community day - THE RECORD

Dispatches from Community Meeting

By Kathryn Leahey

This week did not see a run-of-the-mill community meeting. Most noticeably, Levi B. was not joined by his usual cohorts. With one home sick and the other preparing for the Black and Tan bash, Hope and Melody were filled in for by the highly capable Ms. Sarah Buckingham. Beyond the obvious lineup change, more community members, that is, most of them, were conspicuously absent. McGregor 113 held a, sadly, farless- than-capacity audience when Levi called the meeting to order. Nagging Statement Number One: People, for the love of Pete, come to community meeting! By not going, you are only costing yourself some delicious berry-flavored ice cream and the opportunity to argue and make your voice heard. I have heard innumerable people around campus complain about community government being taken less seriously by this administration. If you want shared governance, take a flipping share in it. Do not submit to apathy.

The meeting began as usual with our weekly round of gratitude. Luke Brennan thanked the Record staff and all those community members who have contributed letters to the paper as of late. Levi B. thanked all those who volunteered in the CG office after the desperate plea for help was made on First Class. All those involved with Ann Shine’s piano recital, Community Day activities, the Pennell House art party, and Daniel Farrell’s speech were also thanked. Dennie Eagelson and Janice Kinghorn were thanked for the procurement of the aforementioned delicious raspberry ice cream. Additionally, two student-cum-nurses and an anonymous flower-bearing friend rounded out those on the receiving end of the community’s thankfulness.

As usual, Cil updates were not terribly extensive. As of the time of the meeting, AdCil had yet to meet for the week. However, we did learn the ComCil is continuing their discussion on REB versus RAB and are planning on establishing a RAB restructuring committee to meet the college’s present needs.

Most of the announcements made this week were repeat reminders of things announced at our last meeting. Once again, the Uprising Tour will be taking place on campus soon with a special performance by Drive By Shiavo, a speaker from the ACLU will be coming on the 23rd, and the Alumni Board will be here this weekend. Applications for CM and for Pennell House coordinator, Record editor, and C-Shop manager are still due on the 27th of October and 2nd of November, respectively. In new news, On Saturday at 8 pm, there will be a chem-free harvest-time themed party at the Wellness Center, and the Queer Center is having a meeting on Monday. We also learned as a community that Meghan Pergrem does, in fact, love Erin Winter, as was announced by the former this Tuesday. Then into the blender we went: it was time to Pulse. Our major topic this week was the issue of respect, especially that for CG, its officers, and its things. To begin, CG has office hours for a reason. We are all encouraged to use them. If no one is there during office hours and you need assistance, call the office at PBX 1050. More pressingly, as you may know, the old piano available for use in the Union, which may or may not have been slated to be thrown away, was destroyed at some point late last week. Levi commented that a general sense of entitlement may be cited as the reason why someone would do something like that. Nagging Statement Number Two: I’d like to send a big WTF to anyone involved in this senseless act of vandalism. What’s the point? Why destroy something that belongs to CG and, thus, in a sense, all of us? Step up. Take responsibility. Use this opportunity to change the bratty, privileged attitude that allowed you to do this in the first place.

After learning that a possible Cactus Liberation Front has stolen a giant cactus from Units 1, the conversation on this topic drifted to possible solutions to the problem. Jeanne Kay and Perry have started a fundraising effort to replace the piano. If you’d like to help, talk to one of them. Beyond possibly replacing the instrument, several schools of thought emerged about what ought to happen in regards to the situation. The idea that the pieces of the broken piano be turned into art was presented, although some felt that this should only occur if the piece of work would still be able to produce music. The idea that “people [the vandal(s)] must know they will suffer�? was put forth, but others called for greater positive thought and action. Amanda felt as though the destruction of the piano can be contributed to a phenomenon referred to as the “tragedy of the commons�? and suggested that a sign stating “My name is Betty. I’m a piano. Take care of me!�? posted on the piano may have prevented such an occurrence, an idea that provoked giggles from the crowd but will have Levi looking into the idea of naming other things around campus. Finally, I think most people’s feelings can be summed up by what Nicole stated near the end of our short meeting: “We don’t have nice things. We don’t really have [pause] things…but don’t destroy ‘em, because we sure as hell aren’t going to get new things.�? Until next week, Antiochians, to paraphrase Joe Cali, try not to break anything. And don’t fall down.

Community Day! Photos

Community Day! Photos by Kari Thomspon

Levi B announces Community Day in Caf.

