Spotlight on Hodges Square

One of the most exciting projects to gain traction last spring was the Student Volunteer Army (or SVA, for short). Born of recent alums Ryland Hormel and Max Nichols, the organization was a call to arms for local students to aid in what’s being called the re-vitalization of Hodges Square. But more importantly, it was a way to re-connect the Connecticut College student body to the surrounding area.

Hodges Square is well known as the bridge between New London and the neighboring campuses of both the Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College. Once a more popular economic hub, the area suffered severely from the construction of a multi-laned highway that separated Hodges from the Waterfront district. Later on, the area played host to various ‘urban renewal’ projects, which led to the demolition of many buildings and a disruption in the life of the local community.

Before graduating, Nichols and Hormel made clear their intentions to remain local and assist in the re-vitalization project. Since then, the two have worked with the Hodges Square Village Association, an organization of a handful of local residents and advisors with a staked interest in the area, to accomplish their goals.

Chief among these have been the completion of a short documentary of the areas history and community, networking the College with local development organizations, and the genesis of the smartphone app, NewinTown. According to Nichols, the in-progress app focuses on fostering positive community connection by way of sponsored discounts and rewards.

The app is central to the duos efforts bring individuals and businesses into the current of community, a discussion which inevitably begs us to consider the position of Connecticut College.

Nichols bemoans what he perceives to be a fractured relationship between the College and the Town. “Integration with New London needs to be an institutional priority,” says Nichols, who tells the story of a community that plays house to a variety of socio-economical issues and a College that has “raised the drawbridge.”

Nichols traces this attitude back to the turbulent eminent domain case in 2001, with which the College, then led by President Gaudiani, was involved. “The animosity is over now,” he says, “But I see the administration is still trying to protect itself from future embarrassment.”

Nichols goes on to suggest that the this type of standstill arrangement is one in which neither side benefits. “A liberal arts experience shouldn’t be about introversion, but immersion, and that’s where the administration’s hyper-cautious attitude diminishes our college experience.”

Nichols points to the efforts of Professor of Psychology Ann Devlin and Assistant Professor of Architecture Stephen Fan, who are currently working with a group of seven students in designing a park that might provide more shape and identity to the area. The class is a stand out in its capacity to ground classroom knowledge in what we might as well call ‘real-world’ experience.

Each Friday afternoon, the group meets in the Burdick Architecture studio to discuss issues of design, ethics, demographics, funding, zoning laws and the variety of relevant concerns that come with creating a space that will revitalize the area while also serving the communities needs. “The people need a voice,” says Professor Devlin, who stresses the importance of cultivating conversation with everyone involved in the project, but particularly residents.

“We are moving away from the top-down, elitist model of architectural design towards something more community oriented,” says Professor Fan. The class achieves something unique in its marriage of two very specialized fields, psychology and architectural studies, in the space of a public park project; something which, as Nichols suggests, is sorely needed in our academic experience.

The initiatives of Josh Stoffel, who advises a group of student sustainability fellowships, prioritize a similarly comprehensive approach as that of Professors Fan and Devlin. “You need to understand the complexity of the situations so that your actions don’t have unintended consequences” says Stoffel, who suggests that while the park may be important in solidifying a sense of identity for the area, what is of primary importance will be to respond to the communities wants and needs.

“Initiatives like these need to be primarily about empowering others – community members and students,” and it would be difficult to argue. In light of a politicized history, what becomes abundantly clear in analyzing our College’s relationship with New London is that by investing in each other, both sides win. •