This assignment for Strategic Writing challenged us to go out and interview people in the Elon community about the construction going on on campus. The construction being a $15 million, brand-new School of Communications.
I realized quickly that I knew nothing about construction and barely anything about this project, so I made an appointment with the dean of the School of Communications, Paul Parsons.
Mount McEwen:
A Conversation with Dean Parsons
For months, a two-story mountain of red dirt has been an eyesore for those living and working on the otherwise pristinely-manicured campus of Elon University. Past the pizza shop and the bookstore, the main mountain sits on the corner of a fenced-in construction site on North Williamson Avenue. “I think the popular name for it is Mount McEwen,” said Dr. Paul Parsons. As dean of the School of Communications, Parsons has been at the foreground of the $15 million construction and expansion of the communications school since the university broke ground last year.
Many have been wondering what role Mount McEwen plays in the landscape of the university. “People have asked, ‘why not cart the dirt away? Are you really going to use it all?’ And the answer is yes, most of it, we will,” said Parsons. He went on to explain that the dirt will mainly be used to pack around the areas where the concrete will be poured, creating a sort of template as the building is built up. In the middle of his explanation, he reached for a notepad and started drawing rectangles, “I’m more of a visual learner myself,” he said. Then he stood up, and with a quick “follow me,” turned and walked outside.
Standing on the concrete deck attached to the back of the current communications building, he gestured broadly toward the mountain of dirt and explained the concept of ‘backfilling’. His knowledge was impressive, and his word choice made it clear that construction and architecture are topics that interest him. “I built a house one time,” he said, “But I’ve never been involved in a project of this size and scope.”
As he walked back toward his office, he stopped once or twice to point out where planned renovations would be occurring within the current School of Communications building. These include widening certain hallways, and new entrances that will connect the old to the new.
When he returned to his office, he mentioned offhand that he was approached by one of the school’s media specialists who asked him to climb the dirt pile for a photo-op. “I did stumble once,” he admitted, “I was using my hands to climb up. The whole thing was kind of an insurance risk.” Despite the hazardous ascent, he was able to scale Mount McEwen dressed in his usual professional attire: a suit and tie.
For Parsons, the story behind Mount McEwen offers an interesting piece of knowledge about architecture. For others, it represents an unwanted backdrop to their daily drive or stroll. But as the mountain eventually gets built and transformed into the new school, it will represent more than just a platform for a photo-op. It will be a platform for tomorrow’s media professionals.