Nonstop - THE RECORD

Nonsters Return: Students Ready for Round Two

By Eva Erickson

It’s the beginning of round two for the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute, and the Nonsters are back and ready to fight. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and styles including self-proclaimed: smelly nonster (1^st year Rose Pelzl ), hermit nonster (2^nd year Stacy Wood-Burgess), awkward, yet joyous nonster (2^nd year Ashley McNeely), an artsy-fartsy/party nonster (3^rd year Shea Witzberger), and even a stick-to-your-ribs nonster (8^th year Jonny No). Team Nonster has lost a few teammates since last semester, but has gained many former Antioch students and returnees from Antioch Education Abroad in Europe and Mali, and even a few fresh faces.

Katie Connolly, one of about three totally new students to Nonstop, came here from Chicago after attending three years at Northeastern, and decided she wanted to be in a smaller college with a stronger sense of community and more personal connection between the faculty and students. She’s also interested in learning how to make documentaries and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make one with Anne Bohlen in the “Toxic Tours” co-op. She learned about Antioch through her older sister, Kelly Connolly, who graduated in 2003 and is currently involved with the Chicago Alumni chapter. She also wants to learn the history of Antioch College’s transformation to Nonstop.

Other students, like Shea Witzberger, have returned from their study abroad semester, hers in particular was in Mali, West Africa (for more detail see [Dennie Eagleson’s interview]). Before she arrived at Nonstop, she was keeping in touch with some of her Antioch friends, so she had a pretty good idea about what Nonstop would be like, but “I was impressed when I got here by how lively and impassioned people are. And also, I was impressed by the breadth of classes available. I was not expecting there to be so many.”

There were in fact, about 60 classes originally offered, but many were cancelled due to lack of attendance. Of the classes still remaining, some of the popular ones include: Queer Animals (using Queer Theory to explore the limit between humans and animals), Introduction to Post-Structural Thought (Philosophy), New Continental Feminist Theory, and Palestine in Fiction and on the Ground.

Ashley McNeely, a math and post-structuralism major, is looking forward to Queer Animals in particular “because I’ve always been interested in how our culture views animals … and how I can change that.” Although there are no math classes currently available, Ashley’s relationship with Antioch is decidedly monogamous. “We’re married,” she says frankly. The reason for this is that no other institution would accept her as she is like Antioch does; both Antioch College and Nonstop are almost universally accepting and supportive of queer people. When asked if she’ll stay at Nonstop or in Yellow Springs, she replied, “If there’s work to be done, I’m here.” Otherwise, she’ll “probably go somewhere else, have a horrible semester, and then come back.”

Atis Folkmanis: Board Pro Tempore Member Of the Week

By Rose Pelzl
Atis Folkmanis, ’62, and his wife Judy, ’63, are best known for their puppet pioneering, but did you know that Atis is also one of our Pro Tem Board trustees? In a telephone interview with the Record, Atis reflected on his time at Antioch, and laid out his vision for the future college.

Why did you agree to become a Pro Tem Board member?

Well, originally, before Pro Tem, I gave them a million dollars because, believe it or not, Antioch College brought my family from a refugee camp in Germany in 1949, and of course that’s changed our lives. I went to Antioch and grew up in Yellow Springs. (…) Given the situation I felt there wasn’t anything else I could do but do what I did, given that I had resources. This event was so important in determining the course of my life. If I hadn’t ended up in Xenia, Ohio, and Yellow Springs I would be a different person, you know? Growing up in Yellow Spring, given my background, was a good place.

What’s your vision for the new Antioch?

The vision we have is the vision we used to have. That is when I was going to school in the 60’s. I mean, what we’re planning is not exactly the same, still many of the same teachers. There’s plans to retain the co-op program and over-seas study and so a lot of this is the way Antioch used to be. And I went to school with Mario Capecchi, who won the Nobel Prize, you know. I went to school with Stephen Jay Gould, who was just a great paleontologist. Believe it or not, [Antioch is] still 19th in the total number of students who became PhDs. Given that we’re a small school we produced a tremendous number of very, very good students. And I think we’re going to get the same type of students.

I think people want this type of slightly different place, interactions among your friends, fellow students are very important, and the coop plan and all these. The concept, the most important part of going to college is learning how to think, and Antioch knows how to do that. Clearly there’s the impetus that it will continue to be. So I am very excited about this new thing, and I think its going to work.

How do you think Nonstop will be integrated into the new Antioch?

[Folkmanis declined to comment on the issue.]

When do you think the new Antioch will reopen?

