Vassar, Arlington Community members voice concerns about bookstore move

Hayley Tsukayama News Editor

“The goal here is to transmit this information and challenge everyone to be more transparent,” Naomi Fair ’08 told a crowd of over 100 people gathered at an April 2 community forum in the Students’ Building. The meeting was organized to discuss the College’s plan to move its bookstore off campus into the Juliet building. The building is currently occupied by Juliet Café and Billiards.

The forum, hosted by the Urban Studies Majors Committee, was designed to inform those curious about the project’s planning and also to encourage and foster a dialogue between multiple groups within the community. Students, faculty, community members and local business owners were all in attendance.

The evening opened with panel discussion whose members included Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsy Eismeier, Associate Professor of Sociology Leonard Nevarez, Director of Human Resources Ruth Spencer and Associate Professor of Sociology Pinar Batur.

Eismeier provided background information on the plan, Nevarez discussed the theoretical place of the educational institutions in the community, Spencer discussed labor relations and Batur spoke to a need to have “civic capacity” on the issue by “building a broad coalition and uniting different sections of the community.”

Following the panel, there was an open question and answer session. Of those who spoke from the audience, most raised concerns about how installing a large chain store, such as Barnes & Noble, would impact the community. Others questioned the College’s approach to its plan to revitalize the Arlington business district, saying that the community should look into fully exploiting its existing resources such as an empty property, an increase in entertainment programming.

“Why a bookstore in the first place, and why the Juliet?” local resident and Cubbyhole Coffeeshop employee Nick Middlebrook asked. Middlebrook is one of the founders of the Facebook group that is in opposition to installing a Barnes & Noble in the Juliet space.

Professor of Psychology Carol Christensen was the first to raise her concerns about the fate of The Three Arts bookstore, which she called an “important business that has been the support of intellectual life for many years.” She called on the College to ensure that the store would not be pushed out of business.

Eismeier responded by saying that the College will “fully exercise” their power over the situation to “carve out business” for the independent store.

“I’ve heard a lot of high-minded talk,” said Eric Lindbloom, a Poughkeepsie resident and spouse of English Department Lecturer Nancy Willard, “but it is essentially predatory.” He added that companies like Barnes & Noble have an unbalanced influence over the publishing and retail markets and that the College is “aiding and abetting that consolidation of power to a single organization.”

Other students, such as Francesca Veres ’11, voiced the concern of many students that an off-campus bookstore would be very inconvenient for students.

Vassar Student Association Vice President for Activities Jimmy Kelly ’09 called on the College to decide the bookstore management through competitive bidding, as it will do for campus dining vendors later this year. “I am of the firm belief,” Kelly said, “that the only way to do this is to leave no stone unturned” on ways to ensure that the College ultimately chooses the right store for the campus and, most of all, for the community.

Local business owners Susan Wysocki of Babycakes also raised a logistical issue with the College’s plan. “Where are they going to park?” she asked, referring to the patrons that the College hopes the new store will attract. She also expressed concern that there may be a café in the new store.

Eismeier said, “I think we will try to ensure that all of the other eateries in the area are protected,” and added that the Department of Transportation, the Arlington Business District and the College are all looking at ways to resolve the parking issue.

Jarek Wysocki, also of Babycakes, encouraged Vassar students to patronize and support the local businesses no matter what kind of store is installed in the Juliet space. “We can debate all we want, but we vote with our feet,” he said.

Overall, the forum organizers and participants were pleased with the outcome of the night. “It’s a start,” said Middlebrook, “There was some good dialogue, though I feel, personally, as though there could have been a few more questions answered.” Middlebrook added that while he does not have a “big, bad, Vassar” mentality, he believes that the College could to more with existing spaces to encourage students to go off campus, rather than replace the Juliet Café and Billiards with new business.

Eismeier said that she understands the concerns raised at the forum and appreciated the opportunity for dialogue, although she believed that the evening would have benefited from hearing more voices from the planning process. “I grant a lot of points raised in the discussion tonight,” she said, but added that “There is risk involved in all cases. There is risk in leaving it alone and risk in putting in any new entity and we must protect against all those concerns.”

The Urban Studies Major Committee was also pleased with the outcome of the discussion, but Committee members emphasized that this was an issue that could not be resolved in one night.
“This is just the first step,” said Urban Studies Major Committee member Angela Lam ’08. “There will be more action to follow.”