After months of deliberation, the school board has decided to place priority on the health and well-being of the students above the historic layout of the Carolina campus. The brick-paved historic Horseshoe will be paved over with concrete this summer.
Several times a year, students trip and fall on the bricks that pave the Horseshoe and its surrounding areas. In 2015, there were two reports of broken ankles and one fractured elbow. This semester, there were just as many incidents reported, and even a lawsuit filed against the university.
The project, proposed in early 2016, will take around a month to complete and will cost upwards of $1.3 million to cover the bricks on the Horseshoe alone. Whether or not to keep the clapping circle covered with bricks is still being debated. The many names and dates carved into the bricks by alumni and students will be saved and put on display in the McKissick Museum in early 2018.
Eliza Smithsonietz, a third-year computer science student, has been a major proponent of this switch to concrete. Smithsonietz tripped on the bricks earlier this year and consequently smashed her new iPhone.
“The bricks hold no sentimental or aesthetic value to me, they’re just really annoying to trip on," Smithsonietz said.
Many students feel the way Smithsonietz does, simply not caring either way about the bricks. However, there are others who could not be more upset about the decision. Some students who have been part of the decision process do not like the idea of changing anything about the Carolina campus, much less something as iconic as the USC horseshoe.
“It just doesn’t feel right. I don’t understand how a few people tripping can drastically change the place I call home. If you trip on it, walk around,” Johnathan Davidford, a second-year political science student said during a heated debate surrounding the talks to pave the Horseshoe over.
Davidford said he plans to start a petition against this decision, but his effort will probably be for naught, since the proposed budget for the project has already been passed.
President of the University, Harris Pastides, lives on the Horseshoe.
“Our students come before everything, even our beautiful campus. I will be sad to see the bricks go, but I will be even more happy to know my students will be okay,” Pastides said.
Pastides plans to keep the portion of walkway leading to his door paved in bricks.
The construction is set to begin on June 12 and continue through to the end of July.
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