On the porch of Pennell House students carve pumpkins

The Livermore Street crew desperately tries to solicit submissions for our student run literary magazine

The Listening Project pitched a tent on Main Lawn and encouraged the community to put on headphones and appreciate the background noises that are usually covered up by political banter.

Student bond over the three C’s; cigarettes, coffee, and of course community, outside on the stoop.

Those who can’t even walk straight after a long night of dancing recover in the Queer Center.

Anne Fletcher crack jokes. explains the importance of writing political letters to Perry Shoar.

The Office of Institutional Advancement hosts an open house to encourage students to venture across the street and visit them at Sontag Fels.

Dr. Christine Smith discusses the benefits of a positive culture of confrontation with a crowd of community members.

From The Editors

Dear Community,

First, I need to apologize for being AWOL on community day, I would have loved to spend the day with you all, but the whirlwind of Black and Tan (which culminated in a postdawn trip to Kroger to purchase doughnuts for the Queer Center’s Black and Tan Recovery) really tuckered me out, and I barely made it out of bed before dark.

This week has been pretty stressful for me. I continue to struggle to credit my spring ’06 co-op (Organic farming, as it turns out, is for hippies.) Also, because of my general malaise, I did not make the deadline for turning in my time slips, and so am fast approaching broke. Unpaid speeding tickets have the state of Pennsylvania threatening to revoke my driving privileges unless I pay them $140 within the week, which because of the time-slip business, I may not be able to do. I’m scheming about possibly running to a DMV tomorrow to get an Ohio license in hopes that the trouble will disappear. I should do laundry, my room’s a mess, and somebody stole my beloved cactus from the living room of Unit 1.

There are a couple things I’m pretty pleased with though, one of them being this very fine issue of the Record that you’re holding. Our talented staff really knocked it out of the park with this one; I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. The community day pictures make us look especially wholesome, and I like that. I’m also gauging my ears. After losing some of my gaudy bling on the floor of Peach’s Bar and Grille, I decided it was time for a change. What I’m most pleased with though, is my community of vibrant, beautiful people that has shaped my character in a very profound way. I can say very surely I am a better person now than when I entered almost two years ago. My politics have changed, my understanding of our world has changed, and although our school doesn’t have state-ofthe- art facilities, a prostudent administration, a wide range of course offerings, a night-life to speak of, or a smoking tolerant dorm, at least we have each other.

And you all amaze me every day.

-Luke

Dear Community,

Wonderful active people, please continue in your diligent efforts to bring about the change you yearn to see. Today at the Record, we have worked very hard into the morning to bring you this paper. I think that our dedication to the Record, as Community Day exemplified, is uniquely typical of this community. Of course, there is no end to the struggles we wrestle with and we cannot let down our guard, but a strong community of such workers as ourselves also plays hard. In that vein, hats off to Events Manager Melody and everyone who worked to put Black & Tan together.

Everyone get ready, this is the end of seventh week, which for those of us who have been here more than a couple of months know, means Eighth Week Crisis is right around the corner. Don’t let your guard up folks, not for one minute. Things are about to come crashing down on us, but our routine workout, if we have been good (which I think we all are ) will help us carry the load. Yes, we are pack animals of sorts, able to lift weighty burdens and carry them across the desert of academia.

I’m sorry. It’s 7:30 AM. This is, as usual the last thing left to do before we send out the paper. 7:30 AM means we have a half hour to get the PDFs to the printer. Not much time left. This is burden gets heavier. So, take a lesson for us in Main basement – Don’t procrastinate.

I swear, next week I will get to reviewing the Antioch Review.

Enjoy the paper.

Foster Neill

Layout Editor

Community Meeting

By Kathryn Leahey

Greetings and salutations, fellow community members! After a two week sabbatical, your source of information on all things community meeting has returned. Yes, you may now collectively exhale. This week’s meeting proved no less engrossing than usual, even involving some controversy over our own beloved editors. First, however, our community engaged in our weekly batch of gratitude and notices. The much-coveted title of Community Member of the Week went to Hassan Rahmanian for his work on both AdCil and the Coretta Scott King Center search committee. Much of this week’s gratefulness was imparted by, to, or among CG. Melody thanked her FWSPies, and Hope thanked Hannah and Jessica for cutting her hair and letting her bitch. Melody was thanked by Antoinette for being the glorious Events Manager that she is. Hope also thanked Melody for taking her to my hometown, Chicago, at some point in the future, for the experience of getting out of Yellow Springs and wandering around her first real big city. Hope, I wish you much Windy City fun – write something on a wall at Gino’s for me. Levi B. thanked his roller coaster incident mates as well as Sarah Buckingham for her work on ComCil. Outside of the Dynamic Three, Meghan Pergrem, who was thanked by Erin Winter for her help with the Art Show, also thanked BAMN. Finally, Jean Gregorek and Jim Malarkey were thanked for organizing the poorly-attended but very moving Guantanamo Bay Teach-In last Thursday.

