One of Drew University’s most charming features is “the Path,” the walkways that make getting from one place to another on campus so simple and easy. However, not everyone wants to stick to the official Path, instead creating “desire paths” that diverge from the normal routes for their own convenience. Unfortunately, Drew has begun cracking down on these desire paths, and this has led rebellious students to protect their way of walking.
While the Path is both paved and leads from each building to the next, not all students find this is to their advantage. “There are a lot of reasons to not take the Path,” one Sophomore, Julia Brown, tells us. “Personally, every time I walk on the Path I see everyone I’ve ever met along the way. I have to constantly keep nodding and awkwardly smiling at people when I pass them. It’s so exhausting. That’s why I avoid the walkways and stay on the grass, away from people.” We asked Julia to demonstrate her desire path for us, and she obliged. From our spot on the official Path, we could barely see her face while she army-crawled from bush to tree, leaving no opportunity for an uncomfortable friendly wave.
Another student, Sylvia Path, Senior, swings from treetop to treetop whenever she needs to get somewhere. “I take a page out of the squirrels’ book and just skip the walking altogether. I’ve put together a series of elaborate pulleys and tightropes that help me go from McLendon to the DoYo without ever touching the ground.” If you’ve heard loud rustling above you or had an excess of acorns rain down upon you, you might have just been overtaken by Sylvia!
At some spots where desire paths have become visible in the grass, Drew has put up fences to prevent students from continuing to use them. At a protest being held in front of one of these fences, a student leader holding a sign that reads FREE PATHS FOR ALL tells us, “This is a violation of our rights. We should be able to walk wherever we want, whenever we want. If I can’t cut across this section of grass, that means I have to extend my walking time by 13.7 seconds. Do you know what that will do to my schedule?”
It looks like this is going to be a contentious issue between the student body and the administration, but whatever the outcome, we encourage you to follow your heart. Remember, not all paths were created equal!
