Throughout the entire term I have been racking my brain as to what my last editorial would be. At times I thought maybe I could just go all out and say some things I have wanted to say for three years. I am angry, angry that I didn’t graduate from the place I have dedicated so much energy towards, but instead of saying angry things I want to celebrate my time here. So, with that said, I want to say thanks to the people that have made my time here enjoyable. Natalie Adams, you are a beautiful, brilliant and talented person. I have traveled thousands of miles with you; you have been there when I needed a shoulder to lament on. You are my sister and best friend, and I can only hope to be more like you. Rachel Hamilton, our friendship was rocky in the beginning but it has blossomed into something beautiful that I wouldn’t trade for anything. You laugh at my jokes (when no one else does), and you’re my dance partner forever. You are also my sister, my confidante and I am a better person for having known you. Ethan Bassett, you haven’t been around for a long time but the time you have been around has been special, you put up with my humor, you show me sincere respect, and I love you. You are my brother. Rachel (Pink) Smith, first year you were my partner in crime. You were there for me when I was going through a very difficult time and never left my side. Seeing that you share my sense of humor we have developed many precious memories. I love you apples. Nicole Crouch Diaz you are one in a million there is no one else in this world who is more fun to do work with. I met you when we were supposed to be working on a Comcil committee assignment and instead we got tanked and told jokes. We were instant friends. You have slapped sense into me when I needed it the most and I thank you for your loving friendship. Justine Houghton, we met when I was co-oping in the gym and was yelling at you on the phone about not coming to work. The fact that two days later we became friends showed that you are a fair and just person who can see past anything without judgment. You made my boring days at the gym wonderful to say the least. I love you. Corrie Frohlich I also met you when I was on co-op in the gym. you made work fun, but you made dancing even more fun. You are an inspiration to me. You show that even at a school as disorganized as this one you can shovel it up and make it work. With little pay I might add. You have been a strong genuine community leader and you make me proud to be your friend. Beca, our friendship has only recently blossomed but nonetheless I have enjoyed our time together. You’re a beautiful artist with a great taste in music. I only wish there would be more opportunities for us to throw parties. Our friendship is just beginning and I look forward to seeing it well into the future. Philip Wooten, although one specific person made it his agenda to put a barrier between you and I, we broke through that barrier. You have shown me love when I felt unloved and you made me laugh when I was depressed. You have been my gay buddy in a sea of lesbians no strings attached and you have shown me the utmost respect and I could not thank you more for our friendship. I love you. Kathleen Bauer, it all started with a conversation about the Supreme Court and a friendship was born. You are brilliant. I have enjoyed the countless conversations about politics that you have given me these past three years. You have dedicated your life to helping people less fortunate. You are one of a few who have won many victories for humanity already. I am privileged to call you my friend. Last but not least the love of my life, Kari Thompson, I remember when we first met it was love at first sight. Our love should be written into to the history books for the generations to hear and learn from. I look up to you, you are my hero and I look forward someday going to one of those queer retirement homes. When we arrive they won’t know what hit’em. We are going to be bringing sexy back well into our 90s. I love you with all my heart.

Antioch has been my home for three years I have become a better person because of my education at this historic institution. I have done amazing things, developed loving and lasting relationships and edited a newspaper. I fell in love at Antioch an even though that relationship didn’t work out I am a better and stronger person for it. Although it is time for me to start the next chapter in my life I will always look back at Antioch and I will always consider myself an Antiochian. I will carry the teachings learned at Antioch throughout my whole life. I have been privileged to call this my home. I love you Antioch.

P.S. I didn’t want to forget to thank each and every one of the record writing staff and John Platt, always professional, sometimes a little late, but nonetheless you made this paper possible. I wish you all luck in your future. And to my partner in crime Edward Perkins, it has been an honor to be your co-editor. We have faced a lot, but always continued and got the job done. We succeeded with what we set out to do. You made me sane in some insane situations. You’re a good friend and a good person and I know this will not be the last time we see each other. I hope to see you twenty years down the road editing the New York Times. I love you buddy. Although the buildings will crumble and the people will leave none can kill the spirit of this important and historic institution. Goodbye Antioch. Goodbye old friend.

