OC celebrates Black History Month

I write as a student fighting to preserve my identification with this institution both now as a student and in the future as an alumnus.

When I was considering which small liberal arts colleges I was interested in applying to and ultimately attending, Oberlin seemed to offer more educational resources and opportunity than other smaller schools with similar traits. Chief among those factoring in my eventual decision to attend Oberlin was the Danenberg Oberlin-In-London Program. Not only did the program seem an excellent opportunity on paper — particularly for a student with a very strong interest in history and literature — it was also mentioned as a highlight of the undergraduate careers of several alumni I spoke with at a reception for accepted Oberlin students in New York. This program makes Oberlin stand out.

My junior year happened to coincide with Professor David Walker and Professor Mark Blecher’s Fall 2003 program. Professor Walker’s program offered me the chance to intensively study both English modernist literature in the setting in which it was written and contemporary theater performed in London. As these subjects were and are my most ardent intellectual passions, the chance to study them both in one semester abroad provided me an opportunity I could in no circumstances have found anywhere else. Not in a British university, not in a London-based drama school or a corporation masquerading as an educational institution in order to extract large sums of money from Americans without other study abroad options. Provost Koppes’ comments to the Review, expressing his preference for programs that allow Oberlin students the chance to interact with students from other universities and countries, demonstrate a glaring ignorance of the experiences of the vast majority of students who attend such programs, especially those whose interests and linguistic competencies compel them to choose an Anglophonic study away program.

But I cannot speak for them. I can only attempt to convey the intellectual, social, cultural and emotional experiences I had. The Fall 2003 London Program surpassed any other academic or personal experience in my life so far. I was not only able to deepen my knowledge of the subjects taught but also felt I was truly part of a community of learners. This was in large part engendered by the fact that a group of Oberlin students who shared a common college culture were immersed in a foreign environment together. I was able to forge very close friendships with Oberlin students I would very likely never have met, and certainly would have never connected with as deeply, had I not been on the London Program with them. I would not have any of the friends who form my social support group now had I not been on the London Program.

While the classroom and social experiences alone would have been enough to elicit the superlative remarks I am offering on the program’s behalf, we were also given the opportunity to truly immerse ourselves in the theatrical culture of London. While I am fortunate to have been exposed to a large amount of very good theater growing up in New York City, the abundant quality of London theater we were exposed to transcended anything I have ever experienced before. The range and quality of live theater now offered in London is something that any student of literature should have the opportunity to expose themselves to, and again, there is no way anyone on the program would have had such an opportunity through any other program, or probably even in their life.

I realize it is the responsibility of any college administration to balance the lofty ideals of faculty and students with practical and budgetary necessities. However it is also incumbent upon you to uphold the legacy and tradition in which students have invested four formative years of their lives. You, no doubt, have heard from some of the most eminent members of that group who declared that the London Program was as integral to their Oberlin experience as it was to mine. Your professed care and regret in deciding to eliminate this cornerstone of the Oberlin experience is not credible in light of your refusal to solicit faculty and student input and your seemingly total lack of insight into the meaning of this program or its advantages over other study away programs you think this College needs.

I desperately urge you to reconsider. –Carl Hurvich
College senior

I am an alumna, class of 2004. I attended the London Program in the fall of 2003. It was an opportunity that I would never have had were it not for the Danenberg Oberlin-in-London Program. Few people can afford to travel to London, let alone live there, yet I was able to go abroad and have my John Frederick Oberlin Scholarship travel with me. I was able to do firsthand research for my honors project. I was able to sit in the halls where great minds such as Marx and Ghandi wrote words that changed the world. I had a chance to work closely with two professors who I greatly admire. 

Alumni are always disappointed with their alma maters. It is never the same place it was when we were students. There are changes that I’m willing to accept. Denying students access to opportunities I had is not such a change. Taking away something that is so unique to Oberlin and has unquestionably shaped the four-year Oberlin experience for so many people is unacceptable. Making such a change without counsel of faculty or students is shocking, especially in light of the reputation the administration has of making decisions behind closed doors.

Make this alumna proud. Give students a chance to do what I did. Continue paying homage to Emil Danenberg, whose memory lives strong in the minds of many faculty. Keep the Oberlin in London Program.–Christine Clarke
OC ’04

The Office of Health and Life Skills Education, the Office of Judicial Affairs and the Office of Residential Life and Dining Services partner to support the College’s mission to provide students with educational programming in an environment that encourages personal growth and individual well-being. In particular, we seek to support students in making better choices to avoid risks associated with unhealthy or dangerous use of alcohol and other substances. We recognize that students are adults and can be expected to obey the law and take personal responsibility for their conduct. Collaborations with students, faculty and others help address community issues related to the misuse of alcohol and other drugs. Various administrators, faculty members and students serve on the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Committee, focusing on concerns such as substance-free living and events, policy and sanctioning, prevention and education and campus awareness.

