Going global? (Editorial)

Oberlin College has always held that “one person can change the world,” and that being globally and internationally conscious is essential to the education of its students. The College still purports to hold this ideal today, as it looks toward the future and the changes that must be made to avoid bogging the school down in debt.

At the strategic planning meeting on Feb. 9, the College once again assured the faculty of its deep commitment to making Oberlin students not only students of the liberal arts, but also students of the world. Active participation in the global community is necessary and important for a seemingly ever smaller world. And so, the College has recommitted itself to making sure that all Oberlin students have access to an international classroom.

The strategic planning report published on Feb. 1 cited the following goals as some of their top priorities in the move towards internationalizing Oberlin: “building on the strengths of our area studies programs and other international curricular offerings to make our curriculum richly global; establishing an emphasis upon the recruitment of international students; and creating opportunities for meaningful international study and research for every student, regardless of academic major, who desires such an experience.”

Surely everyone on campus has now heard about the abrupt cancellation of the Danenburg Oberlin-in-London Program, a long-standing interdepartmental program providing even those students in non-language-oriented majors to study abroad. The initial shock and immediate mobilization of students and faculty must have indicated to the administration that the program was considered a staple within the range of study-abroad options available at Oberlin. The continued efforts of faculty within the English department, with the assistance of many students and faculty from other departments and programs, to reverse the cancellation of the program must mean something. And it does. The students and faculty at Oberlin College feel that study-abroad programs are an essential part of an Oberlin education.

This should be perfectly understandable to an administration that claims that one of the College’s priorities in the upcoming years should be internationally savvy education. Because what better way to study other cultures and ensure membership in the global community for Oberlin students than study-abroad programs?

But what about the projected budget deficit? Of course, students going away to study in other countries or at other universities in the United States for a semester or a year do not pay as much to the College as students living and studying here on campus. The administration’s solution is to charge students away on study-abroad programs $1,000 to offset the differences in costs and fees. For all the talk about encouraging global consciousness, it seems that it may be very difficult for future students to take advantage of study-abroad opportunities when they not only have to pay tuition, travel expenses, etc. for their programs, but also must pay the College a fine for not being on campus.

Yes, there may be a budget deficit in the offing for the College, but punishing those students who wish to take Oberlin’s declaration that internationalism and study-abroad programs are an essential part of an Oberlin education seriously is not the answer. If one of the College’s priorities for the future is for students to receive the best education possible, including a wide range of opportunities for learning within and about other cultures, then study-abroad programs should be encouraged whole-heartedly. There is a mixed message being sent currently. Does the College really believe in study-abroad, or would it prefer its students stay at home? It seems like such a simple question to answer, but apparently it’s much more difficult than it appears.
 
 

About us
Subscriptions
Advertising

Previous issue
Older issues