One of the many lessons that our fine liberal arts education provides us is that there are no magic fixes; ignorance of a problem does nothing to solve it. Although this may rank small on the global scale, our institution does have an ever-growing problem involving the inexorably increasing pit of mud in front of Burlingham Hall. Caused by the common jaywalker, this pit has grown larger each time it rains, which is pretty much every day in Oregon.
The problem is students who illegally cross the street from Clark to Burlingham; each time they walk outside the mud, which increases the scope of the mud. It may seem trivial, but mud is no laughing matter, and Pacific devotes serious financial capital to the maintenance of its highly manicured natural spaces, with the mud pit standing alone in defiance of the status quo.
I will be the first to admit that I am part of the problem, and I was happy to go along with an apparent display of student initiative that occurred at the end of March, as a stepping-stone was manufactured in the midst of the mud. Sadly, this most helpful stone was not long for the world, and was gone within 48 hours. A more permanent fix could be operational with minimal cost and hassle, as The Home Depot carries square concrete stepping stones for the low price of 97 cents.
A combination of three stones would all but erase those pesky mud-churning footsteps and allow for the grass to renew itself. Perhaps a nice series of bricks could also serve in a similar capacity and they would have the added effect of bringing the monolithic brick theme of Clark and Walter to the other side of University Ave.
That being said, fixing the mud does nothing to stop the jaywalkers. But unless our friendly CPS officers are reorganized into ticket-writing machines, the vagrancy will continue. So far, ignoring the problem has only served to darken the soles of Pacific students, and it is time that Facilities take a stance in support of clean kicks.
As Kevin Costner once heard, build it, and they will come.
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