Kirby Smith Hall, the eyesore of LSU dorms, will finally be demolished June 4. In its place will be a green space for students to enjoy by the fall semester, creating a much-needed social area for the west side of campus.

With a problematic history, the building named after Confederate Army Gen. Edmund Kirby-Smith, nicknamed “the hospital” and “Dirty Kirby,” is far past due for demolition. It closed in 2006 but was forced to be renovated and reopened in 2011 due to rising demands for on-campus housing. New residential halls including Camelia, Azalea, Cedar and Spruce allowed the university to permanently close the aging building in 2021.

Many are ready to cheer the long-awaited demolition of Kirby. To protect implosion onlookers, the surrounding buildings will be evacuated ahead of the demolition, and bystanders will be kept a safe distance away from the building’s perimeter. While the implosion will only take about 15 minutes, construction preparation has been ongoing since October 2021.

Though most students hoped for a parking lot to be built in Kirby’s place, a green space is a functional and aesthetically pleasing addition to campus. There are currently few places to play Frisbee, have picnics or go on walks for students living west of the Quad. The Parade Ground is a far walk for students living in Cedar and Spruce halls and is dangerous to walk to late at night. Replacing Kirby with an outdoor area will provide a safer, more convenient way to meet new people and host events.

While a parking lot in Kirby’s place may seem logical, it would not create as many opportunities for parking as students may think. Because Kirby itself is a taller, skinnier building than those surrounding it (13 stories compared to Cedar Hall’s five stories), the plot of land left after demolition would not provide much space for student parking.

Researchers have found that the addition of green spaces on college campuses can provide stress-relief for students. They even found that students who can see greenery from their living spaces perform better at attention-based tasks than those who cannot.

“Once Kirby’s gone, we’ll get a much better view for people at Cedar whose rooms face campus,” finance freshman Tyler Voyles, a resident of Cedar Hall, said. “When I walk to class, Kirby’s such an eye sore, and without it, the beauty of our campus will show more clearly.”

Replacing “Dirty Kirby” with a green space will upgrade the entire west side of campus. Kirby sticks out like a sore thumb among the beautiful oak trees and sophisticated architecture of newer residential halls, and by demolishing it, the university takes another step toward beautifying campus.

Mia Coco is a 19-year-old political communication student from Alexandria.