New SFA Science Building or Old Stone Fort Museum?

There have been a lot of back-and-forth discussions ever since Stephen F. Austin State University started putting together their Campus Master Plan. Lots of people were for all the changes, and lots of people are - shall we say - somewhat opposed to the changes.

READ MORE: SFA's Campus Master Plan Proposes Exciting Changes Ahead

But the change that I hear the most about revolves around the Old Stone Fort Museum. The Old Stone Fort Museum is located in the middle of campus, right on Alumni Drive.

If you look at the current renderings that have been proposed in the campus master plan, it shows that part of a new science building sits right where the Old Stone Fort Museum currently sits. And that's where the opposition comes in. There is actually a petition on Change.org petitioning SFA to keep the Old Stone Fort where it currently sits. As of right now, that petition has over 6,300 signatures in support. However, there are valid points to both sides of this debate.

Get our free mobile app

Pro-Campus Master Plan Advocates

First, let's start with those that support the campus master plan, as it has currently been proposed.

There's an old SFA legend that if you set foot in the Old Stone Fort, you won't graduate. This keeps students out of there, if for nothing else than tradition. The argument that students will be missing out on a valuable resource kind of goes away because of the legend. I don't know how long that legend has been around, but it was in place well before I was a student there, and I was told about it at freshman orientation, before I even started classes!

SFA is a state university, and as such, the facilities need to be updated every so often. I don't know how old the current science building is, but I know that it hasn't been "new" or even "semi-new" for a long time. It lost those titles long before I ever even knew about it. It would seem that more students would benefit from a new science facility, than a museum on campus. Plus, I don't know that there would be enough room on campus to build a science building anywhere else than where it has been proposed.

Pro-Old Stone Fort Conservationists

Now, there are valid arguments for keeping the Old Stone Fort Museum at its current location.

First of all, you don't want to throw away or neglect your history. There are a lot of historical artifacts in there that can't be replaced. On top of that, probably an even bigger deal, is that it is considered a Texas Historic Landmark. You can see more information about that on the National Park Service website. You don't want to flippantly disregard the history behind the building.

If the information on the petition is correct, and the building is moved, it would lose its historic value and would have its listing removed from the national register. Considering that it's been where it sits for as long as it has, it would be quite the loss.

What are Your Thoughts?

Like I said earlier, there are valid points to both sides. But, you can't have it both ways, with both sides getting exactly what they want. What are your thoughts on this?