-Bryan Utley, Editor, Spring 2008

But at 4 a.m. in that cold empty bathroom, it was suddenly different. Maybe because of the insomnia that had turned my nights into atrociously agitated marathons for the past three weeks. Or maybe it came from the thought that classes would be starting soon at Antioch, and that I wouldn’t be there.

But at that point, the fact that I was ashamed of myself was inescapable. It wasn’t even an irrational shame, a post-traumatic, subjective guilt about leaving the battlefield before it was over, the ship before it sank.
No, that shame was rooted in something very rational, and was completely justified.

“You’ve always pretended you wanted to fight for social justice,” I told myself, “you want to dedicate your life to political struggle, you’re hoping to find a cause one day, to be part of something bigger, and you want to be ready to meet the challenge, to stand up, to be brave, fight for it, see it through. And exactly when that comes at your door, you can’t even recognize it for what it is? And what do you do? You run away, because it’s wearing you down?”

I wasn’t done scolding myself: “Integrity, responsibility, resilience…they don’t start in a hypothetical future, when you’ll have your degree, be qualified, when you’re hired, when you choose a cause, when Subcomandante Marcos calls.” The cause, in a way, chooses you, it chose you. It tells you here you are, this is the issue, the unjust situation, the oppressive system to dismantle, what will you do about it?”
There was nothing to be proud of. The hypocrisy of my situation was inescapable, blatant, vulgar.
I thought I should take responsibility for my choices though, and see through them anyway. I thought I would let this mistake be the first real regret of my life, and that I’d learn from it so as to not make it again.
Staying at Antioch in Exile is a huge leap of faith for students. It’s a risk, and it certainly should not be seen in purely idealistic terms; it is not merely a question of ideology or faith, of learning vs degree, of loyalty or of political consciousness. It involves issues of degrees of privilege and presents risks of transforming itself into an elitist, inaccessible institution for many students. The responsibility of the Exile organizers/ funders and of the CRF is crucial in making sure that Non Stop Antioch off campus next year is not a possibility for the privileged only. And it should be an essential part of those already committed to exile to make sure that these issues are solved and that Non Stop Antioch off campus is indeed as open, all-encompassing, accessible and democratic as possible. So that the material, tangible risk is reduced to the minimum, and we are left with the liberty to deal with the political commitment that it represents.

Because Antioch in Exile is a political stance. We will be part, and have already been part of a fight much bigger than ourselves: the resistance to the Corporatization of Higher Education. Chancellor Toni Murdock has on many occasions made clear her vision of Higher Education. A delocalized, virtual classroom, with no tenure, unions, community, shared governance and… no students either, —-at least not without the protection of a computer screen. Her vision is in line with the neo-cons/neoliberal ideology of the destruction of the public sphere, the dismantlement of community structures of governance/resistance, the undermining of the local. Just as Margaret Thatcher claimed that “there is no such thing as society, only individuals [and their family]”, Toni Murdoch is telling us that in her vision of higher education, there is no such thing as community, only customers, and the service they are willing to pay for.

I’m glad that I don’t have to move to Chiapas to fight neoliberal globalization. I can do it right here, in my community. I’ve often been uprooted, and I’ve never learned accountability. I flee when things go wrong. But that is also something that neo-cons/neo-liberals are counting on, in order to bring about their society-that-isn’t-a-society: the loss of attachment to the local, the loss of accountability to one’s community, the loss of political responsibility to our direct environment.

As an individual, I can come and go and choose what the best place for me is, look for comfort and for what a place can provide me; I can also choose to leave when a place is not providing me with what I want anymore. I could do that, and be a customer, in Toni Murdoch-Thatcher’s world.

