2008 Woodie Awards
Our reader's voices
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Voices
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Rose-tinted glasses
At first glance you may find that the facility known as Rose Arena is in need of an upgrade. However once you look deeper you find this may not be the case. Before you condemn the location and compare it unfairly to other facilities around the state, not mentioning the facilities that are far worse then Rose, please take a moment to think.
When Rose was designed it was not done so focusing on concerts and other such events. Rose Arena was built for one purpose - home team advantage! As a Rose Rowdy and campus employee who frequently works in Rose, I know this as a fact. Once you enter into the arena you view a 5,200 seat box. Not too aesthetically pleasing, however, great for cheers. The "box" takes all cheers from the crowd and redirects it back onto them, building an atmosphere promoting home team cheer!
I understand the growing trend of CMU to have many glass structures, enclosures and cutting edge designs in its buildings, but for what it was built for it is almost a perfect design.
Understanding more and more groups are hosting their events in the arena, the sound quality is less then desirable. Besides the recent T-Pain concert, many events do not come close to selling out. Also, if you have not been to many of the sporting events this year or in years past, Rose Arena rarely fills up. I don't believe spending millions in renovations that frankly are not necessary is a wise way to allocate funds that could be better spent elsewhere.
I would like to take this moment to remind readers of the ever growing parking issue on campus. The Board of Trustees should think twice before they use the excuse that it would be a strong recruiting tool. As the number of students rise and the price of tuition is skyrocketing, I am finding fewer and fewer open parking spots around campus. So the Board wants to recruit more students, and has approved the building of new residence halls such as Celani and Fabiano halls, increasing the housing capacity on campus by 500 students. Yet, Lot 22 gets a few spots removed in the name of the Satellite Energy Facility. But this isn't about parking, this isn't about music buildings surrounded by scaffolding, this is about the $20 million renovation to Rose Arena, a fully functioning facility that houses many events ranging from concerts to commencement.
For the readers out there, keep an eye on campus spending and an ear to the whines of insufficient funds when it comes to things we need.
Daniel J. Radatz
Swartz Creek sophomore
At first glance you may find that the facility known as Rose Arena is in need of an upgrade. However once you look deeper you find this may not be the case. Before you condemn the location and compare it unfairly to other facilities around the state, not mentioning the facilities that are far worse then Rose, please take a moment to think.
When Rose was designed it was not done so focusing on concerts and other such events. Rose Arena was built for one purpose - home team advantage! As a Rose Rowdy and campus employee who frequently works in Rose, I know this as a fact. Once you enter into the arena you view a 5,200 seat box. Not too aesthetically pleasing, however, great for cheers. The "box" takes all cheers from the crowd and redirects it back onto them, building an atmosphere promoting home team cheer!
I understand the growing trend of CMU to have many glass structures, enclosures and cutting edge designs in its buildings, but for what it was built for it is almost a perfect design.
Understanding more and more groups are hosting their events in the arena, the sound quality is less then desirable. Besides the recent T-Pain concert, many events do not come close to selling out. Also, if you have not been to many of the sporting events this year or in years past, Rose Arena rarely fills up. I don't believe spending millions in renovations that frankly are not necessary is a wise way to allocate funds that could be better spent elsewhere.
I would like to take this moment to remind readers of the ever growing parking issue on campus. The Board of Trustees should think twice before they use the excuse that it would be a strong recruiting tool. As the number of students rise and the price of tuition is skyrocketing, I am finding fewer and fewer open parking spots around campus. So the Board wants to recruit more students, and has approved the building of new residence halls such as Celani and Fabiano halls, increasing the housing capacity on campus by 500 students. Yet, Lot 22 gets a few spots removed in the name of the Satellite Energy Facility. But this isn't about parking, this isn't about music buildings surrounded by scaffolding, this is about the $20 million renovation to Rose Arena, a fully functioning facility that houses many events ranging from concerts to commencement.
For the readers out there, keep an eye on campus spending and an ear to the whines of insufficient funds when it comes to things we need.
Daniel J. Radatz
Swartz Creek sophomore
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