Mayor Held Meets with 5C Student Presidents
By Joshua Tremblay
Editor-in-Chief

In a move to improve the sometimes strained town-gown relations between the Claremont Colleges and the City of Claremont, the mayor of Claremont Paul Held and ten student leaders met December 3 in the Sprague Conference Room at Harvey Mudd College.

The student delegation consisted of each college’s presidents and an accompanying senator from their respective governing bodies; the mayor led a group of city leaders including representatives from the police.

“The meeting was very successful—it was a great first step for improving communication between the City and the students,” said ASPC President Ari Greenberg ’04. The meeting marks the first of its kind to discuss key issues that have strained relations between the students and the City’s administration for decades.

While the student presidents eagerly brought agendas to the table, the mayor also had his own concerns and ideas.

“I think the mayor honestly wants to integrate the students into the city,” said Greenberg. The ideas the mayor had included throwing a “Welcome Back” party for the students every year in September, better publicity of current city events to students, and having heavy student input at the Los Angeles County Fair, particularly in regards to which entertainers were to perform. The mayor also mentioned that he would like to hire a shuttle for students to attend the fair, held yearly at the Pomona Fairplex.

The most serious social issue discussed between the presidents and mayor was racial profiling in Claremont. This problem was bought to the forefront of student concerns after the 1999 shooting of Irvin Landrum, an unarmed African American man stopped for a routine traffic violation. The City of Claremont conducted an investigation, which included using cameras inside police cruisers, to research whether or not there was a racial profiling problem within the Claremont Police Department (CPD).

This study was concluded last month, but there was concern expressed by the student presidents that none of the data could be analyzed. The Police Union has taken the study to court because, according to their charter, no such study can be used to demote or fire an officer. The ruling was struck down by a district court, upheld at the appellate level, and is now being taken to the California Supreme Court.

Another hotly contested topic was the constant noise complaints that force campus events to shut down. These complaints were primarily directed toward Pomona and HMC campuses. The mayor told the presidents that he was working on granting exceptions on certain days when large events are traditionally held. The student leaders also relayed anecdotes about noise complaints being received before events even begin, and how certain venues always draw complaints.

Held pledged to check accountability that CPD officers were actually responding to the residences that reported noise complaints, as per their policy. Allegedly, officers are following up on noise complaints on hearsay without actually checking noise levels at complaint locations. Both parties agreed that communication with CPD prior to an event may aid in cooperation in solving the noise complaint problems.

Greenberg was optimistic about the outcomes of the noise debates, but lamented that “The level of willingness on part of the mayor to look at the issues was slightly disappointing.” It was noted by ASHMC President Warren Katzenstein ’04 that his constituents had placed decibel sensors at strategically chosen points around the city to assess the noise problem themselves.

The Mayor made it clear that the City believes that student input on the Village West expansion project was vital to its community and economic success. The expansion will reportedly have a 40 room inn, retail spaces, and new restaurants. However, none of the spaces have been filled by tenant commitments. The centerpiece of the expansion will be a five-screen second-run or independent features cinema. The 5C student presidents have a tentative meeting with the developer the Tolken Group in February of 2004.

The issue of using Claremont Cash at local retail establishments was also raised by the student leaders.

Exceptions are also being planned for parking restrictions when campus construction was limiting the amount of on-campus parking available for students.

When the parking lot that is currently on the corner of Sixth and College Way is demolished to build new academic buildings, temporary parking elsewhere may be allotted by the city. The mayor was reluctant to grant any immediate exceptions, denying Associated Students of CMC President Bick McSwiney’s ’04 proposal for extra parking on his home campus.

Emergency preparedness was also raised at the meeting. There was anxiety amongst the student representatives that the City and the 5Cs lacked clear plans and communication in the event of an emergency. Held reassured the representatives that evacuation space exists, but that were a disaster to decimate a large part of Claremont, municipal resources would be so strained that the Colleges would have to rely on their own resources.

Overall, the student leaders were guardedly optimistic about this first meeting with municipal leaders.

“We brought our major issues to him today,” said Greenberg. The group will continue to meet with city leaders throughout the year on a regular basis.