The Antiochian Spring 2021 Supplement

Antiochian THE

021 Spring 2 nt e Supplem

A Publication of Antioch College

Accreditation Reaffirmed In March 2021, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) reaffirmed the College’s accreditation after routine review at the midpoint in Antioch’s accreditation cycle. The process was facilitated through the hard work of a cross-campus team of staff, faculty, and students. Despite rescheduling due to the pandemic, the process was successful, with many of the site team members from the HLC and ODHE engaging in the campus visit through a series of videoconference meetings and forums. The next reaffirmation for the College’s accreditation will occur in the 2025-2026 academic year.

“Participation from our students, faculty, staff, and trustees displayed the College community’s passion, commitment, and shared purpose,” explained Antioch College Board of Trustees Chair Maureen Lynch. “Reaffirmation of Antioch College’s accreditation is a strong statement on the exceptional experiential liberal arts education Antioch students receive and Antioch’s continued growth since reopening.”

Accreditation was one of many big hurdles for the newly independent Antioch College when it reopened in 2011. Through significant efforts, College leadership designed and implemented the critical systems and protocols required to gain accreditation from the HLC and authorization from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) on a fast-track basis. In July 2016, Antioch College was successful in those efforts, two years ahead of the normal timeline and despite long odds and many obstacles.

While on-campus preparations for the five-year accreditation review began in 2019 for an HLC site visit scheduled in April 2020, stayat-home orders from Ohio’s governor and the pandemic deferred the visit to October 2020.

A cross-campus team led by Vice President of Operations and Business Hannah Montgomery compiled the Assurance Argument, a report based on five criteria presented to the HLC that formed the basis of the reaffirmation decision.

She said, “The accreditation process focuses on continuous improvement. Since the last visit in 2015, the College has been systematically incorporating feedback gathered throughout the accreditation process. In 2019, we had small work group sessions for each of the five criteria to formally document such progress, focusing on how

Students celebrating the announcement of Antioch College’s fast-tracked accreditation in 2016. we responded to feedback from the last accreditation review.” That work was the foundation of the Assurance Argument. Montgomery explained, “From there, each section and areas that needed updates were assigned to relevant faculty, staff, and students to lead. There was a lot of revising, gathering evidence, and crafting the argument.”

In Antiochian fashion, the effort was inclusive of the College’s whole community. “As an Antioch student, I am extremely proud of the Accreditation Team’s ability to foster inclusion around the college’s accreditation reaffirmation,” explained Noah Greer ’22, who helped compile the Assurance Argument. “Students were directly in-

volved in on-site visits, governance, and curriculum, which are all core components of our accreditation. I think it’s rare to see students, staff, and faculty all involved in processes that can have such an impact on the institution, but at Antioch, we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The pandemic drastically changed the way the on-campus Accreditation Team did its work after the delay in April 2020. “We had to rely heavily on shared documents, phone calls, and video sessions to do that work due to COVID,” explained Montgomery. Despite these challenges, the Assurance Argument was compiled and submitted on time.

Students, faculty, staff, and trustees attended the mostly virtual fo-

rums and meetings with the HLC accreditation team in early October and left a favorable impression with the team. The team expressed appreciation for the strong role Co-op plays in Antioch’s educational model, the emphasis on practice and rigor, the breadth of the self-design major, and the evolving role of leadership and self governance at the College. In addition, the team highlighted the importance of the Coretta Scott King Center, the Indigenous people’s Land Acknowledgment, our sustainability efforts including the geothermal system and solar array, and Antioch’s overarching commitment to equity and social justice.

“I believe that the reaffirmation of our accreditation reflects the

Higher Learning Commission’s acknowledgment that, despite our small faculty, we continue to offer a strong and unique educational opportunity to our students,” explained Dr. Kevin McGruder, vice president for Academic Affairs and associate professor of History.

Along with the affirmation of accreditation, the HLC noted two interim reports for the College to submit before the next accreditation review.

These reports will include updates on the College’s leadership transition and establishing key performance indicators for the College’s strategic plans and goals, as well as data collection and assessment around the College’s educational program.

Accreditation affirmation comes at a time of transition for Antioch.

With a Presidential Search Committee assembled, the campus community has embarked on the process of defining the qualities of the next president of Antioch College. This fantastic news from the HLC helps put into perspective the progress this small but mighty institution is making.

The College’s focus on its educational mission and programs like Antioch College Works, which address access and equity in higher education, are its cornerstones and will continue to mark the experience of future Antioch students. Senior Vice Presidents for the College, Sharen Neuhardt, Shadia Alvarez ’96, and John Jacobs ’76, conclude, “The reaffirmation of the College’s accreditation supports the direction in which Antioch is moving and is evidence of the power of community and shared governance.”

KaDae Brockington ’22 Presents at GLCA Conference On March 25, 2021, KaDae Brock­ ington ’22 presented at the Great Lakes College Association’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Collective Undergraduate Research and Activism e-Conference. His presentation, “Determining Access: Social and Physical Barriers for Marginalized College Students,” was part of a Wellness & Health Equity panel discussion.

