Thinking about my experience of the campus at the University of Waterloo, I cannot think of the campus as a whole, but rather the specific spaces in which I have placed a mark or spaces that have marked me. My story cube is a compilation of spaces that I will never forget once leaving the University of Waterloo.
Each student at the UW will have different experiences of the campus as class schedule and activities direct the path students take allowing them to intimately experience some spaces at the university and have no experience of others. Thus, the meaning of ‘campus’ for one student may mean something absolutely different to another. My campus includes ECH, Williams Coffee Pub, the 5thfloor at DP Library, two rooms in the PAS building, the Womyn’s Center, ECH 1219 and my favorite professor’s office. The paths that connect these spaces become the borders of my campus.
During class many students pointed out that campus was disjointed and bland. The disjointedness of the campus may influence that fact that some students only experience one part of the ‘campus’. However, I think that the term ‘bland’ should only be applied to Waterloo’s ‘campus’ architecture (which I think was generally the case). Behind the bland walls of ‘campus’ buildings are spaces in which each student has the opportunity to have very enriching and colourful experiences. For example, sitting in the bland 1219 presentation room listening to Allyson Mitchell’s artist talk drastically changed my life path, thus I will always remember this room when I reminisce about University of Waterloocampus. Also, most of my time is spent in my studio in ECH and thus I know it quite intimately, my idea of ‘campus’ starts and is centered around this space, which may differ drastically from other UW students who do not even know this space exists.
It is close to impossible to investigating the experience of the ‘campus’, a space structured and sanctioned by the University of Waterloo, as I can only speak subjectively of ‘campus’, as the experience and construction of ‘campus’ is relative to the individual student. Thus, the map of ‘campus’ presented at the front of every student agenda, which many may argue is represented physically by the ‘campus’ buildings and thus is a true spatial representation of the University of Waterloo is shown be an idea/ideal and ‘campus’ is constructed fluidly through the subjective experience of UW students.
