A.S. to close Re-entry Center

Associated Students leaders plan to pull much of the funding for the Re-entry Center, with the end result being the loss of the tiny but familial room in the University Center where students have built an atmosphere of support.

“It’s really about being wise with our money and not duplicating services,” said Michael Dailey, the A.S. executive vice president. Re-entry students could use computers, tutors and an emergency locator service in the new Bell Memorial Union much more efficiently, he said.

But several re-entry students, who this week launched an effort called Save Our Center, say it’s not about the programs but the space—a tiny room in the University Center—and the feeling of community that comes with it.

“Re-entry students feel if the center is taken away they will disappear, and other students want it that way,” said Mikki Westbie, the center’s director, at a March 10 meeting of the concerned students, who feel discriminated against even as they count nearly a quarter of the university’s population as being over 25 and/or having had a break in schooling.

“This is a like a haven to come to when you’ve had a bad day in class, or you’ve had a lab where no one wants to work with you because you’re the ‘old person’ in the lab,” said Karen Tandy, a 50-something re-entry student from Gridley. “I don’t know if any of you can understand what it’s like to be us. It’s way more than services, and it’s way more than having a space.”

The “you” to whom she was referring was the half-dozen A.S. officers—equal to the turnout of concerned students—who attended the hastily called evening meeting.

Denise Crosswhite, the A.S. commissioner of re-entry affairs, said she understands the rationale for pulling the funding but is frustrated because “it was all done behind closed doors and I wasn’t really included.”

She also sees this controversy as a chance to unite a population of students who have been less than cohesive and active over the years. During the 10 years re-entry students have been represented by a commissioner, it’s been common for one to resign mid-year. With this track record, and the busy nature of older students who often commute and/or have children at home, some doubt the next elected commissioner could take on the expanded role of managing the programs for the A.S.

Re-entry is one of seven main programs funded by the Activity Fee paid by students. It costs $17,000, and if the A.S. eliminates the center’s part-time director and other expenses, Dailey said that could save as much as $14,000 to be dispersed among the remaining programs such as the Women’s Center or the Children’s Center, or to offset budget shortfalls as enrollment declines.

The decision was made by the four A.S. executives—Dailey, Jimmy Reed, Tiffany Yost and Kristina Zekos-Ortiz. The idea is expected to pass a vote of the Activity Fee Commission. “There’s really no reversal,” Dailey said.

A.S. leaders suggested that the students appeal to Herman Ellis, the university’s vice president for student activities. A.S. President Jimmy Reed said Ellis has indicated that when the A.S. pulls the funding, the university will make its own use of the Re-entry Center space.

Ellis said in an interview that, because the university has long-term needs for space, he would indeed seek to turn the little room back into a library for the Multicultural Center for the time being. “They were never really, from my standpoint, intended to be in that space,” he said. “As the keeper of the space, I feel like since there is no real program there, I’m not going to guarantee the space.”

As for the philosophical question of whether re-entry services are an A.S. or university responsibility, Ellis pointed out that it was the A.S. that sought to take them over a decade ago. “They chose a long time ago to make that a student program.”

In 1996, the A.S. suspended funding for the Re-entry Center and closed its three rooms in Sutter Hall at the request of the center’s governing board, which wanted a task force to redefine its role on campus. In 1999, the center was resurrected in the University Center thanks to other clubs giving up space.

At the GAC meeting, 29-year-old re-entry student Tina Mickelson, a biology senior, said there’s no guarantee that the programs will be transferred over to the next commissioner smoothly. "Let’s develop a plan and cut the funding next year," she said.