I am aware that every person affiliated with Antioch has their own worries about the future, but the following is coming from me, as a student. First let me ask the question: What is happening to our education? Is this really what I signed up for? When I first came to Antioch, I got some impressive statistics claiming that 99% of the students who apply for grad school or medical school get accepted. I found the departments to be adequately staffed, with ample opportunities to grow, to learn, to succeed. However, that original notion is quickly disappearing, and I am scared.
Let me note that I love Antioch for the social atmosphere, for its activism, for its progressiveness. However, that is not why I
came. I came to get a quality education. I saved my dollars so that I could one day get a degree that I am proud of, get prepared for graduate school, learn as much as I could so that one day I could succeed in whatever field I chose to pursue. I can see that the departments are shrinking. I am being taught by more and more adjuncts. I am not saying that adjuncts are bad teachers, but for some, this is just a part time job, and for the other faculty; tenured faculty, this is their career, what they are passionate about, and it shows.
So, what is really important here? Are we keeping this college open because it is a symbol, to maintain a “comfort zone?” Have we forgotten that we are here to learn? I wonder, now, if this is even a priority, maintaining a quality education. I hope so, for the sake of my future, and for yours.
Mary St.Clair, 2nd year student