NEWS

Baldwin welcomes alumni

by Merredith Collins

Twenty-five is no match for 25+1.

Today is the beginning of The Women's Collective's 25+1 celebration anniversary. This year the collective proudly recognizes its 26 years of dedication to the empowerment of women with the arrival of at least 20 former Women's Collective members.

Why 25+1? "We began thinking about the anniversary last year," said sophomore Jill Warsett. "We thought [the 25th anniversary] would be the perfect time to come back but didn't realize how long it would take to plan the event. We've been working on it for six to seven months," she said.

Warsett is the main coordinator of the reunion and is anxiously anticipating this weekend. "I feel like there's still a lot of work to do, but I'm also really excited. There are so many exciting people coming back," she said. There may also be anticipation of housing the arriving guests. Many of the former collective members will be accommodated at Baldwin as they camp out in the rooms of current Baldwin residents while others stay in local and adjacent hotels and inns.

Collective members as well as the public will begin celebrating the anniversary with this evening's Coffee House in Baldwin Lounge. But do not be fooled by the idea of a coffee house. "There will be food there too," said Warsett. "It's open to the public and everyone is welcome."

Saturday's events include a free recital in Kulas which will show the musical talents of former and current collective members. From Bach to Gershwin many people may find their interests falling within the spectrum of performances being provided. Junior Varuni Tiruchelvam is giving a cello performance in this weekend's recital.

"There is so much musical talent everywhere on campus. I tried to find people to [participate] and I'm going to play a small piece myself. I think I'm the only college person playing," she said. In addition to college and Conservatory musical talents, the Director of San Francisco Women's Symphony Orchestra Esther Landau will be giving a speech this Sunday entitled, "Close your lips and blow."

There will also be a public tour of Mallory House now known as "Violin House" on East College Street. During the 1970s the Women's Collective was established in Thurston House with a membership of 18. The collective then moved to Mallory House during the 1980s and finally to Baldwin in 1991. Saturday's public events will end with an evening reception and dinner in Talcott followed by a keynote address given by Penn State Women's Studies Professor Lori Ginzburg, OC' 78. She will give a speech entitled, "Us and Them: A feminist musings on women and poverty."

"I'm really excited about the events. We haven't got as many responses as we wanted. It's the first time anyone has every done anything like this. I'm really excited to meet new people who are still involved in women's collectives," said Pearson.

The modern-day Women's Collective has served an important role as a forum for exploring women's issues. "Its is a safe space for women who have been sexually assaulted or sexually abused and it is for women with political interests in gender issues," said Warsett. "I ended up being close friends with people in the collective. It was a really comfortable environment for me. [This reunion] is empowering the women in the house to be strong," she said.

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Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 127, Number 15, February 26, 1999

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