For some students living comfortably on Central Campus, North Campus is, and perhaps always will be, unexplored territory. The mystery of what lays there isn't enough to endure the inevitable bus ride north.

But for the many who call North Campus their home away from home, entering the area can either be an escape from the hustle-bustle of Central Campus or a barrier that separates them from the fun and excitement and vibrancy of the rest of Ann Arbor.

"It's just nice. There are lots of grass and trees and it's maybe a bit of a hideaway from the stress of Central Campus," LSA sophomore Oyin Olowokere said, adding that classes, homework and exams make her trips to Central Campus less enjoyable. "When I'm up here, I don't feel that stress. ... It's very easygoing and you just take your time with everything."

Olowokere is one of more than 2,000 students who live on North Campus, either in Vera Baits Houses or Bursley Residence Hall, the largest residence hall at the University.

She spent her first year living on Central Campus and has had the chance to taste both ways of life.

Every morning she goes to the front of the residence hall and waits for the bus to come and carry her down Bonisteel Boulevard and Fuller Street until it reaches its Central Campus destination at the C.C. Little Building, but she said North Campus is where she wants to be at the end of the day.

"I think on Central Campus, they think everybody's main concern is, 'How am I going to get to Central Campus?'" she said. "But it's not like that."

But not everyone who lives on the sprawling campus shares Olowokere's appreciation for the area.

"There is no way I am living on North Campus again. ... It sucks to wait for the bus and it sucks that all my classes are on (Central) Campus. It's not fair," said LSA freshman Laura Naughton, late for class and stuck waiting at the bus stop outside Bursley.

"If I was in the Engineering school, then I'd have more positive things to say," she added.

Like many students, Naughton said she feels North Campus is too disconnected from the rest of the University and that, because of the bus schedule and its distance from the downtown area, living there makes it difficult to participate in activities other students easily enjoy.

Aware of those concerns, University officials have made North Campus a topic of discussion, focusing their attention on developing ideas to make the area more convenient and comfortable for students.

"I've been talking to a lot of people about it. They think it is beautiful, but it needs more activity," University President Mary Sue Coleman said, adding that she and others are working to discover ways to draw more people to the area, which now attracts a relatively narrow population of engineering, architecture, music and art school students.

"Within the next few years, we'll have an opportunity to really engage in the future of North Campus and to decide what is next," Coleman added.

As open space on Central Campus disappears more and more, some people are predicting that North Campus will become a hot spot for new construction projects, and members of the University community are discussing several options. "There are possibilities. There is a lot of land ... there are a lot of ideas," Coleman said. "We need to find ways to capitalize on its unique features. It's a great asset for the University.

"There is a possibility of finally achieving a critical mass of activities and destinations," said Douglas Kelbaugh, dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. "It's a very exciting moment right now for the North Campus."

Kelbaugh and others, including deans, students and executive officers, have been working on creating alternative plans for the future of North Campus.

Although the group's plans vary from the University's master plan for the area, Kelbaugh said he hopes development occurs regardless of which plan is chosen.

"I would hope there will be additional schools and colleges located on the North Campus with more dorms and possibly a residential college," he said, adding that he would like to see the quadrangle around Lurie Tower finished off with retail shops. "The atmosphere would be more like Central Campus, but instead of being surrounded by urban fabric, it would be surrounded by nature."

The possibilities addressed in Kelbaugh's plans include moving the Fleming Building and Wolverine Tower personnel to North Campus, as well as planting the Walgreen Drama Center and Arthur Miller Theater, a new residence hall and a meditation chapel in the central area of North Campus.

Several of those possibilities, including the Arthur Miller Theater and the new residence hall, are being considered in the University's official master plan for the campus, said Hank Baier, associate vice president of facilities and operations.