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Editorial
Campus needs combined effort
It seems hopeful that Antioch University leaders recently opened the Antioch
College campus to college alumni board leaders and their consultants so
that the alumni leaders could assess the resources needed to reopen the
college. This move seems in the spirit of the current collaborative effort
of alumni leaders and trustees who are trying to find a way to create
an independent Antioch.
The current campus shutdown offers a significant opportunity for collaboration
between college supporters and university leaders in Yellow Springs. A
new group, the October 1st Committee to Save the College, has invited
local university leaders to meet to discuss the possible deterioration
of buildings when cold weather comes, given that the buildings will no
longer be heated. It seems that university leaders would benefit from
sharing information with these folks, who have done considerable research
on building preservation.
Historic preservation experts say a minimal level of heat will prevent
significant deterioration during winter months; university leaders say
that the price tag for that heat, about a half million dollars, is too
high. It’s true no one knows for sure what will happen when Antioch
College buildings, many already old and in disrepair, go through a winter,
or part of a winter, with no heat. Only one thing is clear: whatever happens,
it won’t be anything good.
Alumni leaders and trustees are working together on the complex and challenging
task of creating an independent college. Surely there must be a way for
local university leaders to work with college advocates to preserve the
historic buildings on campus. It would be a tragedy to both save Antioch
College and lose it at the same time
—Diane Chiddister
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