Or I could choose to resist that impulse and decide that I’m also responsible to my community, even when I would get better “service” somewhere else, even when it crumbles down to the floor, even when it is driving me insomniac. I’m not postponing my political commitment to an ulterior time or a better place; full of my uncertainty, awkwardness and unreadiness, unprepared but eager, I’ll start tomorrow. I’ve already started.
With more love and gratitude than I’ll ever be able to give back to you Antiochians; see you in Exile,

Jeanne Kay

In this struggle to write this piece I can think of some tear jerking memories both tears of joy and tears of sadness.
It seems that being incarcerated for a political demonstration in ‘95 is one of the sad tearjerkers. I did not ever foresee such a life as a Sophomore and nor did any one else ever foresee such an experience in Higher Education. Upon freedom I was offered a Plea Bargain that immediately expunged my record by Columbus, Ohio’s Franklin County Courts, Judge, Prosecutor, yada yada yada. My pro-bono lawyers, God bless their hearts, recommended it and next to jail time it did look appealing. In hindsight the Columbus P.D. only offered the plea bargain, because in my humble opinion, they knew they made a big mistake. We could of counter sued for everything but the kitchen sink. I returned to Antioch a hero, not a self desired nor given title, that is real. We all stood for truth, justice, honor, equality, and peace. We studied, traveled, and worked side by side. The rest of my Antioch experience tops even this story and the thing about Antioch is that we grow as a community together.
Now It is not necessary for me to archive my Antioch College experience here. That is done in the Record. What will become of Antioch College? I was one of the first to declare that we do not need the property and that we can have the same ideals and teachings in a different location in Yellow Springs. The truth is that the land that Antioch lives in is sacred. It is a magical land unlike anything else anyone else has experienced in life. Forgive me for being sentimental.
Another story to share. My fiancé Ms.T. (pronounced Misty) and I met on campus during a homecoming where Louise Smith cast me in a play about the history of Yellow Springs and Antioch College. I did dishes to make ends meet and Ms.T. was my office manager. This was in ‘03, the terrible year the Iraq Genocide began. We’d planned to get married on Antioch College’s Campus during the summer of ‘09. What is the fate of our beloved safe space of joy.
What words of wisdom can I leave with the Antioch Record for what may possibly be its last issue. Brother Where Art Thou? Nick Clooney, George Clooney’s father, is working on helping to save Darfur in the Sudan. The Sudanese government has launched a barbaric genocide against the people who live in this part of their country.

In prayer that the people of Darfur, Iraq, and Inner City America will live in peace. Amen.
I pray that Sen. Obama gets the nod and is elected president. It will be an historic day and has been ever since he decided to run for office. I praise God that both he and Sen. Clinton are firsts every day in America as they continue their race for the Democratic Nomination for the President of the United States of America.
From the bottom of my heart, I feel that Antioch College is the best American Education any college student in the world can get. The classroom, co-op, classroom format allow the Antioch College student insight into society, life, and culture that no other school provides.
Albeit, I am biased, however, not alone. Academic journals and College ratings have always rated Antioch College at the top of their intellectual recommendations to students everywhere for as long as I can remember. It is my prayer that big business, war profiteers, and oil mongers will not destroy the precious land that Antioch has changed American History for the better on.
The International, Inter-cultural diversity of Antioch College is one of my fondest memories and joys of current events here as they unfold on campus.
I traveled with a group of students as a student to see Henry Louis Gates Speak at the Victoria Theater in Dayton, Ohio. Also in the mid-nineties James Farmer came to speak and I was able to see, meet, hear, listen, and ask questions of this late great Civil Rights Worker all in the Antioch Inn. Dr. Steve Schwerner taught me Cross-Cultural Studies. Dr. Masolo taught me African Philosophy. I traveled all over America with Antioch College’s African American History Cross-Cultural Studies Program and the Environmental Field Program. The Undoing Racism Workshops conducted by New Orleans People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and hosted by Bill and Joan Chappelle’s Wellness Center took up residence here in our village. I had the privilege and honor of being the first and last Undoing Racism Coordinator of the Wellness Center during the summer of ‘95. I was twenty then, the age of my soon to be stepson Randal.
Om Shanthi Om
Jude Demers
‘97
Non-stop Antioch Rocks
One Love

