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Very, very ironic that you say this considering we were just discussing how long it takes for anything to get done in CP. Indeed, Rob and I brought up the very same idea to John Porcari way way back during the RFP process and nothing ever materialized. We brought it up again to Doug Duncan before the summer. We can’t even get shovels for a sign…

(my guess is that they want as few people involved in the public participation process as possible.)

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I was back this past weekend for my first football game as an alum (a nice win over Georgia Tech by the way!) and besides feeling a little weird, I also felt some pride in my school and some curiosity as to how/if things had changed both on campus and in the city.

Unfortunately, I think Bob’s personal insight above again shows just how long the process of change can take. But hopefully that sense of “stewardship” that Kevin describes can be cultivated and students both past and present will see that the betterment of College Park is in their interest regardless of how long it takes.

Oh and Kevin, I spent a lot of my time at UMD at the rec center, thanks for paying for it!

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I share Kevin’s surprise at how many people have not yet heard about the developments in the pipeline, East Campus in particular. I wonder why the university does not take the easy step of slapping a couple of big signs on the east side of Route 1 with sample renderings, saying something like “Coming soon… See eastcampus.umd.edu”. People certainly spend enough time stuck in traffic there that they would notice.

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I agree to some degree (although, when i was a student “back in the day” we could only dream of having people like Rob, David, et al and sites like RTCP) but we need to continue to develop a sense of pride and stewardship among the students and help them understand that once a Terp, always a Terp and we all have a responsibility for leaving CP a little better than when we first arrived. When I was a student we paid a special assessment fee/surcharge to fund construction of that gorgeous rec center. I paid for 10 semesters for something I was never going to set foot in but it did not bother me because I knew it would make the place better, would help attract better students, and in turn help us rise in the rankings which in turn makes my degree more valuable. In today’s point and click/ instant gratification /”whats in it for me?” society its increasingly more challenging to get people so “see the bigger picture” and understand the long term / grand vision.

I was on campus for an event on Sept 29th and had dinner with some students who had no idea what East Campus was. when i explained their faces lit up and they got totally jazzed. I told them they need to bookmark RTCP and get involved. Who knows if they will or not but point is, we all have to engage in grass roots / word of mouth tactics and really push students to 1) see the value and importance and 2)become engaged.

Again, its all about stewardship. If we all collectively play our part, we will all win and benefit from each other’s efforts. As Terps, and for those that are residents of Maryland, we all have a collective responsibility to help The Univ, The City, and that state become the very best that it can be. Not just the students, but ALL residents of Maryland will benefit from a revitalized College Park. But it takes time. It does not happen over night. We need to just keep chipping away.

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