American folk poet Ogden Nash, in frustration with the increasing clutter of signage along the country’s highways in the 1950s, penned a short piece entitled “Song of the Open Road” —

I think that I shall never see

A billboard lovely as a tree.

Indeed, unless the billboards fall

I’ll never see a tree at all.

The problem at Georgia Southwestern State University is not billboards but buildings, and the dilemma is how we create the space that we need in order to attract, accommodate and retain students without rearranging nature. Despite our desire to be good stewards of nature, protect the environment and limit the size of our carbon footprint, at times we have no choice but to remove trees.

On May 23, several of my colleagues and I met with a group of seven concerned citizens who are protesting the construction of our new Health and Human Sciences Building. They do not oppose the building per se, but argue that its construction means the removal of a large stand of pine trees and the rerouting of the walking trail that currently winds through those trees. They are asking that we take our building, go somewhere else and ensure their continued access to the trail.

The discussion that day was prefaced with a brief statement as to our sympathy with the group’s motivation. We understand environmental issues, work hard to keep our campus green and teach our students to respect nature. At the same time, we wanted to make sure this group understood the importance of the $25 million project both to the larger Americus community and the University. Our ability to grow, especially in our nursing program, will remain seriously hampered without that new building. George Smith, director of the Physical Plant, and Arthur Clark, the administrator responsible for landscape design and development at the University, spoke brilliantly in defense of GSW’s record as an environmentally sensitive campus. Cody King, vice president for Business and Finance, explained how the location for the new H&HS Building had been chosen and why there were no other alternative sites available. One of the protesters countered by suggesting we raze one of the older dormitories to make room for the new facility and build residence halls at locations several miles away from the campus. Human Resources Director, Janet Siders, quickly pointed to the folly of such a proposal and in a very telling argument explained why the best interests of our students had to take precedence over a stand of old pine trees and a short walking trail.

Regardless of whether the protesters were convinced by the persuasive argument put forth by my colleagues, comforted by our promise of a better trail to come or resigned to the inevitability of the new building’s eventual replacement of some of the pine trees and the trail, the facts are clear:

1. The pine trees in questions are loblolly pines that were planted by the University some years ago. They are fast-growing, short life-span trees, and already many of them are showing signs of disease. It would not be that unusual if in another year or two we discovered that many of them would have to be removed, with or without the new construction.

2. The University will replace every tree it removes from that site with at least two trees at other locations. This is a long-standing policy at the University and a testament to its commitment to preserving nature.

3. The University will at some point in the near future construct a much more extensive walking trail than the current trail. This trail will include a section of nature trail and be available for public use in the same way as the existing trail. I am certain that reasonable people will find it a great improvement over what the protesters are fighting to retain.

The most important fact, however, is that Georgia Southwestern and Americus need this new facility. The construction alone will be a boon to the local economy. From the University’s perspective, letting the concern for a walking trail take precedence over the building of this much-needed facility would lead to a disastrous shortage of classroom space, many faculty squeezed into inadequate offices, and a diminished enrollment and supply of nursing students and nurses.