I never pass up a chance to show off SMU to my friends from out of town since the term gorgeous is often associated with our campus.
Earlier in August, my best friend came up to Dallas from Houston for a visit. She was filled with excitement to see SMU’s beautiful campus since that’s all I’ve been talking about for the past three years.
I drove her around campus and instead of beautiful flowers and buildings, all we saw were fences, bulldozers and road closures.
In addition to the construction, it is impossible to drive around campus fluidly. Let’s just say, she was impressed with Dallas Hall’s main lawn and the boulevard, but not the rest of campus.
With all the road closures, using SMU Boulevard to get to campus is now useless. Fraternity row is a hassle to drive down. Also, it is rare to go the actual speed limit due to the plethora of construction vehicles.
Parking on campus has also been affected, especially for commuter students. Instead of leaving 15 minutes before class to drive, park and walk to class, I now have to leave 25 to 30 minutes before class starts to find a parking spot.
Most of the time, Binkley and Airline garage are full (unless you have an 8 a.m. class), and occasionally you can grab a spot in Moody.
Even the commuter parking lot of University Boulevard fills up in peak class times.
I know personally, I’ve circled Moody and Airline trying to find spots. The result is me creepily following somebody walking back to their car. The entire process is quite frustrating and very stalker-like for the driver.
Getting to Dedman Rec Center is harder than ever with the construction because you are competing with residents in Binkley and commuters in Moody for a parking spot.
The other problem that comes with the construction is the bad roads that have developed. Driving around, it’s impossible not to hit potholes.
Even off-campus parking is being affected by the construction. The bookstore parking lot has limited parking. Unless you go early in the morning or late in the evening, getting a spot is a waiting game.
Construction is a hassle. Road closures make it harder to get around campus. Parking takes way longer than it should and our campus is not as gorgeous as it used to be.
All of this is pretty unfortunate for students and faculty on campus, but it is just a means to a great end. Looking into the future, this mess will benefit SMU and the younger generation of SMU students by giving them a great presidential library and four new residential commons.
Even though I will not get to experience the new improvements as a student, as an alumna I will get to show off the beautiful new and improved SMU to my friends in the future.
Varma is a senior majoring in communications studies and minoring in journalism. She can be reached for comment at [email protected]
