni. Things like this make you proud to be a UIC student. When you see other alumni that are successful you want to know about it.
I also noticed that they were tearing up an area on campus that I've always thought was underutilized. There is a fairly large field right off the corner of Morgan and Taylor Street. It was just an area with trees and a walkway that was all torn up. I always thought that a small pond and some benches would be perfect for that area and would be a great addition to the campus. The walkway was being torn up and it was roped off. I'm guessing that they're just going to repave the walkway but I hope they have some bigger plans for that space.
Now, just a few things that I didn't really like. It may seem minor but just make sure some areas are cleaned up. For example, the windows of the Lecture Centers. Make sure they're clean. Perhaps it is because it is summer break and few students are on campus. But things like that are noticed and they just make it seem like it doesn't matter. That doesn't create a positive atmosphere.
Finally, every single door I saw had a sticker on it - "Only UIC students, personnel or invited guests are allowed to enter and anyone else is considered trespassing on state property". Well, even though I'm an alum I don't fit any of those. Now, would anybody have stopped me? Probably not. However, I didn't go in any buildings. Technically I couldn't even go into the book store. It just seemed very odd and really felt uninviting and that's unfortunate being my alma mater.