Rusty Nail needs support to regain space

By The Rusty Nail Coordinators

The Rusty Nail, our student-run, on-campus cooperative, has fallen on hard times.  After a series of conduct hearings regarding two incidents, college administrators found the Rusty Nail responsible for violating its alcohol policy and compliance failure–“failure to comply with the directions of College officials, including Campus Safety, acting in performance of their duties.”They have determined the appropriate responses to be: forcing the Rusty Nail to forfeit its beloved space in Tamarack Hall, 18 months of unconditional probation and tasking the Rusty Nail coordinators with creating a Community Education Plan.

While we don’t feel that all of these outcomes are appropriate, we do recognize that it falls on us, as well as the entire community, to rebuild our reputation and move forward, bearing in mind our responsibility to the space, each other and everybody’s safety. The Rusty Nail belongs to every student on campus, and therefore every student should hold themselves accountable for what occurs in the space, as well as how we move forward. Regardless of our lack of space to operate out of, we plan on continuing many of our programs and we need students to support and cooperate with us.

Despite the fact that our music shows, which Campus Safety officials have termed “parties,” have become increasingly popular, many of you know that we offer far more than a place to dance on the weekends. We, the Rusty Nail coordinators, need the community to help convey to the Administration how much the Rusty Nail enriches the on-campus living experience on a daily basis.

Our situation has become far more dire than we ever hoped to see, and at this trying juncture we need the backing of the student body more than ever.  If you feel as though you have benefited from Rusty Nail’s existence during your time at Lewis & Clark, we want to encourage you to voice your support. Send your stories, anecdotes or inquiries to coop@lclark.edu, and we will gladly incorporate them into our efforts to regain our space. If you wish to take a more hands-on approach, let us know, and we will find a way to incorporate you into the protest effort. We believe that having a student-run space is one of the student body’s best assets, and we hope that the Lewis & Clark student body understands what is important to us and will seek involvement in a mature, responsible manner.