Chavone Coleman

        There have been many proposals for the use of the former Northampton State Hospital land. Some of the proposals go as follows: to use the land for an athletic field, to use the land for the engineering department that might be developed by Smith College, use the land for providing temporary homes for homeless families, and build private homes.
        Some of the questions one might want to ask while evaluating each option are the following: who will benefit from the use of the land by the certain user? Is it necessary for the land to be used for such a cause? How will this decision affect the rest of the community? Will it affect students at Smith College? Lastly, Will it require the devastation of some of the beautiful landscapes?
        In exploring the first option, using the land for an athletic field, I found that there are some benefits for an athletic field; I didn't see how much of a necessity an athletic field was. Since there are parks and most likely, areas near schools where children can play. But surely the children who play sports will benefit from the land's use, as well as teams who need a place to hold tournaments or related events. The rest of the community, I don't feel will be negatively impacted by such a use. It might in fact, become a common gathering for neighborhood kids on Saturday mornings or afternoons. Will the community be in outrage? I have trouble believing it will. Students at Smith, will not be greatly affected if at all. We are so far away, at least the classes, I doubt the noise level will affect the daily ongoing of classes here. However, it might pose as a problem to nearby residents who own private homes near the proposed athletic field. Since there is ample space for an athletic field, parts of the NSH which contain trees, won't have to be destroyed.
        In exploring the option or using the land for a possible engineering department, one might find students at Smith would directly benefit from this proposed option, at least engineering students. The college itself will benefit from this extension to its original departments; it can attract more students, and even more importantly these students will be women; there are not many women in the field of engineering; Smith will be contributing to making engineering a less male dominated field. Since there is not much space to build such a large department, it might be more than necessary for Smith to use the land. Students at Smith will be affected in a sense that there will more students, which might mean "room-crunching" and less community space, but at the same time students will experience a diverse crowd who have a variety of goals and interests. Unfortunately, some of the trees might have to be chopped down, to ensure ample space for the construction of an engineering department.
        Using the former NSH land for a means of housing homeless people may be a very bad idea. In fact, it is one of the most urgent of these on my list. To combat the perpetual problem of homelessness in the Northampton/Hampshire County area, building facilities for temporary housing seems to be one of the best ideas for the land's use. There have been disputes over where to build homeless shelters, therefore the former NSH land would be a perfect site. It would be serving those who need the land the most and it would also combat the shelter shortage. It would require some funds, but at least the land is available. Students should not have a problem with a homeless shelter being somewhat close in proximity to Smith's campus. In fact, they should be happy, for there may be opportunities for volunteerism and community outreach, both of which look great on a transcript and can provide students with hands on experience with the public. However some might see a safety factor in considering this as its use. How many times do we find that there are some patients who have mental problems or simply some who are reckless and have temper or violence issues? Homeless people are not exempt from the same issues we have.
        Because the land contains beautiful natural resources and certain spots where the view is just spectacular, where one can see the mountains, this land has a high residential value. However, it is not necessary for someone to have such a view; it is, in fact, a luxury. The rest of the community, the people of Northampton and Smith largely, would be affected by the increase in cars, decrease in parking availability, and perhaps increases in too much activity so close to the campus. The trees might definitely have to go. Homeowners don't want a tree blocking their view of Mt. Tom, or of the beautiful sky. Neither will they appreciate parts of their land which they paid for of course, being occupied by some old tree.
        All in all, whatever decision is made for the use of the former Northampton State Hospital land, I hope it is the best for the community and serves a purpose.