Photo credit: Cornell Alumni Magazine

So I was reading Cornell Alumni Magazine the other day - yeah, I like to keep up on my alma mater, you got a problem with that? - and they had an interesting article on the future of the campus. You know, about how they can expand and improve and modernize and everything, and I was enjoying the article, until I got to one part that definitely caught my eye. Under the above photo, the caption reads:

“[The Cornell Master Plan] calls for a transit circulator (shown here in red) that will be easily accessible from many places on campus. It could use buses, light rail, or something else— maybe a monorail?”

Now when I think of monorails and I immediately think of two things: The Simpsons, and Disneyworld. Now I love both the wackiness that ensued surrounding the Springfield monorail as well as the convenience of the conveyance around the various Disney properties in Orlando as much as the next guy.

But at Cornell? The most picturesque and beautiful college campus on the face of the planet? (Suck it, Harvard.)  I understand that the campus has to grow and evolve over time, and that it already looks dramatically different than what it looked like when I first came into Ithaca all bright-eyed and innocent.  And I understand that the parking and transportation system in place now is far from ideal.  And I understand that it could just get worse as the University grows. And I appreciate that they’re thinking outside of the box as to new solutions that are practical and ecologically sound.

But what about when this inevitably happens?