Q. How is the legal case being financed?
A. A legal trust, called 'Friends of the Trent Colleges' has been set up by professor Graham Cogley, with alumna Jane Davidson, and professors Peter Kulchyski, and George Nader as the trustees. The 'friends' have raised $20,000 in a week, but the court case could cost as much as $70,000, so more will be needed.
Q. Are students involved? Where else will the money come from?
A. Students will be having several fundraising events. The trust will solicit funds from alumni, faculty, and interested citizens.
Q. What about downtown merchants?
A. we consider downtown merchants to be among our partners in the overall battle to keep the colleges open. We will be asking for their help.
Q. How do people donate?
A. Cheques can be made out to 'Friends of the Trent Colleges'. All funds will go towards the legal costs associated with the challenge; should there be any funds left over after the challenge they will be directed to a registered charity.
Q. Is the fund a registered charity?
A. No. The trust is not a registered charity and cannot issue tax deductions for support.
Q and As - General
Q. How will Superbuild reduce Trent's deficit? Is there a link between
Trent's deficit and the downtown colleges?
A. There is no link. The downtown colleges are self-financing and have not
contributed to the deficit; enrolment decline of more than 11 per cent
since 1993 (equivalent to over $2 million in lost annual revenue)
accounts for at least three-quarters of the deficit. Enrolment recovery
and judicious ADMINISTRATION CUTS will eliminate the deficit.
Q. Why was closing the downtown colleges' part of the Superbuild
application for funds for Trent University? How can they be recreated
on the suburban campus?
A. You should know that the College System was effectively dismantled last
spring following consultants' recommendations to shift to a "dormitory"
system in line with the other universities. Trent administrators
prepared the ground for a suburban dormitory campus by centralizing
residence management, eliminating college events budgets, reducing the
authority of College Heads, eliminating College administrators, and
(this month) beginning the phase-out of dons by replacing them with
"student dons." Their claims to restore the colleges on suburban
campuses are bogus.
Besides, you can't shut down a college, which has an identity and
history inextricably linked to its buildings and "recreate" it in a
privately-run dormitory out on the water. That would be like trying to
recreate Hart House at the U of T out at Erindale - in fact, if the
logic were used at U of T, which is being used here at Trent, 70 per
cent of their buildings would be bulldozed. And Hart House isn't as old
as some of our buildings at the downtown colleges. Just listen to the
uproar if some bureaucrat tried to close Hart House to get Superbuild
funds!
Q. What sort of community consultation did President Patterson's
administration do before the decision was taken to close the colleges?
A. The president did not consult with any downtown group. The
Downtown Business Improvement Area, a lobby group representing 530
Downtown businesses, has written to the president and to the mayor
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expressing concern. We expect that most of the 210 merchants affected
will sign the letters of concern .
Q. What assurances did President Patterson give the Peterborough downtown
merchants and businesses that this move will not affect them in any
way, and that they will not lose business? How can she guarantee that
over time students will not simply move up to the north end to be
closer to classes, since all activity will now center on the suburban
campus? On what does she base her assertion that they will continue to
live downtown anyway?
A. She can't.It's simply bald assertion, not borne out by experiences in
other communities such as Brock and Simon Fraser and York. "Ninety
letters from downtown store owners is a lot of support for keeping the
colleges downtown," admits Peterborough MPP Gary Stewart on receiving
letters each signed by a downtown business owner (Peterborough
Examiner, 18 Dec. 1999 - reprinted on the Trent Action web site).
Business owners know that with a suburban commuter campus it is "less
likely" for students "to get involved in the community and stay in the
city after graduation," as graduate Jon Bryan, owner of The
Peterborough Arms says in this news item.
Downtown merchants know that students will shift accommodation to the
northern suburbs to be closer to the University. Campus centralization
means a captive consumer market for food and beverages at the expense
of the student shopping habits that sustain 50 per cent of some
businesses in Peterborough's already fragile downtown core. It means
more money for a campus food management company but less money to be
spent in stores downtown.
Q. How does President Patterson respond to the assertion made by the
Downtown Action Group that it will be extremely costly to close the
colleges and will place the university in a "not enough beds" crisis
for incoming first year students?
A. NOBODY is permitted to see the Superbuild application, and Mr. Richard
Keefer's request to see it, filed under Freedom of Information Act, has
been hotly contested by the University (Mr. Keefer's request is the
only one of its kind under Superbuild to be filed in the entire
province). At City council last Monday evening, the President smoothly
page 3…general Q and As
dismissed this question, claiming a need for secrecy because of
competition for Superbuild funds. How convenient.
In the face of community outcry by key groups who were never consulted, by the Chair
of Native Studies who asked repeatedly to be involved in the
decision-making process and did not receive even the courtesy of a
reply, this defense starts to wear a bit thin.
President Patterson's administration has yet to explain how SuperBuild,
which does not fund maintenance or operating costs, will reduce the
deficit. The relocation of colleges to the Symons campus is not a
responsible use of funds. The transfer could result in a net loss of
about $20 million (to be added to the Trent deficit):
1) The net return from the sale of all downtown buildings may be only about $2 million;
2) the cost of replacing downtown academic space will be about $8 million; and
3) the cost of replacing downtown residence space (330 beds, 30% of all
residence beds) may be as high as $15 million. Although the capital plan hopes for privately developed residences integrated into colleges (unprecedented in Canada), these 330 beds will likely be lost unless Trent pays for their replacement. The probable loss of
downtown beds is a very serious financial risk. Enrolment recovery and growth will depend critically on the availability of beds; about 85% of first-year students want to be in residence and many will not come without residence. This year, there was a waiting list for
residence.
Q. Why close the downtown colleges, which have the least costly buildings?
A. According to Prof. George Nader, who is Master of Peter Robinson college and also a statistician, in terms of the "per unit" cost of deferred maintenance, the downtown colleges have an overwhelming advantage: on the Symons campus, per bed costs are twice as high ($14,100 against $7,100) and per square foot costs are twice as high for residences ($40 against $20) and substantially higher for all uses ($40 against $28).
In the short time permitted, the proposal to close the downtown colleges
was considered and rejected by several university bodies:
- the Senate (Trent's foremost and final authority on academic matters)
- the Site Development and Space Utilization Committee - the Humanities
and Social Science Chairs - the Trent Central Student Association.
Page 4---general Q and As
Since then, the Committee on Colleges has supported the Senate resolution and the Canadian Association of University Teachers has condemned the Board for ignoring the proper role and authority of Senate on this matter.
And now we have legal action. On Friday, January 21, 2000, three professors, Ian McLachlan, Andrew Wernick and Peter Kulchyski, acting on behalf of a much larger group, filed an application for a judicial review of a motion of the Board of Governors to close and sell Trent's traditional downtown academic colleges. Their lawyer is John Laskin of Toronto.