On March 4, the administration of Portland Community College announced that the aquatics facility at Sylvania campus, which includes a lap pool and a diving pool where hundreds of area lifeguards have received training, would close permanently in June.
The decision was made by senior leadership without input from faculty and staff, not to mention the thousands of PCC community members who rely on the pools for exercise, recreation, healing, teaching and learning. It comes at a time when Portland Parks and Recreation is dealing with a lifeguard shortage that could vastly limit opportunities for swimming this summer and beyond.
The PCC pool is a place where PCC students—the most diverse student body in the state— can obtain lifesaving swimming skills in a country where people of color have historically been denied access to swimming pools, a disparity that has led to huge and unacceptable racial disparities in drowning rates.
The PCC aquatic facility is an example of the best attributes of a community college: providing good job opportunities and vital services to area residents, regardless of age, race, social status or income. It’s hard to square this decision with PCC’s stated commitment to equity, social justice and supporting the economic vitality of the region.
The PCC Board of Directors can – and should – reverse this decision. In a year when so much has been lost and many campuses feel like ghost towns, let’s preserve something that adds value and joy, something that reminds us what a community college is all about.
Frank Goulard
Goulard is president of the Portland Community College Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals.