An unknown, century-long zoning conflict between Carnegie Mellon and the city of Pittsburgh has recently come to light in a particularly destructive way: the Fence, a CMU tradition harking back to the early days of the university, is to be demolished next Wednesday.
On November 31, 2023, municipal workers sorting through old zoning documents found the original paperwork submitted by Andrew Carnegie to buy the land which would eventually become Carnegie Mellon University. While looking over the historic document, they discovered a clerical error that meant the 32.78 by 15.659 foot rectangle of land around the Fence had never actually been purchased by Mr. Carnegie. Instead, the space was still owned by the city of Pittsburgh. The discovery set off months of intense legal battles between the city and CMU administration unwilling to part with the beloved campus landmark. However last Friday a judge ruled that the contentious plot was, in fact, the property of Pittsburgh. The city wasted no time to start planning construction.
README spoke to dozens of students and faculty about the news, and emotions were high across the board. After approaching README journalists, student Eshaan Joshi stated “It’s the goddamn bureaucracy. The Man is always trying to beat you down. This is what’s wrong with democracy in America.” He wasn’t the only one hurt by the news. Another student, Isaac Williamson, was one of dozens of people watching the bulldozers roll in. “It’s like a part of me is missing,” he whispered as he wiped a tear from his eye. A common question from the student body was what would replace the fence. Danya Kogan was heard remarking “I feel like a 489.31 acre parking lot would go really well there.” Yet students and faculty weren’t the only ones upset: “What am I even paying tuition for?” asked Heather Rogers, the parent of a student at CMU. “I want my child to go to the best school possible. Without the Fence, Carnegie Mellon has nothing. I mean, who cares about robots?” Each interview revealed more and more the plummeting morale across campus.
It’s unclear what plans Pittsburgh has in store for the former home of the Fence. An insider source for README alleged that the city was planning to turn the space into the world’s smallest parking garage, however this is as of yet unconfirmed. README reached out to the city of Pittsburgh for an interview during the writing of this piece. The Man did not respond to our request by time of printing.
