Dearest Community,
I wanted to share with you my response regarding the events that took place this last weekend and on the future of Antioch College. It is true that the university will cease its’ operations of Antioch College effective June 30tth, 2008. This is not new news. In fact, its not necessarily negative news.  This past weekend the university continued with their position on the future of Antioch College, but has not concluded their negotiations with the ACCC.
We in CG were deeply troubled by the way their announcement was delivered to the community and are attempting to help paint a clearer picture of our current situation and our possible future. In no way are we trying to instill a false sense of hope, but the reality is that what was stated on Friday was presented with far more certainty than the situation warrants. We believe that the university administration and BOT are justifiably concerned about their legal position in regards to the college, but they can not speak for the ACCC, especially when those negotiations are continuing, which we understand that they are. Although the university administration and BOT can say that they are no longer operating Antioch College after the 30th of June, they cannot say that it will for certain be closed. The type of self-fulfilling prophecy that was exhibited this past weekend is dangerous and damaging to all of us, and the future of this amazing institution.
Continue reading Letter from Chelsea
Tag: love
STAFF PROFILE: STEPHEN DUFFY
By Tyler Morse
Steven Duffy is, in general, a man of few words. If Duffy is asked a quick question he gives a quick answer; if something important should arise, his thoughts are in order and he’s ready to roll. While he’s at work he keeps Olive Kettering Library running smoothly and happily, and when he’s not he spends his free time either exercising at a gym near his home in western Dayton, or perfecting his abilities as an all organic “ghetto gardener.â€Â Before his forty or so years making fines disappear at the library, Duffy spent a decade in and out of Antioch College as a “wild ‘n crazy hippieâ€/student. After his first three years at the school he moved to the “promised landâ€, West Hollywood, where he opened a free clinic and supervised 125 volunteers dealing with “V.D. birth control, draft counseling (for Vietnam draftees; Duffy’s own draft lotto number was never pulled), dentistry and psychiatry.†Occasionally the clinic didn’t have enough money to pay the rent. Continue reading STAFF PROFILE: STEPHEN DUFFY
Letter from Alex Mette
Dear Antioch,
Between periods of extreme stress and sadness I have thought about what this all means for me and my future, but mostly my heart goes out to others. I came here not too sure about how I would feel about this place, in fact, after I came here to visit I had a lot of doubts about whether I really wanted to come here. I remember that some people were doing an art project called ‘Antioch is Fucked’ and I asked them, “Is Antioch fucked because of us (the incoming class) or without us?â€Â “Both,†they told me. While I have come to realize that while they had a point, there is also a lot of “the new class is so watered-down, the real Antioch is dead, etc.â€Â Well, for my part, I’m pretty watery but besides our poor grassroots recruitment I think that people always idealize the past. Antioch may only have a hundred students but it remains a vibrant community and an amazingly educational place. I think that Antiochians remain concerned about this place, what it is becoming, what it maybe used to have been, because the idea of Antioch is so beautiful. That same idea remains today. It is, and always has been, an image. Despite that, Antioch, the people here, the environment, has helped to me find that image for myself, not of a flourishing progressive bastion of education and social activism, but of the personal. For me there is always an ideal, and there is reality, what we want to become, and what we are. Whether these differences are real or just mental, Antioch has taken me closer to my image of the world and myself than I have ever experienced. I have seen glimpses of what life can be and I think that the freedom that Antioch creates, freedom to express as well as to learn, makes it a sanctuary. Continue reading Letter from Alex Mette
Adventures in the Crescent City
By Kawai, Yoshitomo
In July 2006, I was on Amtrak heading all around the major cities of the United States as a backpacker. As a one of destinations, I chose New Orleans. I was looking forward to having the fun of hearing real jazz and wanted to observe what was going on there after Katrina. I would be glad if my article were used as a guide of New Orleans by anyone who has not been there.
Before I tell you about New Orleans, let me draw your attention to Amtrak. The city is served by rail via Amtrak. I was very frustrated due to a painful delay. Despite that the trip from Los Angels to New Orleans was supposed to take 48 hours, eventually it took me 72 hours. They always give priority to freight trains. Anytime a freight train passed by from the opposite way, our train had to stop and waited for the train passing even though they have two railways. Although I do not exactly know why, it was sure that I had to survive for 72 hours with expensive noodles and hot dogs on the train. I will not choose Amtrak if I head to New Orleans again. Continue reading Adventures in the Crescent City
An Interview with Chris Smith
What will you be doing next fall (or when you start your new position)? And how do you expect it will be different from your work here at Antioch?
I begin my new position in August. I will be Assistant Professor of Psychology, Human Development, and Women’s Studies at University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Probably the biggest difference will be in class size. For example, my intro to Psychology course will have 125 students. I’m going to a state school, and many of the students are first-generation college students. I suspect they will have working technology, and if it doesn’t, they will actually have staff on hand to fix it. I also expect that there will be soap in all the bathrooms.
What do you think you will miss the most about Antioch and what do you think you will miss the least?
I will certainly miss the students. I love the fact that I can get to know my students because classes are small. I love the fact that students are generally quite aware of world issues and that most people are politically liberal. Students here tend to be intellectually curious for its own sake, which makes being a professor a wonderful experience. Antioch attracts a lot of great, funny, witty characters, and I mean that in the best sense. I was talking in my Social Psychology class about how we sometimes cannot easily come up with reasons why we like or love something because it is so difficult to put into words. This really is an amazing place and I will miss all the little things like knowing almost everyone on campus and being able to sit on committees with students. Continue reading An Interview with Chris Smith