Category: Letters

Letters to the Editor

To The Editors

To the Editors, Kim-Jenna  Jurriaans & Jeanne Kay:

It is hard to express all the feelings of joy and frustration, of elation and disappointment  from being on campus last week during the meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Board.  Particularly as decisions which we all hoped would have already been made are still on hold as negotiations continue.  But it is easy to be proud to be an Antiochian, more so now than ever.  Proud to see the Alumni rise up and support our college.  Proud to get to know the incredible alumni who have put together plans for the future and raised more money in four months than has ever been raised before in many times that period.  Proud to see the students led by CG pull together for the common good of the college which they clearly love as much as any who have graduated.  And who are as deserving of the degree as any who have gone before.  Proud of the faculty who have stood by the college and the students.  Proud of the staff who are working under the most trying of circumstances, with special kudos to the development staff who have accomplished miracles over the past few months without knowing whether it would be enough (it is, for now). Proud to walk around the village and see such support from the YS News and other local businesses. I arrived cautiously optimistic and, since the announcement that the AB had raised $18 million almost three times the  figure that the BoT said was required, remain optimistic that the suspension order will be lifted, the college will get its own board of trustees and will become sustainable on the model that we recognize as the heart and soul of the Antioch experience.
I look forward to being proud that the University Trustees will recognize the right thing and do it soon.  That they will soon acknowledge all the “yes” signs, large and small, around campus and the quality, dedication and potential of the current students who posted them.

Allen Spalt, ‘66

The Importance of Student Spaces in Creating Community

This text was originally published in The McGregor Voice, Fall Issue 1

I could complain about the small student lounge haphazardly located on the second floor. I could complain about our ongoing lack of “the library.” I could argue about the ways in which the new building does or does not meet my needs as a student.
But I would be giving “the building” too much credit. Running on an “if you build it, they will come” mentality has left us heavy on style but shy in substance. This building, the original buildings, any building is but a shell. It is not the building that shall define us, it is what we do with and within it that will determine the nature of our experience and the quality of our education.
Upon entering the main doors I would expect to see a student space of chairs and tables rather than a cluster of neat merchandising of spirit wear and accessories. A central space—together with the outdoor area—where students get to know each other beyond the classroom.
I would like a space reserved for our use until the library is ready—a room apart from the lounge for study such as an empty classroom or meeting room where those of us who use the time to work can do so—apart from the smell of microwaved leftovers. Most importantly, I would like to see Antioch University McGregor designate an Office of Student Affairs which could serve as a home for the McGregor Voice and other (up and coming) student organizations, and could fulfill other student needs as they arise, such as study groups or special meetings. Ideally, the University could create a FWSP job or staff position to develop the Office of Student Affairs as a resource for all.
I choose to attend a liberal arts institution, and I am seeking a certain level of engagement with my peers. Though many of us are busy working professionals or juggling some number of other full time commitments, I think most of us enjoy the learning process and are “fed” by our shared experience in the classroom.
My own McGregor experience has been excellent in many ways: my instructors have been top-notch, engaging, and truly accessible. My classes have a synchronicity that is often surprising, and I have reveled in the interdisciplinary focus of the curriculum.
But in terms of student services and student leadership, this branch of the University is in its infancy. What are the needs of the McGregor student body? Does each program have it’s own culture? What do we have to offer each other?
What are the things one typically associates with a liberal arts education from a private university?
How about in-house scholarships that decrease the cost of attendance while offering incentive for student leadership, community involvement, and academic excellence?
How about student organizations that offer opportunity for involvement that fosters our learning and helps grow our resumes for future endeavors?
How about advanced opportunities for internships, and the ability to take advantage of curriculum or special programs at the other Antioch University branches?
It just might begin with a central student space, not because it is pretty and modern, but because we commuters may begin to sense that we are a community of students with a potential for creating whatever opportunity we desire—for our own advantage and for those who will come after us.

To the Editor:

The Antioch University blurb, posted at the end of press releases  and  the like, reads: “Antioch College is part of Antioch  University…,”
These careful semantics cannot hide the plain truth: Antioch  College  is the taproot of Antioch University. And it always will be.
While McGregor continues to move towards a more market driven educational product (and this explains why I, former Antioch  student  turned mother of three, am able to attend), they may have  unknowingly  given the student body more power than even self- governance allows.  For consumers hold the power in an open market  economy, and we are  finding our voice.
While various groups work to “save” Antioch College, we students  must  reach our arms across this tiny town and forge connections. The  leadership can build buildings, and they can tear them down  if they  choose. But what grows, and lives, will come from us.

United we stand.

Brooke Bryan
McGregor Student Mailbox #19

Letter from Tess Lindsay

Dearest Antioch Family,

I have been at our Ecoleague exchange school this term in Vermont.
After my last 3 weeks of school here I have come to the 100% feeling that Antioch must stay open.
After being at a “real” college with “real” grades and classrooms with real desks in rows I have developed a much deeper appreciation and love for Antioch.
These years, the college years, are an extremely precious experience. There are so many people our age wasting this time away and learning little about themselves and just becoming new gears in the system.
I hadn’t realized until this moment how mature, anayltical, loving, self advocating, intricate and compassionate for learning Antioch has helped me become. I have become me at Antioch and when I graduate I will be so proud every time I say that my alma mater is Antioch College.
Not only on a academic and personal level have I felt the differences, but also at a community level. No community can compare to that of Antioch college.
I am completly mindblown how diverse, loving, smart, and competent our student body is. Anyone who is telling us (or has ever told us) we are toxic or lazy is wrong.
You are a part of something huge. We have all worked so hard, and if we continue to keep our hearts open and alive we will save Antioch College. That is gigantic.
It’s hard to keep the passion alive, and I know we are tired, but hold onto your hearts.
I miss you all,  see you at community day
Tons of love,
~Tess Lindsay

Response to the Dayton Daily News editorial on 8/29/07

Recently, an editorial was published in the Dayton Daily News concerning the ongoing efforts made to keep Antioch College open.  The article is a good overview of this effort of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni involved.  However, there are certain misconceptions present in the opinions expressed towards the end of the article. The opinions address the changes and concessions the college needs to implement to remain open.

The writer suggests that “Antioch has a reputation for a certain repressiveness coming from the political left, an excessive dedication to political correctness.”  I think the biggest problem with this statement is a misunderstanding of the term ‘politically correct’.  Political correctness is a concept that the left created to poke fun at one another for their attempts at being universally inoffensive.   It was then appropriated by the right to discredit any ideas that were rooted in the idea that language is powerful, (ironically) using the argument of freedom of speech.  As an Antioch student, the relegation of consciousness to political correctness is personally insulting.  There is a difference between dishonest, restrictive language and the raising of consciousness about the role of language in oppression.  I do not believe there are many conscious students here who are making at effort at political correctness.  Rather, I believe their interests are in exposing the ways that language plays the oppressive role of abuse or even dehumanization.

I do not believe there is a repression of “genuine intellectual freedom” at the college.  Instead, I know that Antioch is one of the few schools in the nation providing a space for a truly progressive or radical opinion.  Antioch is a milieu for marginalized thought; this school is our refuge. I would agree that Antioch is a school of (largely) “left-leaning” students and faculty, but their “niche” as the article suggests is, instead, a space for radical discourse that most institutions do not tolerate.  The Antioch I know is not being saved in the interest of creating a homogeneous environment.  The Antioch community I know is interested in salvaging the “guts” of the school; its radical roots.

Andy Blackburn, 1st Year Student