Collegiate Times

It has been the site of festivals, concerts, picnics, formal banquets and assorted fairs such as the Education Abroad Fair. It is the place where organizations try to promote their efforts and fundraisers. We have all walked past the students showcasing different causes. It is no surprise that it is the gathering place for efforts like Relay for Life and the Big Event.

It has experienced the challenges of the ever-expanding university through utility work and the paving of sidewalks that used to be gravel.

It has experienced its share of pranks and humorous situations. It has been a place of love from marriage proposals, weddings, hook ups and romance.

We’ve also experienced the cruel weather patterns that impact the Drillfield, from the frigid cold to the wind to the sideways rain and from the torrential rains to the sweltering sun in the summertime.

It is also a window into the heart and soul of Tech with the War Memorial Chapel on one end, and the April 16 memorial on one side. The symbolism is powerful as you observe the pylons from the top of the chapel and look over the entire span of the Drillfield. It is a view that is breathtaking each time.

It is fitting that the Drillfield includes the April 16 memorial. In the hours after the events of April 16, 2007, it was here that the students and community gathered to pay their respects and come together. If there was ever a time that showed the true role of the Drillfield, it was during this time. Like a true mother figure, the Drillfield helped absorb the tears that flowed that day.

Often times we take for granted the meaning of this place as we walk on it to go to class, or as we drive around it. What would Tech be without the Drillfield?  

As we prepare for the last days of this semester, I encourage you to look at the surroundings of our university community, and to reflect as you walk around this campus. As you walk across the Drillfield, what do you see? What does it mean to you?

For some, what will you feel when you cross the Drillfield for the last time before your graduate? I, too, will face these questions when the time comes for me to move on from Tech.

Congratulations to the graduating seniors, and here’s to a successful end of the semester for everyone.

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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.