I remember talking to some friends and the words, “I hate heterosexuals!” came spewing out of my mouth as I realized I was surrounded by several of them. So what, I thought, I’ve heard people around me my whole life say they hate homosexuality, disgusted by it, wouldn’t even consider discussing it, sin itself. I wanted to say fuck you, and I still do. It makes me feel better, but it doesn’t accomplish anything.
First, I thought, I need to deal with my own problems. I feel hate towards traditional heterosexuals and hetero-normative culture. I am many times resentful of the male culture I grew up in, consequently leaving me with an insecure image of manhood and sexuality. Stereotypical men were obscure to me; they interested me because of how oddly charged they were. For lack of a better description, these were the dude bros, man. It was an identity that I felt I had to habituate because my other options did not make much sense. Hell, I had the privilege of physically being one of them, but still I became resentful because I didn’t thrive in that kind of population.
The next step, I thought, was to step out of my privileged male self, when I could do this safely, and try to do it every day. I didn’t do this at all until I came to the US and was surrounded by friends whom I trust. Even writing this I am stepping out of my male privilege, possibly threatening a certain masculine identity. Since I became so comfortable with my adjusted identity, I had trouble switching back at times and any time I did, I became more frustrated. After being more comfortable with myself as a person, I gained some insight into what is going on around me.
During the Spring Dance Concert, a group of Salsa dancers stopped during a performance to ask the audience for some ‘conflict’ in their story line, ‘tension’ was another word they used. After several suggestions, one audience member said that the male dancer should be gay, and one of the female dancers should be a lesbian. Wow, I sarcastically thought, this is so very entertaining that he is gay and she is a lesbian. I sat through the performance and listened to the audience laugh behind me at our male dancers’ gay imitations and the female dancer’s attempt to be with another female. It’s really not that big of a deal, I thought trying to calm myself, but homosexuality as an item is being laughed at, regardless of its logic, it made me uncomfortable.
About a year ago I heard about a big budget film being released in Egypt. There were articles and press releases about it discussing how interesting it was that this film wasn’t censored. The film dealt with ‘controversial’ (suppressed) issues such as the working class, Islamic movements, and homosexuality. The articles said nothing else, and I was surprised, filled with hope. This film, also including some top Egyptian movie stars, was distributed all over the Middle East, even reaching Europe and the US. I had to watch this film. As I was watching it, I was ecstatic. Part of the subplot included a homosexual journalist. As the plot evolves, we understand that this journalist solicits sex from men. Later we find out that he had a debilitating childhood, which led to his ‘misfortunate’ gay urges, and later he gets murdered. I didn’t even watch the rest of the damn movie; I couldn’t care about the heterosexual protagonists.
These two small glimpses into my life keep reminding me that I don’t want things to keep bogging me down because I want to move forward, I want to keep learning, and I want to keep producing, but I will not be told I am an aberration any longer. I am done taking bullshit from people, I’ve let the grownups teach me what they wanted to teach me, and now I am going to do things from my perspective.

Many things were different about this week’s AdCil meeting: it was held in South Hall, it started a little late and there was no coffee thermos on the table; but the main difference was that Interim President Andrzej Bloch did not sit at the end of the conference table. Instead, it was Faculty member Eric Miller, who had called the meeting, who took stacks and chaired the session of AdCil in exile.

“AdCil is just not working and won’t work under the current conditions,” said Miller as an introduction, “and we need to see if there’s anything we can do about it.” After Andrzej Bloch, by announcing the University’s unilateral decision to reconfirm the suspension of operations at Antioch College on Friday February 22^nd, positioned himself as a mere messenger of the University, several calls for his resignation were made by community members in the week preceding the ad hoc AdCil. The members present on Tuesday morning—though short of forming quorum, were thus faced with the delicate task of redefining AdCil’s mission.

Union Member Carol Braun expressed the view—supported, she said, by many of her constituents—that “regular” AdCil should continue to meet as before, while they also met for an alternative session once a week, in order to prepare for the Tuesday “official session” but also to work on a separate agenda. Faculty member Cathy La Palombara, however, expressed doubts as to whether seven weeks were enough for an alternative governing body to achieve anything substantial and reminded the audience that “the situation is, we are closing.” She also argued that it would be stepping out of AdCil’s jurisdiction for it to assume a leadership role. Community Manager Chelsea Martens, disagreed with this view, pointing out that the closing statement was “not the work that came out of this weekend.” She then pleaded for AdCil to reinvent itself in view of the current situation: “In the absence of good leadership from the president, it’s in AdCil purview to re-envision its role,” she said, “…we can step up and assume a leadership role.”

