Testudo at sunset
When prospective students visit the university’s campus for the first time, many are likely struck by the classical architecture adorning its 1,250 acres.
Numerous fountains, statues and plazas complement the architecture of campus buildings, fulfilling a grandiose yet traditional vision that dates back to the university’s establishment in 1856. Some might say the green expanse of McKeldin Mall, anchored on one end by the seven-story McKeldin Library with its white-columned facade and flanked by rows of red brick buildings, captures the very essence of academia.
Others, however, say features like these make for an ugly campus.
In its Sept. 17 ranking of “The 50 Ugliest College Campuses,” Complex.com, an online lifestyle magazine that targets young men, awarded the No. 17 spot to this university. A picture of McKeldin Library and the fountain on McKeldin Mall taken on a cloudy day accompany the ranking, along with a shot of the College Park Metro station — which is not, of course, part of the campus.
The caption under the ranking reads: “Similar to many other campuses on our list, College Park is a brick wonderland. Its unfortunate Georgian aesthetic choice is the main reason this school gets on the list. With its cold, rigid architecture and need for high security, College Park leaves a lot to be desired.”
Stephen Parker, a graduate student in the architecture school, said the campus aesthetic is comparable to that of many other universities, such as the University of Virginia.
“Ugliness is a matter of opinion, especially in a really subjective field like architecture,” Parker said. “Whether or not a magazine thinks this is an ugly campus or not doesn’t have much of an impact on me.”
Many students said they doubted the author of the ranking had ever visited the campus.
“I think the article is unfair and wrong,” said Matthew Goldberg, a junior government and politics major. “I think Maryland is an attractive campus overall — there is a lot grass, trees and squirrels, and the buildings are timeless.”
While the campus does harbor some buildings Goldberg considers ugly, such as Susquehanna Hall and some of the North Campus residence halls, the buildings around the mall and Stamp Student Union have a “classic collegiate style,” he said.
This is not the first time the university has turned up on a list like this — a March 26 BroBible.com article included the university on its list of “The 10 Ugliest Colleges in the United States.”
The BroBible commentary, however, admitted the campus’ layout is “picturesque,” and instead criticized the surrounding city of College Park.
“As soon as you leave the campus, the town of College Park notoriously sucks thanks to lots of low-income housing and a high crime rate,” the post reads. “It’s hard for the shittiness of its surroundings to not bleed into the ugliness of the campus itself.”
But the city of College Park is not synonymous with the university’s campus — so, rather than judging the ever-changing row of restaurants on Route 1, perhaps future rankings will take into account those aspects of the campus itself that students call home, such as Memorial Chapel and its labyrinth garden, the spacious, state-of-the-art performing arts center or the familiar “M” circle of flowers.
