In the Dec. 6 Diamondback article, “Loh speaks to Sen. on BIG,” university President Wallace Loh is quoted saying, “The Big Ten, what they realize, is that the days of geographical boundaries are over — geography no longer matters.” As chair of the geographical sciences department, and regardless of where one stands on the Big Ten decision, I would like to point out that geography does matter.
This university’s location inside the Beltway is one of its biggest assets. Geography is more than simply location; it is also about space. We are told a major reason why this university was so attractive to the Big Ten was because of its location, and the TV market would be extended into a highly lucrative geographic area.
Geography is also about connectivity, place and cultural identity. Whether it’s the issue of the Purple Line, out-of-state tuition or the team you support, geography does matter for this university. This university has one of the best geography departments in the country, and our success, and that of the university as a whole, is based on how we differentiate ourselves from the competition.
Geography is also about scale. At the national level, whether it’s the election, immigration, economic development, outsourcing and trade, extreme weather events or climate change, geography does matter. Contrary to Loh’s statement, news in the Middle East and deliberations of the United Nations Security Council make it clear that the “days of geographic boundaries” are far from over. There is no doubt the Internet is changing how we view the world and how we connect globally, which is making the geographical sciences even more interesting and relevant to our daily lives. I would request that Loh find another more accurate and less inflammatory sound bite, because geography does matter.
Chris Justice is the geographical sciences department chair. He can be reached at justice@hermes.geog.umd.edu.
