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EDITORIAL
Form, Function or Green Space?
An editorial published recently in the Delta Statement has stirred interest among students over a solution to the “parking crisis” on campus. Among other suggestions put forth in the article, it is argued that two possibilities for reform might include the building of a parking garage between Walter-Caylor and Ewing and a reduction in the width of the quad in order to accommodate more commuters. The author then links this category of practical solutions to an “air of progress,” urging readers to look beyond the negative implications and see the greater utility. It is our intention to challenge the trend of thought reflected in this article, namely the assumption that “progress” is the proper word to characterize policies whose focus is limited to human convenience. We contend that there is a broader utility, a more universal meaning of progress which considers not only the value of convenience and efficiency but balances these against the inherent value of the natural environment.
The first question to consider in this debate seems to be whether the Delta State and Cleveland communities will benefit from expanded campus parking. The practical benefits of additional parking are obvious: more students can drive to class; they can arrive later and still be in class on time. The practical drawbacks are perhaps less apparent: additional parking near academic buildings means additional traffic in congested pedestrian areas; expanded parking around the quad requires a reduction of recreational green space used for sports and campus events, as well as a fatal intrusion into the root systems of the quad’s adorning trees. When the debate is framed in this way, the consequences perhaps seem minor in comparison to the supposed benefits; the controversy of the issue perhaps seems inflated. Ultimately, the problem of parking at a small, regional university is insignificant; whatever the outcome, the environmental impact of a few hundred extra parking spaces is marginal in regards to the wider world.
But the real problem is hidden beneath the practical rhetoric of such arguments, revealing itself only when one examines where language is rooted in perspective. Though the context of such issues as parking is local in nature and seemingly insignificant, the danger of a perspective which perceives no value for nature in itself, which regards progress only in terms of the present, transcends the particulars of a local debate and comes to reflect a global problem. Such perceptions seem to be based on some notion of hedonistic utilitarianism, that the correct decision is the one that yields the greatest convenience right now. But it is the legacy of this perspective that we now face the lingering consequences of a long line of short-term solutions, which at the time of their conceptions were considered progress.
It is not the intention of this response to isolate a student voicing an opinion about a student-oriented problem, nor to exaggerate the ideological implications of a practical local issue. Our only intention is to frame this debate, and all the seemingly localized debates that follow, in a way that considers a wider range of relevant factors. We have inherited a set of assumptions that lead us to believe that the solution to a parking problem is more parking, that an open space is a blank canvass, and ultimately that human convenience is the bottom line. The equation has two sides; it is impossible to subtract from one and not the other. There are many alternative solutions to the parking problem, such as additional bike racks and campaigns intended to discourage unnecessary drivers instead of rewarding them. Before we even consider sacrificing any natural element of our campus, let us first exhaust every possible option.
Josh Walker, The Gaia Project
The Gaia Project is a student run organization and is supported and housed in The Madison Center, a center for the study of democracy, human rights and the Constitution at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.