NIU’s womens organizations are not the only ones who need a place that has memories and traditions.

If administrators continue with their plans to demolish the Wirtz House they will be depriving the entire NIU community and subsequent generations a piece of the university’s memories and traditions.

Tucked in the King Memorial Commons between the Holmes Student Center and Founders Memorial Library, the tiny, brown-brick building called the Wirtz House currently is home for the University Resources for Women, the Women’s Studies Program and the Foreign Studies Office.

The little house recently has found itself amidst controversy with the Sasaki Associates Inc. Campus Master Plan which outlines proposed renovations for the campus. The East Coast planning firm analyzed NIU’s renovation proposal and decided that the Wirtz House “didn’t fit” into their plans for the commons.

But what buildings on NIU’s campus actually “fit” into any semblance of a plan anyway?

NIU’s campus sports a potpourri of buildings ranging from every size, shape and color imaginable. The varied styles and architectures represent the growth and changes the campus has gone through as it has matured from the late 1800s until today.

The Wirtz House is a piece representing one of the many periods making up the whole of history and traditions established during NIU’s development.

Granted this tiny piece of history known as the Wirtz House might not be the most elaborate or even the most significant part in the development of NIU, but all told it is one of the little details which add to the unique character of NIU’s campus and it deserves to keep its place here.