See you in Exile

On a night in January, I was looking at myself in the mirror of my bathroom at 4 a.m. I couldn’t sleep. Everything was theoretically okay though: I was safely escaping the winding down of Antioch, I was being reasonable and attentive to my feelings and health. I had taken a sound decision considering the circumstances, the little hope, the dimming down, the bruises, and I was supported in it by virtually everyone I knew. Until then, this rational discourse had satisfied and comforted me.

But at 4 a.m. in that cold empty bathroom, it was suddenly different. Maybe because of the insomnia that had turned my nights into atrociously agitated marathons for the past three weeks. Or maybe it came from the thought that classes would be starting soon at Antioch, and that I wouldn’t be there. Continue reading See you in Exile

Letter from Jude ’97

Antioch is a place that I will never forget and that I will always remember. As a spiritual person I now know that it is God (whatever name you choose to give him/her) who blessed me with the know-with-all to choose Antioch College and to complete my undergraduate education. It was an American education unique to liberal arts education in America. To this day I cannot thank my human ancestors who preceded me in the Civil Rights Movement and the Abolition Movement before it at Antioch College in little old Yellow Springs Ohio. I neither am prepared to let go or to say good-bye. It is a sincere prayer of mine that Antioch College remains open and that the Board of Trustees and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation agree to such an autonomous agreement.
I did not know as a teenager entering Antioch College that I’d settle down in Yellow Springs Ohio nor that I’d enjoy working with students, faculty, staff, and administration of Antioch College as an adult well into my thirties. Yet it is true. Here I stand having been impacted by and hopefully at my best impacted Antioch College in miraculous ways only God could conjure up. Now it is important to me that all you agnostics and people that do not believe in God out there not right me off as a televangelist or evangelical Christian with the Christian Right or something. Continue reading Letter from Jude ’97

Community Confused by Announcement

By Jeanne Kay
On Friday, February 22nd, Interim President Andrzej Bloch announced to the Antioch Community “the reconfirmation of the decision to suspend operations of the college on June 30th for at least one academic year.” Students, faculty, staff, alumni and Yellow Springs residents gathered, like they had many times since last June, for an emergency community meeting in McGregor 113. The Interim President had just flown back from Los Angeles, where the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting was still being held, to present the college community with the resolution of the trustees’ discussions concerning the immediate future of Antioch College.
The discussions took place on Thursday the 21st, Bloch specified in a later interview; they started early in the morning and lasted until the mid-afternoon. The negotiating team, composed of Chancellor Toni Murdock, Chair Art Zucker, Chief Financial Officer Tom Faecke, and two attorneys, presented the trustees with a report based on their negotiations with the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC.) The trustees, Bloch said, “concluded that there weren’t sufficient material, sufficient grounds, to take action.” Therefore he decided, with the approval of the board, to come back to campus to inform the community. Continue reading Community Confused by Announcement

Privilege, Power, and Sharpies

Privilege, Power, and Sharpies
To my fellow first years:

This is a letter to inform you that the anti-Toni/Andrzej propaganda that has been scrawled across the walls of North is not okay. It is not okay to vandalize the private space we share. Does anyone remember last term? Does anyone remember how upset several first years got because they felt that their personal space had been invaded? Then why is this hostile behavior toward our building happening again? I can guarantee that most first years don’t want to be fined several hundred dollars because some of us can’t keep the lids on our sharpies when we get frustrated.
I understand being upset. Antioch has been a haven to most of us. It is our home, and we want it to remain our home, and some big, bad authority is telling us to vacate. This is worth the yelling. It is worth real action. Let’s not cheapen our passion with scribbles of crudely formed sentences in our living rooms. How often does Toni take a stroll through North? When do you think she’ll see these opinions? The fact is that the only people who will ever see these displays of outrage are tenants and the people who have to clean it up. Continue reading Privilege, Power, and Sharpies

Health and Fitness: The Curl Gymnasium

By Miyuki Sese
Antioch College has a gym called “Curl Gymnasium”, which is located behind the McGregor building. 14 students as a part time job, and Judy Kintner who is a director and has been working at Antioch for 9 years, run the gym. Usually their tasks are customer service like renting something for playing sports and a lot of cleaning, including sweeping the basketball courts and vacuuming the pool. They are working for 5 hours a day with a shift system. According to gym staff member Michelle Wall, they are enjoying their work at gym; however they also have some troubles. As for the first problem, they are busy and have a lot of work to do because not only Antioch students but also people from town come to the gym. According to the staff, business depends on the day and especially the beginning of the semester seems hard to work. They want to share their tasks with their members efficiently in order to decrease their hardship. They also need the housekeeper to clean up the gym for sake of their focusing on more important works. “We balance chlorine and Ph levels in the pool 4 times everyday. It is difficult for us to control these levels”, said one of the gym staff, Derrick Lane. Continue reading Health and Fitness: The Curl Gymnasium