Looking around Conn’s campus, it is safe to say that a great deal of spaces are informally gendered or racialized. Some dorms, such as Smith, are associated with women and some, such as JA, have a larger male presence. In terms of race, segregation plays a part as well, especially in Harris. The issue of integration has come up in student groups such as SOAR, and it begs the question, why are spaces on our college campus gendered or racialized? Can any space truly be neutral?
Students who work at or attend events at the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ Center or Unity House are well aware that while spaces that are meant to be neutral, like Harris, should be integrated, there is also a need for spaces that are formally gendered or racialized. This need stems from the importance of community and shared experience that exists more strongly within minority or marginalized groups.
In a discussion with students at the Women’s Center, I got an idea of how they feel their smaller communities are perceived within the larger campus community. Brian Damacio ’16, who has also been involved with the LGBTQ Center and Unity House, spoke about the general ideas surrounding Unity House, citing a “That’s where the minorities go” attitude amongst the majority of students.
In Damacio’s experience, however, these spaces are necessary: It is “easier to come to a space where people are experiencing similar things because you don’t have to explain yourself,” he opined.
On a campus comprised mainly of white New Englanders, levels of understanding surrounding marginalized communities may be limited. Shameesha Pryor ’17, who is involved with Unity House, expressed that people on campus need to be aware of factors of identity that they don’t consider on a daily basis, which is why these spaces should be welcoming.
In contrast, Damacio made the point that, “We stay in our comfortable space.”
Deconstructing the notion of comfort reveals how much we are willing to confront issues that do not affect us directly. Kelly Campos ’17, who is involved with the Women’s Center and Unity House, mentioned:
“We have to talk about [these issues] because [they are] something we deal with every day,” while students who do not participate in events at Unity House, the Women’s Center or the LGBTQ Center may not feel the same.
Our college was formed out of necessity: Women needed a place to go to school. While I am proud to attend an institution that was so forward thinking in 1911, I wonder where that sentiment exists now, if at all. This campus was, essentially, built for wealthy white women of New London. Assessing whom it is attracting now may reveal what our overarching values are as an institution.
May Buckley Sadowski ’19 Professor of Psychology and Psychology Department Chair Ann Devlin talked to me about how her field, environmental psychology, can explain aspects of Conn’s campus. Wikipedia defines the study as “an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between individuals and their surroundings.”
Devlin’s research, some of which has come directly from New London, has focused on what types of spaces facilitate higher or lower levels of community. According to Devlin, “For interaction to occur, it needs to occur naturally and according to functionality…common spaces should not be hidden and difficult to get to.”
Devlin, however, does not believe in architectural determinism, the idea that organization of space determines what will happen there. She instead aligns with architectural probabilism.
“Spaces make behavior more likely, but they don’t determine what is going to happen.” On Conn’s campus, this means that making the Women’s Center, Unity House and the LGBTQ Center more visible could mean that the communities would be fostered more efficiently, but their current locations do not necessarily hinder formation of communities or coalitions.
Organization of space, she said, is also an indicator of how we value the communities that form in these spaces: “A basement location does not reflect our highest and best value.”
It just so happens that the Women’s Center is located in a basement.
One of the last things Devlin said to me was, “Programming is very important in terms of openness that we are trying to foster across perspectives.” The idea of making connections across a wide range of perspectives spoke to me due to the importance of an intersectional approach to community.
At the Women’s Center, Pryor said that while our smaller communities are vital due to shared experience, “It is important to try to bridge” the gap between the larger community as well.
I asked about collaboration between the three centers, to which the students responded positively. They said it hadn’t happened very much before due to lack of communication, but they had high hopes for it in the future.
Joey Mercado ’16 stated, “On a large scale, we don’t really coalesce around common themes, but we’re working on it.” It is important to remember that not all oppression is the same, and it can manifest differently across communities. One community’s experience, however, has the potential to inform that of another community.
In terms of support from the College, however, responses were more negative. The students cited a lack of funding for groups such as UMOJA, which forced them to spend energy on fundraising that could have been spent more efficiently elsewhere.
For Spectrum, however, funding was excessive and ended up being cut because they didn’t use it. Spectrum has historically been mostly white, while UMOJA is comprised on students of color. Again, the question of values arises.
I also spoke with Jen Manion, Associate Professor of History and Director of the LGBTQ Resource Center. Manion pointed out the disparity in terms of institutional support between the Women’s Center and Unity/LGBTQ. While Unity House and the LGBTQ both have staff or faculty members who are paid to work there, the Women’s Center lacks this.
In addition, Dean of Multicultural Affairs Elizabeth Garcia is advisor to the Women’s Center, but her job is spread thin since she advises the other two centers as well.
Manion suggested that we, as students, try to “blur the binary.” Starting conversations that are relevant across the three centers could be beneficial in terms of encouraging mutual support and building coalitions. Making things happen on campus with institutional support is possible if student initiatives are powerful enough; it starts with demanding attention.
We at the Voice occasionally receive flack for writing too much about race, too much about gender or too much about issues that people don’t want to think about. This is exactly why we can’t keep our conversations about these issues confined to the three designated centers. Breaking down institutional and structural barriers at an institution like a college gives us the means to keep attempting when we leave.
Kelly Campos told me, “This whole campus wasn’t made for us; we have claimed it.” I encourage students to get involved, become allies, stay aware of issues whether they affect you or not, voice your opinions and claim your campus.
