Why did the Obie cross the road?

The Oberlin viewbook that was sent to all the promising high school seniors Admissions could find mailing addresses for speaks in lustrous terms about the Winter Term experience. It tells us that few years back, a committed group of students retraced the Underground Railroad from Kentucky to Oberlin for their Winter Term project back in 1981. Undoubtedly, they crossed more than just the road along the way.

"The purpose of Winter Term, the month of January, is to enable a student to complete an educational project of her or his choice, either individually or as part of a group."

The Winter Term web page mentions the study of black women writers, Greek mythology, Capoeira dance, quilt making, South Indian drumming and Chinese calligraphy as a few Winter Term undertakings by Oberlin students. There have been plays performed, marching bands created, trips taken, languages learned this year alone. There has also been a lot of sleeping, partying and lounging masquerading as credit-worthy projects. "Some students really slack off during Winter Term," a student commented at the Winter Term Fair.

A few weeks ago, we asked some students how many hours they actually spent on their projects. Responses ranged from one to eight hours per day, with an average of around four and a half. These are pretty promising numbers - the Winter Term guide says, "The time-commitment guideline for a half-time project is three hours per weekday, and for a full project, five or six hours per weekday." As a group, our sample wasn't too far off the mark.

Personal responsibility is key over Winter Term. Some of us feel like we deserve a break between the furor of December finals and the start of second semester. It's not too hard to track down a sponsor that will sign our little card without demanding proof that we actually did more than sleep in and watch soaps. Others keep the momentum of the year rolling and truly take advantage of the potential uniqueness of the experience.

Taking care of an incomplete

"A student's education is incomplete if they get a degree from Oberlin College and have not had a chance to become part of the community. They're missing so much if they do not get to know the people in their community." These are the words of Reverend Fred Steen, the 68-year-old pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, who passed away this week. Also passing last week was 100-year-old Emeritus Professor of Botany George Jones. Remarkably, both of these mammoth figures in Oberlin community history were one time Oberlin College students.

Their deaths begs the question: How many students feel part of the Oberlin community? Not just the College community, but the whole Oberlin community? Being part of the community means knowing the history of a community, or at least wanting to know the about history and people that make the community possible. Steen and Jones made history, as Oberlin students and in their professional careers. And in doing so, both represented and actualized the great Oberlin history and community of which we are all a part.

We're so saturated in our immediate collegiate world of hummus and GPA's, we don't make it a point to know the people and history of Oberlin. Let us honor the memory Jones and Steen by completing our education, by getting out, learning and giving something to the whole Oberlin community.

We can make ourselves part of this Oberlin community, by understanding and meeting those who have many years of Oberlin experience. The residents of Oberlin shouldn't seem real only in our oppositional references to them as "townies." Steen and Jones' example should be followed. Both men were college students who made lives, and livings, of humanity and community. They became living legends and breathing historic landmarks in Oberlin town and college ... and both died having completed their Oberlin education. How many of us will be able to say the same?