The CCSC Committee on Manhattanville Expansion organized its first public panel Tuesday night, an event featuring faculty and administrators and meant to disseminate both factual information and diverse perspectives on the development’s progression.
Gathering together in the Satow Room in Lerner, panel members—including professor of urban planning Elliott Sclar, economics professor Brendan O’Flaherty, Vice President for Manhattanville Capital Construction Philip Pitruzzello, and Provost Alan Brinkley—answered student questions ranging from the appearance of the new campus to concerns regarding displacement and gentrification.
During the discussion, the panel members commented on the effects that Manhattanville would have on the surrounding community, which they claimed would inevitably be gentrified. Brinkley and Pittruzzello commented that the appearance of the new campus would develop in time, as the University determines its needs, and that Columbia’s expansion provides a better alternative for the neighborhood. O’Flaherty pointed out, “People expected Columbia to be there, so they didn’t make investments.” He added that the expansion is like “dropping a pebble into a river.”
All members of the panel agreed that Columbia needs to expand in order to remain among the leading research universities in the world.
Sociology professor and panel member Saskia Sassen emphasized the students’ role in dictating the expansion agenda. “It’s the students’ role to find ways to be involved in the expansion,” Sassen said, insisting that students create channels of communication between Columbia and the Harlem community. Meanwhile, Brinkley asserted that the construction will not affect the undergraduate student population, also pointing out that undergraduates will take an active role in determining new space allocations in the vacated areas of the old campus.
SIPA political science professor Sharyn O’Halloran emphasized the role of the faculty in encouraging students to think about the issues at hand and suggested that expansion is a good opportunity for students to apply their knowledge of economic, political, and social issues.
Sassen also called on the need for a response to the practical needs of community members and to focus on rebuilding the trust. “Something is lacking if so many people are upset.” According to Sassen, Columbia is now better than it was in the past at responding to the concerns of the community. “We should use this opportunity to develop a better formula to communicate. LDC doesn’t necessarily know everything.”
Despite no Harlem community representative being present at the panel, the CCSC committee is planning on getting more students to reach out to people in Manhattanville.
Eric Wang, CC ’08 and co-chair of the committee, commented that the panel discussion served both to encourage a balanced, objective approach and an opportunity to explore possibilities for the involvement of undergraduate students in what Brinkley called “the most important event in recent university history” since the move to the Morningside campus.
“Vocal students tend to show up to these events,” Wang said. “Our goal is to balance the different perspectives in an objective manner.”