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July 5, 2007
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July 5, 2007 |
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Editorial Alumni plan deserves our support If examples from last weekend’s Antioch College alumni reunion can be believed, those who graduate from Antioch College tend to be self-confident, passionate, opinionated, respectful, focused, competent, caring, analytical and brave. Oh, and they might be a little bit crazy. Crazy? Well, that’s the part where the alumni set out to raise $40 million to save their college. Since they’re obviously bright, these folks must understand that they have just committed a huge chunk of their energies, time and resources for the forseeable future in their quest to raise tens of millions of dollars. Why are they willing to do so? First off, the alumni just don’t buy the trustees’ reasoning that shutting Antioch College down will attract more students. They have every reason to be skeptical. Colleges that close generally don’t reopen. One that some Antioch University administrators have offered as an inspiring example — Goddard College in Vermont — never reopened as a residential college, but rather a center for long-distance learning. This outcome is what some alumni fear could happen to Antioch. The alumni also don’t trust that, even if the college reopened, Antioch’s current board of trustees would do right by it. While the trustees clearly care about Antioch — and some seemed heartbroken to close its doors —it’s also clear that they did not fully explore every option. Perhaps they just had too much to do. As Antioch College President Steve Lawry pointed out, the current university governance structure, which oversees six campuses, just doesn’t work for the college. The alumni also suspect that the plan to close and then reopen the college would harm the heart and soul of Antioch. Here’s a clue: the plan first calls for getting rid of staff, then faculty, then the students. If removing the people who love the place isn’t taking away Antioch’s heart, what is? These alums fiercely believe in that heart. They believe that Antioch College had everything to do with the competent and caring adults they grew up to be. They believe that as young adults they experienced a powerful way of learning, the college’s rich stew of critical and creative thought, real world work, shared governance, and progressive values. The alums believe that, in today’s conservative political climate, young people still need Antioch College, perhaps more than ever. The Antioch alumni plan to save the college is foolish, outlandish and almost impossible. It is also heroic, inspiring and absolutely needs to be done. Many villagers have joined in support, and a town meeting will take place this Tuesday, July 10, at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. We may or may not be able to save the world — let’s not get ahead of ourselves — but perhaps, just perhaps, we could save our college.
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