and the walls came tumblin' down...

on friday, the post wrote an article on how the university is planning to tear down the tb ward at the ridges before halloween. when i read it, i was upset and appalled that they would do that, let alone so quickly. while i have not broken in to the building or spent hours on the weekends up there (like so many students have), i love the ridges and the beauty and history they lend to athens. 

i later went to the museum for my shift, and the author of the new book asylum on the hill, katherine ziff, was there to donate something from her attic. she and everyone in collections got into a rather heated conversation about the demolition, and they discussed all the ways they are trying to stop it from happening. i asked if there was any way i could help, so at the very least, i’m writing a press release for them next week.

i’ve always loved old buildings and have had a curiosity about them since i was little. my sister and mom share this and claim historical homes as "their own" back where i’m from. i remember my sister’s “house” was demolished last summer, and none of us have driven past the empty lot since then. 

i think buildings have so much to say and deserve to be kept whole for as long as possible. the $300,000 allotted to demolition the tb ward (and, according to jessica, eventually every other non-renovated building at the ridges) could be used so easily to help restore the buildings and then open them to the public. it infuriates me when people refuse to acknowledge the historical and cultural value of older buildings. 

some things are worth more than what money you might save or make from building a new, modern site. once that bulldozer hits the foundation, it’s over. gone. nothing left but to try to scavenge some information from the rubble. apparently, these buildings haven’t yet been officially recognized as important, but they are. 

i’m going to make noise with these people to try to stop the demolition.

on the bright side, it’s becoming clearer to me every day that this field is something that i love.