HERALD EDITORIAL: We should preserve WMU’s history by saving East Hall
The historic nature of downtown Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University has been enticing students to this area for decades.
But a school must offer more than impressive academics and extracurricular opportunities; it needs character.
The name needs to invoke an image when you tell people where you’ve decided to earn your education and thanks to historic East Campus, WMU does just that.
College does not have to equate to fluorescent lighting and squeaky linoleum. Instead it can mean old brick buildings covered in green ivy and natural sunlight pouring in through eight foot tall windows.
College like this is what we think of when we imagine WMU’s start in 1903. Students would meander over lush green hills and eat their lunch there rather than sit on a cement staircase leading to a pile of rocks.
This is what East Hall is reminiscent of and it is a bigger part of WMU than most students realize.
Since 1909, East Hall has stood on Prospect Hill, also known as Normal Hill, operating with many different purposes over the years.
What started as a training school and a gymnasium now functions as archival storage and studio space for fine art majors.
In 1978, East Hall was added to the National Register Listings of Historic Buildings and Sites, making it one of the oldest attributes to WMU’s campus.
For any students who have visited East Hall, inside or out, they can attest to the unique experience it offers.
Many a night students have spent sitting on the stone steps overlooking downtown Kalamazoo, gazing at the stars and the kindly written words scrawled on the pillars that are more poetry than graffiti.
In its beauty and isolation, East Hall seems distinctly separate from WMU in almost every aspect.
While we never considered that a problematic thing, perhaps it is.
Imagine if more of your school days were spent on East Campus; those buildings would soon become as familiar to you in the daytime as they are at night.
The prime location of East Hall makes it a realistic choice for any department to hold classes there.
Art majors could benefit from the creativity inspired by the beautiful scenery, as they already do, or incoming pre-med majors could use the facilities to put a new face on WMU that speaks to its century long dedication to academics.
There is something to be said about the environment in which you learn, not just the material you are learning.
Every student and faculty member who could have a chance to experience campus life on the East side would benefit greatly. East Hall’s history should be saved.
Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=4652
Posted by HeraldAdmin
on Mar 10 2009. Filed under Editorial, Opinion.
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The building was dedicated November 23, 1905.
http://www.pp.wmich.edu/buildings/001.html
The ashes of Dwight B. Waldo, a former WMU president, are interred in East Hall.
Thanks for your editorial on saving the historic East Campus. The East Campus is the birthplace of WMU, but the East Campus is also important because of its real and symbolic relationship with the city of Kalamazoo and the State of Michigan. Students should visit the East Campus and read the Historic Marker located at the front of East Hall. Furthermore, students should go to Waldo Library and check out and read the book by the late WMU professor, James Knauss, “The First Fifty Years”. The book is an easy read, and loaded with historical photos chronicling the period from 1903-1953. Students who read this rare treasure will be inspired and have a new found respect for their alma mater. Beyond the historical significance of the East Campus, restoring the area is important to the University’s role as a responsible neighbor. The decline of the East Campus is directly related to the decline of the Vine Neighborhood. Senior University administrators and city officials must realize that restoration of the historic East Campus could serve as an economic stimulus for the Vine Neighborhood; and the Vine Neighborhood is a superb conduit to commerce in downtown Kalamazoo. Think of the possibilities a restored and vibrant East Campus would present for the University and for the city of Kalamazoo. What if new row-houses/brownstones were developed on Davis Street facing Prospect Hill and throughout the Vine Neighborhood? What if the city of Kalamazoo and WMU created a program to develop housing for faculty/staff/emeriti faculty/alumni in the Vine Neighborhood? What if the city and WMU used this opportunity not only to improve the housing stock in that neighborhood, but also to increase the number of owner-occupied homes? Think about what such an endeavor could do to contribute to the city’s tax base, and at the same time create a stable market for goods and services in downtown Kalamazoo.