May 1, 2013 The Signal page 7
Out of sight, out of mind Waste on campus The College’s ‘Forgotten Corner’ Staff works to educate By Jack Meyers Nation & World Editor
Brian Kempf / Features Assistant
Holman Hall, pictured above, has changed its function over the years. By Brian Kempf Features Assistant
In the northeast corner of campus lies a group of three buildings, far from the bustle of the Brower Student Center and liveliness of Alumni Grove. The students who pass through this cluster are few and far between. Benches are stripped from the walls, paving stones are crumbled, and massive brick edifices betray the near-empty interiors of the “Forgotten Quarter.” These buildings — Holman Hall, Roscoe West Hall and Forcina Hall — stand as a testament to an earlier time at the College. Now, falling into disuse and disrepair, they represent an opportunity to revitalize an often neglected part of campus. Holman Hall Holman Hall is perhaps the most notorious building in the “Forgotten Quarter.” It was reported by The Signal in November 2011 to have been built upon an Indian burial ground, lending to rumors that the building is haunted. In its previous life, it housed the art department as well as English classrooms. Along with computer sciences, the building houses several of the college’s organizations, such as the Bonner Center. Up until recently, Holman Hall had been abandoned. It was recently renovated, albeit modestly. In September 2012, NJ.com reported that a dozen employees had complained of dizziness and fainting spells after moving into the building. The College, as of early September, reported that no unhealthy conditions were found. The building itself is disconcerting; its architectural style is incongruous with the buildings surrounding it on Quimby’s Prairie. Standing at the end of its bare, stripped hallways, one can see that the building is so long and unwieldy that it has its own horizon line, bordered by exposed concrete, old lockers and endless rows of fluorescent light. Stepping into Holman Hall is a trip back in time — faded chalk art is scribbled on the outside walls, and more anachronistic artwork hangs in the lobby. Holman Hall is reportedly slated for demolition next spring, with the passing of the Building Our Future bond measure. President R. Barbara Gitenstein explained during a press conference on Wednesday Oct. 24 that a technology, engineering and health sciences building would be built in its place.
Roscoe L. West Hall Across from Holman Hall is Roscoe West Hall, the College’s former library. In two now unconnected sections, the newer part, built in 1974, holds career services and was recently renovated, having been abandoned following the construction of the New Library. The older part, built in 1934, and formerly the library, is sealed off and the hollow exemplar of the “Forgotten Quarter.” Unlike Forcina or Holman Halls, it is much closer to other buildings on campus. It stands in plain sight, with paint chipping off of the stately building, soaring columns and handsome bring façade. The upstairs rooms of the new section sit largely empty, though are used occasionally for lectures or meetings. The second floor also contains a room labeled “Sarnoff Collection,” which is planned to be a communication museum dedicated to former RCA chairman and NBC founder David Sarnoff. The rest of the rooms are locked and alarmed. The basement of the new section remains in a state of utter disarray, closed to the public but to the eye, filled with empty furniture, stripped carpets and fallen ceiling tiles. Forcina Hall Forcina Hall is the final building of the College’s “Forgotten Corner.” Formerly the Education Building, it recently received a refurbishment to its exterior. Like Holman Hall, it remains the site of a few school organizations, but is largely vacant. The first and second floors are open, though a trip to the second floor is particularly eerie. Crafts still hang on bulletin boards and outdated fliers for student activities and internship opportunities still hang on the walls. There are plans to renovate the third and fourth floors of Forcina, however, and convert them to offices once Holman Hall closes and the offices located there are displaced. While no college maintains a perfect aesthete, the College’s Forgotten Quarter remains a visible reminder of the College’s ever-changing plans. Its highly-visible location and purpose as a host for the outside community (which is served by organizations such as TCNJ Clinic, the Kidsbridge Museum and the Bonner Center) reflect poorly on the College when these areas are in such disrepair. The College continues to build new buildings, but it should not forget that current assets are disused, within a stone’s throw of Green Hall and the heart of the campus.
