College attempts to force CCSS out
The CCSS office at Lansdowne is in jeopardy.
The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) office at Lansdowne could be conspicuously absent from its current location come this June. And the student society isn’t happy about it at all.
As part of its Campus Plan, Camosun College is attempting to relocate the CCSS Lansdowne office as of May 31, as well as the First Nations student lounge in the Young Building a year later, into the Richmond House.
The CCSS would then have use of the second-floor offices in Richmond House, currently occupied by college information technology staff, as well as the third floor of the building. This would make the Richmond House, which currently houses groups such as the women’s centre and Nexus, entirely occupied by student services.
The current CCSS office at Lansdowne is planned to be converted into an Aramark-run coffee shop, which was conceived as part of the new Learning Commons, the ultimate goal of the Lansdowne campus library’s current renovations.
CCSS director of operations Michel Turcotte feels a move away from its current, centralized location on the Lansdowne campus will make the student society much less accessible to students.
“[Student services coordinator] Michael Glover and I both made it quite clear that we’d be willing to talk about alternate locations, but the student society needs a place with some profile,” explains Turcotte. “There are still students who don’t know where the Richmond House is.”
Richmond House will also be problematic due to its accessibility issues, especially considering those on the CCSS board and staff with accessibility concerns. While Turcotte says the college has offered $5,000 for renovations, he feels it wouldn’t be sufficient to suit their needs.
“Only $5,000 wouldn’t get us very far in terms of addressing those accessibility issues, or even functionality issues, for that matter,” says Turcotte.
Turcotte says he has been aware of the college’s desire to relocate the CCSS Lansdowne office for some time, but was surprised by a recent letter from the college detailing plans already underway to move the CCSS into the Richmond House with only three months notice.
He feels the decision goes against the college’s Memorandum of Understanding with the CCSS, in which their current office was designated as student space.
“They’re asking us something they don’t have the right to do under that agreement,” says Turcotte. “We have every intention of continuing to honour our agreements with the college, and expect them to do the same.”
Peter Lockie, Camosun’s chief financial officer, says Turcotte is “right, to a point,” but also says the agreement is outdated and “a lot of what is happening between the college and the CCSS isn’t in that agreement at all.”
The decision to include a coffee shop as part of the new Learning Commons was the result of student surveys, says Lockie. He says the coffee shop wasn’t considered as a significant means of additional revenue, but rather for creating more student space.
“The Campus Plan predominantly says our campuses need more of a sense of place for students, and we don’t really have a lot of student spaces,” says Lockie. “We figure, for the student body, a coffee shop is a better use of the space than the CCSS administrative functions that are in there at the moment.”
Lockie admits the college’s announcement to the CCSS of the intended move does appear heavy-handed, but says the college was under a time crunch to complete the Learning Commons over the summer to avoid disrupting students.
“Talking about it endlessly with the CCSS staff just meets with resistance; we’re just trying to force the issue beyond just that preliminary discussion,” says Lockie. “We’re trying to say, ‘We’re serious, and we need you to do this in this timeframe.’ It’s a tough one.”
Turcotte says the college assured them that no abrupt actions would be taking place. The CCSS is currently drafting a response to the college.
“We ‘re going to express our concern to the college,” says Turcotte. “I don’t believe students were asked if they’d like to replace their student society with a coffee shop.”
Here is a response to Mr Lockie. "Hey Pete. We students are moving an impromptu coffee shop into your office next week. But don't worry, well set up a tent for you to work from for awhile. Don't like that? Well we surveyed students and they would rather have a coffee shop then another Vice President who they never see. "
CCSS Nexus promo
Wow, this is really sad. I'm surprised this article doesn't mention the pride room in Richmond house will probably be crowded out. Why do we think a coffee shop is more important than the school's media, the student society, the women's center, /and/ the safe place for queer students? Most likely the pride room will be the one to go, leaving vulnerable students (like the ones who don't fit neatly into gender norms and feel unsafe in the general student spaces) nowhere safe to go. I'm glad you're reporting on this, it's an important one.