Guide to the Common Ground Collection RG 9.5.4

Summary Information

Repository

Sarah Lawrence College Archives

Creator

Sarah Lawrence College. Common Ground.

Title

Common Ground Collection

ID

RG 9.5.4

Date [inclusive]

undated, 1969-present

Extent

3.0 linear feet 2 record cartons, 1 flat box

Language

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Sarah Lawrence College Archives 2008

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open to researchers. Restricted material is marked as such in the finding aid and on the folder itself. See archivist for further assistance with restricted folders.

Acquisition note

This collection was donated by Aja Mujinga Sherrard '11, chair of Common Ground, in October 2008.

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Historical note

Common Ground is a space used by students of color groups on campus. Located on the second floor of Bates, Common Ground functions as a place to hold events and meetings, as a lounge area, and a central location for resources that relate to the student of color groups that utilize the space. These groups include APICAD, Harambe, Unidad, Women of Color and others. The space currently known as Common Ground was not always located in Bates. Prior to its current location in the Student Space, a Students of Color Space existed in the basement of Westlands. The creation of a space for students of color dates to the Westlands sit-in of 1989. During the March 1989 Westlands sit-in by the student group Concerned Students of Color (CSOC) a series of demands were made that included the creation of a space for people of color on campus. The CSOC agenda defined this space as a place that would be a “non-residential center for political and social activity for students of color. It will be a place where growth, nurturing, assertion, and sharing of our ethnic identities will take place.” Four days after the agenda was put forth a panel composed of faculty and administration offered a document which stated that a “lounge space for students of color” would be an important part of forthcoming construction on campus. Approximately five years later, during the 1994-1995 academic year, Marilyn Katz noted in her Dean of Studies Report to the President that although students of color groups, including Asian Student Union, Harambe, and Unidad, had requested a space for a number of years, no such place had been provided. In the spring of 1995 the issue was discussed during a meeting of the Student Senate. It was decided by General Committee that there was a space in the basement of Westlands that could be used by these student groups on a trial basis. The first documentation of this space in the Student Handbook can be found in 2002-2003. The Students of Color Space “serves as a meeting room, gathering area and resource room for HARAMBE, APICAD, UNIDAD and other students of color organizations. The space is also used for speakers, discussions, movie nights and other activities. Mostly, however, it serves as an inviting, comfortable area for all students to relax, hang out and converse with one another.” This space was called Common Ground by students.

Common Ground moved to its current location in the Bates Center for Student Life during the 2004-2005 academic year after the remodeling of the student space was completed.

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Scope and Contents note

This collection contains records and materials pertaining to the student space Common Ground. The collection also includes material concerning student groups that use Common Ground space. These groups are APICAD, Harambe, Unidad, Women of Color, and others. Records documenting the history of the creation of Common Ground, which include the student group Concerned Students of Color may also be found in this collection. Material pertaining to these groups is mainly administrative. Certain groups’ records, such as Common Ground, Harambe, and Students of Color, are more comprehensive than others.

In addition to administrative records this collection includes a series of research files. The records in this series were compiled as subject files by Common Ground before transfer to the archives and have been left in their original order.

Lastly, this collection includes material relating to events and programming on and off-campus, resources for student groups, information about regional and national organizations of interest to student groups, as well as student publications and external publications collected by the student groups represented in this collection.

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Series description

Series I. Administrative Sub-series A. APICAD

Series I. Administrative Sub-series B. Common Ground

Series I. Administrative Sub-series C. Concerned Students of Color

Series I. Administrative Sub-series D. Harambe

Series I. Administrative Sub-series E. QPOC

Series I. Administrative Sub-series F. Students of Color

Series I. Administrative Sub-series G. Unidad

Series I. Administrative Sub-series H. Women of Color

Series II. Research Files

Series III. Subjects Sub-series A. Events

Series III. Subjects Sub-series B. General

Series III. Subjects Sub-series C. Publications Sub-series I. External

Series III. Subjects Sub-series C. PublicationsSub-series II. Student

Series I. Administrative consists of material relating to the administration of the student groups APICAD, Concerned Students of Color, Harambe, Students of Color, Unidad, Women of Color, and the student space Common Ground. These sub-series may contain meeting agendas and notes, budget information, correspondence regarding event planning, mission statements, documents about meeting space, programming resources, and flyers and posters announcing events sponsored by these groups. The records of these four sub-series: Concerned Students of Color, Students of Color, Harambe, and Common Ground provide brief but informative documentation about the development of the Common Ground student space. The material in Sub-series B. Common Ground is more thorough than in other sub-series. This is partly due to the records kept by space managers during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Series I is divided into seven sub-series: Sub-series A. APICAD; Sub-series B. Common Ground; Sub-series C. Concerned Students of Color; Sub-series D. Harambe; Sub-series E. QPOC; Sub-series F. Students of Color; Sub-series G. Unidad; Sub-series H. Women of Color.

Series II. Research Files consists of subject files created and maintained by Common Ground. The majority of this material refers to off-campus events or topics such as housing, political prisoners, labor, immigration, international political sanctions, and police brutality. The research files provide documentation of the interests of student groups on campus.

Series III. Subjects consists of general subject files and records collected by Common Ground. This includes diversity resources, speakers, local organizations, and material about events on-campus that the student groups who use Common Ground were involved with. Also included in this series is information about LGBTQ, Solidarity Club, Gay Men of African Descent, Black Students Association, the Black Radical Congress, and the Black Alumnae/i Association. The material in these files is partial and does not reflect administrative activity. This series also contains flyers and posters that were used to publicize on and off-campus events. These items are housed with the oversized material. Sub-series C. Publications contains both student produced literature, including The Ninja, a publication of APICAD, and Common Ground Magazine, a publication of Common Ground, as well as external publications. External publications collected by student groups are arranged alphabetically in folders titled with the student group’s name. All other external publications are arranged alphabetically by title in a folder titled General.

Series III is divided into three sub-series: Sub-series A. Events; Sub-series B. General; Sub-series C. Publications. Sub-series C is further divided into two sub-series: Sub-series I. External Publications; and Sub-series II. Student Publications.

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Related Materials

See also

Archived Digital Files and the Photograph Collection for images and movies of 2005-2006 Common Ground events including the Ethnic Studies Campaign, Cultural Misappropriation, and the Ishle Yi Park Event; Guide to the APICAD Collection for additional material on the student group APICAD; the Student Life Collection for additional student group publications; Protest and Activism on Campus Collection for further information about the Ethnic Studies Campaign, Police Brutality, and the Westlands Sit-In of 1969. The Protest and Activism Collection also contains materials about the activities of the groups Concerned Students of Color and Harambe. See also the Alice Stone Ilchman Papers for further information on CSOC, Harambe, and the 1989 Westlands Sit-In including correspondence from the President’s Office.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• Gay Men of African Descent (Organization).
• Sarah Lawrence College. Asian Pacific Islander Coalition for Action and Diversity.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Asian Student Union.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Black Students Association.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Concerned Students of Color.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Harambee.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Queer People of Color.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Students of Color.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Unidad.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Women of Color Affinity Group.

Genre(s)

• Annual reports
• Budgets
• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Correspondence
• Minutes
• Photographs
• Posters

Subject(s)

• African American History Month
• Minority college students
• Race relations
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Student movements

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Cataloging status

Uploaded to OCLC in October 2012 OCLC # 861190950.

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Collection Inventory