We spend most of our days Monday through Friday walking through it, and some of us even spend our nights surrounded by it, too. But do we really see it?
Let’s take a moment and appreciate the campus that for four years we get to call home.
Baylor’s campus has long been considered one of the most beautiful in Texas, at least by faithful Baylor alumni. The trees in bloom and historic buildings are easy to appreciate. As students, we have a more unique experience. Here’s to the campus that looks beautiful from afar and has come to hold some of our most wonderful memories.
After three years of on-campus living and learning, spots around campus are not just locations but places where things have happened, places that evoke memories.
Instead of reminding you of all of the objectively beautiful buildings and fields, today, let’s go on a more personalized tour.
Across the street from the student union building, you will find the most beautiful tree on campus, according to me. It is nestled between the tennis courts and the Marrs McLean Gym. The branches of this tree come down and create a haven for those who sit beside its trunk. To me, this tree is a place for book club meetings, happenstance encounters with friends, and quiet reflection.
In Carroll Science, you will find the English Department. Before I go on, let me clarify for all of you science majors out there. I have had this conversation many times over the years, so allow me to fill in your part.
Carroll Science?
Carroll Science, you know, the building across the street from Morrison.
Not the building across from the Bobo Spiritual Life Center?
No, no that would be Carroll Library.
And the English Department is housed within a science building?
Yes. As the name suggests, Carroll Science used to be home to the science departments, but in the late 1900s, those departments moved to other buildings, and the English Department moved in.
As you can see from the numerous departments that have called this edifice home, this building has history which makes it beautiful. However, it is not Baylor’s history I think about when I enter those doors but my own. These classrooms are where I have discovered my academic interests. Some of the faculty offices housed inside the building are where I have received invaluable guidance and support that has helped me get to where I am today. When thinking back on my years at Baylor, this building will be a part of those reflections.
Then there are all of those little, unmarked places throughout campus. One such place is the fifth street curb, before the fountain renovation took it away. There is nothing quite like Baylor’s campus in the rain, and that curb was my favorite part of it all. The water would rise up against the steep curb, essentially begging you to take your shoes off and give into the stream. I welcomed each time the weather gave me a socially-acceptable outlet for my inner-child in the middle of the school day.
We have the privilege of living our days out on Baylor’s campus. We get to live in these buildings and landscapes and create our own history here. Here’s to the unique chance we have of weaving our personal stories into the beautiful story of Baylor’s campus.
If you are curious about the general history of Baylor’s campus, this website shows photos of some of Baylor’s older buildings ‘then and now:’ http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=89428
For more information on the history of Carroll Science, visit this article by the Baylor Alumni Association: http://www.bayloralumniassociation.com/baylor_line/past_issues/wint10carroll_science.asp
Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.