Committees Form to Tackle Transition Issues

On Friday, April 3rd, ExCil appointed to the Alumni Board Taskforce Molly Thorton of Class of ’10, staff member Carole Braun and Chris Hill of the Executive collective. The Alumni Board representatives have not been appointed yet. The Taskforce is a result of the March 7th the Alumni Board resolution “to foster collaboration and build consensus with representatives of the key stakeholders… Nonstop, the Board Pro Tem, and the Alumni Board.” The Taskforce was charged to develop the proposal presented by Nonstop to the Alumni Board so it could be presented to the Board Pro Tem. The Pro Tem Board has subsequently declared that they will not be sending representatives to the Taskforce, because “part of the board should not be involved in making a proposal to themselves,” according to Matthew Derr.

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Matthew Derr, Community Meeting April 7th

Meanwhile, TAG (Transition Advisory Group) met for the first time Tuesday, April 7th. Appointed by Matthew Derr, TAG currently includes student Jeanne Kay, Community Manager Chelsea Martens, Faculty Jean Gregorek, Executive Collective member Hassan Rahmanian, staff person Joan Meadows, Head of Alumni Relations Aimee Maruyama, Alumni Board member Ellen Borgersen, and Yellow Springs Village Council President Judith Hempfling. At the Tuesday meeting TAG defined its charge: “The Transition Advisory Group will work to facilitate communication between stakeholders in Yellow Springs and in the larger Antiochian community during the transition towards an independent Antioch College. It will advise Chief Transition Officer Matthew Derr for the Pro Tem Board.”

“The next few months are going to be extremely difficult,” said Jeanne Kay the spokesperson for the group, “Nonstop’s faculty and staff’s livelihoods and lifeworks are endangered, there is a multiplicity of visions for the new Antioch, and rebuilding the college will take a lot of work. TAG, hopefully, will tend to the community’s concerns, open communication channels between the Pro Tem Board and the Yellow Springs community, and do creative problem-solving as a group of committed Antiochians that have been part of the struggle since the beginning.”

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Jeanne Kay reports to Community Meeting April 7th on first TAG meeting that morning

Also on the 3rd, in accordance with a proposal brought by the Executive Collective, ExCil created a ten-person Advisory Group to help coordinate the efforts of Nonstop community members working in the Alumni Board Taskforce, TAG and Nonstop Community Goverment. The following were appointed to the Group: students Jonny No and Shea Witzberger; staff Donna Evans and Nancy Wilburn; Faculty Dennie Eagleson, Bob Devine and Nevin Mercede; Executive Collective member Susan Eklund-Leen and Beverly Rodgers; and Community Manager Meghan Pergrem. At the ExCil meeting ExCol member Chris Hill explained the history and rationale behind the advisory group: “One of the first ideas that the Executive collective floated was a larger, perhaps between 5 and 7 members of the Taskforce coming from Nonstop [but] Nancy [Crow] seems to want to keep the group smaller. So, we decided what might work, effectively, would be to have an advisory committee… that would serve as an advisory committee not only to the Taskforce but also to the folks that are going to be part of TAG.”

Dispatches from Community Meeting

By Erin-Aja Grant
In the last 7 days there have been two community meetings held, mainly about the same thing. The much-anticipated University BOT meeting held in L.A. was supposed to provide some clarity about the intentions of the AC3 and the status of acquiring Antioch College. Both meetings talked extensively about the BOT meeting and the AC3 but differed in their message.
On Friday Andrejz Bloch called an emergency community meeting that was facilitated by ComCil chair Levi Cowperth-Waite and fourth year Sara Buckingham. There was no CFB, announcements, or ‘thank yous’ but it was very much a community meeting. This meeting was met with great anticipation from the community since Andrejz and Linda Sirk had been in L.A. and CG remained in L.A. for the results of the University BOT meeting that commenced this last weekend. When Andrejz made his announcement on Friday the community had a mixed bag of emotions. Many did not understand, as Andrejz described,  “As the University’s reaffirmation that the college will be closing as of June 30, 2008.”  Faculty members like Chris Smith asked questions as well as community members, staff, and students. Many felt disheartened by the news because the media was awaiting the community’s’ reactions about the closing of the college. Antioch Alum, former staff, and AC3 member Steve Schwerner was openly in opposition to Andrejz’s announcement. He said the AC3 asked for Eric Bates and David Goodman to go to L.A. and they were not allowed. As questions were fired at Andrejz many were left unanswered. Continue reading Dispatches from Community Meeting

