By all accounts Sunday’s ExCo Fair in Hales Gymnasium was a pretty typical one. That is to say several hundred Oberlin students crammed themselves into one room and welcomed one another to become experts in beer-brewing, b-boying and dressing in drag.
While the 98 ExCo courses offered this semester range from “Women’s Rugby” to “The Filmography of Winona Ryder,” ExCo classes generally fall into two categories – those that seek to involve the community surrounding Oberlin College, and those that are just about pure college fun.
“A lot of people at Oberlin come from big cities and affluent backgrounds and we need a way to connect with and give back to the community,” junior Marielle Ramsay said, explaining why she teaches “Oberlin College Mentors.”
Not to be outdone, several students in the Aikido ExCo insist that their classes are just as important because learning a martial art teaches students a method of channeling their energy without creating conflict.
Just as popular are classes that simply offer students a chance to have fun while exploring something new.
“Really, we just love diners and want to hang out in them,” junior Lindsay Baker, teacher of “The American Diner,” said.
While ExCo instructors competed for students (“Expert Mixology” competitively offered the opportunity to “get tipsy every Friday night all semester for a mere $50.”), students competed for spots in popular classes.
“We’ve had a hundred people sign up,” Dimy Jeannot, teacher of ‘Take Another Step,” said. “Only fifteen will get in.”
What started in 1968 as an experiment in alternative education has become an institution at Oberlin. There is, however, more to ExCo’s mission than most students are aware.
“The Experimental College was originally meant to bring the college and town together by providing free classes for everyone,” co-chair of the ExCo Committee Suzanne Friedman said.
But this year there were only one or two classes being taught by non-Oberlin students, and Friedman predicted that just a few non-Oberlin students would sign up for them. “It’s hard for us as students to reach people in the town,” Friedman said.
Trying to return to ExCo’s original spirit, some students stood outside Hales handing out fliers for “The Freeschool.”
They have proposed a system of providing free, alternative classes for students whose classes were rejected by the ExCo Committee or could not meet the two-hour-per-week ExCo class requirement.
Classes already organized include a “Radical Women’s Discussion Group” and “At Home Do-It-Yourself Tattoos” organized by “initiators” rather than “instructors.” The Freeschool’s organizers maintain that they are not trying to found the “anti-ExCo.”
But for most Oberlin students ExCo will do just fine.
“ExCos are a fabulous opportunity for students to share their interests,” one ExCo fair attendee said. “The fair itself is the best thing since quarter beers.”
And if anything could be added? “Chocolate,” sophomore Diana Grotheer said. “A chocolate ExCo would be really nice.”