I wish I knew how fantastic it would be to have a student greenhouse to hang out in right in the center of north campus, behind the Old Horticulture Building. But like most of my fellow undergraduates, I haven’t the slightest idea.

The student greenhouses that used to be there were torn down in summer 1998 before most of us got here.

But last week, as the freezing rain whipped my face while I rode my bike from class to class, I think I may have gotten an idea of what it would feel like to have a subtropical climate to step into, just for a moment.

When the 20-degree-below-zero wind-chill factor sets in a few months from now, I suspect the idea of hopping off my bike and stepping into a fragrant 85 degree oasis of waterfalls and canyons will seem just that much more attractive.

And with a few feet of snow on the ground, my study partner will tell me to meet him in the cave past the waterfall, next to the cliff with the bananas growing out of it. I will wear a T-shirt.

I know how outlandish this sounds, but this isn’t some made-up fantasy about an imaginary utopia built for students in the center of campus. This is what attending one of the best agriculture schools in the country used to be like.

A massive tropical wildlife facility used to stand north of Farm Lane, just behind Old Horticulture. It was used for education by more than 8,000 students a year in 55 different classes. It was a community gathering place, a haven for students and a field trip spot for kindergartners. At night there were poetry readings, drum circles and jazz concerts.

I’m not embellishing here. There were really jazz concerts held in a tropical environment - next to Student Services in the dead of winter in the middle of the school week.

While many students are unaware of exactly how much more inviting and friendly this campus would seem with a student greenhouse, I think most of us are aware of its absence. And I’m not just talking about the fact that there’s no campus facility just for students to enjoy themselves and unwind. There’s no academic building on my campus that even faintly gives me any sense of home.

Doesn’t it seem like something is missing when you go to the fountain next to Student Services, one of the most picturesque and relaxing places on campus? You walk down that beautifully maintained path and past the trees. And you arrive at the gigantic field behind Old Horticulture and see nothing. The Grounds Department uses it to store large piles of snow.

To ensure this open field has a student greenhouse once again, an incredibly dedicated group of students have been meeting weekly since the destruction of the 70-year-old greenhouses that once stood there. And as university officials suggested, they held a student design contest. The winning design was a 50-foot-high geodesic biodome.

It looks so cool. A survey larger than a Gallup poll was conducted in spring 2000 and showed an overwhelming 88 percent of students favor the biodome more than a conventional rectangular structure. And besides the way it looks and how structurally sound the dome is, it requires no pillars or building supports of any kind, and still allows for a 50-foot-high tropical forest canopy. It allows as much as 20 percent more sunlight in, which makes quite a difference in the middle of winter. It surrounds you from all sides and drowns you in a tidal wave of lush, green, sweet-smelling tropical life. And as I mentioned, there are waterfalls, canyons, cliffs, a cave and a pond with weird fish - all in the center of north campus.

The student greenhouse project is not asking the university for any money. It can raise the $1 million needed to build the structure itself. And through weddings and private parties and other activities held at night, the student greenhouse is planned to be financially self-sufficient for its entire lifetime.

So what’s the problem? There is no problem. The project enjoys widespread support from students, faculty and administrators. But anyone familiar with surfing the MSU bureaucracy will understand why this project hasn’t happened yet. The student greenhouse, as it stands now, is a gargantuan proposal undergoing the final stages of revision before submission. In a few months, it will be placed on the desks of the various administration heads, where it will accept input from faculty and slowly lurch its way through layers and layers of dense, red tape.

But hopefully when that happens, the snow will be on the ground, the wind will be bitter and unyielding and everybody will have a better idea of exactly how important it is to have a tropical biodome right in the center of north campus.

Andrew Banyai is a political science and pre-law junior whose column usually appears Tuesday. Reach him at banyaian@msu.edu.