Billboards have become an increasingly ubiquitous presence, lining highways, dotting urban skylines, and even creeping into green spaces like parks. Now, they’re encroaching on a place once considered off-limits: college campuses.

Colorado State University has decided on twelve digital billboards to be installed across its Fort Collins campus. Eight of these signs will be instated along the perimeter of its campus and four will sit inside. The smallest measures 10 by 5 feet while some reach at least 11 by 22 feet. Development has already started to implement this signage into the university.  

Fort Collins has ordinances against such visual protrusions. Outdoor advertising and utilities are under strict ordinance by the city. This has kept the community character uniform and beautiful for years. However, development in CSU threatens to change this. 

CSU and the land it operates on is owned by the state. Therefore, the campus believes that Fort Collins ultimately cannot force it under its jurisdiction despite being within city limits. Despite being a key part of Fort Collins, the university believes it can install signage without confining to city law and plans to disrupt the beauty of the city with distracting digital signage.  

CSU’s reasoning for installing these billboards? The university stated that the signs would further provide students with real-time alerts and additional communication in emergency situations. However, this reasoning becomes less convincing when considering existing phone alerts are more effective. CBS News Colorado discovered the billboards were installed by Street Media Group to generate revenue from advertising sales.  

Some argue that the university’s students are already used to the sudden protrusion of billboards. Fort Collins is not. The digital signage will not only muddy the views of one of the city’s most valuable places, but it will also provide a precedent to other state schools.  

“This development is a blight on the otherwise scenic character of Fort Collins,” says Scenic America’s president Mark Falzone. “Residents voted to keep its community free of billboards. To have their voices disregarded is a tremendous disappointment.” 

Scenic America is strongly against the recent development in Colorado State University. We urge Fort Collins and the State of Colorado to fight against the injustice the university is proceeding with. Join us in advocating for the right of spaces everywhere to be free of this intruding visual blight.