With The Cage about to be demolished and Fayerweather Gym on its way to a new future as the University Center, only the old squash courts on College Row remain unused. If current plans for a University Museum come through, though, the squash courts and Wesleyan could have a brand-new future.
Treasures and artifacts of staggering value are currently scattered in boxes and small display cases all over campus, from a stuffed buffalo on the fourth floor of the science center to pages from the Gutenberg Bible. Consolidating these collections would showcase them in a way never seen before, making them available for students working on research projects as well as the community at large.
The preliminary designs for the building are stunning. The University Museum would not only be a cultural boon, but a perfect architectural match for the University Center, which, if current plans are accepted, would be constructed at the same time. With an open first floor, the museum would serve a similar function as the science center does now, offering a pathway while simultaneously exposing visitors to the building itself. The building would also provide new classroom space.
Thus far there has been little publicity for the proposal, and with the Wesleyan Campaign officially wrapped, crucial fundraising efforts have slowed. With the news of the plans now getting more attention, students, faculty, and alumni are in a position to push the Administration to build this museum. When funding for certain language classes were cut last spring, students were outraged that the Administration would fund new dorms before education. An enormous educational tool is simply waiting in our basements and cardboard boxes, and with the center of campus about to shift toward the squash courts, there is no better time to resurrect our museum. Given the artistic and cultural legacy at this school, nothing, not even fundraising, should stand in this museum’s way.
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