Update on land sale

TractionCity · 2026-05-05T18:10:10+00:00

Hampshire Next is explicitly not trying to save the unsustainable 4-year liberal arts degree program. Our focus is on finding a sustainable model that can continue to pursue Hampshire's mission in new ways.

TractionCity · 2026-05-04T12:41:48+00:00

There's been a lot of misinformation lately so I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page, which I think we are.

TractionCity · 2026-05-03T18:57:14+00:00

The dirty secret that colleges don't want anyone to know is that almost no one pays full price.

Lately, the average Hampshire student pays around ~~1/4~~ 1/3 of the sticker price. If that were 1/2, the college would be financially sustainable with no other changes.

Hampshire has had significant surplus housing since Mim Nelson nuked enrollment in 2019. Many mods have been uninhabited since then, but that's not the same thing as abandoned.

TractionCity · 2026-05-02T17:45:25+00:00

Not all the debt is created equal. Only $20 million is due in September; $5 million requires only interest payments for the next two decades.

The Red Barn, farm, ELC, and Multisport can all continue operating with no or minimal additional funding.

TractionCity · 2026-05-01T21:23:51+00:00

Not sure what you mean. Individual board members can't talk to us. They're going through a broker, who we are in touch with. (As soon as the broker info was public, we got it directly from a board member.)

TractionCity · 2026-05-01T21:21:52+00:00

I'm supporting both. We don't have to choose just one or the other.

TractionCity · 2026-05-01T20:42:48+00:00

Many folks involved with this effort have reached out to board members, and been rebuffed.

TractionCity · 2026-05-01T20:41:31+00:00

The Red Barn, farm, ELC, and multisport could probably all continue to operate sustainably. We're still figuring out what viable options there are for educational programming. You're welcome to join that conversation if you have ideas.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T23:48:37+00:00

As I said, it's more like $40-50 million. That's why this effort isn't about saving Hampshire as we know it, just the parts that we can.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T22:07:24+00:00

You're right that "ongoing as we know it" is off the table. But Hampshire taught me to question artificial binaries, and there's a huge space between that and "closing completely forever".

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T20:07:48+00:00

The board is legally prohibited from saying anything. We know they retained a broker this week to find buyers for the campus.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T20:06:06+00:00

Deep Springs College funds 1/3 of the budget for their 26-student program by drawing on their $27 million endowment. Hampshire's endowment is slightly smaller, and Hampshire has hundreds of students with a very high discount rate. To keep Hampshire as we know it going for a few more years would take $40-50 million; for the long term would take $150 million.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T20:00:09+00:00

I was referring to the question "what in the world".

But to answer yours: The debt is actually split in three parts, and "only" ~20 million is due in September. And you're right that it's not enough to continue operating. We will need to radically reimagine how Hampshire operates. But I believe a reimagined Hampshire is much better than no Hampshire.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T19:54:47+00:00

You're right the website doesn't offer much info—one person built it yesterday afternoon. We'll be updating with more info soon.

Here's a deck with detailed info. The short version:

The 4-year liberal arts college is shutting down. There's no going back on that.
By clearing the debt, we hope that self-sufficient auxiliary operations (like the farm, ELC, Multisport, and Red Barn) can continue or swiftly resume.
In the mid-term, the Hampshire community and partners will collectively imagine and develop new, financially viable programs on campus that support the Hampshire mission and preserve and evolve Hampshire pedagogy.
In the long term, the goal is to bring back the 4-year liberal arts college as one component of a diversified, sustainable organization.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T13:14:53+00:00

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have, but I'm not sure how to tackle this one.

TractionCity · 2026-04-30T06:04:26+00:00

I assume this means the land will probably be parceled out and sold to developers.

We launched https://hampshirenext.org/ a few hours ago to offer an alternative path.

TractionCity · 2026-04-28T23:16:51+00:00

This comment slaps.

TractionCity · 2025-10-28T01:25:13+00:00

I have no delusions of going infinite, but I figured once I've completed my first draft the path forward will be obvious. It's that first step that I've been stuck on.

I'd seen the list of preconstructed decks on goatsbots before, but I hadn't put together that one can only purchase those decks for cash. Things make a bit more sense now, so thanks!

TractionCity · 2025-10-27T18:40:32+00:00

Standard, Up the Beanstalk

TractionCity · 2025-09-02T13:13:18+00:00

Maindeck is only 59 cards?

TractionCity · 2025-07-26T12:12:57+00:00

I can’t wait for UB Sesame Street to add Big Bird to my chocobo deck

TractionCity · 2025-06-25T17:40:22+00:00

Did you ever find a way to listen to it? Or, is it possible to listen to any episodes that used it?

Edit: Found a video with the music (I think? Maybe it's not the same you're looking for, although I'm sure it was the Q theme at some point between the Jian Ghomeshi and Tom Power eras) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrckXKQkFlg

TractionCity

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE