TO THE EDITOR:
On Friday, Oct. 6, while students were on break, a historic stone wall facing McCorkle Place was demolished to make way for the new Institute for the Arts and Humanities, touted as the first new building on this site in 50 years (as if that were a good thing.)
The large trees on the site are gone today. It is unfortunate enough that the wall and trees were destroyed, but even more disturbing is the potential for damage to the root structure of ancient trees on this oldest part of campus.
Tree damage occurred during the recent renovations of Graham Memorial.
And there are other areas where large trees are being destroyed.
Clearly, one university forester cannot monitor construction on a campus this size.
Contractors and construction workers are interested not in tree preservation but in economy and efficiency.
If the bond issue passes - as it should and must - the potential for damage to the root structure of historic trees on campus is enormous.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and townspeople need to adopt a vigilant stance if this campus is not to become another red-brick public university without a distinctive landscape to elevate our spirits, if not our stature.
