It was interesting to talk about the intentionality of the do-it-yourselfers and dot-commers, subcategories of the creative class, in class. Using the example of the bike lane that Nicki mentioned, do-it-yourselfers and dot-commers seem to claim space because they have an entitlement to it as long as they identify with that particular community. Although the bike lane was intended to serve the biking community, it created a major inconvenience and safety concern for automobile drivers. It’s difficult for me to imagine a claim to space, regardless of intentionality, going unchallenged. There seems to always be a group of people or an individual who is negatively impacted by the spatial claims the creative class makes. Yet, the degree of tension can vary depending on the quantity of people demanding change. I would argue that spatial claims and spatial changes are oftentimes well-received when they are results of collective action. Individual claims to space and place can be interpreted as self-serving and exaggeration of privilege. This doesn’t seem to always be the case on Bowdoin’s campus. At Bowdoin, individual students and student groups are all entitled to particular spaces and rights (even though some students feel more entitled than others). For example, students asked for more 24-hour study spaces and Bowdoin accommodated for that. Another claim I, as well as some of my friends, would like to make is taking food out of the dining hall. The dining halls are very strict about how much fruit can be taken out of the dining hall and hot food cannot be packed in containers. It’s always been sort of a mystery for me because many students have classes that run through lunch hours and they are unable to make it to Express. It would be extremely convenient if students could remove food from the dining hall; however, the staff actively stop them. I’ve seen many students bring back food to their table and then pack it into plastic containers so that they are not caught by the dining staff. This to me is mind-blowing because taking food to-go is a privilege I think students should have. It’s also a healthier alternative to some of the Express options offered. Although I see many students packing 4 bananas or 10 extra pieces of chicken tenders, I have never seen someone address this issue. While taking food out of the dining hall may seem like an insignificant problem, it is a privilege that students should be able to claim. If our tuition is paying for the food that we consume, I think we should be allowed to eat the dining hall food wherever we want.
Taking food from the dining hall may be one of the many limits to a student’s ability to claim citizenship. Although certain accommodations can be made, the rules of the institution do not change. Neither an individual student nor a student group can change the rules that Bowdoin forces its students to abide by. That is the limit of students’ citizenship. I wonder where the cut off is for people in their community to practice privilege and claim space, or if there even is a limit.
I agree with you that students face an unfair restriction when it comes to removing food from the dining hall; however, as you pointed out in class, do-it-yourselfers have the ability to change specific landscapes and redefine particular objects. Bowdoin accommodated student’s requests to have more 24-hour study spaces. This expansion upon the previous rules/policy of the institution (Bowdoin) appears to imply a rule change. In respect to a cut off (or limit), on student citizenship, I would claim there is no limit, but rather an arbitrary number of participants required to overcome any restriction or claim citizenship (depending on the specific problem, as a one-size fits all solution to individual issues would be unreasonable). Essentially what I am suggesting is that it is a matter of convergence theory. The more like-minded people you entice to rally around the issue, the greater the potential to push forward collective action and create an accommodation to said rule(s) as you suggest.