President Yudof, a strong advocate of preservation and appropriate
development of the natural and historic beauty of our campus, is
seeking the involvement of faculty, staff and students in a campaign
to clean up and beautify the University campuses.
"The west side of Wilson Library has always been a windy,
icy, nasty place in the winter. We always had a little relief
there because of the evergreens that were part of the old landscaping.
Those trees and shrubs disappeared as the site was prepared for
the Carlson construction."
"I always wanted to put a bird feeder in the shelter of
the evergreens, myself, and never quite had the nerve to impose
what I wanted on the official plans--never knew whom to ask, either.
Perhaps you can figure out how to get those evergreens back, and
how to get a birdfeeder in."
"First of all, if you can pass the word along, the campus
is finally beginning to shape up. I have been in the process of
visiting other colleges and universities looking for a school
for my son and U of MN looks pretty shabby in comparison to so
many other places. The improvements are much needed and appreciated."
"The "sore spot" for me are the number of cigarette
butts and garbage that accumulate in the courtyard between the
health sciences area. It is particularly embarrassing when patients
are brought to the courtyard to sit among the discards of the
many cigarette smokers. By the same token, the newly planted area
between Diehl Hall and Phillips-Wangensteen area is beautiful
from outside and inside views from office. Thanks a lot."
"It is gratifying to hear of the effort to make the campus
a more welcoming place. Every time I visit another campus I am
always struck by what an incredibly inhospitable physical environment
exists at the U of M. The physical environment for us on the West
Bank fosters a commuter and isolation mentality that is the exact
opposite of what the university experience should be. One can't
help but wonder if there has been a conscious design to get people
to spend as little time on the campus as possible. There is no
place for students/faculty/staff to comfortably relax for a bagged
lunch or coffee, forcing everyone to retreat into their offices
instead of congregating for conversations. At a minimum, I would
hope that the Take Pride in U campaign target as highest priorities
the following in an attempt to foster a sense of community:
1) more greenspace on the West Bank to replace the concrete horror.
At a minimum, more comfortable benches would be a first step.
2) inside the West Bank complex, there is a desperate need for
somewhere to relax in between classes, for lunch, etc."
"Congratulations to all involved in this project. One major
sore spot is the vending area in basement commons area between
Architecture, Civil Engineering and Shepherd Labs, on the Mpls.
Campus. The concrete triangle [was it meant to be a planter once??]
acts as a giant ashtray. Really disgusting!"
"That whole area on the west side of the bridge needs environmental
engineering. It's a wide open space that mixes pedestrians and
bike traffic and the only attempt at accident prevention is a
bunch of ugly bike lanes painted on the concrete (which, by the
way, monopolize the space -- It's walkers beware!!). Maybe some
of those big concrete planters we have here on Church street could
be utilized to direct traffic, control biker speed, and protect
walkers. Well, that's my two cents worth!!"
"The windows on the buildings on the mall are disgusting.
Have the windows washed!! We cannot even see outside most offices."
"It would be wonderful to have clean windows!!!!! Nolte
Center is indeed a very old building with years of gunk built
up on the windows."
"The walls in the men's first and second floor bathrooms
in Smith Hall are a nightmare of depravity. It makes me sick to
use them and I have been trying to get them cleaned up for years.
The same is true of the first floor rest room in the Union."
"I'd like to praise the St. Paul Campus in general, a hidden
gem in its own right, particularly the landscaping and flowers
that are so thoughtfully and pridefully planted. I'd also like
to put in a plug for the grassy mall area behind Bell Museum and
Nolte Center. They are redoing the sidewalks back there soon.
It is a relaxing, quiet place to sit and it is unknown to many
people. It would be nice to plant some flowers or a few trees
in that area, since it is now only a flat grassy area with sidewalks
on the perimeter and one walkway crossing diagonally through it."
"Regarding your request for suggestions to improve the appearance
of the U, I would like to suggest that bare lightbulbs in Walter
library be replaced with a more attractive clear bulb. This would
be especially valuable in the entrance and hallway areas."
"I would like to see more benches on campus. There are concrete
benches outside many of the buildings on the mall, but a noted
absence in other spaces on campus. I work in Fraser Hall, it's
a high traffic building and I think it would be an appreciated
addition to have "park" type benches outside in front
of the building on both sides of the main entrance. I think benches
should be added in park type settings, creating little restful
spots all around campus, even on the Washington Ave. Bridge. Just
think how pleasant it could be to sit on the bridge and watch
the river flow by. By adding a few grouping of benches and maybe
some large plant containers on the bridge it would soften the
hard concrete and metal edges. Well, you asked for suggestions.
Thanks for your consideration."
"Sore spots to clean up:
1. Abandoned bicycles locked to bike racks.
2. Broken and bent bike racks, e.g. north of McNeal Hall on St.
Paul Campus"
"During the construction on the new medical building next
to Coffman, a chain link fence was constructed near the student
dorm on the west side of Coffman (down the steps). The chain link
fence was finally pulled down, but the posts still stand. Some
have these have been bent by either wandering cars or flexing
students. Not only are they an eyesore, they're dangerous in the
dark. Moreover, two stop signs were posted at the end of the fence
for students and parkers to cross without bloodying someone's
car bumper. Recently, one stop sign was removed while the other
stayed. It would make more sense to me to either take them both
down or put them both up."
"The new look of the Pleasant Street side of Folwell is
terrific. But there still are not enough spaces to lock bikes.
This often means that bikes are locked to railings or signs, which
is both unsightly and dangerous. Please consider more bike racks
near Folwell. The space between Williamson and Folwell would be
perfect. Thanks."
"Can anything be done about the ugly median strip and chain-link
fence on Washington Avenue that runs from the Washington Avenue
bridge and ends at the intersection of Church Street and Washington
Avenue. It is rusted, bent, damaged, and ugly! Its purpose is
valid; it is to prevent people from jaywalking across Washington
Avenue, which would indeed be dangerous to pedestrians and drivers.
But could the fence be given some kind of decorative overlay?
(Washington Avenue is also a Minneapolis Street and a U.S. Highway,
so perhaps several governmental units will need to be involved.)
Dressing it up would certainly improve the South Mall area. Moreover,
it is only a few yards away from where the spot President Yudof
kicked off the current beautification campaign. Please pass this
on to the steering committee. Thank you."
"Here are a few that we would like to have considered for
Akerman Hall:
1) To put an outside sign that actually says that this is Akerman
Hall. Currently there is very small sign that says Aeronautical
Engineering which does not reflect the current department name
or correct building name.
2) Painting and new tiles for room 7 in Akerman Hall so it is
more usable space. We have just finished removing junk from this
room.
3) Many of the classrooms in Akerman Hall could use new blinds;
the current ones do not function properly or are falling apart.
A few of these classrooms could use some painting as well."
"These are other items that could be done, but I'm not sure
if they are part of your scope...
1) Wash windows.
2) Wash the lower part of hallway walls.
3) In our shop area, it could be painted and one section needs
new flooring or a possible cement floor.
4) Some outside landscaping particularly on the Union Street side
would be nice.
5) Make the downstairs men's bathroom into a real women's bathroom;
currently, we just changed the signs on the door."
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