Mine No Longer the Care of the Future?
Decision to close room 209 defies school motto, some say
Casey Detrow
Issue date: 9/2/09 Section: News
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Now, its mission is being compromised as a result of the Hunter administration's plan, announced on May 19, to close one of the four classrooms available to the Center.
The CLC was founded by former Hunter president Donna Shalala in 1983. At a time when no on-site childcare was available, Shalala donated her own office space to found a program for students seeking an education, but unable to finance the expense of New York City daycares.
According to a fact sheet issued by the Center, the implications of the planned change would mean 19 fewer slots for childcare, three fewer staff members, and loss of $46,000 in federal subsidies and $13,720 in tuition revenue.
Immediately after hearing the news, student-parents opposed to the change created the Committee in Defense of the Children's Learning Center and circulated petitions around the school, and gathered 1500 signatures. In an online version of the petition, members of the Hunter community were urged to express their concern about the appropriation of Room 209. "As a Professor Emerita," wrote former School of Health Sciences professor Eleanor Gilpatrick, "I want to say that our parent-students are courageous and need all the help they can get. Our support of on-site childcare is in the best interests of the City, our College, and the students."
Francisca Gachett, a student-mother, explained on the petition how the CLC had benefited her life. "The CLC provided and continues to provide my children with superior care, guidance and education while I attend class, internships, work-study and work."
Several on-campus organizations at Hunter have also voiced their opposition to President' Raab's decision to close Room 209.
Some even believe that the announcement to close the room was made one day prior to the Hunter College Senate's summer recess in an effort to skirt resistance. In a letter to the Hunter community, the Hunter Parent Union requested "that this decision be stopped so that the matter can be addressed with full due process at the September 9, 2009 Senate meeting."
The college administration, though, remains adamant about its initial plan. Budget cuts are to be blamed, it maintains. Hunter College has not been immune to the global economic crisis; during the fall semester of 2008, the CUNY Board of Trustees announced a tuition hike of $600 per semester, to be implemented in the fall of 2009. "Reassigning room 209," however, "has no effect whatsoever on the budget," Dean Ayravainen told The Envoy.
When The Envoy inquired with questions regarding details about CLC class size reduction, college budget issues, and claims made by student-parents, Dean Ayravainen responded with a letter that had been sent out to the student-parents in July.
"It is evident that the CLC students could fit comfortably into fewer rooms," the letter read, explaining that that it can easily be arranged for preschoolers to utilize Room 210 of the CLC before 3 PM, and schoolage children to use it after that time. Ayravainen also added that since space at the CLC's school-age program was never filled to maximum capacity for the last five years, there should not be any significant effect once Room 209 is closed.
"As you also know, space on campus is scarce. It is the College's responsibility to maximize the uses of our space to serve the Hunter community, and we are confident that making better use of Room 209 is key to doing so," she closed the letter.
Still, those opposed to the removal of room 209 from the service of the Center are determined to make their case, one way or another.
In July, Melinda Cornwell, a full-time psychology major, founding member of the Committee, and mother of a 6-year-old Center student, spoke to WBAI 99.5 FM to publicize a rally in support of the Center later that month.
"Education is the main vehicle for ensuring employment at wages that are sufficient to sustain families," Cornwell told WBAI's morning host Esther Armah. Cornwell also spoke to the multiple threats posed by re-appropriating Room 209, including the discontinuation of the special needs services that the CLC provides.
The July 22 rally was held following a meeting with five student-parents and Hunter College President Jennifer Raab. The Committee in Defense of the CLC received endorsement from the Executive Committee of the Professional Staff Congress--the union representing a majority of CUNY faculty, Hunter Chapter, the Women and Gender Studies program at Hunter College, and the Welfare Rights Initiative.
Public advocates, alumni and current students from Hunter, and children from the CLC all spoke to the crowd that gathered to oppose the 25 percent classroom reduction. Concerned members of the Hunter community held signs and chanted, telling the Raab administration to "Save Room 209! It's your future and mine," and encouraging those in attendance to "Fight, fight, fight! Education is a right!"
Commenting on the meeting held prior to the rally, Cornwell said that the tone throughout the discussion was "courteous and professional," and that the administration "expressed willingness to improve promotion of the Center, and open-mindedness about opening enrollment to faculty and staff." The administration, however, stood by its decision to close Classroom 209, which counteracts the President's promise to improve promotion of the CLC, said Cornwell.
Math professor Sandra Clarkson, who serves as the chair of the Hunter Senate, has assured the Committee in Defense of the CLC that the closing of Room 209 is on the agenda for the first Senate Administrative Committee meeting this fall. The Committee will bring the issue to the Senate hearing on Sept. 9, she confirmed.
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