In a pamphlet published by the Oberlin City Council and administration, the community of Oberlin is called a place where no one is left out. The pamphlet lists the places where Oberlin the city meets Oberlin the College - plays, restaurants, sidewalks, city council meetings.
For many people in both the College and town the equation is not so definitively positive, however. Some townspeople say they feel excluded from the College, and some College community members say they feel unwelcome in the town.
When Connie Ponder was growing up in Oberlin she remembers feeling unwelcome by the College. "As a child it's like being shut out. I knew what it was, but I wasn't allowed to go there," Ponder, who is now recreation coordinator for the City of Oberlin, said.
As an adult Ponder doesn't feel very differently. "I'm not more comfortable at Oberlin College now than I was as a kid. I've just learned to deal with it. I understand it."
Sammie Davis-Dyson, special advising coordinator and OC'91, grew up in Elyria but spent a lot of time in Oberlin as a child before moving here in 1977. Davis-Dyson also remembers a time when the College was an alien world to her, but that impression has changed.
"A world of difference has taken place in my heart and mind since moving from the outside to the inside," Davis-Dyson said. "There was a period of time that I felt the connection [between the College and the town] was only with people who were in some way connected to the College. I didn't feel close to it because I looked at students and faculty as so much more privileged and lofty."
For Davis-Dyson, feeling more comfortable with the College came with learning more about the College and dispelling some of the feelings she had had early in her life.
"When I was on the outside, Oberlin was perceived as full of weird, crazy, ultra-liberal kids. And the assumption was that the faculty was a little quirky too," Davis-Dyson said. She said that after coming to Oberlin as a student she developed "a deep appreciation for all people-types."
For Davis-Dyson coming to Oberlin also meant learning about its groundbreaking history as the first College to admit blacks and women and its role in the Underground Railroad. "A lot of townspeople are not necessarily aware of the history," Davis-Dyson said.
The gap townspeople feel between the College and themselves doesn't surprise Mark Blackman, director of the Bonner Scholars Program and OC '89. He has also observed the separation some townspeople feel from the College. "'What type of school is it?' I get that question a lot," Blackman said.
Ponder said townspeople's feelings about the College depend largely on how much they know about the College and how comfortable they feel on campus. "You can't know if it's a good thing or not if you're not included," she said. "Most people don't know what goes on here, except the education of people from out of town."
Blackman said he thinks the College doesn't do enough to reach out and integrate into the community. "I love Oberlin College, but in saying that, one problem I have is that there has not been outreach into the Oberlin Community," he said.
Blackman talked about the support that College facilities could offer the Oberlin public schools. "How many kids have had a chance to come use our facilities?" he said.
Ponder agrees that there is more the College could do. "There is the wonderful College just sitting right here and for some people it is totally inaccessible. It is the magical mystical place where people work sometimes," Ponder said.
The College's inaccessibility is not simply a feeling some townspeople have. College rules prohibit non College-affiliated people from using most College facilities. Townspeople cannot eat in the Snack Bar or the Rat, or enter dorms without an escort. Townspeople may use a room in Wilder by renting it through Conference Services.
These rules date back to the early '70s. In 1968 President of the College Robert Carr opended the Snack Bar to townspeople. The change was made in an effort to address the growing racial tension between townspeople and the College, according to Review articles at that time.
However, according to Secretary of the College Bob Haslun, the policy was revoked several years later after townspeople starting abusing the privilege. After these events a College committee formulated the current rules that place most College properties off-limits to townspeople.
Philips Gym is one exception. Townspeople may use the gym by becoming paying members. This arrangement leads to both resentment and gratitude among townspeople. "They have the athletic club that families pay to be a member of. I have to deal with those that can't afford it," Ponder said about Philips gym and her role as recreation coordinator for the City.
However, Davis-Dyson mentioned Philips as one of the efforts the College has made to reach out to the community.
It's in the Money
Economics and perceptions of economic difference were stressed by some as key factors in the relationship between the town and the College.
"The town sees the student body as elitist and wealth and just very different from them. That creates a class conflict," Benson Tong, visiting assistant professor of History, said. "The town feels the College is this pot of gold and that a lot of students have money." Tong lives in East Hall.
Davis-Dyson agreed that socio-economic differences are key in impacting how townspeople relate to the College. "Affluent blacks in town are more likely to interact with the College community," she said.
Yakubu Saaka, professor of African-American Studies, agreed that the socio-economic gap between the College and the town is a large one at times. "As hard as the College tries, the perception will continue to persist that the College is where privilege is," he said. "Those perceptions will endure." (For a breakdown of economic and crime statistics for the City of Oberlin, see accompanying graphs.)
Ponder downplayed the importance of economic difference. She said that the income of students, and economics in general, were not a big factor in creating the town-gown relationship.
Twenty-year Oberlin native Waddell Simmons sees the lack of political power that African-American have in the town as a problem. "The fact is that when you can't elect an African-American to the Board of Education something's wrong. There is no strategy that has been laid out for an African-American to be elected," he said. He stressed the importance of moving African-Americans into elected positions of power in the town.
Jeff Baumann, recycling and housing coordinator for the city of Oberlin and Oberlin native, said that some resentment of the College probably does stem from "class envy."
