Photo courtesy of Minnie Madden ’26
On April 4, 1989, the Student Government Association (SGA) published their 3rd annual Open Letter to The College Community. The content overall reads as if the document had been published today – with many demands mirroring the demand list composed by Students Voices for Equity (SVE) – and concretely demonstrates students voicing their concerns as to how the College should operate.
Born out of the 1986 Fanning takeover, SGA’s open letter intended to allow the students to make an annual statement to the Connecticut College community. The letter from 1989 was produced throughout the entirety of the 1988-1989 school year and was published following a unanimous vote in SGA in support of the issues addressed. The letter itself contains two subsections: progress that has been made and issues which merit further concern.
Advancements to the College community in 1989 begin with voicing progress on academic issues. As an effort towards increasing college diversity (or perhaps more accurately, diversity through tokenism), the college hired a Latin American historian. The College also revived and established the Board of Advisory Chairs (BAC) whose purpose is to allow students to voice their academic issues.
To improve student life on campus, 1989 saw the implication of not only guest passes for students but more importantly a vegetarian dining hall to be opened in 1990. A permanent Director of Campus Safety was appointed. Additionally, the College finalized building plans and formed a funding method to renovate Cro.
Notably, this document notes the creation of disability services at Conn. By increasing trustee attention to accessibility on campus both for visible and invisible disabilities, an ad-hoc alumni and campus committee for accessibility were founded. Disability workshops and training over the 1988-1989 school year for the first time was implemented for both faculty, administrative staff and student leadership positions. The document also mentions the founding of the 1-3-2 club designed as a support and advocacy group for students with disabilities.
Further, 1989 sees the establishment of a women’s center on campus as well asUnity House being moved and renovated – two demands that came directly from the 1986 Fanning Takeover. The College suggests the founding of a program similar to Genesis where minority students could move in a day early during freshman orientation as well as the founding of a Minority Summer Institute.
Whilst the progress made towards diversity, equity and shared governance on campus in 1989 is significant, the list of issues warranting further concern is much more significant from SGA and speaks much more broadly to the concerns facing Conn at the time – and worryingly still today.
Some of the issues listed in 1989 as areas in need of improvement have occurred today. Emergency phones are now littered across campus. LGBTQIA programs and protections on campus have since been implemented. The main outlier in progress lies in the continual facility concerns lingering across campus today.
From dismal bathrooms and mold infested buildings, the list of dorms needing attention grows longer by the day. On a larger discussion of equity and inclusion on campus, many buildings across campus are inaccessible. Older dorms are often renovated to be ADA compliant, not ADA accessible. Identical to a concern in 1989, many dorms today still have alarm systems without lights, leaving hard of hearing students unable to be alerted if an emergency arises. Many have accessible bathrooms on higher levels that cannot be accessed due to lack of elevators in older buildings, leaving disabled students with limited housing options on campus. Those dorms that are accessible are predominantly located in the Plex – a good distance from classrooms adding to the challenge for disabled students to commute to widely inaccessible academic buildings. What was once touted as “the most accessible dorm room” to a friend of mine when receiving their housing placement in 2021 requires going down and then up around a dozen stairs. With the newly founded Disability Accessibility Club, students are advocating for better accessibility across camps since ADA compliant does not mean fully accessible.
Dining services, another point of concern in 1989, remain an issue in 2023. There is a call for the revival of small dorm room dinings halls since Jane Adams remains the only one still standing. The Knowlton and Smith/Burdick Dining rooms have been closed for many years, so this demand is unique in that something was taken away as opposed to gained. The other 1989 dining demand is a coherent and variety filled meal plan. While we may have a ‘coherent’ plan, the meal plan lacks variation at times especially with options for those with dining restrictions. Numerous students on campus have severe and/or life threatening food allergies and have to constantly worry if their food has been cross contaminated in Harris with one (or more) of their allergens. Lack of allergy friendly options today leaves the demand to make dining accessible at Conn from 1989 not met.
Counseling services raised almost a page of concern in 1989. The most critical of the still unresolved problems is the lack of 24/7 on call support in case of an emergency. If anything happens after Student Health/Counseling Services closes for the day, Campus Safety has to be called; at times all they can do is call the ambulance for you and nothing more. They are often ill-equipped to deal with medical issues on campus. Limited numbers and hours of counselors is also an ongoing issue. Further, the 1989 Open Letter remarks, “Counseling services has been expanding its involvement within the college community and encouraging student use, but has been hindered in its ability to provide them with increased services to meet demand.” While the wait times are far less than the three to four months (the typical wait in 1989), there are still issues in finding times for appointments at a rate of consistency that is actually beneficial. Counselors can only meet with students every 2 weeks – care that is not adequate for many with more complex mental health issues necessitating students to obtain care off campus. The document echoes a problem lingering today about outside care: expense. With high costs per counseling session, seeking off campus care is often not possible for students who do not have the economic resources to do so. Therefore, many are left unable to be supported since they are without the resources crucial to help them.
Whilst progress has occurred on campus, many issues have persisted in the 34 years since this Open Letter was written and published. Interestingly, just as the students were hopeful for a new president in the conclusion of the 1989 document, we now hold hope for the next president following the resignation of current president Katherine Bergeron. Through continued community centered conversations and subsequent actions, the ongoing problems on this campus can be addressed to improve the quality of student life at Conn.
