travel - THE RECORD

Bring on the HEAT!

By Madeline Helser

Imagine that you’re walking back to your dorm from class in 30-degree weather. What is the one thing you are looking forward to? Being warm, perhaps? Did you ever stop to think about just where that heat is coming from and how much energy is being put into providing it? The Greening Committee asked that question, and instead of a straightforward answer, they received a tour of the basement of Main Building’s energy facility, more commonly called the boiler room.

As we arrived in the basement of Main Building, Stephen Sprague, the guy responsible for the heating, air conditioning, and plumbing, etc., showed us the ins and outs of the boiler room.

First, he showed us the new additions made in the energy facility. There are two new air separators, two expansion tanks, and bundles. The cost of all of the new equipment in Main Building was around $30,000.

The air separators are two yellow tanks that separate the air from the water in the expansion tanks. Previously, air would enter into the water tanks and stop the water from moving. This was obviously problematic. Because of this, they needed to attach a garden hose to the expansion tanks (which were located in the attic, as air travels to the highest point) in order to expel of the excess air. This made the two new air separators a replacement for the garden hose as well as a new-fangled contraption for our heating facilities.

The two new expansion tanks are now located in the boiler room. The old ones used to be in the attic, but because of the new air separators, they are now located in the basement. The expansion tanks are to contain water as it heats and expands in volume, which is then used to heat the building.

The bundles are basically a fancy radiator. Regulated by a thermostat, they convert steam into hot water. There are two burners that heat the water that is converted into steam. The steam needs to be converted into hot water because it is easier to control the temperature of water than steam. The boiler water is kept at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is all of this important you ask? Well, because the building is heated by steam!

The water that is converted into steam is heated by natural gas. Antioch buys around half a million dollars worth of non-renewable petrol products each year. This gas comes from the Gulf of Mexico. It is shipped first from New Orleans, LA, to Dayton, OH, then on to us. Fun Fact: The shipment of the gas from Dayton to here is actually more expensive to ship than when it is shipped from New Orleans to Dayton. This is because the shipment of the gas from Dayton to here is regulated by the government, and the price of the shipment of the gas from New Orleans to Dayton is determined by free market trading!

Antioch usually buys a “winter strip�? of gas for the period of October through March. The gas used to cost less that $2.50 per decatherm, or one million cubic feet of gas. Now, the gas costs $6.12 per decatherm. At one point last winter, the cost crept up to $16!

Where is all of this gas kept you ask? Well, I can tell you! According to Peter Townsend, natural gas is injected and stored in old oil fields all over the country. Right now, there is more natural gas being stored in our country than there has ever been before.

The main question being asked by the Greening Committee is, “Can we regulate thermostats in the dormitories in order to avoid losing heat to open windows if it becomes too hot?�? Well, we can’t do anything in Mills and Spalt, because the heaters are located directly underneath of the windows. We can’t control the ones in Birch because they are mounted wall units. In North, although the heat is not controllable by the students, the thermostats respond to the exterior temperature of the building. So, for instance, if a window is open in North, although heat is escaping, the temperature of the inside of the building does not increase just because it becomes colder as a result of the window being open. In South Building, separate thermostats were installed around 10-12 years ago making the temperatures controllable.

The Greening committee and all who attended the tour were educated on how the heating system works, and how little control we have over it. So if you don’t want heat, but you don’t want to waste energy, the obvious solution is to wear bundle up and to go about your merry ways!

Editor’s Note: The Record office is very, very cold. If anyone has an extra space heater lying around, we could use it desperately.

Community Art Showcased in Pennell House

By CCNWSS

Photos by Kari Thompson

Last Friday night’s art party showcased the talent of a veritable smorgasbord of community artisans. Works ranged from photos, to paintings, to advantageous performance pieces, as Antiochians dropped their pitchforks and Molotov cocktails in favor of wine glasses, and tasty hors devourers. Pennel house was transformed into an art gallery for the evening, and rag tag Antioch students were transformed into hoity toity (fancy pantsy) art critics, and connoisseurs. Some noteworthy pieces included some beautifully restored photographs by Ms. Lauren Hind, Hope Swigart’s jarring and captivating senior project, and some real pretty collective work from the AEG. Props to Erin Winter for her hard work in rounding up and creating a venue for the expression of some really great talent.

