On a campus that frequently struggles with traffic and parking, the last thing it needs in its backyard is a Costco. 

Recently, TCC turned down the opportunity to make $13 million from land on NE Campus, and the North Richland Hills mayor has taken to the press to complain. 

In an opinion piece published April 7 by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the mayor said that not allowing the project to go forward is a bad use of land and hinders the city’s progress. 

Chancellor Elva LeBlanc responded with her own opinion piece April 8, defending the college’s decision by saying we need the land for future college projects and putting a giant store right next to campus would cause issues for the students. 

While it sometimes feels like the college makes decisions without the consideration of students like adding student fees or halting study abroad programs, the choice to not sell the land for a major retailer is a win for students and hopefully a permanent one. 

In LeBlanc’s article, one of the three reasons she listed for the college to turn down the offer was because she felt the numbers “didn’t add up.” She said the city priced the land around $12 million while other sources valued the land closer to $20 million.  

So that brings up the question of if the college was offered more money, would the deal be considered then? Or would the chancellor stand by her words and keep the land for the future of the college and the student body? 

The piece of land in which Costco and the city have attempted to buy has been used by students for over 60 years. There’s a one-mile walking trail that people use every single day. Courses like astronomy and kinesiology use the land as part of ways to get the traditional classroom outside and not to mention the community events held in the space. 

The land is crucial for student success. 

In the busiest hours of the day, NE Campus is swarmed with cars, school buses and pedestrians, making it hard to find decent parking and get to class on time. Costco would make this struggle 10 times more difficult. Any overflow parking would ultimately end up in our parking lots, taking up space we don’t really have.  

But putting a major retailer on campus would not only make traffic worse, it would also jeopardize the safety of students and staff.  

Many students are worried about the type of crowds a Costco would bring. Having a major retailer nearby will ultimately bring shoplifters who could possibly use the closeness of campus to evade law enforcement. What’s to stop someone from entering a campus with open doors? 

TCC is a commuter college, and the last thing we need is to feel crammed and rushed to get off campus and escape the large crowds Costco would bring. That’s a sure way to lose the little sense of community that we have.  

Building a Costco so close to campus and nearby residents would only bring a headache to all, outweighing any opportunities the retailer might bring, and it doesn’t seem the mayor is considering that. 

So, while it may be a win for students now, it’s important to hold the chancellor to her words and hope that principle will continue to prevail over profit.