Opinion: Merger plan not the best course for community colleges By Seth Freeman The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Housatonic Community College’s Lafayette Hall expansion in Bridgeport in 2018. This letter was signed by 201 community college faculty and staff, and five retired community college administrators and on behalf of the Connecticut Community College Round Table. Following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Mark Ojakian, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities Interim President Jane Gates uses empty promises, misstatements, misdirection and magical thinking to yet again mislead the public about the rationale and promise of consolidating Connecticut’s 12 community colleges. President Jane Gates’ op-ed, “Merger plan best course for community colleges,” argues that consolidating the community colleges is the best way to solve the dual crisis of persistent equity gaps and fiscal instability facing the system.