Its participants called it the most important symposium of the weekend, and judging from the response of the standing-room-only audience, the spirit of activism is still alive and flourishing among Oberlin graduates.

"Keeping the Dream Alive: Translating Activism from the '60s to the '90s," featured panelists Nancy Hancock '69, Chris Hough '68, Bernie Mayer '68, and Matt Rinaldi '69, who explored the many ways in which Oberlin alumni have translated their passion for social change to activism in the past 30 years.

"I related to the '60s movement here as a Marxist," said Rinaldi, who participated in the Black Liberation and Anti-War movements as a student. "We will always have entities that remain in opposition to the inherently iniquitous capitalist system. Our task today is to redefine the socialist ideology in the face of the collapse of the Soviet Block."

For Bernie Mayer--who attended a recent reunion of the protesters who shut down the Rocky Flats nuclear power plant--the need for activism is still clear, but the specific goals are not. "I think that in the '90s we don't quite know where to put our energies," he said. "How do we continue the struggle? We seem to have lost the clarity of our vision. We need to develop a new vision before we can develop the means to achieve it."

Nancy Hancock, however, has no doubts about the nature of '90s activism. "The organizations that are most effective are those like Planned Parenthood that blend direct service with outreach, education, and political advocacy," said Hancock, who is currently working with the Human Relations Agency of Santa Barbara, California, on issues of welfare reform. "Today the best results come from groups that actively struggle with diversity and work to build common ground."

Translating activism into daily terms has been Chris Hough's lifelong work. "I was not an activist when I was here at Oberlin," he said. "I wasn't much of a follower, so I had to incorporate activism into a normal life." A Quaker who now works in neuroscience, Hough has become an advocate for mental health.

"Some are dreamers, while others make the changes. My contributions had to be creative ideas, but it doesn't matter what someone does. What matters is that we can all do something."

KS