Well, I think the tentative schedule right now is 2010, and given the current economic situation I think that would be the earliest we could do it. And I think it’ll happen.

What was your major?

I was a chemistry major, and then I went on to get a PhD in Biochemistry.

What was your favorite Co-op?

I was in the sciences so, even now probably the people who are on co-op in the sciences get paid a fair amount of money, and actually I could send myself through college because I had such good jobs. I had a job with a research firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and that was probably the most interesting. (…) Living in Boston was wonderful, and it was a very significant job. And I was fairly independent in what I could do and that kind of thing.

What was the most significant thing Antioch taught you?

Self sufficiency. You know, I’m fully convinced that if we had not gone to Antioch we would not have gone to the Peace Corp which we did after Antioch, and we would not have started our business. Because I think Antioch imbued this sense, from our experiences, that we can do things. You think that even though you’ve never done it before you can figure it out. That’s how we felt about the business.

Could you tell me a little more about your business and how it got started?

(…) I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Berkeley, but there’s this street called Telegraph Avenue and people sell their wares, people would make various things, jewelry in particular. My wife started making these Sesame Street-type puppets and started selling them on Telegraph. And in the course of doing that she started getting into realistic looking wildlife animals, and no one had ever done that. They look like the real thing from twenty paces! It was just such a good idea that it couldn’t fail. So that was 32 years ago.

(…) I think the Antioch experience was what [gave us] enough courage and so on to start a company. My feeling is that the Peace Corp background and the Antioch background were very important in that kind of decision.

Thank you so much for being one of our Pro Tem Board members.

I’m very honored to be such. Unfortunately right now things have to be done behind closed doors, and we’re not able to provide all the details. We’re very excited, and there are people involved, specifically Lee Morgan and Matthew Derr, that have been just fantastic, and they’ve been certainly a driving force for the steps forward.

Judy ('63) and Atis Folkmanis ('62) — Judy, '63, and Atis Folkmanis ,'62

Folkmanis Inc. Wildlife Puppets are for sale at the Glen Helen Nature Center.

Campus North Community Space Opens at Millworks

Panorama of Campus North Facility in Yellow Springs, Ohio — Nonstop's Campus North Facility in Yellow Springs, Ohio

By Carole Braun

Nonstop has moved to a space as innovative and arty as the Institute’s aspirations. Its new location in Millworks, 305 North Walnut Street, hosts its official open house on Friday evening, Feb. 6. The new Nonstop space is a work of art and a showcase for renovation with recycled and energy-efficient resources. In contrast to Nonstop’s previous location in a small house on Davis Street, the space provides extra room for staff and more options for students.

The transformation of the site from a plastics factory into the new home of the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute will be completed by February 6, except for the construction of some rolling walls, according to Michael Casselli (1987). Casselli, whose own space is around the corner at Millworks, designed the renovation and is project supervisor.

The inclusiveness of the project was important, said Casselli. Townspeople, faculty, students and alums have worked on the space daily since fall to prepare for the opening. And since Nonstop moved here in December the construction and administrative staff have worked side by side.

The Nonstop space includes a main space, an atrium, a CG balcony, a library, a kitchen and an office area. The main plan was to create a space that is “open– but not totally open—to share heat and light,” said Casselli. Even the heat from the server is siphoned off and recycled into the office area. A Nonstop science class this term will be developing measurement sensors and controls to help balance heating needs in the entire space.

Almost all of the space has been renovated with recycled materials. “Everything but the lighting fixtures,” Casselli said. “The old ones weren’t efficient.” Small skylights called sola tubes dot the ceilings. Domed solar collectors on the roof reflect light through a tube into diffusers above offices. On a sunny day sola tubes reduce the need to turn on lights in areas where there are few windows. Another innovation is layering translucent polycarbonate over existing windows to help heat interiors. The polycarbonate not only insulates, it generates heat from sunlight.

The library, with glowing yellow walls lined with shelves, will have two matching work stations. Casselli wants the space to be “visually balanced so it’s not distracting. It helps with work.” The library will also include matching planters made from recycled material and filled with greenery. A kiosk for email will sit in the corner of the space.

The main space also will feature a kitchen, rolling worktables for student art projects and presentations, a projection area for large groups, and a geodesic dome on wheels for meetings. Manufactured by Antioch alum Bruce Lebel as an emergency shelter, the dome will be used for Comcil, Excil and other meetings. The dome will hold 25 chairs which by necessity will be arranged in a circle.

Overlooking the main space is the balcony CG Office. Community Managers Meghan Pergrem and Chelsea Martens are decorating the space to make it familiar, cozy and welcoming for students. The furniture is arranged reminiscent of the furniture in the old campus CG office. Photographs of Birch and North hang where the windows looked out on similar campus views.

