In a few years, a visitor to the Claremont might not be able to see the familiar sight of Pomona students trudging up the cement path that cuts through the south lawn of Honnold Library. That’s because under a tentative Claremont University Consortium plan, Honnold’s South lawn, which separates the library from Walker Beach, will be replaced by two new buildings– a "wellness center" and a student services building. The new construction, to be completed anywhere between the summer of 2004 and the fall of 2006, will house CUC services and programs about to lose their current homes to other members of the Claremont Colleges. These proposed buildings are the subject of wariness for some of their prospective tenants, particularly the Office of Black Student Affairs.

The need to relocate OBSA arose in July, when Steadman Upham, the president of Claremont Graduate University informed the CUC that it would be reclaiming the Dartmouth Avenue house in which OBSA is currently located, as well as other CUC offices in an effort to consolidate CGU’s campus. The OBSA house, which is the property of CGU, was being leased to CUC and OBSA in an agreement under which CGU could reclaim the building at any point. In a similar agreement, Pomona notified CUC that it intended to reclaim the property that houses Baxter, the Student Health Center for the Claremont Colleges. As one third of CUC’s services are located on properties that CUC does not own, such leases are standard.

According to Brenda Barham-Hill, CEO of the Claremont University Consortium, "everyone is short of both space and land" within the Claremont Colleges. Because of a lack of existing space, the CUC has decided to erect the two new buildings. A main building would house a "wellness center" containing the medical services of the Colleges, as well as counseling services and an education and holistic health center. "The new center will be an improvement on Baxter," Barham-Hill said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

In addition to the Wellness Center, a second building is expected to house some of CUC’s student related services, probably to the east of the Wellness Center. Though the CUC has not selected its future occupants, The Office of Black Student Affairs would probably be included. Other student services and organizations that could potentially be relocated to the new building include the Chicano/Latino Student Association and other student organizations and services such as dining hall administration.

Though no final plans have been made and the building is still tentative, Barham-Hill said that "it will not be a giant building. Probably two stories with a basement of some kind." She also said that the student services building would have to contain multiple occupants because "never again will there be enough land available in the Colleges to build a facility solely for one service."

Upham has agreed not to reclaim OBSA’s building until there a new space that is "equal or better" than the current one is available. Barham-Hill added to his promise that though "I can’t speak to square footage," all the components of the OBSA’s current office would be built into the new student services center. "In no way would [CUC] advocate moving the OBSA or any other organization into any space that is inappropriate to their needs".

Overall, Brenda Barham-Hill believed the new buildings would have a positive effect on the CUC and the relocated organizations. She said that the new buildings would ascertain that "there’s a sense of everything we do, and make CUC and its services more visible". Not only would the buildings "make CUC a place students can go to, like other college campuses" but the consolidation of similar services within one building would be beneficial. "If you’re thoughtful about [locating services within the same building], you can develop synergies," she said.

In contrast to Ms. Barham Hill’s comments, several of the organizations that would potentially be relocated expressed serious concern over the move and the limited role that they have had in the planning. Most vocal was the Office of Black Student Affairs, headed by Dean Hughes Suffren, who is concerned that rather than the "synergy" Ms. Barham-Hill spoke of, the building would become a generic "multicultural center," a change which would entail "less specificity, less expertise, and less service."

In a Wednesday morning interview at OBSA’s house across the street from Harvey Mudd, Suffren said that "while I see the benefit of being close" to other ethnic student organizations and the center of the campuses, he was "extremely concerned" by how little he had been consulted and informed about the relocation plan.

"We have not been involved. We haven’t been receiving information," Suffren said.

His comments reiterated his "Letter from the Dean" article in the October issue of Uhuru, the quarterly newsletter of the OBSA. In it, he described the roles of the OBSA and CLSA Deans in relocation planning meetings as "waiting for the committee’s administrative assistant to beckon us in for participation in the portion of the meeting that the other Deans deemed appropriate. Picture that. Now picture this: two Deans standing outside, peering at others plan the future of the ethnic centers we direct."

Of particular concern to Suffren were the "closed door discussions" about a rumored plan to "create a multicultural center," a topic he addressed in the newsletter. "It is an indication that, once again, we are being treated as outsiders rather than stakeholders," he wrote.

While explaining to The Student Life that he is in support of working together with other ethnic student organizations, Suffren said that was concerned about "a national trend towards ‘multicultural,’ rather than ethnic-specific groups."

This "repositioning," he wrote in Uhuru, often leads to restructuring, "and restructuring in this case may mean ‘eliminating.’"

However, when asked whether he thought that there was a conscious effort to undermine the role of the Office of Black Student Affairs on campus, he said he did not think so. There "is certainly not an us against them mentality" he said, and added that his opinions in October’s Uhuru "do not express where we are now."

In addition to his concern over "who is going to shape what these services are going to look like," Suffren added that he had some reservations about having the OBSA located in the heart of campus.

"We stand to lose a lot. This is not the safest campus for students in color," he said, citing both the recent incident involving Faculty Resident Valorie Thomas and racial profiling in Claremont. "Students feel that if [racial harassment] could happen to a professor, it could happen to them too. What does this have to do with our move? A lot. Students often come here to get away. Location and how the space is arranged is really important."

Asked about students’ response to the move, Suffren described them as "concerned." "There’s a lot of pent-up energy; they’re really in a bad place." he said.

"That’s just some though. Many others are cautiously optimistic," he added.

Ultimately, Suffren expressed that he was wary of the effects of relocating the OBSA, even though there has been no public indication of plans to reduce the stature of the five college Office of Black Student Affairs. He said that while he did not think the colleges or CUC were trying to downplay the OBSA or any other ethnic associations, there was no telling what could happen in a few years.

Though there is concern over the move, CUC claims that the move is purely logistical and not intended to pigeon hole any student associations.

Barham-Hill expressed her confidence that everyone would be satisfied by the relocation.

Suffren, however, remains wary, though he believes that increased communication between the CUC and the OBSA would help settle any misunderstanding. "At this point, I’m hearing a whole lot of things. But until I see plans, or a building in place…" he said, shrugging his hands.