Marlon Pitter
UML Student
South Campus, once a hub of social interaction and everything great about college, whose beauty could put most college campuses’ aesthetics to shame, is dead. McGauvran Hall, the heart of South for student organizations, art majors and enthusiasts, and individual students alike, was cruelly put out of commission this fall at the hands of UMass Lowell. Therefore, I have written this piece to revel in the greatness that South once was, as it will never return the former glory it basked in last year and beyond.
I knew South Campus was a special place when I started school at UMass Lowell in the fall of 2013. While I was a math major at the time, with three of my five classes on North Campus, I enjoyed every minute I spent on South. After changing my major to English prior to the following semester, I decided to move to Concordia Hall at the same time for the convenience of living on South Campus and the greatness that it was.
The differences between the two campuses are as clear as day and night, and they go far beyond being on opposite sides of the Merrimack River. Students on South are generally friendlier than those on North. South Campus is fun and aesthetically pleasing on any given day, while North is…not. I even got better grades in the classes I had on South during my first semester, and that can’t be a coincidence.
While McGauvran Hall might not have seemed like there was much that was special to it, arguments can be made for it being one of the most vital pieces of South, behind the dining hall and Starbucks, of course. The building adjacent and connected to O’Leary Library was an institution of learning, hard work, relaxing, gaming, and entertainment all in one, and it certainly played a role in boosting South’s atmosphere, morale and camaraderie.
With many club offices and meeting spaces formerly hosted by McGauvran, many clubs have come to find themselves homeless this year, including Pride Alliance and MEISA (Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association). UMass Lowell’s art classes have been exiled to the less-than-stellar Mahoney Hall. On top of that, Subway and the student lounge area now occupy the space left by the non-existent South Campus bookstore.
If you thought the destruction of South ended with McGauvran, then you are sadly mistaken. With plans to take down Concordia Hall, another landmark of South Campus and the university as a whole, and construction on Riverview Suites to “add 300 beds,” according to sources, that side of campus is soon to become nothing more than somewhere to eat, go to class and sleep.
South Campus was fine just the way it was last year, but the university and its agenda clearly didn’t think so. It’s unclear why they have to turn McGauvran into a shiny new dining hall with our tuition dollars when we already have one on South that works (on weekdays). It won’t make the food any better, but do as you must, UMass Lowell.
South Campus, I hardly knew you, but you will be missed.