"There is probably a little resentment when people who work at the College their whole lives aren't driving cars as nice as some students'," Baumann said.
Reverend Fred Steen, a 46-year resident on Oberlin, agreed that community members often resent students. "I think that they feel that College students are really condescending and nobody likes that," he said. "Let's face it. These are privileged kids who come to a school like Oberlin."
Baumann said also, however, that resentment in of the College from the town stems from non-economic forces as well. "I think there is some resentment that has to do primarily with students being considerate," he said.
Home Sweet Home?
The town of Oberlin has a large impact on the lives of College-affiliated people as well. Students and faculty report different levels of comfort with the outside community.
Thalia Begun, a junior, lives off-campus. "I'd like to have more contact [with community members,]" she said. "It's a hard situation because people in town don't know what to think. It makes me wonder how some people see me."
Julie Clinch, conservatory senior, also lives off-campus. She said she is not surprised by the kind of relationship she has with her neighbors. "We're not friendly, but we're not not friendly," she said. "They probably get a new group of students living there every year. It's not like you can really develop friendships."
Tong has had a more clearly negative experience in the town. "You hear of faculty of color being called all sorts of names. That is not an uncommon occurrence," Tong said. "Several weeks ago one faculty of color was called 'chink' as she walked downtown. It happens just enough to make people think and pause."
"I think it's a very painful issue. There isn't enough support for faculty of color to talk about these issues," Tong said. He also mentioned encountering homophobia in the town and on campus.
Tong said he thinks Asian Americans are often seen as having "made it" by being at Oberlin. He sees this as part of the Model Minority Myth that stereotypes Asian Americans as wealthy, successful and docile.
Many community members feel that students who don't get to know he community are missing a lot.
Steen, who was instrumental in starting the Oberlin Host Family Program said he thinks students have a lot to learn from community members.
"There is wisdom that's helped me in life's work that I got not from classes, not from professors, but from people who had gained wisdom just from living," Steen said.
The possibility of improvement of the relationship between the town and the College is not ruled out by most people. "I remain optimistic that it can happen," Ponder said.
Methods for improvement varied from greater involvement from different members of the College community, more top-down community involvement, panel discussion and summits to increased awareness in the town of the diversity within the College and greater support by the College for faculty of color.
Many people felt that the relationship has improved a good deal recently.
"In the past there was no connection with the College," Blackman said.
Saaka has lived in Oberlin for 25 years. "If you asked me [if I felt welcome in the community] 20 or 25 years ago I would have had a different answer," Saaka said. "Compared to the 70s the relationship is much better," he said.
Simmons has also seen improvement, but more recently. "Since [President] Nancy Dye has been here, in my opinion she has been very refreshing and a breath of sunshine in this community," Simmons said. "It was a 180 degree turn from what the College was doing before."
Those that commend Dye usually mention the Center for Service and Learning in the same breath. "The Center for Service and Learning has had a great impact on bringing the two entities together," Davis-Dyson said.
"Students are doing things. They are making real inroads," Ponder said. "The Center for Service and Learning has really been an integral part of what's going on," Ponder said. "But they can't do it alone."
The Center for Service and Learning has taken a more active role in recent years, with greater support from President Nancy Dye. It also has experienced significant funding increases, including a $4 million gift last year.
Among suggestions for improvement of the dynamics between the College and the town was a more organized forum to discuss the relationship.
"I pray to God that we could come up with some kind of summit on race relations," Simmons said he also suggested that the College look at its relationship with the entire county of Lorain. "I think it is time that Oberlin College look at the feasibility of doing something county-wide," he said. "When that day comes, I say we have arrived."
Tong suggested that the College work harder to publicize itself to the community - especially the diverse aspects of the College. "This diversification is going to permeate into all parts [of the United States]. We have to have some sort of PR campaign," he said.
Tong also recognized, however, the difficulty and complexity of making the town of Oberlin more welcoming to faculty and students of color. "It think it is one of the biggest issues for faculty and students of color. It is a difficult issue and I don't have any answers," he said.
Blackman would like to see the College initiate more involvement in the community from the top down. "I don't think Oberlin students are disinterested in the town. I think Oberlin as an entity fosters disinterest," he said. "The Center for Service and Learning tries, but we need more top-down efforts."
Blackman also stressed that every office, faculty and staff can initiate change. "Almost every office could play some meaningful role," he said.
Steen does not think Oberlin students are as interested in the community as they have been in the past. "It seems students have seperated themselves. We just don't see them. We have some students who attend our church but it's not like it was years ago," Steen said.
Simmons also suggested increasing the numbers of black Oberlin high school graduates who attend the College. "Any time you see an ill, you should be able to take that ill and try to correct it. We here in the City of Oberlin have not made enough effort to recruit the African Americans within the community to go to Oberlin," he said. "Why aren't the top African American students going to Oberlin?" Simmons asked.
For Ponder the key to improving the relationship between the College and the town is inclusion. "If you're not a mover or a shaker, if you don't have a title after your name, you're not included," she said. "There are a lot of people who might not have a formal education who have a lot to offer the College."
Ponder also stressed the importance of individual connections. "I always think it's a shame if a person comes here for four years and doesn't get to know someone outside the College. It's tragic," she said.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 10, November 21, 1997
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