Sonic Walk – Exploring campus in this new way was a very interesting learning experience, since most of the time when I am walking between classes, I have headphones in with music playing. The spread of sounds across campus is much larger that I expected it to be: some hallways are almost completely silent, but take a step outside and the catwalk next to Healey is filled with a cacophony of construction sounds. The Harborwalk down by the water in front of Campus Center is a relaxing spot where waves crash against the rocks and people jog by with their pets, but a short bus trip to JFK/UMass cranks the volume as Red line and Commuter Rail trains whizz by at speed.
None of these sounds surprise me in and of themselves (UMB calls itself an “urban campus,” which anyone listening to these sounds would agree with), but it’s the incredible range of sounds that can be captured on a single campus that surprises and impresses me.