Before we burn Keith James in effigy, Oberlin should step back and put things in perspective.

James is the Director of Security. His top priority is to keep Oberlin students and staff safe. He must maintain a good relationship with students; the Oberlin community must feel comfortable approaching him and his officers, and trust them to do their jobs.

These are areas where James has excelled as director. The relationship between students and security is markedly more positive than it was five years ago. The former director left the College largely because of distrust between him and students. This problem has largely been eliminated.

There have also been improvements in Security's services. The addition of the security blue lights and the blue light walks are proactive measures to ensure student safety. The shuttle was provided in response to numerous student requests.

It isn't that the security staff's concerns are not important. In fact, they are very important and very serious. While it is important the Security staff feel comfortable and happy at work in order for the department to run properly, there is also a bigger picture. Conflict between management and workers is not unusual. It is the norm. There are very few workplaces in the US immune to power dynamics and labor relation disagreements of some sort.

Oberlin, and the Office of Security in particular, is lucky to have unions to facilitate this conflict. It is unions' job to represent workers and it is management's job to represent their needs. It is normal for these two parties to be in conflict.

Right now the grievances against James are being processed through the Human Resources Department. Some have been passed along to other bodies. This system, though imperfect, will facilitate - and hopefully eventually resolve - the current labor dispute. We in the Oberlin community should have faith in the system that exists and focus our attention on our own safety. While it is Security's job to keep us safe, it is our job to watch out for ourselves, be careful and keep attuned to Security's warnings and advise.

Oberlin: recognize Mondlane's life

Eduardo Mondlane embodied an Oberlin ideal: "Think one person can change the world?" He was president of FRELIMO, a guerrilla group instrumental in liberating Mozambique from Portugal. The group was able to shake the hold of the European nation, returning the government and soil to the original inhabitants.

Mondlane was also an Oberlin graduate, a fact unnoticed by many of us until the memorial recognition ceremony last weekend.

Many of us are aware that Kareem Abul Jabbar's daughter recently graduated and the rumor that Claire Danes was flirting with the idea of attending our little college. Few realize the amazing contributions of Mondlane to the liberation of Mozambique. His legacy will outlive his mortality by many generations.

Until now, the tale of Mondlane was not broadcast as loudly as it should have been. The sessions last weekend about his life gave us a glimpse of this man, a real-life poster child for the Oberlin model of giving self for the benefit of others.

Advertising for the event was not sufficient to draw as large of a crowd as should have attended. Those that went to the sessions left with a greater appreciation of Mondlane's work to liberate his nation. When we're given the opportunity to learn about the life of "the father of Mozambican independence," we should take advantage of it and do a better job of attending events like this.

"He laid down his life for the truth that man was made for dignity and self- determination," proclaimed fellow alumni Reverend Edward Hawley. How many of us would be willing to make that sacrifice? Rarely would we be asked to make such a decision, partially due to the changes in our society effected by men and women who gave themselves as freely as Mondlane.

We should appreciate the sacrifices Mondlane made for Mozambique, and our own society. The changes he fought for in his country should stand as a challenge to us. We have the tools he did: education and a hope for a better, more just world.

"Think one person can change the world?" One has. Many have. Some of them sat in the same classrooms where we learn today. We tend to scoff at the hopeful, almost naive phrase that Oberlin public relations likes to toss toward prospies and parents. Mondlane serves as proof positive that this motto is not necessarily just empty rhetoric. While Oberlin College can't, and shouldn't, take full credit for the contributions he made, it should be proud to hold him up as a force for us to model. The conference last weekend served to do just that. We can't truly look forward to our potential without realizing the contributions made by those who came before us. Mondlane changed the world. Are you willing to try to follow his lead?