Staff see need for greater support of people of color

People feel College can do more to support administrators of color

Dining Supervisor Maggie Terry recalls working more than 20 years ago alongside an Oberlin student named Charlene Cole. "I remember Cole dipping up ice cream," she said, laughing.

Terry was then a short-order cook in the Wilder Snack Bar. She started in 1964 and worked her way up the Campus Dining Services (CDS) ranks as a cook for dining halls and catering parties for former President Fred Starr. She is now one of three campus-wide supervisors responsible for the entire operation of Oberlin's dining halls.

Cole returned to Wilder Student Union in 1995 as Dean of Student Life and Services Charlene Cole-Newkirk. But the recent personnel shake-up in the Residential Life and Services department, including Cole-Newkirk's sudden resignation and the firing and subsequent rehiring of Associate Dean of Student Life and Services Deb McNish, left questions as to how Oberlin attracts and retains staff persons of color.

Some staff members of color say they believe Cole-Newkirk's resignation and McNish's firing and rehiring indicate a need for Oberlin to evaluate where it stands with potential workers of color. Michelle Shim, OC '97 and Asian-American Community Coordinator of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), said, "I'm not sure exactly what the personnel situation says, but it does say something."

Carmen Mitchell, Africana Community Coordinator of the MRC, shares Shim's uncertainty. "It was so abrupt, so out of the blue. Some people were used as pawns - Deb and Charlene. When I see two black women leave under cloudy conditions, I wonder what does Oberlin stand for? We talk the talk but do we really walk the walk?" she said.

Others said Oberlin could have done more to support Cole-Newkirk and McNish. Mark Blackman, director of the Bonner Scholars Program, said the school could support staffers more by having a more diverse community.

"We haven't gotten to the point yet where they see you need a critical mass and a critical base of people of color. It wouldn't have been as uproarious if there was more of a critical mass of people of color in high positions and more students of color. You have a critical mass of white people. With them, it's never that uproarious. They have the luxury of knowing there is somone else who looks like them to take a place," Blackman said.

Women's basketball Head Coach Ann Gilbert, OC '91, said, "Part of Cole's job entailed making tough decisions. More needs to be done to show support for someone in that type of position. I don't care who it is." Gilbert and her team are sending Cole-Newkirk a card of support that addresses her as "Dean."

Gilbert understands the need for support from the Oberlin community.

Last year, a few of Gilbert's players from her 1995-96 season openly criticized her for harsh and disrespectful treatment. Several of those players were white.

Gilbert said that race could have played a role in treatment. "I'm not the first to look at race to be the cause of the problem. Within our campus it's very difficult for students, faculty, and staff - just some - to respect minority women in authoritative positions. I think [race] may have entered into that position," she said. "Look at Charlene Cole, Ruth Spencer (Director of Human Resources) - we've brought discipline to departments where it previously did not exist. People are always resistant to change."

Gilbert is not the only person to question the race factor. Former Associate Director of Admissions Jonathan Williams left Oberlin in the summer of 1996 to attend graduate school. He came to Oberlin during the period between Starr's and now-President of the College Nancy Dye's presidencies, when two admissions officers filed internal grievances citing racial discrimination.

Williams said, "There were moments when I was amazed at different people's views and suprised that they held these views at a place like Oberlin. I never saw Oberlin any different from any other place. There was mild suprise, but I was not going to take someone's ignorance personally."

Williams added that he encountered stronger resistance to the diversification of Oberlin than he had originally expected.

"I met individuals with pretty conservative, narrow-minded views. There were people who served on committees who differed on what it meant to bring people of color to the campus and the kind of resources and commitment necessary," Williams said.

Williams said he left Oberlin to go to school, not to leave a bad situation. But, he added, "Things happened that didn't help me to stay. Had they been different, it would have been harder to leave."

Terry stated that she has never had a serious problem in her positions as a cook and supervisor. Many of the minorities who work on campus work in service jobs, such as those out of the Service Building and CDS. Terry credits the training of a white manager to her learning how to do her job. She said, "This job to me - I did good. But where the problem is - it's higher up. Dean Cole is the first black female that ever had been in the administration. And in Daub House, there's not a black person in there."

Terry does believe the opportunities are available. "If some of the black women went over to Daub House and applied for a job, I don't feel there would be discrimination. It's whatever the individual wants to do. You have to make sure you're willing and able to do the job. And if you are discriminated against, there are people you can call for assistance," she said, referring to groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Haipeng Li, reference librarian at Mudd, sees the administration, especially Clayton Koppes, as trying to improve the status of Oberlin employees. But he feels more can be done. "Everyone on campus - every staff member - should go through diversity training...I don't think every member of the staff has cultural sensitivity. If you don't have enough awareness, you can't retain workers of color."

Li arrived at Oberlin in the summer of 1992 from Tucson, Arizona. He came to Oberlin because of his job, and has found the town to be a good place to raise a family. "It's a nice town for my wife and daughter, who attends Langston Middle School. It's a good place for a family and has many cultural activities. Oberlin has a lot of potential as a comfortable environment for people to live in."

Prospective employees' perception of the town of Oberlin can play a role in the College's recruitment efforts. Blackman also said there are other factors. "Everyone is vying for these workers of color. It depends where you are-geographically, demographically, the type of students you have-if you can attract them."

Many staff members do feel the College is trying, but could do more to recruit and retain minority workers. Gilbert said the situation is better than when she was a student, during Starr's tenure. "Two out of 14 minority head coaches isn't overwhelming by any means. I think that we can do better. But I think there is a much more concerted effort. I really think Nancy Dye is trying. I think there are good intentions. We need to act on those intentions."

Li said, "The student population is pretty diverse, but Oberlin has a long way to go with staff. In the past, few years, the school has certainly tried."

But there is still a belief that Oberlin never has been and never will be a utopia for people of color. Roberta Garcia, secretary to the dean of the College, has been working in that office for 21 years and grew up in the town of Oberlin. "There have been points at which I became aware of my color," she said during her time at Oberlin. "I don't think there's anything that's changed. I don't really feel there's been a specific effort to hire and recruit minority staff."