Center
to Connect Town and Gown
To
the Editors:
Its
great to hear that Oberlin students and recent grad are working
to build a multi-use, community-centered building in downtown Oberlin.
The building, and the nonprofit that will live in it, will give
Oberlin students and alum another strong connection to, and investment
in, the town that has supported us through school.
Oberlin could use a building that emphasizes sustainable growth
and community. Oberlin students are a population-in-transit. We,
as members of the Oberlin college community, are part of what defines
the town of Oberlin. However, most of us live fairly insular lives
on campus, viewing ourselves as separate from the town and the greater
community. We take our education from the college and walk away.
The new multi-use building will provide incentive to students to
keep our money and our energy in town while were students.
The Catalyst will help build personal connects that bridge the town-gown
gap that was so often discussed but so seldom actually addressed
when I was a student.
The new building and the Catalyst are also a decisive move to bridge
the oft-discussed theory/practice gap that Oberlin students experience
we learn intensively and rapidly but rarely apply our beliefs
and academic exercises in a practical context while were in
school. Each year, a wonderfully disproportionate number of Obies
graduate to move into the public sector and the non-profit world.
With our Oberlin education, we are well armed with the analytical
skills, writing ability, and academic training to offer a great
deal to these jobs. Unfortunately, while some of us learn more about
putting our skills into practice through summer internships or projects
while were in school, many of us dont get the opportunity
to acquire the valuable, practical community-building skills necessary
to take us beyond an academic understanding of social change. The
Catalyst will give students a chance to step outside of the college,
connect with Oberlin kids, share resources and experience, and in
the process begin to learn what it takes to build community.
Beth
Somerfield
OC 99
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