From the eyes of a first year: response to Bader closure insufficient

By neglecting to regularly inspect and maintain Herstmonceux Castle, Queen’s University failed its students.

While Queen’s University’s prestigious reputation can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the limestone buildings on campus coupled with the high-quality education provided, Bader College is one of its greater assets. In 1994, Queen’s opened Bader College located in East Sussex and opened after the University received a generous donation from Alfred and Isabel Bader.

Bader College had much to offer, including the opportunity to live and study in a 15th century castle.

With that in mind, one would assume maintaining Bader—a key component to the success of Queen’s —would be one of the University’s top priorities.

Unfortunately, last fall’s events proved this to be false. Bader officially closed its doors to students on Nov. 13, after an inspector deemed the Castle structurally unsound and unsafe to enter.

In other words, the castle was crumbling.

The Castle being in such dire shape was a major shock to students and parents alike. It seemed unreasonable a castle would crumble overnight. However, with the date of the last inspection unknown, it’s likely damage accumulated over many years until the Castle reached its breaking point.

Other issues, like black mold in the residence building were left unaddressed before the fall Term. While the University denies this was a health risk, students’ who developed chronic coughs would beg to disagree.

Let’s be honest—these issues were foreseeable. A 15th century castle in the damp climate of East Sussex is a recipe for all kinds of structural issues. Upon accepting the Bader family’s donation of Herstmonceux Castle, Queen’s assumed the responsibility of maintaining it. This includes repairing the Castle and residence building before actively recruiting students for the upcoming term.

If Queen’s inspected the Castle in the spring of 2023—which is an optimal construction time—the damage would be dealt with in time for the fall term. If not ready, students would be given sufficient notice and could arrange to study on the main campus without much disruption.

Though this isn’t ideal for first year students like me who were excited to spend their year abroad, it’s certainly the safer option.

Along with the announcement of Bader College’s closure came the news the rest of the Fall Term would be online. It goes without saying online learning is totally insufficient in comparison to hands-on experiences.

Bader specializes in great experiences, from mid-term trips to Edinburgh to observational studies throughout England.

Instead of visiting one of the world’s largest research libraries, students dealt with four weeks of online school taught by professors who were clearly distraught in the face of impending unemployment—some to the point of shedding tears on Zoom lectures.

Following the initial email announcing the Castle’s closure, students and parents were left with countless questions to which Queen’s had no answers. For about a week, it seemed as though nobody knew what was going on. Even professors at Bader and Queen’s representatives from Kingston were at a loss.

Questions such as what would happen with student visas and when students would be asked to leave England were initially ignored. When our questions were finally answered, students received messy and frustrating responses.

Students were left in limbo, unsure if they should book flights home, travel around Europe while they had the chance, or plan to stay at the Castle for as long as possible.

This chaos could have been avoided if Queen’s had done their due diligence, research, and had coherent information to provide when announcing the closure.

To make up for this unexpected disaster, Bader College students were refunded 50 per cent of the fall term room and board fee and 100 per cent of the fall Bader College Field Studies fee. The University promised reimbursement for certain expenses, such as flight changes and UK student visas, along with an additional $1,000 “disruption payment.”

Students weren’t, however, refunded for any portion of fall tuition fees, despite a full month of course content being taught in the form of recorded, self-study, or Zoom lessons—the antithesis of the experiential learning opportunities for which Bader College is known.

The educational disruption for Bader College students has extended beyond the fall term, particularly with respect to full-year courses. Despite broad similarities between courses on main campus and at Bader College, there are significant differences in the content taught to students.

Bader courses emphasized specific topics based on relevant experiential learning experiences, such as PSYC 100’s focus on animal behaviour due to the opportunity for observational studies at a wildlife park in England. This is very different from main campus courses, which focus on completely different topics based on assessments and labs that are foreign to Bader students.

This is quite problematic, especially for courses with cumulative final exams. Students can’t be expected to write exams on topics they haven’t learned or were taught sloppily online.

Furthermore, Queen’s hasn’t supported students in their social transition to main campus. With most club recruitment taking place in September, Bader students are left with little to no extracurricular activities to get involved at Queen’s. This is both a social and professional disadvantage, as students must now start back at square one when networking among peers.

Given students have been forced to abandon their fall term commitments, it would’ve been extremely helpful for the University to work in collaboration with clubs and councils to highlight opportunities available for the winter.

While Queen’s isn’t entirely to blame, some Bader students have expressed feeling ostracized on main campus. It certainly doesn’t help the University’s controversial response to the broader situation has made Bader students infamous.

Even mentioning Bader College after last November’s incident guarantees obvious glances and a chorus of hushed whispers that would make anybody feel awkward. It should go without saying having one’s life uprooted in an instant can be psychologically challenging.

Thrown off course, those new to main campus had an array of complicated tasks to perform, from signing new rental agreements to organizing QSAS accommodations.

This is particularly difficult for students whose families can’t help them with these issues, which is a reality for many.

The Bader program attracts several international students, whose parents are across the world from them, unable to help their kids settle down in Kingston. Other local students simply may not have the benefit of emotional or financial support from family. With several students feeling lost on campus and in Kingston, Queen’s should pick up the slack and provide Bader students the support that they were promised.

Though the University admittedly helped Bader College students in some aspects of their transition to main campus—such as with housing and course registration—this isn’t nearly enough. Queen’s must continue to support Bader College students during this major social and academic transition, rather than thrusting them into a new environment with barely a lifejacket.

The University owes it to students to address the academic challenges after transitioning to main campus. The University’s support for Bader students may have been mediocre so far, but it’s not too late to turn this around.

If Queen’s couldn’t fulfill its responsibility to students by taking preventative measures at Bader College, it can at least clean up the mess it created.

Aaniqa is a first-year Arts & Sciences student.

Tags

Bader college, Herstmonceux Castle

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