What's with Brick's new sign?
By Paige Auxier
Edited by Anna Kate Mereness
Before the start of the 2026-2027 school year, Brick Street replaced their iconic, vintage-style marquee sign with a modern LED alternative. Several students, myself included, were upset by the change, for a number of unique reasons. However, I suspect that most of them have a lot less to do with the sign itself and more so with what it represents as a symbol of university tradition, nostalgia, and the innately fleeting college experience.
In the period I spend away from Oxford in the summer, I tend to become more attuned to the fact that my time as a college student is very quickly shortening. Among all else there is to do and consider during the fall and spring semesters, the significance of time passing tends to be lost on me entirely. It isn’t until the summer, when all the chaos of classes, coursework, and extracurriculars calms down, that I begin to truly consider how quickly I’m approaching the real world, outside of my Oxford bubble. It’s then, in the deafening silence of my summertime boredom, that dread for the future fills the empty spaces left in my mind by the absence of assignment deadlines and weekend plans.
While this experience is unique to my own life, I’m sure most college students can relate to it on some level. In young adulthood, the future is often relatively uncertain. With uncertainty often comes apprehension as well as an increased desire to cling to the people, things, and spaces that feel predictable and familiar, which Brick is for many Miami students. Silly as it may seem to characterize a college bar as a place of nostalgia and comfort, it is somewhere where many of us have enjoyed some of our most memorable moments in college. So, for students like me, who have come to consider Brick a core and predictable element of their college experiences, any alteration of its appearance acts as a reminder that not even the most familiar aspects of our lives are immune to change.
Perhaps, though, there’s a silver lining among all this doom and gloom. When I first saw the sign in person, I realized that it doesn’t look much different than it did previously. Brick in all its other aspects is just the same as it was when I arrived at Oxford two falls ago. So, perhaps the underlying message in all of this is that alongside change there’s a whole lot else that stays the same.
In coming years, Oxford may not look exactly how we remember it, but there are elements of our experiences here that are forever ours to keep and cherish. No one can steal from us the memories, friendships, and knowledge we make and develop during our time here. And those things, in my opinion, are infinitely more valuable than any old sign or red brick building.
This summer, I was in that state of harsh and reflective quiet when I saw that Brick had changed their sign, which only seemed to exacerbate my sad feelings further. The replacement reminded me that nothing here is truly mine to cherish.
I think I perhaps subconsciously coped with the fact that I’ll inevitably move forward from Oxford by telling myself that while I may adapt and evolve the places here will continue to exist as they always have. Time is mobile and change is inevitable, but to my understanding, brick and stone were stagnant. I’ve realized now though, that all things, even the biggest and strongest of buildings, are molded by time. Oxford is changing before I’ve even left it and in the coming years it will only continue to change more.
I realize, too, that I’m not alone in feeling this way towards the situation. So, I, as well as all other Miami students, should hold sight of the fact that while Oxford may continue to change without our presence or permission, there are things we’ll each walk away from here that are forever ours to keep and cherish.
Oxford, like all places, is an ever-evolving landscape that has and will continue to change so long as it exists.
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