Word has spread, via graffiti and wood-carved messages, the buildings used by the College of Art and Design will receive an award for “being tragically cool in that decrepit, post-apocalyptic way.”
This should come as no shock to students and professors who have been privileged enough to spend even just one class in these tenderly cherished hallways and rooms.
Upon entering the tastefully scuffed and scratched interior of the Studio Arts Building, a warm breeze of a musk and chemically scented hall fills your nostrils. Dim, flickering light radiates from the overhead lamps and shimmers on the warped floors, alluding to a rippling ocean beneath twinkling stars.
The chaotic, creatively organized rooms of the Art Building challenges students to sift through the clutter and uncover works of art stacked above every staggered floor tile. Lying in a field of dandelions on the Parisian countryside cannot equate to the level of artistic fever students feel when entering these buildings.
The award will be presented by the National Society for the Coolest Buildings Barely Standing.
Not only are the art students relieved that their buildings are finally gaining recognition for their charm and character, but the rest of campus is joining in their elation.
“I considered changing from a business major to art major just because the buildings are so much cooler,” said Louis Styles, boyband budgeting junior. “It’s almost unfair how LSU lets the art kids work in a somewhat dangerous but very hip environment. All of our buildings are up to code and just, like, very very boring.”
While some rivalry exists between majors based on the lack of equality shown in facility management, there remains a collective sense of pride for the art buildings that serve as a “Cool Kid Clubhouse” for so many.
As some students have heard, the UREC will soon follow in the decaying footsteps of the Studio Art Building. Maintenance employees will be paid to neglect the exercise facility until a leaky moat forms around its perimeter. Blind optimists and hipsters will then advertise said moat as a lazy river.
At other universities, where administrators put more funding and passion into safe and stable educational buildings, students might have questioned the authority.
But not here at LSU. We stand by our superiors’ affinity for shabby-chic detailing and the amiable decisions they make with our tuition dollars.
“I completely understand why the University is putting so much money toward the already updated UREC facility to bring it down to par with the art buildings. I’m just glad the art students can benefit from administrators’ laissez-faire attitude,” said Missy Hubschmen, a freshman majoring in hand turkey drawing.
Hubschmen’s optimism, however, can’t be generalized for all students. Last fall when the ceiling fell in the ceramic studio, there were a few, very minor, remarks of disdain from those who failed to see it as the modern performance art it was.
But that theatric display, which was completely planned, is unfortunately unappreciated by parts of the LSU community.
The University allowed the destruction and debris of the ceiling to remain on display for all to enjoy.
Today, the buildings retain their grungy style more than ever, and students are overjoyed — nay — ecstatic at the freedom LSU has given them to learn in an environment that reflects the darkness of their tortured artistic souls.
However, as unsettling as it may be, a minority of art students are planning a protest for renovations.
After all the flexibility and leeway the University has given these architectural masterpieces, students have the nerve to organize a protest for additional funding for a functional space geared toward furthering their education.
Who do they think they are? Overtaxed college students with limited resources and inadequate buildings for their classes?
Whatever attitudes students have about the buildings, at least the rest of the country is taking notice of the great art facilities LSU has bent backwards to not maintain.
Annette Sommers is an 18-year-old mass communication sophomore from Dublin, Calif.