Upcoming Changes around Point Campus

Change can be difficult for anyone. Communities are always going through changes; some are good, some not so good. While sitting in a meeting for the Students for Sustainable Communities club meeting, the proposal of a new design for the are referred to as the sun dial is need of being dug up because of a bad line underground needed to be repaired. Since the university needs to tear up the area because of that, they are exploring the option of re-designing the compass area into something different. This is one possible change occurring around the Stevens Point campus.
Another change that may be made is there is a proposal to build a new apartment complex between Ella’s Restaurant and the radio station and plaza area. This is a private firm away from Stevens Point University wanting to build them. It would include roughly 100 bedrooms varying from double to four people. There would also be two buildings in front of them for any use from fast food to insurance. The design was brought up for debate by a board of land use planners and it was open to the public for discussion.
Both of these ideas are changes the community of Stevens Point and more specifically the University is looking at and I feel that both should happen. One involves the University directly and the other is a private firm looking to offer housing for UWSP students. The first one I will discuss is the housing project. Building this new apartment complex would be a great way for people attending college to not be under the rules of living in the dorms. Also, it would give students another option other than living in a house with roommates if they don’t want too. Given that the discussion was a debate open to the public, many that came were landlords that had houses they owned in the area. Many of them as you would assume were against this saying that it would be detrimental to their livelihood and they would need another way to make a living. I feel it would only make them compete with the apartment complex, making them repair their houses and a little better living since some of the houses aren’t in that great of shape.
UWSP is known for getting people outside and connecting with the environment. With the sun dial area having to be torn up, the new proposal is too eliminate most of the pavement and incorporate more trees and shrubs to dress it up. The problem is that this is where they hold graduation and it creates an issue. There is talk about having it in front of Old Main and putting down temporary tiles. This would be one way around that dilemma. Also, there was talk of being able to have live outdoor bands and other activities, getting students involved.
Overall, I feel both these changes should go through and both have more benefits than disadvantages. Change can sometimes be hard, but usually is good and I think a new look for UWSP would be a good thing. The new apartment complex would help overall living conditions with students and would contribute to the overall growth of this campus.