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PAGE 7 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018
Dix Park event provides opportunity for student input, involvement Ben Wolf Correspondent
Many living on or around NC State’s campus may have heard of Dorothea Dix Park, located just off of NC State’s Centennial Campus. The park is constantly putting on all kinds of shows and events for the people of Raleigh. However, newcomers may not be aware that the park is actually a very recent installment in the city. The park’s land formerly belonged to Dorothea Dix Hospital, which closed its doors in 2010 after being open for over 150 years. In 2015, the land was purchased by the city of Raleigh, and over the last three years, the city has been planning big things for Dix Park. Now, they are ready to begin renovations, but there’s just one last group whose input they’re searching for: the college students of Raleigh. Dorothea Dix Park: University Remix is an event taking place this Friday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. at Transfer Co. Food Hall. The event is being held to generate feedback from university students about the plans for Dorothea Dix Park. University Remix is catered to the college crowd, complete with food, music, and exhibitions and performances by students from colleges all over the city, including Shaw University, William Peace University, Meredith College and NC State. Caroline Lindquist, Dorothea Dix Park’s planning specialist, spoke about the open meetings which the park has held concerning the upcoming projects. “Public meetings or community meetings or events aren’t a one-size-fits-all kind of thing,” Lindquist said. “Normally with public meetings, they don’t generally draw many college-age students or young adults…. Not just on this project, but on public meetings in general, you don’t have a lot of college students show up.” With Dorothea Dix Park sitting so close to NC State’s campus, Lindquist is hoping to get the input of current college students so that they will be able to have a say in the park’s development. “The evolution of Dix Park, it’s a longrange project,” Lindquist said. “It’s a park today, but it’s a project for generations to come, as well. We want people who are going to be Raleigh’s future leaders and future citizens to get to have a say in what their city and their park will look like... because this is a park that, as they grow up, will be evolving with them, so we want to be sure that people of all ages get to have a say in this.”
The committee reached out to the Caldwell Fellows, a fellowship at NC State with a focus in serving the local community. It was those students who came up with the idea for the University Remix event. Erica Lisowe, a second-year studying biological engineering and a Caldwell Fellow organizing the event, described it as “a party with a purpose.” “We’re trying to make it a really fun experience,” Lisowe said. “Something that you would want to go to, you would want to come and learn more about Dorothea Dix Park, because this whole renovation process, this whole project that they’re planning is incredible.” The Master Plan will be available for students to comment on freely, along with different concept art and renders of the proposed projects and even a virtual reality tour. According to Lindquist, students will also have the opportunity to suggest new events and spaces the park could create in AMY GAHAN/ARCHIVE the future which cater to their needs. An oak-lined drive within Dorothea Dix’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017. The city of “We will have the overall Master Plan, the Raleigh’s master planning process for the park began in 2017. latest draft documents out that people can provide input on,” Lindquist said. “They can provide general input, but can also say, if there’s a space at their university, there’s something they’re realizing their organization always wants a space to have – meeting space, event space, outdoor concert space, something like that – we want them to be able to say, hey, this is a big need.” Connor Smith, a second-year studying business administration and another Caldwell Fellow helping to plan the event, said that University Remix is more than either a survey or a fun time. “What we are trying to do is an embodiment of what the park is going to be,” Smith said. “It’s a space where people of any demographic, of any background, can come together and have a say…. I know it’s been marketed as a party and such; well, that’s what learning about other people should feel like. The feeling that you feel at this event is going to be something that happens every day at Dorothea Dix Park, whenever this transformation is complete, 10 years down the line.” Lindquist stressed that the event was designed fully by the students, who took the opportunity to place further emphasis on student performances and productions from the different colleges in attendance. Smith and Lisowe want to present the event
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