As I was driving home from work yesterday I saw a sign in someone's lawn urging me, "Don't Pave UNH." Turns out that the Master Plan update that is being considered for the University could replace the western side of campus with retail stores.  According to Fosters.com, "Of most concern are expansive retail opportunities being considered for the west edge of campus that would impact not only the direct land that could be used, but the surrounding lands as well. An image of Cabela's, an outdoor recreation retail store, is shown in slides of the plan to illustrate what type of buildings and designs might best fit along the edge of campus,"

I'm no expert on what UNH needs and doesn't need, but I will say that I think the campus needs all the space it can get, for housing and parking at least.  And if these aspects are threatened, anyone who goes to college here will not be getting the full experience of what it is to be a student at UNH.  You're not really a student until you can finagle parking a full day here without a permit and without a ticket.  But seriously, there are retail centers close enough to campus to negate the need to put one on our front lawn, cut budget be damned.

What do you guys think?

Thanks to D.W. White and Son for the pic