BYU Pays When Cougars Cut Corners

    705

    By Lorianne Flint

    Many BYU students may remember the days of “Cougars don”t cut corners,” the university”s attempt at discouraging students from walking on the grass. What they may not remember is why that admonition was so important.

    Every year the BYU Grounds Department spends tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary grass replacement – the result of thousands of students cutting corners, making paths in open grass areas and even walking through plant materials.

    “There are a lot of things the money could be used for rather than to replace sod that has been walked off by the students,” said Roy Peterman, grounds director. “There are significant reasons not to waste the widow”s mite by indiscriminately and thoughtlessly making paths in the grass.”

    Peterman said this issue has always been a problem and every BYU president has tried to motivate and encourage the student population to respect the campus landscape.

    “President Wilkinson saw the damage and the waste,” he said. “He was small in stature, but he didn”t have a problem going to a 300-pound lineman and tell him to drop and give him 100 if he caught him making a path on the grass.”

    Despite the massive costs and constant repairs the maintenance crews have to do, Peterman said he encourages students to enjoy the natural beauty around them that the Grounds Crew works so hard to provide.

    “On the other end, we invite everybody to find their little piece of grass, lay down, study for awhile and ponder something in their mind in this very special place,” he said. “It”s not a goal of ours to simply get awards but to create a special place of learning and inspiration.”

    A reason why walking across the grass is so detrimental is because it compacts the soil, making it difficult for the plant material to grow and for the soil to absorb water, so the water is wasted.

    Sometimes the damage is so severe the crews have to tear out the dead grass and roots and lay down new sod – a physically demanding task for the student workers.

    “It is a respect issue, but it”s also an ignorance issue,” said Anne Stahmann, a maintenance foreman. “[Students] don”t realize what damage they”re causing.”

    However, because students continue to walk the grass frequently traveled, the Grounds Department doesn”t want to continue to spend the money for repairs and is occasionally forced to put in brick or more concrete.

    Such was the case for a current project located between the Herald R. Clark Building and the Martin Building. Maintenance crews pulled out the grass and now construction crews are putting in pavers.

    “People complain about all the bricks, but how sad would it be if we had to brick it all?” said Will Terris, gardening maintenance supervisor. “It would be devastating to me because the landscape is everything. It gives you that peace and serenity and if that goes away from us … it seems pretty sad.”

    A common explanation for students cutting corners is the lack of convenient or accessible pathways between some buildings. But Peterman and Terris both explained that before the walkways were created, the Grounds Department observed the ways that students were walking across certain parts of campus so they could put in cement along the same invisible paths.

    Peterman said they even hired a private consultant to help define the overall master traffic plan. The hope was that they could stop students from trampling the landscape by giving them the pathways they were already taking.

    “Student traffic changes so we can”t anticipate every path nor put a path in every location,” he said. “So we have to set some general, reasonable and thoughtful guidelines. We try our best to get the paths convenient yet aesthetically pleasing.”

    Both Peterman and Terris said they are more worried about the attitude of the students who don”t respect personal property.

    “You can stop and even ask them and they”ll say, ”What”s the big deal? It”s just grass,”” Terris said. “It”s an attitude. Overall I still believe it”s the minority, but they”re the ones that make the biggest stink.”

    So the next time students are late to class and decide cutting across the lawn would be faster, if they want to have a first-place campus landscape, they should remember something – “Cougars don”t cut corners.”

    “That”s the hard part because how do you constantly train people that the campus is beautiful?” Terris said. “Please try to respect it.”

    (For comments, e-mail Lorianne Flint at )

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email