Next, twenty different town criers announced many things, most of which will have happened by the time this is actually read by anyone. Here’s what you ought to know: I am starting a Latin language and literature group. Likeminded, nerd-identified individuals may contact me via FirstClass. In other news, ComCil and AdCil are currently discussing highly important issues of the RAB and shared governance, respectively. Go to the meetings. Really, go right ahead. Those interested in becoming a CM, Record editor, C-shop manager, or Pennell House coordinator in the near future ought to get his or her application turned in as soon as possible. Speaking of Pennell House, the much-anticipated Art Show, which is taking place at Pennell House, is on Friday beginning at 8pm. Live music, performance pieces, and food will be provided for the more easily distracted of us. Saturday night will see a bonfire and the fire party as well as a late-night bike ride. Various other fire-related events will take place over the next few days, including a meeting entitled “Fire Up Your Crotch�?, an examination of alternative menstrual health. On Monday, Anne Shine, a pianist from New York, will be performing a free concert at 8pm. Tuesday is the Black and Tan Dance, for which Melody still needs volunteers, especially anyone who knows how to make an ice luge. On October 19th, a day-long counter recruitment event dubbed the Uprising Tour will be taking place. October 23rd, Christian Smith from the ACLU will be on campus from 7-9 talking about higher education and the War on Drugs.

On a shocking note, everyone wanted money this week. Haruna proposed $200 for Japanese cultural events while Meghan asked for $400 for Pennell House activities. The strangely exact figures of $421 and $722 dollars were requested for a ceramics event and Fire Week, respectively. Seventy dollars is needed to reimburse the person who replaced the swing in front of North Hall, $150 to provide for the SOPP Community Day dinner, and $100 to bring the formerly mentioned ACLU speaker to campus. Melody wants $250 for Black and Tan while three separate people requested sums of $500, $200, and $150 to bring bands to various community functions.

Next, like ice in a blender, our community was Pulsed. Going into the proverbial smoothie of conversation this week were the topics of the now-infamous “Cowboys and ‘Indians’ Party�? and the new look of the Record’s most popular item, the Declassifieds, a tasty combination that, no less, gave me a headache. When the party was first brought up, the notion immediately sparked a dialogue about the perceived division between upper- and underclasspersons here at Antioch. Our community members pitched such ideas for the remediation of the problem as chem-free socials for first and fourth years, interest groups, attendance of Thursday night karaoke bashes by all involved, a “Big Brother/Big Sister�? program of sorts, and upperclassperson attendance of first-year Core Communities to aid in the understanding between classes. Dennie Eagelson simply asked third- and fourth-years to “assume that [firstyears] have some thoughtfulness before you jump their ass,�? a sentiment surely echoed by many of my fellow freshies The only idea proposed that was criticized was the notion of the two groups actually talking to each other during meals. The notable lack of mealtime communication can be attributed to a disorder known as “Caf Anxiety�? combined with general social awkwardness so prevalent here at our beloved school. After much conversation on the topic, CG thanked all involved for a productive and respectful conversation.

After many left, we then moved on to a topic that did not prove so productive and was not conducted quite as respectfully. Several community members expressed great concern over the reformatting of the Declassifieds section of the Record. Some accused the editors of shaming the community with their previous Letters to the Community, saying that they were taking their frustrations out on the wrong people. Foster countered the claim by telling those present that the section is simply “not bringing out the best in us�? and that reactionary Declassifieds make the paper accountable for things that the writer would have otherwise been too intimidated to state publicly. He admitted that he realizes that the letters may have offended some, for which he apologized, but that he felt valid points were made. He also said that the current haiku policy may change soon if he and Luke find it ineffective. When asked why the haiku format was chosen, Foster replied that haikus are fun, short, and made people think about what they are writing a little more before it is published. Those who have a problem with the policy or anything else about the paper can bring it to RAB, a board that meets on Friday at noon in the Antioch Inn. When the letters and haiku were discussed at the last meeting of RAB, little problem was found with either. Until next week, Antiochians, Pulse among yourselves.