{"id":23472,"date":"2021-11-28T10:05:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T15:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/?p=23472"},"modified":"2021-11-28T10:05:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T15:05:29","slug":"a-history-of-the-fanning-uprisings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/2021\/11\/28\/a-history-of-the-fanning-uprisings\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of the Fanning Uprisings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Photo courtesy of Amanda Sanders.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fanning Hall, a building that houses the offices of the upper college administration, has been taken over in protest by students three times in Connecticut College\u2019s history. This was a strong measure taken in order to ensure action from the school. While these protests may have faded from current student memory, they are an important part of the history of protest at Connecticut College. The events have been remembered thanks to the college archives, and Conn\u2019s archivist Deborah Kloiber\u2019s work on the exhibit \u201cConsequently We Insist: Student Protest for Inclusion and Respect\u201d this fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The First Fanning Takeover<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first of these protests occurred on May 5, 1971, when there were just 35 \u201cminority students\u201d enrolled at Conn. About 25 student members of the \u201cAfro-American Society\u201d held a sit-in at Fanning Hall, demanding a full-time Black admissions officer and the admission of 71 Black students at Conn by the start of the 1971-72 school year. They refused to leave the building until their demands were met. Charles E. Shain, the President of the College at the time, agreed to fulfill these demands at roughly 6AM the morning of May 6.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the fall of 1971, there were 80 Black students in attendance at Conn, and a full-time Black recruiter\u2014James Jones\u2014had been hired. These changes were a success, but there were still only three Black faculty members, all of whom worked part time. In response to students speaking against the lack of Black faculty members, the Board of Trustees made a statement supporting \u201cthe recommendation of the Commission on Racial Relations that the Connecticut College faculty include members of racial minorities.\u201d This commission was made up of students and staff members who worked to improve the student experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Second Fanning Takeover<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second takeover took place on May 1, 1986. At 4:30 am, 54 students \u201centered Fanning Hall and chained the doors shut. Their goal in occupying the building was to have Senior Staff set specific goals and timetables addressing their concerns [about minority life on campus],\u201d according to a progress report written about the event. They had a longer list of demands than the first takeover:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Implementation of an Affirmative Action policy by 1988;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mandatory sensitivity training workshop for the entire personnel staff by fall, 1986;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curriculum\/personnel recruitment:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Creation of a major in the area of Afro-American and\/or Afro-African studies by 1990<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Five total courses to be offered in the area of both Afro-American and Afro-African studies by 1988;<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Admissions:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; 15% minority enrollment for the class of 1991 with a 2% increase every 2 years thereafter until the total college enrollment consists of a 20% minority population<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unity House\/Office of Minority Affairs:\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">25% budget increase by the year 1988,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hiring an Assistant Director to the Assistant to the Dean of Minority Student Affairs,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increased renovation and maintenance of Unity House<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commitment that no prosecution or punitive action be taken against participants of this peaceful protest;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decision concerning the controversy over the Director of the Office of Minority Student Affairs;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creation of a committee to monitor the implementation of these demands.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By 11:20PM an agreement was signed by the students and senior staff that \u201cestablished several specific goals and timetables.\u201d Yet again, groups were made and goals were set. The \u201cMinority Affairs Committee\u201d was working on reaching many of these. In a progress report written the next year they said a lot of things were changing for the better, but \u201cThe College must continue to address the content and quality of the curriculum, its faculty and staff recruitment procedures, programs to insure ethnic diversity in the student body, and support programs for non-majority students. This will require an <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ongoing systematic proactive<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> approach.\u201d By showing up with specific goals and refusing to step down, students effectively made change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Third Fanning Takeover<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The third takeover started on May 12, 2016 and went on until the school year ended. Students entered Fanning in protest of the treatment of the student club Connecticut College Students in Solidarity with Palestine and how administration reacted to fliers they had put up. Though no rules or regulations were broken by hanging their fliers, David Canton, then interim Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, sent out an email saying that a bias incident report had been filed, and administration was investigating the incident. Students were angered by this reaction, especially when compared to how many other bias incidents filed by students themselves, were not given campus-wide email updates, or administrative action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders of the Occupy Fanning movement published a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/occupyfanning2.blogspot.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">blog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during the time. On it they detailed different instances of racism or bias not being handled correctly, and how they wanted more accountability from administration. They wrote \u201cWe are a coalition of Connecticut College community members who are committed to collecting, documenting and sharing stories of incompetence and failure under the Katherine Bergeron administration.\u201d Also, that the sit-in \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remains integrally connected to the aims of the occupation and exists as a platform for those continuing to occupy the building to voice their discontent, it is also broadening its focus and reinforcing its own commitment to continuing to expose the widespread administrative incompetence and failures at Connecticut College into next semester and beyond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was not as big of a reaction from this takeover, despite the fact that they moved towards demanding \u201cbroader institutional reform,\u201d according to a reflection written in The College Voice the next fall, by Jennifer Skoglund. The administration wanted people to know that the issues were not being swept under the rug, they were being taken seriously.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where Conn is Today<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, 50 years after the first takeover, and 5 after the last, many things have changed. In 2021, Conn has 28.8% students of color, including international students, so the goal of at least 20% minority students in 1986 has been met. Similarly, 26.6% of the faculty are people of color. These statistics match up with numbers in the U.S., which is about 76% white, as a nation. There are also many programs and offices designed to help support students of color, such as Unity House, the Division of Equity and Inclusion; and other, more specialized programming. Also, there are clubs that aim to \u201ccreate an environment of inclusivity\u201d as the People of Color Alliance&#8211;one of these clubs&#8211;describes; others include Asian and Asian American Students in Action, CC Empowerment Initiative, the Gund Dialogue Project and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan. A goal of the first two takeovers was to build this support and improve the minority student experience, and the school has built this up over the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student activism is still very strong, most recently with the backlash after the November voyeurism incident in a residence hall bathroom. Many students came together to try and bring about change by making signs, sharing resources through social media and showing up in force at a forum. As demonstrated by the three takeovers, the best way to be listened to by administration is to have a large, united front. Additionally, outlining specific goals and refusing to give up is key.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tmnf_excerpt\"><p>Photo courtesy of Amanda Sanders. Fanning Hall, a building that houses the offices of the upper college administration, has been taken over in protest by students three times in Connecticut College\u2019s history. This was a strong measure taken in order to ensure action from the school. While these protests may have faded from current student &hellip;<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":62452,"featured_media":23471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fanning.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23472"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23474,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23472\/revisions\/23474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}