In a mock ceremony on Monday afternoon, a group of 50 students condemned Claremont City Hall and dedicated the building’s site as a nature to protest a recent change in the schedule of the Claremont Architectural Commission.

The Architectural Commission, which is responsible for reviewing all proposed development, had been scheduled to hear public comments on the proposed North Campus Master Plan during its meeting on April 12. The North Campus Master plan is a Claremont University Center (CUC) document that dictates the highly controversial development of the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) on a portion of the Bernard Field Station (BFS), an 86-acre nature preserve located north of campus.

Al Henderson Students and community members join last Monday near City Hall to protest the Keck Graduate Institute. The mock ceremony included the naming of the plot of land in front of City Hall as "Karen’s Green Island."

At the request of CUC, however, the North Campus Master Plan has been dropped from the agenda and public comments will be heard at some point during the summer.

The April 12 meeting was expected to draw widespread student and faculty protest. Acting Executive Vice President of CUC Brenda Hill explained CUC’s reasons for the request: "CUC, KGI, and CGU remain in active discussion with the City over details regarding the plan and we hope to bring it to the Architectural Commission foe review sometime in the next two months." Hill added that, "CUC is not yet ready to commit to any date for hearing, pending resolutions with our discussions with the city."

In order to show their dissatisfaction with both the Keck Graduate Institute and Claremont Mayor Karen Rosenthal, whom they view as at best a KGI/CUC collaborator, the students named the City Hall preserve "Karen’s Green Island."

The students closed off part of City Hall’s lawn with yellow caution tape, under the watch of CPD officer Russ Brown, and placed a few potted plants on the ground. Gretchen Peterson ’03 cut a red ribbon to officially open the nature preserve.

Follow the mock dedication, several student activists gave short speeches regarding the BFS. Speakers included Lenny Molina ’02, Abigail Singer PI ’03, Charles Cange ’02, and Andrew Cvitanovich ’02. The speakers charged CUC with attempting to bypass the democratic process and demanded that the North Campus Master Plan be considered by the Architectural Commission either before or after summer break.

In addition, the speakers presented arguments against the construction of the Keck Graduate Institute on the field station. Molina stated that the BFS was barely large enough as-is, and that any development would have a significant impact on its ability to sustain life. Singer pointed to the extensive use that students from local communities make of the BFS via the Leadership in Environmental Education Program. Finally, Cange pointed to the history associated with the BFS and its importance to the indigenous population, who continue to view it as a sacred site. The students ended the rally by borrowing a call from the Irvin Landrum protests. "What do we want? Our field station! When do we want it? Forever!" they chanted.