Environmental degradation. Urban sprawl. One thousand new jobs. Noise pollution powerful enough to de-tune all of the instruments in the Con. Which of these doesn't belong?

Time's up. The expansion of the airport in New Russia township, only a few miles away from Tappan Square, has been projected to have the power to bring in all of the above. The proposed addition of 2000 runway feet has been slated to allow 97 percent of all flights to land at the financially hobbled airport. Will this flatten the principal oboe's tuning note? Or will it allow a few people laid off from the Ford Motor Plant to support their families? If it does both, which is more important? Nancy Dye has already voiced the college's official position: We don't want more airport. The Oberlin College collective conscious has spoken.

"We don't need airports, we need bike ways. That's what Oberlin's about," said town resident Virginia Nord at a recent public meeting with county commissioners about the issue of airport expansion. Over 150 concerned Oberlin residents and a few college students were at the meeting, the majority echoing Virginia's and Nancy's sentiments. We have to ask, though - are these people who would benefit from the employment opportunities the expanded airport might offer? Is the wish for bike paths the want of someone who can afford to be concerned about such issues? Is Oberlin "about" the same things for all of the people who live within its limits?

Those against the growth of the airport lead us to believe that public opinion opposes further development for various environmental and aesthetic reasons. The "1000 new jobs" haven't been promised to Lorain County residents - maybe the airport administration will import own people to work. For that matter, no company has firmly committed to utilizing the snazzy new facilities, should the runway gain that two thousand feet of asphalt. Apparently, one Ukrainian company is interested in using the airport to fly in cargo planes filled with vodka and motorcycles. Is that a mark for or against expansion?

We at Oberlin tend to remember the facts that most solidly back our gut. This is not something that we have patented, but we seem to be easy prey to the temptation of selective memory and most easily find the pull quotes that back our beliefs. To fully evaluate the impact that the possible airport expansion will have on the college and the town - both wealthy and working class - we need to step out of our boxes and be willing to question all potential consequences, not just the most accessible and personal ones.

Will we make a difference in May?

The Reverend Dr. Prathia Laura Ann Hall's speech on Martin Luther King, last Saturday, set off Oberlin's celebration of Black History Month. In many of the whitest nooks and crannies around this country (nooks and crannies far whiter than Oberlin), Black History Month serves the supreme purposes of black cultural production and white guilt alleviation. During February, many folk and institutions go out of their way to listen to black speakers, read black books, sway to black gospel choirs, rent Spike Lee movies and proselytize Martin King and Maya Angelou.

Oberlin's a bit different. Halfway into February, one has the tendency to come to the realization that, "Oh shit! This is black history month? I forgot." It's not that Black History Month at Oberlin is taken less serious than at other places. The history that many folk are trying to reclaim is being reclaimed and created daily by black Oberlin students. Black students consistently create history in everything from campus publications, Kuumba celebrations, and multiracial rallies to Voices for Christ concerts, Soul Sessions and Spirit Squad performances. While renowned speakers like Dr. Hall, Cornel West, Angela Davis and Kwame Ture, and artists like KRS-ONE, Branford Marsalis, Koko Taylor, Sonny Rollins and De La Soul are commonplace year round, not only in February.

With all this said, the salient issues that arise from Black History Month are far more grounded and personal than speakers, performances or musicians. Dr. Hall concluded her speech by asking the audience, "At the crossroads, when you have a chance to make a difference, will you? Will you stand up, will you speak up?" Will we make a difference?

Instead of the few months or weeks designated to celebrations of our or other's identity, let's take daily steps outside of safety zones, steps toward understanding our and others' identity? Our aim doesn't have to be guilt alleviation or a pointless competition of who's the most innocent, but instead, an active step in understanding and revolutionizing different parts of the self, different histories, and varying realities in a pluralistic society struggling with a murky identity complex. These are steps we can all make, everyday of our lives, from January to Decemeber ... until the day we die.