CEC Proposal Oct 2 2008

Social Justice Initiative Proposal for a Cultural Education Center October 2008

During the fall semester of 2007, the Social Justice Initiative proposed a Cultural Education Center; throughout the year we hosted conversations, discussions, and debates on this idea. Many cultural organizations, the Diversity and Social Justice Project, and the Posse advisors have supported the initiative. We had many fruitful conversations and wrote many proposals. The administration has acknowledged the importance of cultural space on campus by renovating the Afro-Latin Cultural Center. At the end of the spring, it seemed that Dean Thompson had agreed with our proposal in principle and was even talking about where the Center could be.

We have seen the wisdom of her suggestions for possible locations, and instead of asking for a new and expensive building, we want to move forward in the ways that Dean Thompson suggested. We propose that, upon completion of the Student Union, the College move either campus safety or the Career Center to Bristol and dedicate one of those two buildings to be part of a Cultural Education Center Complex. The College should choose one of those two locations now and start a fund for renovations of and possible additions to that building so that construction could be completed immediately after the current residents move to Bristol. We understand that this will take a few years at least, but are willing to wait if there is commitment to a plan and the initial steps to raise money are taken. Hamilton College takes pride in the increasing diversity of our student body and notes the importance of diversity to education. We believe that Hamilton must match its words with its actions. This can be done immediately by committing to a Cultural Education Center.

Conversations about social justice can occur anywhere on campus. They occur in ELS when we host coffee hours there; they occur in the Pub when the Chaplain has his “Chat and Chew” discussions; they occur in professors’ offices and around dining hall tables. But that space ceases to exist when the students leave or when they change the subject and talk about other things. And that space is dependent on happenstance. While the Hamilton community has changed in the past 60 years, Hamilton as an institution has not done enough to accommodate the changing population and attitudes of its students. A Cultural Education Center must be constructed for Hamilton just to catch up to and compete with our peer institutions, like Colgate and Williams.

This Cultural Education Center space will be fundamentally different from all other spaces on campus. This space will not merely celebrate underrepresented identity groups on campus, but it will also provide a forum for encouraging the campus community to engage with the issues. We envision an intellectual as well as a social space. In addition to providing a conference room and a small reference library for students, the Cultural Education Center will be a resource center for both students and professors in the pedagogy and critical theory of difference. Programming led by a director, educational initiatives, discussions open to the entire Hamilton community, and a dedication to providing a space for difficult but important dialogue about issues of privilege and oppression will contribute to achieving this educational goal.

Over the last year, we, as students, were faced with many questions, critiques and doubts about the purpose and effectiveness of this space; we were asked about self-segregation, exclusivity, equal representation, and monetary issues, among other concerns. These issues were presented to us from other students, but primarily from the administration. We worked, read, and learned a great deal about the success of other spaces like the one we propose and have repeatedly addressed these concerns.

We ask you to take the lead on making the Cultural Education Center a reality, and commit to leading Hamilton towards being the kind of institution you want it to be in 2012, the bicentennial year.


The Social Justice Initiative

Stephanie Tafur and Corinne Bancroft