Ex-Obie speak on College brew
To the Editors:
Im a (more or less) ex-Obie who is now attending college elsewhere, but
cant help reading the day-in and day-out negativity that seems to have been brewing back
on campus about the budget. I recently had an online conversation with my friend on the situation.
Here are some collaborative thoughts:
Me: I still miss it, but from reading the Review online, doesnt look good.
Adam: Nuh uh! Totally downhill.
M: So much talk about administration overspending, presidential
snafus with accepting of monetary incentives at financially strapped times...World Economic blah
blah blah.
A: Well, word around campus is theres going to be some MAJOR changes...or at least we hope
there will be.
M: How major?
A: Well, our college has turned into Abercrombie and Bitch land.... I fear it will be worse, ten-fold,
by next year. You know...cell phones, smoking, and designer clothes are becoming more of a prerequisite.
Its already become so much more straight lately, and have you read the letters
sent in from alumni over the past year? Horrible...
M: My sense is that the campus is incredibly inefficient too many dorms, too many dining
halls...
M: But every Obie has complained about that for decades.
A: Well, the too many dorms part is a definite.
M: And theres too much of a clash of students bio majors vs. connies vs comparative
lit and CAS people. Its diverse but no one agrees with each other.
A: And theyre going to build another one!
M: I know! But the town housing thing is a good idea. Luther has those, but then again, only sixish
in addition and one dining hall and a Decafe-like place
A: Is it too crowded?
M: Basically big traditional dorms, baker village (houses farther from campus), and married student
(cluster apts that usually dont house married people) surprisingly, no. Luther has 2500,
so a little less than Oberlin, but I think its working out.
A: Wow.
M: Thing is, the Oberlin campus is like a big white elephant, too many buildings, too much space
so nothing can really be centrally located...
A: But, I dont think theres any major problem with location. I believe our campus classrooms
are pretty centrally located. Its just the dorm situation is out of control.
M: Right, classrooms are fine, I meant the dorms. You dont need 8 million tiny dorms that
only house 40 people like program houses.
A: We should culminate them into one giant program DORM, you know?
M: Language houses could go off-campus (thats what Luther has, its a subsidized thing
kind of like OSCA).
A: Each floor being a different language.
M: Build a super program dorm, get rid of Barnard, the maze on South campus, Zeke, possibly. Dascomb.
Theyre all ugly and outdated.
M: Make Burton or Noah the program dorm or get them off campus update North and South and Talcott
and Baldwin. Ooh, maybe a Talcott-Baldwin complex? I wish there were like a Sim-Oberlin.
A: Yes. I dont know why Oberlin is throwing such a to-do about the off-campus sitch. Its
horrible! One would assume theres enough off- campus housing supplied by Oberlin that the
money made would stimulate more of a flow to regulate more available off-campus housing, and therefore
increase the monetary intake to help supply the college with more funds to operate with. ::sigh::
Angelina Calderon OC 04
Adam Tully OC 03
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