by Kaity Kopeski
Editor-in-chief
Bryan College is in the process of revising the Vision 2020 master plan, according to Tim Hostetler, vice president of operations. This revised plan includes flattening the bottom of the Grassy Bowl to use for intramural fields.
According to Hostetler, the already flat part at the bottom of the Grassy Bowl would be pushed back about 100 ft towards the president’s home and the alumni building, making the flat space about 150’x300′, which is about the size of a football field.
This space would be exclusively for student activities, like intramurals and events.
Nothing is finalized, according to Hostetler, and changes need to be approved by the Board of Trustees. If the changes are approved, the whole project would take less than a week to complete.
“It’s an extremely small project,” Hostetler said, meaning the project requires minimal time and money. He said the physical changes to the Grassy Bowl would also be minimal.
“It’s not a desire to change the bowl,” Hostetler said.
What people typically think of as the “bowl,” which is the trees and slope, would not alter. According to Hostetler, the desire is to take “unusable space” and make it useable for students.
Although the changes may be small, some students still have issues with any alterations.
“It’s not about the space,” said senior Katie Wilkens, “it’s about the atmosphere. The whole point of the Grassy Bowl is to have somewhere to go to get away from people, noise and have a quiet time. Putting in intramural fields will ruin that.”
However, according to senior Seth Dukes, with the college adding more sports, students need another place to play intramurals besides the practice fields.
“Having another place to play Frisbee would be nice,” he said.
Freshmen Matt Bell said that during flag football last week, soccer practice was also taking place, and wandering soccer balls kept interrupting their game.
“I like the idea,” Bell said, “and not having been here too long, I’m more open to it.”
While freshmen like Bell may have little attachment to the bowl, some seniors, like Natalie McGehee, have stronger ties.
“A part of me would be really sad to lose the atmosphere the Grassy Bowl creates. It’s a really good time to think and a safe haven to get away from campus, and Bryan doesn’t have many places to do that,” she said. “On the other side, I can see there is a need for intramural sports and the Grassy Bowl fits that requirement.”
McGehee said many meaningful experiences with God have taken place in the Grassy Bowl, and she would be disappointed if in future years students viewed the Grassy Bowl as “just a place where games happen.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily be angry about the changes,” she said, “but Bryan would lose something.”