Pennel house literally buzzed with hushed chatter, and subtle flirtations. From the porch, where chilly smokers congregated to discuss art, and semantics (is Frumpy really a word?) to the first floor and its effective use of balloon technology- Pennel house provided a more intimate, and sophisticated atmosphere then the more raunchy seedy back alley grinding factory that is the Antioch dance space. Maybe it was this elevated level of mature socialization that enabled Emma Emmerich to keep her ass off me for five minutes. Mahina Embers who was responsible for a sweet series of polaroids was also responsible for a sweet series of broken hearts, leaving us all pondering- where’d you learn to walk in those heels? I also can’t help but wonder Sarah Buckingham, did you get the guy… you know the guy who ran off with your sleeves? Mariel Traiman said of the evening “It was fun, but then I left… to make out.�? Chris McKinless’ nipples were back in action, as he stunned crowds with his JC Penny apparel 3 buttons undone, check my locket flare. Brokeback Perry’s cowboy hat rivaled the artwork for most compliments received throughout the course of the evening, and not to be forgotten was Marissa Fisher resplendent in a lovely green frock, as she performed an avant garde piece in which she provided useful service which ranged from dream interpretation, to nick name christening. Marissa, we wish to thank you for your creativity, and continued spirit- we hope Antioch always has a space available for your shenanigans.

Contributing artist Jeremie Jordan has spent years looking for credit in the straight world, and his travels have landed him here. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with this up and coming super star to talk “art�?.

CCNWS: Jeremie, what is art?

JJ: In my personal opinion, the dominant academic view of art is that it is a form of communication. Though sometimes there might be a message in painting, etc. In my opinion, and for me, it’s more about the process than the result. If people like it, they like it, but that’s not why people should make art.

CCNWS: Tell us about your piece

JJ: It’s a glock 45… is that a real gun? But seriously, I did an oil painting of Emma Goldman at 17, because she’s one of my heroes. And I did a painting on a piece of a desk which belonged to my sister, and framed it in an antique cigarette dispenser.

CCNWS: As a real world artist, what do you think of the Antioch art scene?

JJ: It is my experience that there have been two distinct art worlds, the introverted student art scenes where galleries will only host works from local college students, and the art scene of the DIY punk rock variety where people throw shows for each other, and hope to gain attention elsewhere.

CCNWS: Do you feel like being a college student will add to or detract from your art?

JJ: I would say that there are more distractions in school, where before I had all the time I needed to devote to anything I wanted to accomplish. But either way my art is typically inspired by my environment, and the events in my life, so I imagine that they can mutually inspire each other.

CCNWS: In closing, who would you say is the best dressed Antiochian.

JJ: Erin Cisewski, and Alice Philbrick. Emma Woodruff wowed audiences with her vocal range, and guitar strummings. The band Drive By Schiavo wrecked the house with their rip roaring good time rock and roll rhythmic romps. People were seen crowding into the doorways, elated at the prospect of being within spitting distance of these hot on the scene pseudo rock stars, who added to their elusive allure by playing in the near pitch black darkness. Transfer student Erin Cisewski remarked “I’m so bored I could die�? Moments before plummeting out the window as she leaned into the night to light a clove cigarette.

In summation, it’s sometimes nice to give your hips and ear drums a rest from the bumping bass lines, and booty-rap lyricism of yester year to settle down with some nice noise rock, wine, cheese, and good art. Sleep with the angels dear community, this is the Co-operative council for a non-wack social scene.

No Sex In The City

by Marjorie Jensen

A personal tragedy has overshadowed my ongoing deconstruction of privilege. There are wars overseas I could be discussing. “Community Government�? is an AdCil agenda item. But I have to speak about the dead. I hope my prose-form elegy will move you, dear reader, to feel some empathy (or sympathy, as the case may be).

I mourn the loss of a loved one. It is an unfamiliar death. Last Saturday, at the penultimate moment of passion, my vibrator died. I have had to revive my most constant and loyal lover with the occasional battery or two, but death was never this permanent before. No matter how much I shook with tears in my eyes, I could not bring life back.

Now, you have to understand how long we have been together. I spotted this pink, sparkly piece of ecstasy over six years ago. Others have tempted me, but I usually couldn’t afford them anyway. Mine was uncomplicated, somewhat realistic, the perfect size. Reliable, you know. It never changed between us. Things were never awkward.

I never expected my most steadfast lover to abandon me in the city, to leave me alone so suddenly in a cold (and windy) metropolis. I have fretful dreams. Nights seem longer. I am uncomforted, frustrated. The loss of something without life leaves me mystified. How do I cope with this unexpected loss? Does everyone grieve differently?

I suppose I should think of it as an opportunity to buy something I’ve really wanted, something special and new. But the obsession with the familiar is unshakable. I crave the one I know and have loved. How do I find another exactly like the one that has died? I live with wanting and waiting. I hesitate to replace, to dismiss.

I have to escape somehow, forget my loss, and begin to love again. I live under the cruel, Petrarchan hand of the subject of my research- Elizabeth Regina. She speaks of a perfect courtier that pursues her with no intent to capture. I see her everywhere. She permeates my textsher gendered rhetoric correlating Twelfth Night to The Maid’s Tragedy. In all their women I see her words reflected. “To think of making love by sentiments!�? Sterne speaks to me from the reading for class tomorrow, mocking not only the conventions of travel literature. I’ve been trying to seduce with words Gloriana of Spenser’s imagination; the ultimately unattainable woman outside my text. She is a signature under my hand, a poem written in Latin. I have only remnants.