The question was raised as to whether a new governing body, separate from AdCil should be formed to fill the gap in leadership. Student member Kim-Jenna Jurriaans pleaded for AdCil to take this role; she argued that the continuity of membership was important both for legitimacy and institutional memory. She reminded her fellow members that AdCil was seen as legitimate, if not crucial, by the Alumni Board. Finally, she advocated for the consultation of the subcommittees (Curriculum and Budget) that were formed at the end of last term, emphasizing the usefulness of their work.

Faculty member Hassan Rahmanian further defined the new mission of AdCil as filling the “vacuum of leadership” not as an advisory body but taking on the role of “guiding, governing and empowering.” He emphasized the urgency of the situation, laying down a time framework of two weeks left to “create a critical mass.” Carol Braun emphasized the fact that, while Andrzej Bloch claimed to be working on two tracks — that of suspension and that of continuation– he only focused on the first one. She expressed the wish for AdCil to take care of the “good tracks,” from now on; which include Non-Stop Antioch either on or off campus. “It’s not an idea anymore,” said Rahmanian about Non-Stop Antioch, “It’s… a movement.”

Another Ad-Hoc AdCil will meet on Thursday March 6^th at 8:30 in the Co-op Conference room on the other side of South Hall. The meeting will be open to all and will include further discussions on the new role of AdCil. While this role might seem unclear at present, it is part of an attempt of re-empowerment of the community in the context of Non-Stop Antioch; as Kim-Jenna Jurriaans summed up: “If there’s not going to be certainty, there needs to be spirit…let the University take care of closing the college. We have other business here.”

This is a letter to inform you that the anti-Toni/Andrzej propaganda that has been scrawled across the walls of North is not okay. It is not okay to vandalize the private space we share. Does anyone remember last term? Does anyone remember how upset several first years got because they felt that their personal space had been invaded? Then why is this hostile behavior toward our building happening again? I can guarantee that most first years don’t want to be fined several hundred dollars because some of us can’t keep the lids on our sharpies when we get frustrated.
I understand being upset. Antioch has been a haven to most of us. It is our home, and we want it to remain our home, and some big, bad authority is telling us to vacate. This is worth the yelling. It is worth real action. Let’s not cheapen our passion with scribbles of crudely formed sentences in our living rooms. How often does Toni take a stroll through North? When do you think she’ll see these opinions? The fact is that the only people who will ever see these displays of outrage are tenants and the people who have to clean it up.
This passion that we are all feeling right now is a great thing. It means that we are finally ready to let the people who have hurt us since June 2007 know just how we feel. We seem to have lost our hope in these negotiations, and are ready to tell the upper echelon of Antioch University that we are sick of their politicking and ambiguity. That’s just fine. In fact, that’s what should have happened the first time we found out the school was closing. But turning this passion into self-destructive behaviors is not a proper release for them. Write letters. Make speeches. Protest outside McGregor. Do something real.
And could we speak of those who have to deal with our little mess? The cleaning crew is paid to vacuum and take out the trash. Not to deal with our immature hostility toward our space. This is an exercise in our privilege. Never have I heard the term “privilege” used more in my life than on this campus. Never have I met a group of more conscious students when dealing with the issue of privilege. If we were truly Antiochians, we would not exert our privilege over the staff of this school by creating such a wreck for them to deal with.

In short, I would like to ask my fellow first years, my beloved friends, my darling neighbors, to please not bring this rage and passion against our space. No body wins when we yell at each other.
Yours,
Tasia Karoutsos

What are you doing for your senior project?
I’m designing a circuit that relates to resistance to temperature.  It’s kind of abstract right now because I haven’t really done anything on it. So I guess when that day comes that I have to present it is when I will know what my senior project is.  Until then there’s not much I can say on it.

