Senate Reinstates Chris Anton

Senator Chris Anton was granted permission to remain a senator despite his non-Oberlin-student status at Sunday's Senate meeting. The group voted 6 to 5, with one abstaining, that he should still be allowed to serve on Senate.

Anton, a former College student who is taking the semester off to take correspondence courses at the University of Georgia, justified his senator eligibility on the grounds that the Senate Constitution stipulates that "any regularly enrolled full-time student is eligible for all recognized extracurricular activities," according to the Oberlin College Student Handbook.

Bill Stackman, associate dean of students, who was present at Sunday's Senate meeting, felt that Anton was misinterpreting the Constitution. "The Constitution clearly defines what is the student body," said Stackman. The Article to which Stackman is referring, as stated in the Student Handbook, states: "The purpose of this Constitution is to define the structure and powers of the governance organizations of the students of Oberlin College, hereafter referred to as the 'student body.' For the purposes of this Constitution, all persons who are enrolled as full- or part-time students in the Conservatory of Music and/or the College of Arts and Sciences are considered to be members of the student body and are eligible to be members of any organization established by, or under the authority of, this Constitution." Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith said, "I think it takes very little common sense to understand when that passage [in the constitution] speaks of full-time students, it means Oberlin students."

Senate was divided over whether to allow Anton to serve and was also concerned about the message that having a non-Oberlin student as a senator would convey to the student body. "Chris deserves to stay on Senate. We should immediately amend the by-laws [to deal with this situation] on a person-to-person basis for future reference," said junior senator Micah Thorner. Others were not as optimistic. Junior Senator Aaron Levy said, "It sends a bad message. Since he is no longer a student at Oberlin, his Senate should not be available to him."

Anton, who has a house in Oberlin, still wishes to be part of the community. "It would be disadvantageous for me to stop my work for students for a year. I will also be able to do all of the gruntwork without a regular courseload," said Anton. He does not want to receive pay for his work.

One reason many Senators cited for allowing Anton to remain on Senate is the fact that he received the most votes out of any Senator during fall elections and his good standing with the student body. "Chris is considered an asset with a lot of students," said sophomore senator Kate Davoli. Anton feels that the College, namely the administration, turned its back on him. "I have invested a lot of time and money into this college. I've busted my ass for this college and to have them slam the door in my face kind of hurts. As long as students are paying money, the College values them." He feels that his current situation will "send the administration a message about retention."

Senate decided to adopt a loose interpretation of the Constitution and by-laws in Anton's particular case. Some felt that this action was justified. "The Constitution is a piece of crap. We should do what is most advantageous and that is to keep Chris," said sophomore senator Nikhil Majumdar.

Regarding Senate's decision to override the Constitution, Goldsmith said, "I believe they have perverted the intentions of their own constitution for the sake of retaining one of their own number who is not enrolled this semester."

Other issues on the agenda included the recently published newsletter and re-elections. Anton said that he would like to develop the position of a Community Coordinator, who would be responsible for putting together the newsletter. The newsletter highlights activities that Senate is currently involved with and sheds light on some of the wrongdoings of the administration.

"The administration is not perfect, neither are we. It's good that we are calling attention to it," said junior senator Jane Glynn. Levy, however, was concerned that the newsletter was too critical of the administration. "I worry that this is a big administration bashing thing. Sometimes the strength of our words was clouded by our anger," said Levy.

Stackman, in response to Levy's concerns, said, "I encourage you to challenge the administration when you feel we're not doing our job."

Re-elections, which are intended to fill the vacant Senate seats, will begin on February 28. The publicity for the elections began on the 14th and wihrough the 26th.