The Big Brown Box

After this week's discussion about what happened in Bobst Library, I needed to do some investigating.

I was super intrigued in hearing that our big brown box was built as a demonstration of power. Obviously I've always known the building is "off" somehow; the cube fortress juts out from the earth like a sore thumb and doesn't match any of the surrounding landscapes, the floor is crazy (to put it simply), and last week I finally recognized the crosses on the railings that everyone was talking about. So I looked up some things. Philip Johnston was commissioned by NYU to create several buildings around campus, including the library. He stated before his death in 2005 that Bobst was his "swan song" and that it was meant to be a "habitable sculpture" (not just a building). NYU representatives went on to say that Johnston created campus buildings that were instantly recognizable and that he transformed NYU from just another university to one of national prestige. That is to say, NYU was most concerned with how the library would be perceived by the country and not about its use to the students. It was never meant to be comfortable for us. It was simply supposed to give NYU that extra push to scholarly distinctness. Unfortunately, they couldn't predict that it would become a symbol of death.

Fast forward to the present, and NYU is still concerned more with the building than they are with the students that use it. They won't let the suicides combat the symbol of power that it is meant to stand for. The pristine image constructed by the famous architect must stand. So a few students jump over the banisters? Put in some Plexiglas but keep the design. A student manages to get over it a few years later? Send a tour through the atrium after we clean it up. Ignore and ignore and ignore and ignore. Don't give any statements to the press and don't give any statements of worth to the faculty and students. Because NYU is a university of national prestige. Not one where students kill themselves.

A friend of mine brought up a great point the other day. When there are so many other methods of suicide, why do these kids pick Bobst? Why do they always do it there? I think it's because they're sending NYU a message about the way it operates. And I think it may be time for NYU to listen.