Dispatches from Community Meeting

by Erin-aja grant
The shape of McGregor 113 is reminiscent of a Greek amphitheater, stadium seats and all. This week the agenda was lively with thank yous or yays first, with all the nays (Pulse) at the end. As the counsel formed, folks enjoyed the free ice cream on a rainy day. Although the only Caesars present were haircuts, people were heard and decisions were made. The first yay was from Milt Thompson, who thanked students for their ongoing participation in the smoking ban, even though there are still issues. Students were thanked and applauded while faculty, staff, and students sang praises for the muses of our community. Scott Warren was acknowledged for his orations during breakfast with Dialogia. Dennie Eagleson accepted her Community Member of the Week chocolate for her role at Antioch, mirroring that of Atlas. Much like Hermes the Cil updates were helpful and informative. Kim Jurriaans reported to the gallery about AdCil. She talked about the current happenings with the AC3 and future plans to raze G. Stanley Hall. Levi B. lectured on behalf of ComCil as the chair. ComCil signed confidentiality agreements, appointed committees, and debated the CG elections and how to proceed with the race. The chair also explained the no candidate option, while announcing the continuation of the election as normal. Announcements were spouted much like Zeus’s siblings from the mouth of Cornus. Story time is Mondays for all the Antiochians with an Achilles-style weakness for picture books, Wellness 9:30pm. Dialogia is discussing “chicks” this week, 7pm Thursday. Others had enticements much like those from Hades, $1 corndogs in the C-shop, and a Mustache party Friday at 11pm. The herald of Antioch, “The Record” reminded the public to email questions, concerns, and op-eds to the editors. Also noble CM Chelsea Martens beseeched the citizenry to send events for community day via mail by Friday. The CFB was at a whooping $4,665 while requests were made. Niko Kowell asked for reimbursement for a conference he and other students attended. Students Jamila Hunter and J-Bear requested $40 and $50 dollars respectively. The exiled Jimmy Williams was chosen as the commencement speaker, with Patricia Hill-Collins receiving the next bid. The next item on the agenda was the candidate’s forum for the “Fab Four” collective. Comprised of Jamila Hunter, Fela Pierre-Louis, Niko Kowell, and Meghan Pergram, they led a discussion on their hopes for the future. They also proclaimed their personal deadline for their continued participation in the race. If the school has no final decision by April 4th, the “Fab Four” collective will step down. Although this news was a shock, continued help with the hiring process was mentioned. As the questions began in true dialogue, OM candidate Meghan Pergram discussed the budget and projections for next term. Niko Kowell clarified what support for staff and faculty could mean. The collective does intend to have a community forum to hear about the needs of students and discuss the 4th position. While many issues and questions remain the “Fab Four” did address student morale, LEG code difficulties, and diversity struggles. CM candidate Fela Pierre-Louis cited the need for “Antioch to be accountable”. The meeting ended in true sophist tradition, with a pulse conversation of laundry. Some poised value questions, while some asked about Antioch’s sense of social responsibility. Kim Jurriaans just wanted to know where her bras and pants went from the north dormitory. True Greeks could have debated this topic for hours but in the end it is simple. Next time you hear the sirens tell you to take peoples stuff, pull a Dionysus and get some wine instead.

Dispatches from Community Meeting

By Billy Joyce

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 4th, Community Meeting went into hibernation. McGregor 113 bought speed from a 1st year to gear up for the video/film show, but it had dreams of rubbing its feet together and shuttering its woody doors for a long winter’s nap. Candy and cookies adorned the long cresting tables and troubadours gave tidings of cheer. It was a celebration. But to the crowds gathered in community it seemed like everyone was holding their breath, anticipating a cultured confrontation and a big-ugly, yet necessary Pulse.

At 4:15 p.m., and after the crowd had thinned down to less than half who had been there at the start, Dr. Dana Patterson, the director of the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom read a statement addressing the now infamous events that had transpired in North last week. The statement condemned racism and deemed the events as being perceived as racist by unnamed individuals. Perhaps that statement can make it through the Antioch channels and into the hands of Record editors or onto Pulse/Announcements/Antiochians.org. Continue reading Dispatches from Community Meeting

The Race Is On!

By Billy Joyce
A year after the MAN collective and the CCR collective created Facebook groups, filed applications, took pictures and put up posters, the community is again under siege.
Before, it was Marjorie Jensen, Anne Fletcher and Niko Kowel and Corri Frohlich, Chelsea Martens, and Rory Adams-Cheatham who stood in front of the community in McGregor 113. On Tues. it was a different group of students who humbly introduced themselves to the community.
The collectives, as they stand now, don’t have catchy nicknames: Jamila Hunter, Meghan Pergrem, Fela Pierrelouis, and for an encore Niko Kowell are running up against Nicole Bayani, Micah Canal, Sarah Buckingham, and Julian Sharp.
The news out of this forum is that each collective running for CG has four candidates. This is abnormal since there are only job descriptions and funding enough for three people. ComCil last week, as reported by CM/OM Corri Frohlich, deliberated for hours to accept the collectives’ proposals for a fourth member. Continue reading The Race Is On!