‘Take us in’: Hampshire College community demands support from Five College Consortium

AMHERST — Even before Hampshire College closes at the end of the calendar year, the Five College Consortium and the three remaining private colleges and the University of Massachusetts need to make sure Hampshire’s students, faculty and staff have new places to study and work.

That’s one of the resounding messages delivered by many of those gathered at a “Support Hampshire Students, Faculty and Staff” protest on the North Common Thursday afternoon.

“Take us in,” Sarah E. Jenkins, a professor of animation at Hampshire, said, explaining the community’s basic demand.

Jenkins served as emcee for the event that drew much of the Hampshire campus to downtown Amherst. She pointed to an estimated $7 billion to $8 billion in combined endowments across the other campuses, arguing that these resources should allow all Hampshire students to remain part of the Five College community and provide faculty and staff with one-year bridge positions until they find new employment.

The event followed the April 14 announcement that the campus would close at the end of 2026, completing a teach-out with a bare-bones faculty and staff.

The atmosphere on the green was a mix of the festive — with music playing, kazoos being blown and bubbles being made — and the mournful, as speakers addressed how the four remaining colleges need to support the well-being of what Jenkins described as Hampshire’s vibrant community of makers and thinkers.

“Without a safety net, 85% of us are gone on June 16,” Jenkins said. “We love Hampshire, it is our community, it is our home.”

“Hampshire’s loss is a loss for all of us.”

Gaurav Jashnani, a professor of psychology, Black studies and disability studies, said that all colleagues deserve consideration for open positions and that, at the very least, the other colleges could grant interviews.

“Hampshire deserves better. We deserve a just closure,” Jashnani said, adding that the other colleges must put words into action. “This doesn’t have to be a neoliberal dumpster fire.”

Jashnani, who identifies as a queer, neurodiverse person of color, noted that Hampshire has been more receptive than any other campus might have been. “I am heartbroken this is all ending,” Jashnani said.

Mia Sanghvi, a graduating senior, said the college began as an experiment in the 1960s and that it is now up to the other institutions not to leave that mission incomplete.

“Even if you fail at something, you finish what you started, and I don’t think they’re doing that,” Sanghvi said.

“Be a community, stick together, don’t give up,” Sanghvi continued. “We are so generous, we are so hard working. We are important, we have done good things, I hope you are all proud of yourselves.”

Michelle Sullivan, an infant co-teacher at the Hampshire College Early Learning Center — which will also close — said the site has been a deeply important part of the Five College community, inspired by the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy.

“This loss is incalculable, and it breaks my heart that Hampshire won’t exist,” Sullivan said.

Hampshire has always pledged to offer financial support for family members, and Sullivan hopes this will be honored by the others.

“I don’t think it’s that big of an ask,” Sullivan said.

One who has benefited is her daughter, a Division 2 student who won’t be able to complete her final project.

“Hampshire has become so important to me,” Rosa Sullivan-Merrick said. “Students are left scrambling to find someplace else to finish their education.”

Sullivan-Merrick said the other colleges need to be there for Hampshire students.

This demand was also expressed in the signs being held, like “we’re a consortium: act like it.” Other signs read “honor our staff and faculty, they built Hampshire.”

As part of the event, flyers were distributed for the emergency relief fund, HelpHampshireWorkers.com, as protesters solicited support from passing vehicles at the main downtown intersection.

Speakers shared memories of the Hampshire experience, ranging from being a welcoming space for marginalized students to unique first-year opportunities like learning about electronic circuitry and Indigenous nihilism. 

“Hampshire College is worth it,” said student Rosemary Slack. “Our students are worth your time, money and space. Our faculty are worth your time, money and space. Our staff are worth your time money and space.”

The rally brought out supporters from other colleges, with Mount Holyoke sophomores Angela Kim and Jenna Vanderhulst both expressing disappointment that their institution has only committed to take up to 30 Hampshire students.

Kim, who is part of the 5-College Pan Asian Network, said Mount Holyoke students value what Hampshire does and want the college to stay in place, observing that they have built friendships with students and take classes on campus that are not available anywhere else.

To loud cheers, Kim said she would bring concerns about Hampshire’s closure directly to Mount Holyoke President Danielle Holley later that evening at a dinner event.

“We want to do more for them,” Vanderhulst said. “If Hampshire students are in need of help, they can reach out to all of the Mount Holyoke community.”

While the likelihood of saving Hampshire may be remote, UMass doctoral student Will Chaney suggested there could be a way for students, faculty and staff to take over Hampshire to create a democratic institution, without an administration.

“Another world is possible,” Chaney said.