Professor of
Philosophy and Religion, emerita
I write both as a
long-standing member of the Colgate community and as a resident of
the Village for 57 years. Beyond teaching Colgate students for many
years (during nine of which I taught all men), I have been an active and participating
member in the civic and political life of the Village and Town of Hamilton. You
may have heard of the numerous times when I have defended Colgate when it has
been unjustly criticized by those in the town who resent Colgate's influence.
I have tried to explain the reasons it matters to Colgate that the Village be
vibrant and attractive. I have tried to encourage realistic gratitude for the
importance of Colgate to the village and of the village to Colgate.
I also have been well
aware of the need for more rental housing in the village as well as the
village's need to increase its tax base. I was more than ready to support
the proposals from Fairmount Properties if they met those needs without
damaging the village and the college.
However, I think the
current proposal for the Eaton Street location is bad both for Colgate and the
village. It seems designed to encourage exactly the kind of
immature behavior our stated educational goals discourage.
I remember when my own daughters were tired of dorm living and sought
apartments in the communities where they were in school. But it is a very
different thing to share an apartment with one or two fellow students than to
be able to choose "apartments" with eight clustered bedrooms. This
seems designed to encourage groups of students (many probably affiliated in
Greek-letter societies) to move downtown for the senior year in order to be
free of University supervision and to indulge in the most
dangerous aspects of our drinking and drugging cultures.
On Nextdoor Hamilton
I have argued that the apartments over the retail units in the Eaton St.
building might best be one and two bedroom units that cater to adults,
either Colgate staff or students-- or others working in the region.
If Colgate seniors successfully competed for one of these apartments, they
would be expected to live up to normal standards for decent behavior in
interaction with other adults.
After years of
observing village and college, I think the better plan is to move all students
to the campus. But if 250 students must live in the village, I cannot
think of a more dangerous plan for Colgate's reputation and the health and
safety of the village than the current proposal. This is not said out of
personal interest, since I live on the other side of the village.
In sum, I urge you
to withdraw your agreement to guarantee full occupancy of the building
Fairmount Properties has proposed for Eaton St. If an attractive
and secure rental complex is open to tenants on a first come-first serve basis,
it will draw tenants by its own merits. Our students who live there
will be encouraged to be adults in a community of adults.
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