As the semester begins, we would like to draw your attention to the following policies and initiatives related to alcohol and other drugs:

1. All students are expected to familiarize themselves with College policy related to alcohol and other drugs. A complete summary of the rules and regulations related to alcohol and other drug use and abuse can be found at this link: http://www.oberlin. edu/students/links-life/rules-regs.html

2. All on-campus parties being held in residential spaces must be registered through Residential Life and Dining Services in advance. Students should call x58472 to schedule an appointment. It can take four weeks for an alcohol permit to be approved by the state. Parties not approved through the party planning process will be held accountable to College policy.

3. Substance-free housing is available for students choosing to live a healthier lifestyle by abstaining from drugs and alcohol within their residential community. Please contact Residential Life at 775-8472 for application information.

4. AA and Al-Anon meetings take place both off and on campus. For complete information, visit http://www.oberlin.edu/lifeskills/aod.–
Lori K. Morgan Flood
Assistant Dean and Director of Health and Life Skills Education
–Kimberly Jackson Davidson
Associate Dean of Students and Dean for the Class of 2005
–Adrian Bautista
Associate Dean of Students and Dean for the Class of 2008
–Molly Tyson
Interim Director of Residential Life

To the Editors:

I am pleased to announce the formation of a new support group for students at Oberlin College who are survivors of sexual assault. This group will meet on Tuesdays, 4-5:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 15 and is free. Barbara Y. Thomas, PhD, Oberlin College Counseling Center, will facilitate. If interested in becoming a member, please call the Counseling Center x58470 to schedule an interview with the group facilitator. Intake meetings can be scheduled during the first two weeks of February. The location of the group will be given to group members during the initial intake meeting.
–Lori K. Morgan Flood
Assistant Dean/Director of Health & Life Skills Education

To the Editors:

Just as you can count on it being cold in Oberlin during February, you can also count on February being the one month of the year that many schools in America pay attention to Black History. It was not always so. What is today Black History Month grew out of the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson.

Dr. Woodson is commonly referred to as the father of black history and if you don’t know about his incredible life go on-line and look him up. Dr. Woodson received his PhD from Harvard in 1912 and started his distinguished academic career at Howard University. In 1926, he organized the first annual Negro History Week, which took place during the second week in February. Dr. Woodson chose this time period to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln — two men who had greatly impacted the lives of black Americans. Woodson devoted his life to bringing black history into the mainstream public arena.

You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with Oberlin?” The answer is that when it comes to the history of blacks in America, Oberlin and Oberlin College represent hallowed ground. From the founding of the town and College, many significant events have taken place in what has been called the “town that started the Civil War.”

Oberlin students have wonderful resources to learn about Black History on campus through the African-American Studies department and the rich holdings in the libraries and archives. There is also a course “Oberlin History as American History,” taught by Professor Carol S. Lasser that will be offered again in the next academic year. With your study, you will come across many Oberlin graduates who have played important roles in the struggle for justice and equality in America. One Oberlin graduate, whose work would no doubt be very well received by the late Dr. Woodson, is Geoffrey C. Ward OC ’62, the distinguished writer and collaborator with Ken Burns on his award-winning films.

Ward’s most recent effort is as the writer for Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, Ken Burns’ series on the life and times of the first black heavyweight champion of the world. In the companion book to the series, Ward continues his masterful popular history writing that we have come to greatly admire from his previous works on the Civil War, baseball, jazz, etc. If you missed the series on your local PBS station, read the book while you wait for a rebroadcast or buy the series on DVD. Jack Johnson was an extraordinary individual and one of the bravest men you will ever learn about.

Geoffrey Ward has again done a superb job in telling a great American story. In doing so, he exposes for new generations to see the ugly element of racial bigotry that has stained our history from its very start and the great individuals who stood up against injustice. It is people like Geoffrey Ward that make me very proud to be an alumnus of Oberlin College. He’s making a real difference in the world and during this Black History Month, I urge you to become familiar with his work.
–Wendell P. Russell, Jr.
OC ’71
President-Elect
Oberlin College Alumni Association
 
 

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