The walls at UCCS look like a Home Depot paint sampler—and for what? 
 
I thought college was supposed to be a colorful place where you met new people and had new experiences. However, I find that places like the student lounge, bathed in beige, seem to repel students. 
 
Students at UCCS want more student life, common spaces and centrality on campus. If UCCS installed more art, they might actually achieve the cool, social environments students long for. Currently, UCCS students go to school at a conference center that happens to hold college classes. 
 
I’m not saying UCCS needs to start throwing up Picassos in the library, but it would be nice if Café 65’s booger green walls had a few pictures on them. Art would brighten up the mood and give me something to admire besides the rear end of the library. 

According to the Urban Institute Initiative, displaying art in public spaces is linked to community well-being and the promotion of inclusivity. If it works for entire neighborhoods, it can work for campus. 

University Center’s upstairs area easily has the most people on campus hanging out, and that’s because it’s the best place to kick back. People want a bright colorful place for working and socializing—not whatever is going on in the student lounge, which has the complexion of an outhouse. The space is cozy enough, but it’s not really a sight for sore eyes—more like a sight that makes your eyes sore. 
 
I can only imagine what the people designing the layout for the UC said when they unveiled it: “And for our next trick, the windows will look … directly into the campus store!” said an unqualified building planner. We live next to a 14,000-foot mountain—do better.  
 
The addition of art would seriously benefit spots like the UC. It’s not as if this is an unreasonable request. Columbine has framed photos all over the place. If we can afford an Olympic linguine statue between Centennial and the UC, then I think we can splurge on some crayons. 
 
Other campus buildings aren’t exempt from the lack of aesthetically pleasing innards. Columbine has so many black and white photos, I think they’re still dealing with the stock market crash in there, and Osbourne’s walls look emptier than a pub at high noon. 
 
According to BYU, visiting an art museum can drop cortisol and reduce stress. We’re all students and we’re all stressed. Don’t we deserve every inch of stress-release we can get? 
 
Campus should be a place where we feel alive, not a place where we are banished to do homework all the time. It’s about time we get some color in our lives.  

Photo courtesy of the UCCS Photography Database.