Boston University Campus Boston, Mass.
November 29, 2008
It's almost as if they wanted it done by the dark of night. The radio antenna above the Boston University College of Communication came down today, on a Saturday when most of the campus was empty, the students still away celebrating the long holiday weekend.
Not that the moment really means much to non-BU students and grads. The eye-sore antenna hasn't been functioning since the 1950's, and back then, WBUR (now Boston's NPR affiliate) was the University's student radio station. However, the tower symbolized COM, as we all call the College. Its removal has sparked somewhat of a debate on campus, since the BU president recently ordered a construction freeze. A well-written story in BU's student newspaper, The Daily Free Press, talks about other unsightly architecture on the campus that should face a similar fate, even during the freeze. (I love the reference to tearing down the BU Law Tower; as the famous BU joke goes: "The best view of Boston is from the high floors of the BU Law Tower, because you can't see the Law Tower.")
I saw the antenna coming down today as I was walking from Louie's, where I have gotten my hair cut since I started at BU. Maybe only a BU COM grad can understand, but it was somewhat of a poignant, if accidental moment. We recognize COM by the antenna in diametrically opposed ways. You think radio, of course, when you see it, but its derelict status always reminded the COM student of the equally decrepit halls of the building itself.
2 comments:
You were lucky to see it... Very sad...
Ohhh, that makes me sad. Thanks for linking to the DFP articles, too - very interesting.
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