VCU students victims of broken paths

Katherine Johnson
Columnist

The majority of VCU students have fallen victim to those tricky brick walkways outside the library leading to the Student Commons. I know I have, and I’ve witnessed it more times than I can count. When I trip, I stumble a little but keep walking as if it didn’t happen. This is one deflection strategy, while the other is quickly looking around to see if anyone else noticed before continuing on your way.

Some people are clumsy, but the real problem is the walkway. Anyone who takes this path can attest to the fact that many of the bricks are loose, causing them to move when you’re walking, or even raised up and uneven in some spots which can cause the front of your foot to get stuck. It’s even worse at night when you can’t spot the bricks to avoid.

Since this is a well-traveled path around campus, VCU needs to fix it. The university is always looking for improvements and has made many new additions to the school this semester, including the coverings over the bike racks and the new parking garages.

While these are great improvements, VCU should be concerned with the basics before going big. So much money has been spent on extravagant projects, such as the university’s green initiative, including new solar compactors and bike racks. I support the message that VCU wants to become more eco-friendly and believe they’re heading in the right direction, but something as common as a walkway should see improvements first.

I admit I’m new to campus, but this can’t be a problem that just came about this year. Besides loose bricks, there are some spots where bricks are just missing and gaps take their place. Only certain patches need to be worked on, so this probably wouldn’t put the walkway out of use.

Although tripping and falling may not seriously hurt someone, it’s a possibility. A few weeks ago I witnessed a student fall outside of the library. The easiest scapegoat is, of course, the brick walkway. Most of the time you can escape with just some scratches or a bruise, with our egos taking the most damage.

The walkways also leave a poor impression of the school. By no means would a potential student rule us out because of our walkways, but if they tripped, it may be one of the things they remembered most about their campus visit. I have a friend from Virginia Tech who commented on the bricks when she visited. I brought the topic up and was going to explain the problem, when to my surprise, she said that she had tripped on them too.

The university needs to put this on their list of things to do. It’s not a money issue, since we’re seeing all of the other great improvements and add-ons. Walkways should be safe for students. Not only will the fixes improve VCU’s image, it’s a necessity for pedestrians. Also, no one wants to face the humiliation of tripping in front of everyone.