Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [83]
With stars and stripes on his uniform jacket, Admiral Stillman approached the protestors, trailed by a uniformed officer. Steve and Amy Hallquist looked him straight in the eye and held up their cardboard sign: “Proverbs 22:16: He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches and he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want.”
Press photographers snapped shots of the admiral as he walked past Connecticut College students and coalition members telling him not to displace poor homeowners to make way for his museum. The farther Stillman walked down the street, the uglier it got. Susette looked down from her porch. “The coast guard is supposed to save people, not drown them,” she said.
Her pink home looked out of place on a street that otherwise looked like it had endured a military bombing. Stillman had heard about Susette’s house and her determination to hold on to it. She had made her own sign for the admiral and stuck it near some beautiful mums. Shaped like a Halloween pumpkin, it read: “Cackle, Cackle, Screamie, Screamie, Taking People’s Homes Is Awful Meanie.”
The admiral didn’t like what he saw. The coast guard didn’t need to get dragged into a street fight between residents and the NLDC. He penned Susette a letter.
“I understand and can fully appreciate your concerns regarding the future of the land bordered by Smith, Trumbull, East and Walbach Streets,” he wrote. “As a property owner, you justifiably have the right to voice your concerns over the matter. If placed in a similar situation, I too would exercise my right to ensure that my viewpoint was made known to the decision-makers with regard to the proposed use of the land.”
He said there had been some public confusion concerning the coast guard’s intent. He outlined the purpose and scope of the museum, along with the type of site the museum required.
“In closing, and on behalf of the Commandant, I’d like to state that we are not committed to the property bordered by Smith, Trumbull, East and Walbach Streets as the site for the U.S. Coast Guard Museum,” he wrote.
Susette faxed a copy to Scott Bullock’s law office.
To defuse the impasse with the faculty, Claire and the board of trustees planned to propose a sabbatical for Claire. But too many faculty members wanted Claire gone permanently. Students were clamoring for her removal too. About two hundred of them had marched on campus, chanting: “Hey hey, ho ho, we’d like to know where’d our money go?”
But Claire maintained the criticisms levied at her over school finances were unfounded. “Connecticut College is extremely well-planned and well-managed financially,” she told the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Yet the college newspaper continued to hammer away at Claire. Front-page stories highlighted the controversy surrounding Claire and the NLDC’s attempts to seize homes by eminent domain. Students wrote letters to the editor blasting Claire. “Please feel free to explain to the community how tearing down the Fort Trumbull neighborhood for a hotel that will only be used by Pfizer employees will accomplish any of this [social justice],” one student wrote. “We will not allow you to destroy people’s homes and we will not allow you to destroy New London’s heritage. We will lead the way to social justice.” The editorial-page cartoonist went after Claire, depicting her straddling the back of a collapsed camel. “The camel’s back is not broken. In fact it is stronger than ever,” read the words coming from Claire’s mouth. The paper also ran a color photo on the front page