Next year, residence halls may resonate with the sounds of rattling handcuffs and the crack of whips. Recently, the Sadomasochism/ Bondage/Dominance (SM/BD) charter was passed by the Student Life Committee, and in September it will be reviewed by the General Faculty Committee for final approval. In its yearly allocations, the Student Finance Committee gave a substantial amount of money to the club. If the charter is approved, they will have $1,500.00 with which to bring in lecturers and buy movies. With the sky-rocketing growth in numbers of chartered student organizations on campus, the SFC has been forced to make cutbacks on funding for groups, most notably Oberlin Aid to Strays. However, while groups like the ACLU and Habitat For Humanity have but a few hundred dollars, an upstart, fringe group is allocated a scarce $1500 dollars.

This is not to say that practitioners of SM/BD should not have an organization to call their own, or even that they shouldn't receive any money. Yet with the SFC budget so tight, it is unnecessary to give so much money to a group which will appeal to a small number of people on campus? Furthermore, why should students fund a group whose members acknowledge that its actions are "consensual activities done with the agreement and permission of all parties involved?" Why don't we let them pay for their own activities and give our money to groups who can use it to everyone's benefit?

There are a whole lot of organizations on campus which will not only appeal to a larger group of people but may affect positive improvements within the campus and the overall community as well. An example of such an organization would be the Oberlin Mentor program. This group works with youths from the community to pair them up with college students. Funding an organization such as this is both good for the students and Oberlin community, but also towards the reputation of the College.

Learn to take a little less

A few months ago, a group of students decided to show their peers how much food was wasted in Dascomb dining hall. They filled up clear buckets with the leftovers of Obies who took too much.

A few days ago, a white- haired, stoop- shouldered man with a cane was scrounging through a few of the 6 or 8 plastic bags sitting near the curb. The transparent bags were filled with the leftovers of Obies who took too much.

We talk a good line about shutting the faucet off when we brush our teeth to conserve water, recycling all of those beer bottles left over from that final party of the year, and even taking a little less food from the dining halls we love to whine about. There were collection boxes in every dorm for used clothes. There were signs up about what you could store in college storage and what you'd better ship home- the "powers that be" tried to ease the moving out process as well as they could.

One day after the underclasspeople left, there were tremendous piles of wool sweaters, Columbia jackets, khaki pants from the Gap, laundry baskets with tarot cards and Express dresses, desk lamps and drying racks. The amount of stuff that was once important enough to spend substantial amounts of someone's cash on is daunting. The fact that it's been trashed as "last year's fashion" or "the coat that takes up too much room" is disheartening, and opens our eyes to how comfortable Oberlin students really are. Things that come easily are not appreciated, and are easily thrown away.

Granted, there are some positive aspects of the mass disposal of closets and closets worth of clothing. It's a economical way for those of us who don't normally purchase such expensive brands to get some quality stuff. The rest of the clothes will (probably) be donated to a "worthy cause," where they'll end up with someone who will realize their warmth. This mass disposal of supplies and clothes "raises awareness," something that we students tend to try to accomplish in a variety of ways, even if what it shouts is something less- than- flattering about our wealth and privilege.

This easy abandonment of our belongings says that maybe we should learn to take a little less.