With the impending closure of Southampton College's undergraduate program looming on the horizon, an alarmed community gathered to speak on the issue with elected officials, college professors, students and alumni Sunday evening. The forum preceded a press conference to be held tomorrow at Southampton Town Hall at 10 a.m. featuring New York State Senator Kenneth LaValle, Congressman Tim Bishop, County Executive Steve Levy, and Assemblyman Fred Thiele.

A handful of panelists, along with Southampton Professor Scott Carlin as moderator, spoke of the intention not only to keep the Southampton campus an educational institution, but to maintain a four-year program as well. The land, they said collectively, will not fall prey to developers eager to conquer and divide what is considered to be some of the most valuable property in Suffolk County.

"I was very distressed when I first heard," said Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman of the school's closure, adding that the 110-acre campus is a "prime piece of real estate." Schneiderman entertained the idea of collaborating with Suffolk County Community College, in Riverhead, but "ideally that wasn't the best solution." Following Levy's vetoes to the county budget earlier this summer, Schneiderman re-established an authorization to spend $30 million on the Riverhead campus, much to the chagrin of some residents who felt the money could have been better spent elsewhere, such as at Southampton College.

The SUNY system would be a better option, Schneiderman continued, because it would keep the facility a four-year educational institution.

Levy could not attend the forum, but Ben Zwirn, his Assistant Deputy County Executive, did. Zwirn, whose son attends the college, said that he does not want to see the programs disbanded, especially the prestigious marine science program, whose fate has yet to be decided.

Considered to be one of the best in the country, the marine science program's success is in large part due to the college's surroundings. Because of Southampton's on-campus marine station on Shinnecock Bay, students have unlimited access to bays, tidal creeks, barrier beaches, dunes, salt marshes, salt ponds and the ocean.

"This school should be a star in the LIU system," Zwirn proclaimed.

The Shinnecock
The forum provided a first for the Shinnecock Indian Nation, who, they said, had yet to be included in the decision-making process either publicly or privately. Tribal members Elizabeth Haile and Lance Gumbs joined the panelists. For Haile, Southampton College represents the opportunities not available to her as a young woman. In 1948, she enrolled in the Oneonta State Teachers College because there was "no such school on Long Island," she said, citing long bus trips and a lot of time away from home. "If there had been a Southampton College I could have walked to school, lived at home…" And now, "it looks to me like we're about to go backwards in time about 50 years," said Haile, who is also a Southampton College Doctor of Humane Letters. "This issue is most serious. Time is of the essence."

And in what some believed to be an attempt to advance personal politics, Shinnecock Tribal Chairman Lance Gumbs spoke of the potential benefits to having an Indian Gaming facility on Shinnecock land, stating that some of the proceeds would go to funding the institution. The college, said Gumbs, has given a tremendous amount to the tribe and "it's time now that the Shinnecock Indian Nation give back."

He also spoke of "working together" with local politicians who have up until this point failed to include the Shinnecock in any of the brainstorming discussions about the college. The school is the largest source of employment for the tribe, said Gumbs, adding that losing this institution would be a devastating blow not only to the surrounding community, but also to the Shinnecock as well.

Irreplaceable History
A current student and a recent graduate also joined the panel. Nora Detweiler, a 30-something student, choked up at the thought of the school closing. And Sharon Wallen, an alumna and a pre-school teacher, remarked on the incredible "impact" four years can have on a person, adding later that, "the love, dedication and history cannot just be replaced," she said. "Please give others the opportunity that I was so lucky and blessed to have."

Tim Bishop, a former Southampton College Provost, was the final panelist to speak prior to public commentary. "The most important thing for us to do is focus on where we go from here," he said. Although the discussions regarding the future of the school have been "collegial, productive and positive," there is no concrete deal in the works with SUNY Stony Brook, as erroneously reported in one of the local newspapers, said Bishop. "The article was premature," he continued, adding that they are "not yet at that point." In fact, in response to the article, Long Island University released a statement reaffirming the ambiguity of the college's future.

Once the roster of speakers concluded their position statements, the floor was opened to public debate.

Most audience members took liberty with their relegated three-minute time slot, opining on the state of affairs and offering suggestions to save the college. Changing the current zoning codes for the campus was one well-received idea. Currently zoned R-60, or residential, the property could be altered to a specific zone for higher education, thereby eliminating the risk of subdivision. Others agreed that politicians should include the Shinnecock in any decisions made for the school, commending Gumbs for his forthright speech.

Southampton Professor Helen Mendez said that this forum was the first time in weeks that she had felt any kind of hope of protecting the college from falling to the "corporate Godzillas that are circling around us…You know what a jewel we have here," she said.

Closing The Doors
Slated to close its undergraduate doors in May 2005, Southampton College will move affected students to the LIU CW Post campus in Brookville. Citing fiduciary responsibilities, the university has insisted that this is the most viable opportunity for reimbursing a $77 million debt accrued by the college, $17.2 million of which was accumulated in just the last three years.

But many are now asking for whom does the educational bell toll? Some have said it tolls for the 365 full-time employees who work at Southampton College. Others believe it tolls for the 1,196 undergraduate students currently enrolled and soon to be displaced. And still more have said the bell tolls for the residents who have relied on the school to stand fast as one of the three pillars in this bustling community. The other two, Southampton Hospital and the Parrish Art Museum, are also experiencing financial distress — the latter having recently finalized a deal with the school to build a facility on the campus.

Gumbs noted that regardless of having a unique campus situated in one of the country's most affluent areas, LIU is still looking at closing this institution.

Dr. Avram Morrell, a United States Army Veteran of the Korean War and a graduate of LIU in Brooklyn in 1953, summed up the mood of the crowd. There are "jewels and diamonds in the rough, such as this college," he said of the Southampton school. "This is a shame...The university must stop cannibalizing this campus."

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