For over a year now, members of the Social Justice Initiative (SJI) have been campaigning for the creation of a Cultural Education Center (CEC) on campus. The SJI believes that the best way to truly advance Hamilton’s commitment to diversity is to establish a separate space on campus focused on discussion of multi-cultural issues.
“Ideally, we would have a concrete plan of where the CEC was going to be,” Amy Tannenbaum ’10 said. “But we are aware that the financial challenges we face will make this goal more difficult.”
SJI members have worked hard to solicit the support of the Hamilton community for their proposal of a CEC. They set up tables in Beinecke to publicize their campaign and to address any questions or concerns that students might have had. On October 4, members petitioned outside Buttrick Hall in the freezing cold, eager to make their voices heard before a Board of Trustee meeting. Waving signs that read “Endorse the CEC” and carrying a stack of over 370 signatures collected from students who supported the initiative, the SJI hoped to earn the administration’s support. Much to their great satisfaction, they did.
On December 12, Dean of Students Nancy Thompson and Trustee Barry Seaman discussed the SJI proposal at the Student Affairs trustee committee meeting. Although Thompson and Seaman supported the proposal, they remained uncertain whether a CEC warranted incorporation by the executive committee into the December draft of the Strategic Plan. Incorporating a facility project like the CEC into the Strategic Plan meant a commitment to develop that project for 2009 to 2014. After seeking input from the deans and President Joan Hinde Stewart, the board members ultimately decided that the executive committee should include the SJI proposal into the Strategic Plan.
As President Stewart explained in a letter following up on this decision to the Hamilton community on December 15, the executive committee would be responsible for “establish[ing] a task force to examine options for how best to achieve [the CEC’s] goals.” Vice President of Administration and Finance Karen Leach noted that if the College continues to advance its plans to renovate and expand the ELS building, it will consider using one of the spaces that opens up from such construction for the CEC.
Although Amy Tannenbaum ’10, an active member of the SJI, is pleased with the outcome of this Student Affairs trustee committee meeting, she admits her continued concern over plan details. “Ideally, we would have a concrete plan of where the CEC was going to be,” Tannenbaum says. “But we are aware that the financial challenges we face will make this goal more difficult.”
Leach attested to the fact that the current economic climate will impact the development of the CEC project: “This kind of economic downturn we haven’t seen in recent history.” She asserts that until the economy recovers, Hamilton will face challenges that extend far beyond the development of new projects like the CEC. “Our endowment has lost a third of its value. Families are going to need more financial aid. We won’t be able to raise tuition and room and board as much as we have in the past. Things we want to do will have to happen more slowly or we’ll have to prioritize things,” Leach explained. In spite of the tough times, however, the College has still decided to commit to developing a CEC in the next five years.
Although many Hamilton community members support the College’s endorsement of a CEC, others remain apprehensive. Less supportive students complain that designating a “safe haven” like a CEC for the discussion of diversity issues will shout separatism rather than facilitate a sense of welcome and community. Other community members, however, offer a different perspective. According to Professor of Comparative Literature Nancy Rabinowitz, who has been a supporter of the SJI from the beginning, the benefits outweigh the fear that a CEC would foster separatism. “If [the CEC] were a safe space where underrepresented groups felt really comfortable, not threatened or marginalized, then these students could reach out from that position of confidence. I think [the CEC] is a fabulous idea,” she asserted. “Will the CEC help? Yes. Will the CEC solve the problem? Not by itself. [The SJI members] are already creating the space for these conversations. They have created a community, an integrated group, where conversations are taking place across gender, race, and sexuality; it is very exciting to see. But without an infrastructure, it won’t continue,” she added. SJI members look forward to seeing their vision for a CEC begin to take shape in the new year.
-chelsea mann '09
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