Yea there’s a lot of people who are stressed out about their SP. People don’t seem to know what they’re doing.
I mean the school is closing and that puts such a burden on all of my academics. It just freaks me out.  What are you thinking about doing once you leave after this term?
I have no idea.  When I was here as a third year I wanted to double major and take a fifth year.  I chose physics after I heard the school was going to close, more for security reasons then anything else.  But the doors that are open to me are: I could go home and start paying off this school or I could take the GRE and go to grad school for more science, which is something that I need to chill on because it’s just draining my soul.  Or I could move and live with somebody anywhere around the country.  At this point I really don’t know and it’s really freaking me out. You know what I mean? I almost don’t even feel like I’m graduating.  Where do you go from here?
How are you feeling about the state of the college, especially with everything that has gone on here in the past week?
It’s just really emotionally draining.  I’m one of the lucky ones who is going to graduate, but to watch all my friends get totally screwed just makes me want to cry.  It’s hard to think about man.  Also if there isn’t any Antioch to come back to in the future then what’s going to be our hub now? What’s going to happen if this type of place doesn’t exist for people?
What are some things that you noticed have changed since you have been here?
Something that comes to mind is that when I first started here there was something called graffiti council or GRAf Cil. There was no problem with painting up in the dance space or tagging stuff. It’s not right to tag stuff in main building, but it was never really a problem.  So that’s a big thing I think changed.  Also a lot less people is another big one.
So tell me what kind of advice would you have for younger students?
Well with the situation as it is, I personally feel very disempowered as I think a lot of people do.  But I feel like at this stage in the game I really don’t have much advice for younger students.  I really just hope that we can go out with a bang because that’s really where our memories will lie and just try to have some good times during this really critical stage in the schools history.  That’s just what I would like to see out of everybody, not just younger students.  Everyone is kind of in the same boat just by being in this weird position.
But I feel very lucky to be here for four years and to have this full student Antioch experience.  I really don’t have a lot of hope for the school staying open, at least for next year.  I really feel for the folks that aren’t graduating.
What are some things that you are hopeful for in these last two months that we have here?
There are a lot of things that I hope for.  There are a lot of people here that really need this place and could use their experience here to do some good in this world.  I would just like to see our community have some fun and mingle a little bit more.  I really think things are going to be crazy once senior deadline hits.  It’s going to be raging man, brutal!

We do realize how uncertain and frustrating all of this is, but we also believe that it is possible to be optimistic and responsible at the same time.  Of course, we encourage everyone to make their necessary, personal plans for the ’08-’09 academic year, but that doesn’t mean that Antioch College has lost this fight. There are more possibilities in Antioch College’s future than was expressed this past Friday and organizational meetings are taking place this week to work towards the continuation and success of our home.

With more love than you know,
Chelsea

Steven Duffy is, in general, a man of few words.  If Duffy is asked a quick question he gives a quick answer; if something important should arise, his thoughts are in order and he’s ready to roll. While he’s at work he keeps Olive Kettering Library running smoothly and happily, and when he’s not he spends his free time either exercising at a gym near his home in western Dayton, or perfecting his abilities as an all organic “ghetto gardener.”  Before his forty or so years making fines disappear at the library, Duffy spent a decade in and out of Antioch College as a “wild ‘n crazy hippie”/student.  After his first three years at the school he moved to the “promised land”, West Hollywood, where he opened a free clinic and supervised 125 volunteers dealing with “V.D. birth control, draft counseling (for Vietnam draftees; Duffy’s own draft lotto number was never pulled), dentistry and psychiatry.” Occasionally the clinic didn’t have enough money to pay the rent.  “I’d hang out with the people who wrote All in the Family, and if we couldn’t pay the rent they might have paid the rent for a month or so.” On this “long co-op” he made between 25 and 60 dollars a week if he was paid.  After three years of this he returned briefly to Antioch only to leave and return again to finish school.  Since then, Duffy has been helping people find books at the library, negotiating several contracts on the Executive Union Board, and sitting several years on the Alumni board hoping to organize an advocacy group for alumni of color.  “The college has always done such a piss poor job of dealing with issues of equality.”  But Steven is optimistic about the possibilities for the Coretta Scott King Center if the school stays open.  “I’d love it to work on the problem of youth violence like in Dayton, ‘cause you know I did have a family member murdered.” Steven and his partner James live “twenty five miles and a world away from Antioch,” in, as Duffy would pronounce it, the geh-tow.  One of Duffy’s nephews robbed some car-jackers, and the car-jackers decided to get even.  They waited in a stolen car and shot him without opening the window and then burned the car.  There were three people in the car. One turned himself in, then walked free, and the other two were disciplined for “tampering with evidence” by burning the car but neither served any time.  “I think that guy wound up killing somebody some months after and went to jail anyway,” says Duffy, “When they were tiny they didn’t pay attention to anything except that they wanted to play, so I always took them to a safe place.  I knew Yellow Springs was safe for them and me.”  Steve is anxious for the school to reach a decision so that normal work can resume and people can move on.  “Dana (Patterson) and I are working on a long term project to have a summer youth camp here but you need money and you need people and it’s been to crazy to even work at anything the last year here.”  Hopefully for Duffy and the rest of Antioch a decision can be reached, starting some serious work or serious vacation.

