This past Monday, students at the University of Washington were surprised to see an opaque glass barrier hanging in mid-air across the Rainier vista. The glass barrier appears to have been strategically placed to block the sight of Mt. Rainier from every angle, with no evidence of construction having undergone beforehand. When Off Leash News reached out to the University for an explanation, we were told that the view of the mountain will now be locked behind a paywall.

UW officials describe the new policy in detail on the university website, explaining that students, faculty and visitors must now purchase a pair of specialized glasses that render the opaque barrier invisible. Glasses can be purchased at the University Book Store for what they describe as “an affordable $50 per pair." This is for the “standard” model in which the user's view of Rainier Vista is interrupted every five minutes for a 30-second Pepsi advertisement. Visitors can avoid these ads by purchasing the $100 “Husky Edition” glasses. It is unclear what the university will use the profit towards, though our senior analysts at Off Leash News agree that students won’t be benefitting from the policy in any reasonable manner. 

This change comes just in time for the rapid influx of tourists coming to see the cherry blossoms. While many are upset at this new business decision, we spoke to one student who expressed nonchalance at the change.

"I kind of like not having to see that mountain anymore. Now, when I'm walking to my classes in the CS building, I don't need to be reminded of unproductive concepts like beauty, freedom, and nature. It's helped a lot to make me forget that I'm stuck down here and not up on that mountain being boundless," said Alex. However, not all students are as optimistic as they are.

"This is bullshit. How am I going to stand in front of the steps to Red Square and block everyone from getting to class? I need to show everyone the same photo of the mountain that they've seen a million times before. Now I can't yell that the mountain is out!" complained Anna, another student.

Notable critics of the new policy include the University's Ecology department, specifically due to the copious amounts of dead geese laying at the base of the glass structure. Professors and students alike describe the paywall's presence as significantly interrupting goose migration patterns out of Drumheller Fountain. The University has declined to comment.