By Kevin RobillardStaff writer
Some people can’t appreciate Knox Boxes’ fine outside decor or the classic charm of Lasicks’ doublewide liquor store and drive-thru.
The blog Campus Squeeze ranked the university’s campus as one of the 20-ugliest in the country, blaming its less-than-stunning surroundings for bringing down the beauty of the campus itself.
“The surrounding neighborhood isn’t great, and overall the buildings are on the downswing. It does have a nice quad and trees, but seriously. Who cares about trees?” the website said. “If all the stuff surrounding the trees is disgusting, doesn’t that say something about the college?”
The website admits the selection, which is accompanied by a long-distance photo of the Comcast Center and the nearby parking garage, will cause “controversy.” But the apparent insult toward the city of College Park didn’t offend District 2 City Councilman Bob Catlin.
“Not news to me,” Catlin said, laughing. “Everybody knows this. That’s what [the city council] is trying to fix.”
Though the city government official didn’t seem personally offended, students sprung to the university’s defense.
“I don’t agree with that at all,” said Matt Higgins, a sophomore civil engineering major. Higgins, who transferred from the University of Vermont, said this university “is probably the best-looking one of all the schools I’ve seen – the trees and the mall and everything.”
Greg Donaldson, a sophomore biology major, doubted the university has one of the ugliest campuses in the country.
“You look at our mall,” Donaldson said. “It just looks like every other state university. I don’t see the difference.”
The list, which has been making the rounds on the Internet, has generated responses from university supporters. The website Sports Illustrated on Campus said the inclusion of this campus on the list was the “biggest surprise.”
“University of Maryland is basically a newer version of University of Virginia. Take a walk on the mall to experience its aesthetic beauty,” said one post on the blog-rating website, Digg. The same website had several other defenses of the university.
Campus Squeeze ranked Drexel University in Philadelphia the ugliest campus in the country. The University of Massachusetts – Amherst, Southern Connecticut State, Brandeis University and Carnegie Mellon University rounded out the top five.
A previous list by the same author named the 20 most beautiful campuses in the country. Pepperdine University grabbed the number one spot on that list, followed by Princeton University, Loyola Marymount University, Sweet Briar College and Mount Holyoke College.
Don’t trust everything in the blog, however; the list has some inaccuracies. For example, the photo accompanying the description of Northeastern University is of a building that is nowhere to be found on the university’s main campus in Boston.
krobillard@dbk.umd.edu
