By Carolyn Bossmann

Opinion Editor

As students walk throughout the Brookhaven College campus, they may be unaware there are a handful of little-known places that hold within them the history and inner workings of the college.

1. “The Hole”

Located behind B Building and in the basement is a room known as “the hole.” This name is fitting, as “the hole” is down a few flights of stairs and is walled in by solid concrete. Most of the energy and temperature controls for the campus buildings are housed within its sturdy walls. Whenever a person on campus calls to change the temperature of a room, that call goes directly to “the hole.” The staff in “the hole” then work with the boiler and air conditioning system to channel air through the ducts and vents into the correct room. “The hole” also houses generators and back-up generators.

2. Xeriscape Garden

Plans for the Xeriscape Garden at Brookhaven began in 2011, in hopes that future funding would help create a garden filled with low-water-use plants. The flowing lines of dirt in the shape of a windmill can be seen from an aerial vantage point. While nothing has yet been planted in the garden, there are plans for Brookhaven to take up the Xeriscape Garden project again. “Plans are underway to partner with our contracted landscape vendor to purchase drought-tolerant trees and plants and to prepare and supervise the planting by students and staff,” Carrie Schweitzer, director of sustainability, said. This project began as part of Brookhaven’s annual Arbor Day Celebration April 17. For now, the design in the dirt can be seen next to the running path on the west side of Windmill Drive.

3. 9/11 Monument and Swimming Pool Dressing Rooms

Two brick posts and a small sign rest behind T Building and along the sidewalk toward the eastern side of campus. This small memorial represents the World Trade Center. This area was originally going to be a swimming pool, Dr. John Neal, a communications professor at Brookhaven, said. The plans for a pool were never realized because other colleges in the Dallas County Community College District already had pools, making it unnecessary to have one at Brookhaven. An unused walkway and ramp where students could have walked from the dressing rooms to the pool is complete, but these back doors stay locked during the day. The old dressing room signs are still displayed.

4. Windmill of Brookhaven

Brookhaven has the likeness of a windmill in its logo, an aerial view of the campus reveals it is laid out as a windmill, and there is a large sculpture of a windmill in front of S Building. Brookhaven also has a Windmill Dance Company, a literary magazine called “The Windmill” and the Windmill Writer’s Club. A windmill was originally planned for the school in 1978, when a German engineer designed one for the college. The windmill was intended to provide energy for the water fountains, Sarah Ferguson, executive dean of educational resources, said. But after multiple failed attempts to finish building it, the windmill was finally dismantled in 1985, according to Brookhaven’s website.

5. Archaeology Dig

On the far north side of campus beyond the creek is an archaeology dig that has been closed since Fall 2014. Anthropology professor Violet Sparks said she brings her students out to the dig and puts the discoveries on display at the Social Science office, according to Brookhaven’s Courtyard Chatter. The archaeology classes cover “how archeologists [sic] retrieve, process, analyze and interpret surviving prehistoric materials,” according to Brookhaven’s website.