My Journey Through Life

It is the day before Thanksgiving and it is good to be home.  It is interesting to see how big of a difference there is between urban Charleston and suburban Marietta.  It is something I seem to always forget when I get home.  Every time I fly home, I land in Atlanta, take the train to baggage claim and ride home with my dad to the suburbs.  We don’t really pass through a city, because the airport is actually in College Park, Georgia and not Atlanta.  When we return home, I leave the car, pick up my backpack and my suite case and walk in through the garage as always.  There is no staircase to be climbed up, nor a key to open the door to my room.  Things seem secure, but I know in reality that is just how we feel in suburbia.

I wanted also talk about my trip to McLeod Plantation.  Last Friday I went with a group of other students to go see the property McLeod Plantation which the College of Charleston is in it’s 90 day due diligence period on.  Now I want to get a measure of how students feel and what they understand about the property itself.  First, please be aware that all of the details of the contract that the College would sign to purchase the property can be found at http://giving.cofc.edu/documents/contract.pdf.  The property is for sale for the price of $4 million.  Unlike what many reports claim, the property is 36.92 acres.  This means the average price per acre for this property is approximately $108,108.  Preliminary plans for Academic Programs for McLeod Plantation can be found at http://giving.cofc.edu/documents/preliminaryplans.pdf.

From all of this I still have some questions that certainly concern me:

1. How can we ensure that McLeod Plantation is a property that will be made easily accessible to the Downtown Student Body?
2. Is there enough land on this property to provide the intramural fields that are needed by students as a replacement for the current ones that are dangerous for students?
3. How will we ensure these fields are usable at night if no permanent light structures will be allowed?
4. How will purchasing this property impact the development of Dixie Plantation if at all?
5. How will the purpose of this property differ from that of Dixie Plantation?

I am not judging the College on this, but I want to make sure that if we are purchasing property that we go through the thought process on every angle possible.  I would hate to see the College spend $4 million on something that is not usable, useful, or successful.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the property, please let me know so that I can pass these along to the administration.  Any other information you may want to know about the property can be found at http://giving.cofc.edu/foundation/mcleodplantation.php.

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and feel free to leave any comments, questions or concerns.

Ross