While this Renaissance Queen has captured my days, my nights still beg to be filled. I work late hours on the weekend, playing hacky-sack, in Jimmy John’s apron and all, to fill the quiet before the storm hits at about 2am. My co-workers make me forget in my laughter. We make enough in our tip jar to go out for breakfast. We close the store as the morning crew unlocks the door behind us.

I mindlessly enter data in my comfortable cube in the Development office at the Newberry after events. Before bed, I try yoga, familiar movies, drinks with kids from JJ’s. Nothing eases me into sleep. I lie awake and remember years together, unfailing, perfect, effortless. I know I have to find another to make this cycle of half-living end.

Coming to the end of this conceit, I find I have no more euphemisms to shroud my loss. I’ll invoke New-Age magic to heal me. Hitachi’s wand awaits me online. I’m sure my quest will have a happy ending.

Nookie with Niko

Hello. . Before I my start my over-sexed advice column I’d like to take a moment to thank Danny Solis. He took the time to post a beautifully written letter on Pulse, even after moving away and graduating. Danny was a leader in this community; it’s good to see him still involved. We need more people to set it up. I’d also like to thank those having a dialogue about it. So many people are afraid to voice their opinions now, but it’s what we’ve got to fight with. Staff, the students, faculty, and we are Antioch. It is our responsibility to preserve our college. Not to mention we are in a crucial point in our history and we have the chance to shape that. Step up, fight back, and hold on to the Antioch that the generations know and love.

Okay, okay onto the sex…

This week I bring you scary sex urban legends and rumors, and the truth behind them in celebration of Friday the 13th. As someone born on the 13th and had many wonderful birthdays on this so called unlucky day I hope to use this as a time to dispel the myth of danger that will ensue on the 13th. I understand the creepiness, but it seems to me our society perpetuates fear of Friday the 13th. Paraskevidekatriaphobics is the name for those irrationally afraid on Friday the 13th. Yeah they even have their own name. Did you know that some building even leave out a 13th floor? 13 is considered a creepy number all over. Before I get carried away though, here cum the top 8 sex urban legends!

#8
Male-bodied people getting pregnant? Ever seen the movie Junior? It’s a comedy about Arnold, California’s governor,, who gets knocked up. I’m sorry but I just don’t think he could actually handle it. This well-known hoax traveled through cyber space and fooled thousands. Thought they aren’t considerate enough to say male bodied over men. Check out www.malepregnancy.com to get the full scoop. The site is pretty convincing, but still a fake. Needless to say male bodies can’t get pregnant, yet. Maybe one day, but for now only female-bodied people can carry children.

#7
May I have your attention please! Ogling breast does NOT increase men’s life spans. An email referencing a fake article in the New England Journal of Medicine started going around in 2000. The article spoke of study that confirmed that men who ogle breast have increased life spans. Come on, couldn’t they think of a better way to make this behavior seem okay? Needless to say it wasn’t too hard to figure out it was a fake. The email can be found at: urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/ aa072600a.htm?once=true&

#6
I heard lots of bad ideas about different types of contraceptives, like reusing condoms. Though this one is about Mountain Dew. Yeah that super sugary Pepsi product. Apparently sugar and caffeine can keep you from getting pregnant. If that were true you would think my two cups of coffee in the morning would do the trick. The idea is that Mountain Dew decreases men’s sperm count thus making pregnancy impossible. It’s only take one sperm to get someone pregnant. This one’s been around since the 90’s. I know I heard it growing up. Millions of youth and young adults actually bought this. Here’s another blaring reason to have comprehensive sex education in high schools. But that’s a whole other rant.

#5
Another internet rumor was about getting head. A rumor popped up claiming that women who suck cock on a regular basis have lower rates of breast cancer. So basic idea is women get out there, suck a lot of cock, now! Obviously men wrote this and the breast article. Another fucked up way to justify objectifying and using women. I heard this rumor in school and different variations, such as semen is very healthy for you. When it comes to giving and getting great head the only benefits is reduced stress, pleasure, and hopefully an orgasm. Personally I think those are more than enough.

#4
Did you happen to see the fake Puma ads that came out a while ago? Check them out. This sprung up and caused quite a ruckus. Nice shoe’s, but what’s that on your leg?

