Oberlin's Matriarch

This week's announcement of President Nancy Dye's six-month sabbatical advances much curiosity about Oberlin's matriarch. Where was the institution before Dye took the helm? Where is it right now? And most important of all, where is Oberlin headed under Dye's direction?

Dye arrived at Oberlin six years ago in the wake of her predecesor, S. Fredd Starr's, disastrous marriage with Oberlin. The scarred campus did not exactly embrace Dye at first. She was poorly received by a campus forum and was the only finalist of three not to receive Student Senate's endorsement. She officially withdrew her name from consideration after the forum, but later accepted the search committee's offer as the president of Oberlin. Six years brought their fair share of controversies for Oberlin's first woman president. Few students remember the controversial invitation of Kwame Ture to the Oberlin campus, or Dye's criticism of the Tribe 8 concert that sparked a first amendment dispute, and most students don't even know what the bike derby meant to Oberlin before Dye banished the popular event. Of course, the more recent Cox takeover called to light Dye's role in the search process for a new dean of students.

Oberlin currently rests on the precipice of an almost radical physical overhaul of the campus makeup. The bike derby has been permanently replaced by the Environmental Studies Center in Harkness Bowl, while North Quad currently undergoes an ambitious transformation to a state-of-the-art science facility. The foundation of both projects rests in Oberlin's Capital Campaign - designed to raise significant funds that will propel Oberlin into the new century. Dye has obviously played a key role in these developments.

Beyond Oberlin's physical development, Dye faces mounting concern from minority communities. The Review editorial pages are chronically littered with letters displaying student voices growing louder and louder, demanding attention. From safe-space debates to request for well-funded ethnic studies departments, Oberlin remains a hotbed of progressive debate. Is it Dye's role to pacify these highly contested and extremely personal disputes? It's difficult to read into Dye's future absence from Oberlin. There is no inclination that trouble is afoot with Dye and the College. Still, students cannot help but wonder what her sabbatical will mean to the future of the College.

College Faces Suit

The latest lawsuit filed against the College does not paint a pretty picture of Oberlin College. The suit, filed by the victims of the September, 1998 Fairchild assault and the Keep parking lot assault in February, 1998, details multiple faults in campus safety that may or may not have contributed to the two individual assaults.

The suit reads like a laundry list of everything bad that has happened at Oberlin in the past five years. The planning behind this litigation dates back to at least last Spring, and only gained momentum with the November stabbing in Noah Hall. The suit even states that one victim was refused counseling when she returned to campus; - this an image of an insensitive institution unwilling to assist its victimized students. While the merits of the suit will have to be determined by a court of law, it still highlights important concerns for any student or employee of Oberlin College. Oberlin College is not the war-zone that this lawsuit makes it out to be. Theses crimes were random, but that doesn't change the fact that they happened at and should be addressed by the College.

It's questionable whether or not the College could have prevented the seemingly random assaults in Fairchild, Noah and the Keep parking lot. But the suit cuts deeper than that - pointing out perceived deficiencies with Oberlin Safety and Security. It notes multiple conflicts between security officers and security management. More importantly, it criticizes security's handling of the actual assaults, alleging that efforts to heighten awareness of safety needs trailed off after the incidents.

The violent crimes that pawned this lawsuit remind us of the potential for crime in our own backyards - actually our own bedrooms. What should be done? Oberlin students enjoy a great degree of freedom to move about campus at all hours, in and out of dorms. Certainly Oberlin students do not want to sacrifice their freedom, but maybe a move towards tighter security at night would be worth consideration.

Crimes like the ones that lie at the heart of this lawsuit are too easily forgotten on this campus. It would seem that students cannot afford to make such mistakes, nor can the College, which may be held financially responsible for crimes that it didn't commit.