This Saturday night Antioch hosted the ‘Godfathers of Hip Hop,’ The Last Poets.  The group’s name is a reference to a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who believed that the era of poetry was at an end, soon to be replaced by that of guns.  The group, originally Felipe Luciano, Gylan Kain, and David Nelson, was born on Malcolm X’s birthday (May 19) at Marcus Garvey Park, East Harlem, 1969.  Today The Last Poets are: Abiodun Oyewole, Umar Bin Hassan, and Don Babatunde Eaton.  Like Malcolm X himself, the Last Poets have changed their political ideologies over time, and today denounce much of modern Hip Hop music.  An article by DuEwa M. Frazier entitled, “The Last Poets: Still on a Mission,” quotes Abiodun Oyewole as saying that “Hip Hop has become a circus. The vehicle is still the same, but the artists, the drivers are silly. We know they’re doing this because niggas are trying to get paid, but see a lot of people are on the line to be niggas and they’re being paid to be sleazy and greasy.”  On Saturday, Oyewole spoke of the importance, or lack thereof, of rhyme in poetry.  While their use of rhythm and rhyme probably had a significant impact on what would become Hip Hop music, Oyewole stated that rhyme should come second to substance and that “You can’t just talk because your mouth runs.”  In terms of political philosophy, when asked in an interview done in 1997 how his ideas about revolution had changed, Abiodun Oyewole stated that “back then, I wanted to see everything burned and people hanged.  I wanted to see riots. The one thing that stopped me in my tracks was this guy speaking at one of our forums.  [He said] ‘You can’t really be a revolutionary until you know the kind of world that you want your kid to live in.’” Going on to say, “Now, my whole thing is, we have to see how we can be the greatest part of us, which is the healing part of us.  This self-empowerment mode is where I’m at. I’d rather that folks learn how to save themselves before they kill themselves. That’s what I’m trying to do.”      
The performance at Antioch was a layering of sounds and words.  It wove poetic verse with rhythmic music.  This combination was most powerful when all the elements were present.  There was the drum beat, a constant but also in flux, responding to changes of rhythm and mood but also persisting throughout the performance.  Don Babatunde Eaton, remained largely silent throughout the night, at times singing harmony, but his drumming provided a backdrop that was continually present and significant.  The Last Poets described the importance of drumming, relating it to the heart and an inner-sense of rhythm, encouraging that everyone have a drum, serving as a form of expression as well as communication.  While the drumbeat remained constant, the role of the two poets changed from piece to piece.  When Oyewole was at the forefront he was accompanied by Bin Hassan, who provided emphasis as well as a sense of rhythm and dissonance.  His style was less musical than Oyewole’s, who would sing lyrics at constant intervals that enhanced the sense of chaos and complexity.  The piece, “This is Madness” also the title of the group’s second album, released in 1971, was a perfect example of how the use of all three components, percussion, backing vocals, and poet, could intertwine to create a soundscape that buzzed with discordance and gave a sense of madness.  In their piece, “Rain of Terror” the function of the background vocals, in this case provided by Bin Hassan served more as emphasis, continually repeating ‘terrorists,’ sometimes shouting it fearfully as if calling for help.  Some of the pieces featured a cellist who complimen