Unarguably, Tufts students can agree that the view of the Hill - no matter what the season - is beautifully picturesque. The stately trees, modern library, long green lawns, at times blanketed with snow, and wrought-iron fence comprise an aesthetically pleasing and made-for-a-brochure scene. For better or for worse, a new plan hopes to augment this scene by extending the Hill's fence around the entire Medford/Somerville campus. The fence will run along the athletic fields of College Avenue from Professors Row to Powder House Circle, and then back along Powder House Boulevard.
Traditionally, graduating classes donated money to extend the fence. This began with the class of 1924, which made the initial contribution to build the fence. During the following years, graduating classes and families of deceased alumni have donated money for the fence - until the Great Depression, when the tradition was practically forgotten as funds dried up.
Tufts now hopes to raise money from alumni and graduating classes to complete the fence project. The construction of the fence will help to celebrate Tufts' 150th anniversary in 2002, and its planners hope to channel the excitement drummed up by the anniversary to support the project. Each section of the fence, which consists of two pillars 30 feet apart and connected by wrought iron, costs $30,000. How many sections needed? According to the plan, a portion of each donation will go toward financial aid.
"We're not just building a fence, but also helping students in need," said Jeff Winey, Director of Reunion and Leadership Giving for Arts and Sciences and head of fundraising for the project. Winey said that the extension of the fence is a long-term project for the university, which he hopes will be "another nice beautification to the surrounding campus."
Most students agreed that extending the fence would add venerable beauty and prestige to the campus, and that the concurrent financial aid donations dispel any concerns that the money should be better spent elsewhere.
"We really need the money for things, such as financial aid, which I am glad [the fence project] will provide," said sophomore Sarah Sandison, assistant treasurer to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate. "Alumni relations could be improved and the fence could do that, making alumni feel more connected with the campus," she added.
In addition to the money issue, there is also concern that the fence will worsen relations between Tufts and the surrounding towns of Medford and Somerville. Currently, there are no major structures that physically divide the campus from its neighbors - there is no clear distinction of where the campus ends and where the towns begin. Members of both the Medford and Somerville communities feel comfortable walking their dogs on the Tufts campus or taking their children sledding on "the hill."
Junior Bill McCarthy, a TCU senator and a Medford resident, dislikes the fence project and believes it will do little to help the school's relationship with the towns. "I don't like the idea," he said. "It would look 'prisonesque' and has a keep-people-out kind of concept."
McCarthy also cited College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. as an example of a perimeter fence that looks like an enclosing and excluding fixture on an otherwise beautiful campus. "I would hate to see Tufts become like that," McCarthy said.
Kathy Gatto, owner of the Aquarium in Davis Square and Somerville resident, did not agree that the fence would exacerbate town-gown relations. "There already is a fence, which they put up two years ago. I'm not sure if that was a great move," she said, referring to the chain link fence that the University constructed, which encircles the sports fields and the areas around the dorms in that vicinity.
"The fence is already up. It doesn't matter if it's an iron fence... a fence is a fence," Gatto added. "I actually like the wrought iron fence better and think it would look nice."
Most simply, the extension of the fence, which still has no fixed starting date, hopes to add beauty and tradition to an already picturesque and historic campus. Freshman Daniel Hannon echoes this sentiment. "I like the way it looks around the Hill as it is, which leads me to believe I would like it around the entire campus."
