Letters - THE RECORD

Letters – Beca and Tim on Coop in Santa Fe

Dear Antioch Community,

This is a letter to everyone from Beca and Tim. We have both recently returned from the New Mexico Co-op “Community”. Two of our classmates are being expelled for events that occurred throughout this co-op “community” experience. As we were both present throughout this entire ordeal and had a close connection with both students, we felt we should share what we witnessed, and why we feel these expulsions are unjust. Continue reading Letters – Beca and Tim on Coop in Santa Fe

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.

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.

Letter From Meghan Pergrem

Letter to the Editors Addressing New Editorial Policy

Dear Foster and Luke,

I am writing this letter to express my concern with the new declassified policy. I understand that the Record and its editors are under a great deal of pressure from the community, and the administration in particular. I appreciate the importance of the Record as a mouthpiece for all community members and in no way want my criticisms to be taken as a lack of support for the Record or its staff.

I disagree with the sentiments expressed in your letters to the community in last week’s issue of the Record. Foster, in your letter you state, “Declassifi eds are not intended as a medium to stab at people behind anonymity. They are there for cute notes, crushes, thank yous and light hearted humor.�? We believe that these are not the only purposes of Declassifi eds. They have also been used as a forum to make public political statements. You object to the anonymous nature of most Declassifi eds, while not taking into account the necessity of anonymity that is a product of what was intelligently referred to by Daniel E. Solis as “the Culture of Fear.�? Not all of us feel safe attaching our names and/or faces to our politicized opinions. At this point in time, the Antioch campus is not a space in which people can freely speak their minds without fear of being expelled, banned, or persecuted in some other fashion by the administration. Does this mean that our opinions should go unheard or that they are any less refl ective of the community? If this is a question of whether or not the Record Staff should be held accountable for the content of the Declassifi eds, then my answer is no. The Record is not an individual that should be held accountable for the opinions of community members. The question then becomes, what is happening in our community that is causing individuals to write Declassifi eds that are “not so nice�?? Perhaps this question, or rather the answers to this question, could spark some inspiration for stories covered by the Record in the future.

In my opinion, censorship of the Declassifi eds is part of a greater issue concerning the administration’s agenda to control and censor the opinions of community members expressed in the Record. When I read your letters to the community, I was shocked to see our editors supporting this agenda through their editorial decisions. This is the fi rst time in my Antioch career that I have seen the Record editors publicly submit to censorship in the interest of pleasing a disapproving administration.

I want to thank you for your dedication to the Record and respectfully request that you consider alternative approaches to the editorial process that do not include enforcing censorship of opinions, even if you cannot see the value in giving voice to anonymous Declassifi eds.

Sincerely,

Meghan Pergrem