The $45.5 million D.P. Culp renovation has finally seen its purpose at the beginning of this semester. Shortly after the renovations were completed in the Spring 2020 semester, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the United States.
Lockdowns ensued, and ETSU’s campus became seemingly a ghost town over night. Now that more classes are back in-person, the ETSU community can finally appreciate the updates to the building.
Renovations to this campus are not new, nor are they going away. The series of renovations on campus began before I became a student at ETSU in Fall 2019.
The Culp’s renovations have admittedly been successful. I walked through the dining area from the University Commons to Starbucks the other day, and the tables were overflowing with people. The lines to the fast food restaurants were long, as well. The differences from the front and back of the building are easily seen.
What was once a depressing, brutalist grey slab, became a building with windows and lights. The renovations of the Culp updated it into a modernly-styled design inspiration. It’s more lively and an architectural design that many fast food restaurants, like Wendy’s and Taco Bell, have taken on as well.
I admire the beauty of the building; I appreciate the new home that was renovated for many deserving departments of ETSU. The students of ETSU seem to enjoy their new home as well. I was on campus during the Fall 2017 semester, and the Culp from then was sad and empty. That does not mean I approve of the entire project surrounding, however. The University Commons spits in my face every time I walk past.
The University Commons overindulges in itself. There is a grey, metallic slide in the sun that I know will burn my thighs if I try to slide down. They have also included a miniature golf course in front of Carter Hall. These stare back at me and scream bourgeois decadence. The course is not big enough to really play on it. It symbolizes the idea of golf, the waste of land.
Life is meant to be beautiful. The Culp’s renovations represent that beauty. The architectural design of the building draws the eyes and the view cannot help but to be admired. Certain renovations are worth the wait. The excess is not worthwhile.
Renovations should be kept in mind to serve the community; mini golf and metal slides alienate those parents that think of sending their kids to ETSU. Appalachian family values often clash with students’ dreams. This is when family members will say, “you’re risin’ above your raisin’.” Renovations must be meaningfully understood in the context of Appalachian culture.
Renovations are worth the wait and construction until the construction clashes with students.
