This is an open letter of adamant opposition to the Trent University administration's decision to close Trent's downtown campuses, Peter Robinson College and Catherine Parr Traill College.
I spent two years (1991-3) as a PRC student after transferring from Dalhousie University. After studying at Trent, I went on to do a Master's degree at York University and am currently working on (as it were) my PhD at Cornell University. Nothing I've experienced at any of these universities has compared to the experiences I had as a PRC student.
Having gotten glowing reviews of PRC and CPT from friends who headed to Trent before I did, I transferred from Dalhousie precisely because of the sorts of opportunities for community life and connection to the world outside the university which the downtown colleges offer. As a result of my involvement in PRC, I made close friends in the non-university community and became involved in community politics in a way I otherwise would not have.
The downtown colleges represent one of the many ways in which Trent is unique among Canadian universities and one of the reasons the university attracts such a high calibre of student. The heavy-handed approach of the administration to this matter is not something I would have expected from Trent. I am also shocked to see how blithely the university is prepared to turn its back on the community on which it has depended for so long. If the administration goes ahead with this move, it can count me out of any future fundraising efforts. The world is full of valuable causes, and I prefer to give my money to organizations I can trust.
If I can contribute to your efforts in any way, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.