Hidden Places Continued..........

     “The little building for hearing (Grier Hall) was once the heating plant,” Ryan says excitedly about his newfound information. “The underground tunnels run from there and alongside Ballard. The parts on the sidewalk where there is never snow, that is where they are. The heat from underneath warms the sidewalk.”
     Before he gets keys and is granted access to his “hidden places,” Ryan needs to know what they mean to him and to the school. So he is searching for the people who will tell him stories, stories of how things used to be and how they have changed to become what they are now.
     Among other storytellers, Ryan hopes to speak with Roland Dille. “I want to talk to Roland Dille and see his office,” he says. His office is located in the back of the archives on the fourth floor of the library. Dille initiated Project E-Quality (now Minority Student Affairs) in 1968, which made MSUM one of the first schools in the region to actively seek minority students. He also had a role in creating the Tri-College University. The music and arts building is named after him. Dille has seen much history that can only be shared face-to-face.
     As Ryan’s project expands to include personal curiosity and historical aspects, he deepens his interest for taking pictures. But Ryan’s history hasn’t always included photography. Ryan, 22, says he received a camera three years ago.
     “I guess it found me,” he says.


(return to top of story)


home | town | people | culture | class | source