If you’ve ever driven around campus you may have noticed some signs that don’t add up.
There’s a sign outside the Shima parking lot on North Burke Bradley Drive heading towards the Science and Math building that proudly states “planetarium.”
I remember I was in the car one day with someone who was relatively new to the campus. We were heading back to campus from wherever we had gotten a bite to eat from and saw the sign.
“They have a planetarium here?” the person asked.
“They used to,” I said.
This was in fall of 2019. The incorrect sign is still there two years later. There’s also a couple of maps around campus, like the one outside the Locke parking lot by the electron microscopy building that still says “planetarium” and “Cunningham.”
It’s true, we used to have a planetarium on campus and a Cunningham building. I remember going to said planetarium once or twice on a field trip when I was in elementary school. It was the George H. Clever Planetarium.
According to press releases from Delta College, the push to build the original planetarium was spearheaded by a civil engineer/amateur astronomer/rancher in Tracy named George H. Clever.
In 1963, he served as the founding board president for San Joaquin Delta College. He had hoped to succeed in building a planetarium at Delta College so students could learn more about the unknown. In 1973, his goals were met when the planetarium opened. Later, in 1983, Clever retired and the planetarium was named the George H. Clever Planetarium in honor of all his work.
In 2014, under one of the Measure L Bond Projects, the Cunningham building was demolished and replaced by the $74 million Science and Math building (yes, you read that right). Unfortunately, the project included the destruction of the planetarium.
“In November 2003 the San Joaquin Delta Community College District’s Board of Trustees placed Measure L, a $250-million bond, on the March 2, 2004 ballot. Measure L is the District’s first bond measure since 1969. The purpose of the bond measure is to renovate, upgrade and expand buildings, many of which are now over 40 years old, develop new facilities and infrastructure, and support site acquisition and development of educational centers to provide access to Delta College throughout the region as growing enrollments warrant” according to history on the Delta College website.
Put simply, it means the school takes money and fixes stuff.
However, in the original Measure L Bond Program on the Delta college website, the language used specifically mentioned the planetarium as one of the things to renovate/improve … but the Board of Trustees removed it from the project list in 2017 for the funding to go elsewhere.
There was still hope.
At the time of removal they stated “once enrollments meet or exceed 500 full-time-equivalent students per academic term, the District can advance to a planning stage for a permanent center in the region, possibly using the Liberty Road site.”
The Liberty Road site, though, has been all but abandoned.
The Board of Trustees is looking into a future bond for 2022, which would, according to the Delta website, “provide clean and safe learning environments, including removing asbestos, lead paint and mold from buildings.”
The buildings are dated and in need of much repair and renovation.
According to Alex Breitler, Director of Marketing and Communications, a north county campus is “still a priority.”
“I should emphasize that we have not reached a decision yet whether to pursue a bond, but we are exploring the possibility,” said Breitler.
So even if they don’t go back to adding the planetarium as a project with the Measure L Bond, there’s a chance that it could be a project with a future bond.
“We are still finalizing the project list for the potential bond measure that I told you about, and meeting with various groups to get their input and ideas about which projects should be on the list. So, it’s a bit early to say anything definitive about which projects will be included,” said Breitler. “I can tell you, though, that the focus is more on expanding Delta’s educational opportunities, such as modernizing our career education facilities, fixing up old classrooms, etc.,” said Brietler
Not a yes, but not a no to a new planetarium.
As to why the signs are still there, Breitler states they simply “haven’t replaced them yet.”.
I don’t think they should be removed though. The planetarium signs should stay as long as the Cunningham parking lot continues to be called such, even without the Cunningham building attached to it. They’re a part of the campus history.
Plus the signs are already there, all we need now is a new planetarium to go with it!
Read more about future proposed bonds and projects at deltacollege.edu/OurFuture.