The North Campus Experience

and a rap by little ol' me lamar

Maybe I have a thing for prodigiously talented musician girls with cute foreign accents.

Zing!

You can't really flatly make claims about North lacking college charm. When I think of how much I love UM,  the two things I think of(in order) are the Big House and then walking about North Campus. So while you might not enjoy it, I certainly do and am sure there are others that would agree with me. 

I lived on North Campus my freshman year, and despite my initial distaste for the area, I really grew to love it.  It's beautiful up there—that should not be understated in my opninion—and I'm actually a big fan of the architecture (the engineering schools/Dude library are some very cool buildings, and the Lurie bell tower and IOE building/fountains are two of my favorite locations on campus outside the Diag, Union and the Big house).

However, best part of living on North campus as a freshman is the experience.  Yes, it's inconvenient to have to take the buses, but once you figure out the system it's fairly easy.  But, the fact that you are on north campus helps build a great community.  The shared 'misfortune' of being on north campus gives everyone a similarity, which leads to some great friendships.

A lot of people complain about North, but I never—or at least, to the extent of my memory—heard a single person who has lived up there complain about North Campus.  Quite the contrary actually, almost everyone who I've talked to who lived on north loved it.  It's almost always the people who live on Central, who are scared by the prospect of taking the buses anywhere, or by waking up 15 minutes earlier than they would have before.  I've lived on Central for the last 2 years, and I wouldn't want to live on North again, but as a freshman it's a great option, and I definitely not change it if I could now.

I can understand if you don't like the architecture of north, more modern architecture is not for everyone, but it isn't just seen on north—Ross Business School comes to mind, and you can't even compare North to the architecture seen in the LSA buidling (not Angell Hall, the administrative building) and Dennison, which are very ugly buildings in my honest opinion.  And, the open areas and woods on north are really nice.  I still go up there for late night studying, as the Dude is one of my favorite places to study on campus, despite not being an Engineer/Architect/etc.

Too Long?

Eh.

Spark Notes: I like North Campus a lot, and people rip on it too much.

I spent a vast majority of my time in class on NC, but lived 3/4 years on SC.  NC has its drawbacks, but architecture isn't one of them.  Have you ever seen the FXB or Eng. Coll building, library or Lurie Bell Tower?  Tell me how these are any less appealing that Dennison, UgLi, East Hall, Inst. for Social Research, Student Activities Building or LS&A building.

Also, Geddes runs East-West, so it might have been difficult to purchase property east of it.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Film flam has gone out of business.

They're closed now, and I for one will miss them.

I didn't mind the bus rides as much. They gave me a chance to think. The bus routes could be brutally timed though, in the evenings or the weekends, so having a car or at least a bike with gearshifts became important to me for flexibility on NC.

Architecturally NC these days has its moments. There was construction that went on in some part of the complex the whole time I went to school there, in addition to periodic tree trimmings, and one time they even did a controlled burn of the forest brush immediately south of Northwood III and north of the engineering buildings. The new bus stop is good, the column by the art and design building not so good, and some of the engineering complex buildings and fountains are cool. I like the Walgreen Drama Center (the building with the green cube attached) since it created a lot more rehearsal and performance space for performing arts students when it was completed. I got to perform, rehearse, and go to classes and concerts there. The music building itself is bricks and lockers, and large empty rooms with chairs and music stands. It's good for what it's intended to do but it isn't an architectural wonder in its own right. The picture windows in the 2nd floor classrooms and lounge are decent though, and there's good reading spaces and materials in the library to work.

the old engineering buildings.............I had to point it out the old 'artifacts' to the tour guide. It did, however, bring back pleasant memories when a girl friend at the time pointed out to me the clever  formulas, i.e. the  'heat of the meat' times the 'mass of the ass' equals...., wanna be engineers had scrawled on the walls at the time..............

The Third Floor... where legends are born.

I lived in 5th Ham freshman year ('96).  Met several friends that I still keep in close touch with. Hung out with a roving band of Hippie chicks... good times.   There were definately plenty of secluded spots to spark one.

I was happy to live off cental campus for the rest of my time there though.  I just wasn't meant to be an engineer I guess.

to  North campus has been the drill for 30+ years.

The Bur-Lodge cafeteria had some pretty good food I recall.  Certainly better than what they served up at South Quad.

>> I don't know about the engineering

Well that much is obvious. :)

Let me describe my time on NC for you:  go to class,  go to work, study & do homework,  get 5-6 hours of sleep, repeat.

I have had decent paying jobs since graduation and stuff, but I'm not sure I ever want to work that hard again.

I finally managed to write a diary, with the ongoing help and intellectual stimulation I get through conversing with my friends on this board such as yourself. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones WD.