On April 16, Benita Ramsey resigned from her position as Dean of Students for the Office of Black Student Affairs, bringing to a close a six year tenure with the association. Ms. Ramsey, who officially resigned for health reasons, was replaced by Interim Dean Leeshawn Moore. Ms. Moore will serve as interim dean until June 30, after which time a new Dean will be selected to serve for the 1999-2000 school year.

Photo by Brian Rothman The OBSA building will house a new administration next year.

The OBSA, established 30 years ago, was created to offer support for the African American community at the Claremont Colleges. At almost six years, Ms. Ramsey’s was the longest tenure served by any dean at the OBSA. According to newly appointed Associate Dean Peter Harris, Ramsey’s legacy to the office, at least in the long term, will be a positive one.

"Many positive things happened during the tenure of Benita Ramsey. She helped to build an infrastructure that will serve as the foundation for future growth." Among the positive accomplishments of Ramsey’s tenure, Harris pointed to her inclusion and sensitivity for gay and lesbian students as well as the creation of a 24-hour computer lab which is accessible to all students.

Harris, who has worked with the OBSA for three years, and associate Chantee Prelue will continue working with the OBSA in the upcoming academic year. Although a new Dean has not been chosen, many students involved with the OBSA feel that such an alteration in the administration will bring radical changes to the association. Freshman Carlette Jennings expressed the opinion that "these changes can only bring positive things for the OBSA".

Several students involved with the organization have expressed their concern that, in the past, communication between students and the administration within the OBSA has not been ideal. OBSA Community Liaison Quincy O’Neal said that there were both "positives and negatives" to the OBSA as run under Benita Ramsey. Of the negatives, O’Neal said that "students were often not consulted before programming and administrative decisions were made. This is something we would like to change in the future."

Of the leadership of Ramsey herself, several students in the OBSA felt that more could have been done by the Dean to strengthen student-administrative relations. Senior Rhonda Lewis ’99 voiced her criticism that Ms. Ramsey "didn’t do enough for the students as Dean of the OBSA. Often she was ineffective and unresponsive to students." Lewis also stated that she felt "many students were unenthusiastic about the OBSA because it was unproductive."

Harris stressed, "it is important to remember that in any administration there will be ups and downs. We need to focus on the big picture." Harris also said that he, as part off the administration, also takes responsibility for any negative feelings students had towards the leadership of the OBSA. "Now we must focus on building for the future, on making everyone feel comfortable and welcome in the office."

The issue of access to information has also been a concern of many students, which O’Neal attributes to the lack of communication which existed in the OBSA. In a recent meeting with CUC representative Mitch Druger, students from the Pan-African Student Association voiced these concerns. Lewis, who was present at this meeting, said that their main objection was that students were not informed of what was going on in the OBSA.

One specific concern was the management of the OBSA budget. Lewis said that "students were not told what the budget for each year was, and were not informed of how money was spent. Several times activities were canceled because of money shortages, and it was not always explained why this was." One of the goals of the PASA is to have the budget made accessible to every student. The PASA is also working with the administration to create an advisory board which would include students, faculty and OBSA staff to oversee the administartion of the organization.

Overall, students and staff involved with the OBSA are enthusiastic about the future. As Lewis stated, "these changes are certainly for the better." O’Neal is equally optimistic for the future of the OBSA. "Along with PASA, we are pushing for the OBSA to link with other colleges in the area to bring new faces onto the campus and to provide greater opportunities for growth in the community."

Harris said that the administration is currently "reassessing the office of the OBSA, both changing and building on the current groundwork established by Benita Ramsey. We hope to accomplish our goals of solidifying the organization, to be able to provide the best we have to offer to the students of the Claremont Colleges."