Spring 2010 ReHamping Movement

The Rehamping movement is an embodiment of the dynamic, collaborative energy that makes Hampshire College a powerhouse of creative and intellectual thought and action. It started off as a group of students searching for a new way to approach campus planning. Recognizing the lack of systems that enable the greater school community to become involved with the physical processes of transforming our spaces on campus, we sought to push past this convention and use Rehamping as a catalyst for positive change. As designers, we believe that a design is only as beautiful as it is just, and the only way changes in our built environment can embody justice is if they reflect the hopes, needs, and desires of the community at large. With that in mind, we worked closely with community members to develop design proposals that breathe a new dynamism into the seemingly static caverns of the Library and RCC. The redesign proposals developed by the community through Rehamping have the potential to fundamentally change not only the relationships that we have with spaces on campus, but even more importantly the role of our voices in this processes of change. Our shared spaces need to become more responsive to the dynamic, evolving body of energy that is Hampshire.

In the process of working towards the establishment of new channels of communication and dialogue through the Library/ RCC redesign proposal, a project that is currently being pushed through the planning stages was brought to our attention. A plan has been developed that involves moving a satellite of Admissions into the Adele Simmons Hall. Upon hearing rumors of the project, we worked hard to uncover the reality of the situation. The following is a list of verified facts regarding the proposed changes:


 * a satellite of admissions is being moved into Adele Simmons Hall (Spiro, Hexter, Weisler)
 * admissions offices will remain in the current admissions building (Weisler, Hexter)
 * prospective students will no longer be directed to arrive at the current admissions location (Weisler)
 * information sessions will be held in the lecture style auditorium in ASH (currently they are in a round table, discussion format) (Weisler, Hexter)
 * the small lab is being designated for admissions purposes (Weisler)
 * a new small lab will replace two offices in ASH (Weisler)
 * the offices that are being removed will placed "somewhere else" (Weisler)
 * "This is just an experiment" (Hexter)
 * the budget of the project is $300,000 + additional costs, like a "parking bay" (Spiro)
 * new parking will be created; no one will elaborate or share specifics (Hexter, Weisler, Spiro)
 * "16 spaces are required" (Weisler) This is roughly equivalent to 5100 square feet

Although its implementation is fast approaching, the vast majority of the Hampshire community, including students, faculty, and staff have neither been consulted nor made aware of the project. This project should not be dismissed, as it has been by President Hexter and Steven Weisler, as a simple renovation. This is a programmatic shift that seriously affects many members of the community. The lack of community participation and the scale of this shift may have, if they have not already, a demoralizing effect on the community. It experimentally and irresponsibly puts an administrative function into one of the most successful academic buildings on campus without consulting those who are most directly effected, including the admissions staff.

The administration's desire to keep prospective interest in the school afloat is a goal that Rehamping shares. However, we as a community believe the Admissions/ASH project is fundamentally flawed due to its lack of active participation on the part of the project's main stakeholders: the students, faculty, and staff. The community-derived Rehamping proposals satiate the need to attract more students to Hampshire, while addressing some of the most immediate concerns and desires of the community.

Our goal is to build new bridges between students, faculty, staff, and administration so that the voices of the Hampshire community can be better represented and celebrated in the process of transforming our public spaces. The movement towards a more honest, direct, and empowering forms of community participation starts with our intervention in the ASH/ Admissions project.

Learn More

 * Visit the ReHamping Tumblr: http://rehamping.tumblr.com/
 * Read the May 2010 Faculty and Staff Petition in support of the ReHamping Movement
 * Read the May 2010 Open Letter from Members of the Admissions Office