<< Front page Commentary April 23, 2004

Editorial:

Farewell to Stackman

The Review would like to thank Bill Stackman for his years as Associate Dean of Students at Oberlin, and his recent position as acting dean; he will leave both posts this summer. In his seven years of service, not only has he shown himself to be a competent administrator, but he has approached difficult situations, regarding the discipline and safety of College students with grace and formidable personal skills.

Some members of our staff have worked closely with Dean Stackman on Judicial Board and Community Board. Speaking from personal experience, they commend Dean Stackman as a fair mediator, regardless of the emotional charge or complexity of the case or cases presented before him and J-Board.

In addition, open communication has been the hallmark of Stackman’s tenure. He has worked with numerous organizations, such as the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgender People, the Multicultural Resource Center, the Student Senate and the Student Union Board, coordinating these groups with the ultimate goal of increasing student success and welfare at Oberlin.

Accordingly, we are all saddened to hear of Dean Stackman’s departure. Nevertheless, we are happy that he has found a place at Rhodes College where he can continue to apply his skills to further the success and welfare of college students at another academic institution. While the administration is often the easy target for potshots and general disdain, Dean Stackman always seemed to remain above the fray. As can be imagined, there must be a definite reason for this.

We wish Dean Stackman the best of luck in his new pursuits as Dean of Students at Rhodes College, and again, we should thank him for his innumerable contributions to the student body at large and to student life at Oberlin. Considering the strength of the student relations infrastructure that Stackman has helped to build here at Oberlin, we firmly believe that he will have success in his new post, and thank him for doing the utmost to pave the way for a smooth transition upon his departure.

Pregnancy at OC

Pregnancy at Oberlin? For all of college students’ lewd jokes and unsanctified behavior, it does not seem a big issue at Oberlin, right? A casual stroll around campus looking for the telltale signs probably will net you nil. There are, in fact, only three to five childbearing students on campus during any given academic year. So it seemed a little odd when Oberlin hosted a pregnancy forum last Wednesday, aimed at perhaps Oberlin’s most elite — and expecting — interest group.

Or was the co-sponsored event, labeled a “Pregnancy Resource Forum,” really just for the select few? True, there was the representative from a pregnancy right group, Single Parents Reaching Out for Unassisted Tomorrows or SPROUT, but what this workshop really demonstrated was that Oberlin was an anomaly, as likely many liberal arts colleges are, in the world of collegiate pregnancy concerns.

Pro-life activist Sally Winn, who served on the panel, pointed out that 1 in 10 collegiate women become pregnant every year. This is an astounding number, especially considering Oberlin’s paltry on-campus reproductive prowess at roughly 3 in 2,900, or 0.1 percent of the student population.

Without attributing Oberlin’s disproportionately low number of expecting women, one wonders how accessible campus life would be to any pregnant woman, here or at any place that requires a lot of walking and long hours hunkered in uncomfortable 1970s-style plastic and plywood desks, or the pains of social stigma and emotional turmoil.

For those who manage it, being pregnant as a student is quite a monumental accomplishment. For the majority of us at Oberlin, it seems far away from our studies just off Ohio Route 58 and our revelries during Happy Hour.

Thanks to two campus groups, pro-choice SURF and pro-life OPLUS, for reminding us of the world outside.

–Editor-in-Chief, Douglass Dowty
–Commentary Editor, Margaret Carey
–Managing Editors, Eric Klopfer, Steven Kwan, Colin Smith


Editorials are the responsibility of the Review editorial board—the Editor in Chief
and Commentary Editor—and do not necessarily reflect the view of the staff
of the
Review.


 
 
   

The Review News Service: News, weather, sports and more, in your ObieMail every Sunday and Wednesday night. (Click here to subscribe.)