Chance #1 ... An open forum was held Tuesday afternoon for students to express their feelings about Oberlin College to an accreditation team. Every ten years, this group visits the college, makes suggestions to the administration about procedures and policies, then leaves us with a tidy list of what they see as our strengths and weaknesses.

Very few of us attended the accredidation open-forum. Quite honestly, the closest most of us got to the accreditors was vaguely wondering why that cloistered group of suits were marching robotically across Wilder Bowl.

On another note, Finney Chapel was sold out Monday night as Obies squeezed into the pews to experience Ladysmith Black Mambazo, an a cappella group from South Africa. A few kiosk messages tentatively asked for extra tickets that may have been purchased by the savvy scalper.

Why is there a huge disparity between attendance at a concert and attendance at a forum that gives us the chance to have a real impact on where our college will be in the future? Is it that changes suggested by the accreditors will go into effect about the time the first-years are getting their Master's? Maybe. Or, are we so entrenched, entranced and snug in our daily patterns that it's difficult to deviate from them? Are we really too busy? If we were, Finney shouldn't have been packed Monday night.

Chance #2 ... The College Trustees are making one of their five migrations to Oberlin this week. They'll be holding an open-for-students session early Saturday morning. Even the most socially active student still needs a ticket from the Office of the Secretary to observe the proceedings. This will be another chance- that most of us will neglect- to listen to what Trustees have in store for Oberlin.

Least we forget, last semester, in the midst of the Coalition's campaign, trustees held similar forums. More students than usual showed up (about 25), but now what crisis will provoke the other 2800 of us to attend? Of course, we have better things to be doing with our time than actually talking and listening the college's powerbase. Hell, it might conflict with Professor Beers or TGIF.

Seriously though, all of this is rooted in issues of community and individualism. This isn't a plea to leave your zeal for self-gratification at the door. Afterall, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, beyond providing splendiforous sounds to the ear, also provided a rich cultural exchange that most of us were unfamiliar with. The group provided a glimpse into parts of South African culture many of us can only read about. That's great.

It does nothing, however to lessen the reality that we offten tend to do what's immediately easiest and most gratifying to ourselves. It's unquestionably easier to appease and please the individual than the whole community. And, bettering the ourself can lead to a more healthy community. What's missing, though, is balance. The difficulty comes in maintaining individuality and seeing and feeling ourselves as something continuous, something bigger than us, something communal and worthwhile that can only get better if we passionately want it to get better. When she spoke here a short time ago, Angela Davis asked, "How many of you who have applauded so passionately tonight are ready to follow up with action?"

Fletcher lives

It's not surprising that Oberlin's highest ranking administrators are historians. For all the futuristic thinking propagated by Oberlin's admissions materials, Oberlin is infatuated with the past. Appeals to Oberlin's traditions, history and legacies are part of the formula for anyone at Oberlin who has a complaint about the institution.

Almost everyone has a complaint. Students who have a copy of Robert Samuel Fletcher's history of Oberlin College are few and far between.

Fletcher's book, acknowledged as a giant in the field of collegiate history, could hardly be left on a coffeetable. It is a coffeetable.

The gargantuan work, properly titled A History of Oberlin College from its Foundation Through the Civil War, hasn't been printed since 1971. It is still available in Mudd; one can hardly turn a corner without bumping into one of the library's 26 copies. Hawk-eyed historians can find a copy on the internet for a $100, but it's no longer available in bookstores. It's time for Fletcher's book to be reissued.

Fletcher's book is ripe for revision. There is over a century left untouched by Fletcher's comprehensive analysis. The book, written in 1943, is probably imperfect by today's standards. Despite its flaws, it's worthy of reprinting.

Although admitted students hungry for Ben & Jerry's ice cream and free phone calls might not be exactly wowed by Fletcher's tome, current Oberlin students deserve a chance to marvel at Fletcher's scholarship.