Reflecting On The Past While Walking Across The DU Campus

I walked across the University of Denver campus Sunday afternoon, passing the new Community Commons, as seen in the photograph above. This building replaced Driscoll North, which opened soon after I started working at the DU Bookstore back in 1984, and housed cafeterias, a pub, a ballroom, and various student offices. The bookstore is located in Driscoll South, connected by the bridge over Evans Avenue seen in the photo. The university outsourced the store to Follett Higher Education Group 10 years ago, laying off all the employees. These days, to enter any university building, you need take a Covid test, quarantine for God knows how many days, and then apply to the university's Covid coordinator to get a "badge" that gives you access to the buildings. I can't imagine what that has done to the DU Bookstore's sales. An alumni, or parent of a student, would really have to want a DU hoodie or tee shirt very badly to go through all that. Parent's weekend, homecoming, graduation, all those sales opportunities lost. And do I care? I bet you can guess the answer to that one.