At the end of community meeting last week, members sponged their hands with paint and autographed their handprints on the CG balcony. The area is ringed with chalkboards for community art and graffiti. There is a rooftop smoker’s lounge, a dumbwaiter for delivering items upstairs and space for a future student media workstation. And students are hanging out already, said Nic Viox, first-year student.

“The CG space is awesome,” he said. “And it will be more cozy and homelike once we get more furniture in it.” In addition to being a student, Nic is a member of the construction crew. He’s currently working on completing the main space bench and the roof of the atrium.

Meet Your New Cil Representatives

ComCil

Nic Viox (Chair)

Shared governance is a historically important part of this institution, and I am privileged to be a part of it. In Nonstop’s ever changing future, I hope to provide as much continuity as I can by sitting on CoCcil again this term. I intend to do my best to provide service and support to the community as a whole: staff, faculty, and students.

Lincoln Alpern

I think ComCil is important as a venue for the community to address important (if often dull and day-to-day) issues about how we sustain and improve ourselves as an institute and as a community. On ComCil, I intend to serve this community to the best of my abilities, and to do my bit to fill the student quota. In the unlikely event of a real controversy, I will attempt to be a calming influence and voice for reconciliation and constructive dialogue.

Eva Erickson

I am running for ComCil because I want to make sure that our actions line up with our values, and that these Antiochian values that we hold so dearly as apart of our identity are preserved in the future Nonstop/Antioch, regardless of what happens. I also want to try to make this semester be as good as we can make it. I’m looking forward to being involved in this facet of community government, and learning how ComCil is apart of the bigger picture.

Rose Pelzl

I intend to represent my constituency, with your consultation and input. I intend to keep you informed with what’s going on in Comcil and to focus on the success and survival of our organization.

ExCil

Jonny No

I originally began attending and later sitting on both ComCil and ExCil because I had heard that in theory it was an essential component of the learning experience both at Antioch and now at Nonstop. I’m pleased to be able to confirm that this is indeed true. Sitting on councils allows one to participate in the formation, development and nurture of community structures and expectations. As luck would have it, it turns out that when you nurture community, you empower yourself and all those around you, and this is a crucial part of our struggle. I feel lucky to have been able to sit in on (and then sit on) these councils beginning shortly after the exigency announcement, and feel as if this provides a basis for seeking re-election. Not merely to pay lip service to the history of community, but to make sure we are still baking it fresh daily, as the saying goes. Recipes have to get passed down, you know? You can’t get this stuff from books or lectures or conferences, you can only learn as you go.

Jessie Clark

My choice to join Excil this term was made in awareness of the ambiguous yet critical nature of our present time, for Nonstop as well as the future of Antioch. I look forward to enjoining my intellect, enthusiam, and skills with the continuing efforts of the group. Excil is an essential place of our efforts. My wish is to apply my wisdom and good ideas to its worthy cause.

John Hempfling

I really want to be on ExCil. I intend to represent the students. Also I’d like to participate in the process of developing the relationships between ExCil, the Executive Collective, the CRF and Gommunity Government (to name but a few) since no one can explain to me what their relationships to one another actually are.

Letter to the Editor by Rose Pelzl

Rose Pelzl

I am a first-year Nonstop student. I grew up in Yellow Springs, and
just recently learned that I am the 5th in a long line of Yellow
Springs women to attend Antioch College.

Over this term it’s been really apparent to me how important it is for
the health of the Village, the academic community and the rest of the
world that Antioch stays open. The coming months present a wonderful
set of opportunities for both personal reinvigoration and community
reinvention for the Village and the College.

We have reached a turning point, we have many things to think
about and do here in Yellow Springs. Nonstop has started doing these
things, even though we’re not on campus, a lot has been accomplished.

I look forward to doing work outside of the traditional classroom, and
working with faculty as part of the creation of a new Antioch. I know
I’m not the only one who feels this way.

In the near future I plan to collaborate with other students on
projects to provide creative student housing solutions in Yellow
Springs, while working to enhance both Village and College
communities.

Based on my understanding and experience of this group of people,
there is no way Nonstop and Nonstop students will not be a part of
building this new Antioch. I hope we will insist on being included in
the rebuilding of Antioch College. We’re here.

How do we make it clear that our commitment is unwavering and that
those in power have to include all of us if they wish to succeed:
alums, staff, faculty and students?

Rose Pelzl, Class of ’14 (with a 2 percent margin of error)