#3
People love their butts. People love sticking things in their butts. Despite there being a big anal taboo, many people love to stick things in their assholes. If there is one thing I hope people will learn, it is that if you are going to put anything in your butt it MUST have a flared base. The anus will literally suck in a toy, and you’ll have no way of getting it out without going to the doctor. Despite many rumors doctors have found over 140 different objects inside people’s asses. Such as light bulbs, plantains, curling irons, baseballs, shampoo bottles, a cattle horn, a frozen pig’s tail, and a tobacco pouch. For the sick and twisted perverts, like me, who want to see the whole list go to: www.well.com/user/cynsa/newbutt.html

#2
Would you believe it if someone told you that there are actual people fighting against breast-feeding? Stating it’s an “incestual and immoral perversion.�? At least a good portion of America bought this prank. Could you imagine? Seems to me we have better things to rally against, especially at Antioch.

#1
Masturbation will make you go blind or grow hair on your palms. Who hasn’t heard these rumors? For the record this is absolutely not true. Masturbation is great and healthy; everyone should do it all the time. Literally. Maybe Antioch would be a better place if people just got off more often!

See you next week!

Allan G. Johnson Speaks to Community

By James Fishbeck

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Antioch College was privileged to have Allan G. Johnson visit to give a series of discussions covering a wide variety of topics including white privilege, gender issues, and coalition building. He has written many books including The Gender Knot, and Privilege, Power, and Difference. What becomes evident in his speaking is that he comes from a background of intense contemplation and inquiry into the structures of power and the people that perpetuate them. His discussions provided a constructive background of where we are as a society and what we can do to change these systems through constructive dialogue.

On Tuesday, he spoke during the time that would usually be reserved for community meeting. In this lecture, he talked about systems of power and how they are responsible for perpetuating white privilege. According to Allan, “The problem is the way in which systems of privilege get organized around the differences that would otherwise have little if any significance in our lives.�? He started his lecture talking about how human beings are not inherently scared of difference that it is curiosity that brought about interactions between different groups of people in the first place. He stated, “In the early decades of white Europeans settling in the North American continent, there were all kinds of communities in which Native Americans and Europeans intermarried and it wasn’t an issue.�? He also mentioned that in the relations between Africans and Europeans, difference was not a large factor until the start of the African slave trade. Then, a perceived racial divide was built into the system so that the triangle trade could perpetuate economic power. He explained that “the economic payoff from the long history of racism in the U.S., of slavery, conquest, and genocide is not simply in the past, it is embodied in the wealth held by the white population.�? This legacy that was passed to us as an inheritance the moment we were born no matter what our racial background, gender, or anything else is. “We are not the legacy and it is not us.�?

To quote Allan, “We have been socialized to see difference as a problem, it is a very powerful way of distracting our attention from the systems of power.�? He also made the distinction that “systems are not people and people are not systems.�? When you make the distinction between systems of privilege on the one hand and us as human beings on the other hand, an important thing that comes out of that is that people that have access to privilege aren’t truly aware of it. A problem noted by Allan is that “we are stuck in [paralysis] because we don’t know how to talk about these issues with relation to your life.�? Dialogue is essential to creating change, even when it doesn’t fall under the path of least resistance. Because it is hard and painful, it is our collective responsibility to be part of the solution. “When one person can dismiss other points of view by saying it doesn’t matter or that they are making a big deal out of it, that is an expression of privilege.�?

In later sessions, he continued talking about gender issues and the fact that “We are living in a patriarchal society and it provides a template for all forms of oppression.�? This is a difficult concept to come to terms with and once again, Allan made the point that we have to confront these issues. Not because of guilt, but because our involvement in these systems of power directly affects how this legacy is passed down to our children and grandchildren.

Below are some of the important questions that he addressed directly that I really like. Enjoy.

What is the issue with racial misappropriation? “I don’t think borrowing from other cultures is in itself a problem, what makes it a problem is the relationship between those who take and those it is taken from…When one society conquers another society, they see themselves as superior, and they see themselves as having the right to take what they want from other cultures…When white people appropriate from people of color, they are acting out a history of domination and subordination based on conquest and genocide.�?

What is your impression of Antioch College? “This is very unusual in my experience, this is the first campus I’ve ever been to where students have been confrontational around these issues. Getting students to think about the issues is the problem in most places. This is the first place that I have ever been where that has actually been an issue that is openly discussed.�?

Is there any hope for society with the amount of chaos that you see? “Creativity comes out of chaos, when things get blown up, very awful and very wonderful things can come out of that, sometimes the worst thing that happens to you in your life is the best thing that has ever happened to you because it shakes you out of all kinds of preconceptions and patterns and everything and there is an opportunity there. And it can go in lots of directions, you can go down, and you have the potential to put your life back together in a way that is extraordinary and I think that works for organizations like colleges as well, so to me the struggle, the chaos, the confusion, the pain that is evident to me here is difficult and a tremendous opportunity. The question then becomes: How do we respond to that chaos?�?

“I travel around the country not because I have the answers to these issues, but I think we’re in a whole lot of trouble and we need all the help we can get and my work is about providing some portion of that help�?