Between work, friends, food and everything else piling up on a student’s plate, saving the environment typically gets tossed in the trash. Last Monday, April 22, Sodexo’s marketing team at the College brought awareness to wastefulness by showing students how much food is wasted in one lunch hour at the Atrium at Eickhoff. During the “Earth Day Plate Scrap,” several staff members stood at a table by the dish receptacle, sweeping leftovers into transparent buckets which would be measured by weight later that day. “This year we had 50 pounds of waste,” said Caitlin Moskwa, unit marketing coordinator for Sodexo. “Our goal is to make them more conscious of what they take in this all-you-can-eat setting.” This was done in celebration of Earth Week, coordinated by WaterWatch. Throughout the week, campus-wide events took place to illuminate how students impact their surroundings on a daily basis. In 2007, students wasted a whopping total of 221 pounds over the span of two hours, according to Joanna Brunell, area marketing coordinator for the Sodexo at the College. With awareness campaigns across the campus and student’s weaning off of tray use in response, the solutions have already begun to set in. Moskwa and her team are not the only ones arguing the value of awareness. In fact, one College student
spends much of her time teaching others how to cut down on water and energy consumption and, ultimately, how to preserve nature. “By educating everyone where they make the most of their environmental mistakes, we can train people to be more mindful (elsewhere),” explained Tarika Mahal, leader of the sustainability ambassadors and site leader of the Bonner Center’s environment team. Mahal began the sustainability ambassadors this semester as “a grassroots movement that starts in the resident halls,” where she explained, “people still don’t know how to recycle” nor understand “the importance of taking shorter showers.” The diverse conglomeration of groups and initiatives on campus that have contributed to progress over the years include WaterWatch, which aims to “better the environment” via studentfocused activities, and PC3, President R. Barbara Gitenstein’s commitment to conserving energy and water. With a myriad of sources on how to cut down, one of Mahal’s goals is to “bridge the gap” between groups like WaterWatch and the Bonner Center, fusing the outside community with the student body. “By doing so, we would be able to tackle different issues, like re-vamping the library’s recycling system or make it a custom to use reusable bags in the C-store,” Mahal said. With new relations proposed, the College faces new opportunities to save itself and the environment.
Jack Meyers / Nation & World Editor
Staff piles waste to highlight students’ poor eating habits.
Jogging path could link the College to Rider By Brian Kempf Features Assistant
In a more ambitious time not too long ago, plans were made by the Lawrence Township Greenway Committee to connect the College with a bike path to Rider University and the Johnston Trolley Line trail located just over a mile east. Starting at the dam and bridge at Lake Sylvia, located across from Norsworthy and Decker Halls, students and the public would have access to a trail that winds through Ewing, Lawrenceville and to the recreational areas, which include numerous parks, as well as pedestrian and bike paths. While the right-of-ways and plans exist to complete the project, it seems to have quietly fallen off of the map. According to LawrenceGreenway.org,
Brian Kempf / Features Assistant
College’s property off Bull Run.
the official website of the Friends of Lawrence Greenway which advocates for a pedestrian and bike-friendly Lawrence Township, there are numerous complete trails in Mercer County, with two proposed connections to Ewing. Yet, the website has not been updated
in nearly two years, and there have not been further developments. The College has requested $1.1 million for a jogging trail by the end of the decade in its FY 2014 Capital Budget, though it is unclear whether this is at all related to the Greenway project. However, the implications for the College are great. Behind Lake Sylvia is a grassy strip of land extending from Ewingville Road to Green Lane. Without the strip being blocked off, Federal City Road would extend to Green Lane. Currently, this land is used as a rightof-way for a natural gas pipeline and utility wires, though what was originally designed as a right-of-way for an extension of Route 31 that would have been extended to New York. After backlash from locals, the project
was cancelled, and ownership of this land is undetermined, according to the friends of Lawrence of Greenway. The College owns a portion of the rightof-way that extends north to I-95, where the College also owns 103 acres of land between the freeway and Bull Run Road. Though the plans don’t yet include a path to this plot of land, the ownership of this right-of-way north of campus leaves the door open for access to further development in that area. The College has encouraged cycling by installing bicycle stands throughout campus, and a number of students commute to campus by bike. Completion of the bike paths by Lake Sylvia would foster recreational options, and may provide safe, environmentally friendly transportation to the surrounding neighborhoods.