A Biomedical Anthropology major with a focus on American Jurisprudence, Physical and Biological Anthropology, Brockington’s research focuses in particular on those who are from marginalized communities, such as students who identify as queer.

“This research utilizes qualitative

One Morgan Place Yellow Springs, OH 45387

methods, such as focus groups and semi-structured interviews, and collected quantitative data conducted through validated open-source surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a focus on Health-Related Quality of Life Measures,” he explained.

Brockington presented his research on the social and physical

barriers for marginalized college students, and explained how an increase in research surrounding social and physical determinants of health has led to innovative processes in both medical and public health industries. His presentation consist-

ed of three key components: a comprehensive and holistic analysis of social and physical determinants of health affecting Queer Antioch College students, an examination of relationships between the expressed determinants and academic success of a student from a marginalized community (or communities), and how institutions can move from theories to practice by implementing available prevention measures.

The GLCA Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies e-Conference was held over three days with talks on topics including Wellness and Health Equity, Reproductive Justice, Navigating the Job Market and Bringing WGSS Into the Workplace, Literature: From Critique to Transformation (which was moderated

by Antioch College Associate Professor of Cooperative Education Luisa Bieri), and Gender Inequality in Global Contexts, among others.

Inside: 2 More news, Alumni Spotlight A Buffalo Grazing 8 Red Square 9 100 Years of Co-op 14 Postcards From Co-op

PAID

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

DAYTON, OH PERMIT NO. 709

16 InBox Letters Louise Smith ’77 Tributes Bob Devine ’67 Remembrances 19 Antiochiana Songs From the Stacks

Celebrating 100 Years of Co-op

Read submitted stories from throughout the decades as we continue to mark a century of cooperative education on page 9.

PHOTO CREDIT: DENNIE EAGELSON ’71

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Presidential Search Update

The Board of Trustees announced the formation of the Presidential Search Committee on February 7. The Executive Committee of the Board assembled the committee based on broad representation and community ties. Selected to chair the committee was Ro Nita Hawes-Saunders, chief executive officer of the internationally acclaimed Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Ms. Hawes-Saunders has deep ties to the Dayton community, not only through DCDC, but through successful broadcasting properties and service to the community, especially to women and minorities in business ownership. The Board chose Ms. Hawes-Saunders in part because of her work on the Board of Trustees of Denison University (her alma mater).

During her former tenure on Denison’s Board, she served on the executive search committees for two presidents of the University, as well as chaired the Student Development Committee and served on the Finance, Institutional Ad-

vancement, Enrollment, and Honorary Degrees committees. She is now a lifetime member of Denison’s Board of Trustees.

In mid-February, the Board of Trustees approved the Committee’s recommendation to engage Academic Search, working with Senior Consultant John W. Garland. Mr. Garland is an attorney and served as president of Central State University from September 1997 through September 2012 . Academic Search is a mission-driven organization with the capacity to meet the particular and unique needs of Antioch College.

“In my judgment, Academic Search is one of the best college search firms,” says Rick Detweiler, president emeritus of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) and member of the Search Committee. “The firm’s search process is very consensus-based and driven by the needs of the College and its community. “ Feedback has been gathered through an online form on the Presidential Search website as well as through community listening sessions in early March.

The Committee worked with Academic Search to create the search prospectus, which was published on April 19. The prospectus provides an overview of Antioch College, the leadership agenda, and the qualifications and qualities sought in the next president of Antioch College.

Please visit the website for updates and more information including the prospectus: antiochcollege.edu/ about/president-office

Chess Club playing “bughouse” style, a team-based variation, in the Olive Kettering Library on a Thursday night during Winter Quarter.

The Stars Shone Bright!

On January 23, Antioch ColJohn Lithgow lege held its first virtual gala, Antioch Under the Stars. The event brought together Antiochians and friends from near and far to honor and share stories of the faculty and staff Stars who shaped students’ lives.

The gathering also featured award-winning actor, musician, poet, author, and singer John Lithgow who regaled attendees with readings and Antiochian spirit overtook personal memories of his childthe Zoom format and a celebrahood in Yellow Springs when his fatory atmosphere—complete with ther, Arthur Lithgow ’38, taught a virtual Div Dance featuring theater at Antioch.

DJ Shane Creepingbea r ’08—stretched into the night. Thanks to the outstanding participation of sponsors and guests, more than $331,000 was raised in support of the Antioch C olle ge Works pro gram. Thank you!

Watch: antiochcollege.edu/antioch-underthe-stars John Lithgow concluded his address during Antioch Under the Stars by saying, “Thank you so much for inviting me back into the fold.”

signments—some of the toughest and most dangerous places in the world. Some have to serve in places where they can’t bring their families with them. And it is not at all uncommon for folks to miss key occasions back home because of service obligations that prevent them from traveling back to the United States, including weddings, graduations, funerals, and other events with loved ones. Remember that a majority of diplomats aren’t serving in Europe!”

Payne. These included Hassan’s course on global political economy and Sean’s course on public policy.

I also had the opportunity to do an independent self-study with Sean on advanced topics in international relations theory. It would be interesting to revisit those academic theories now that I have been working for a few years with State.

I also fondly remember the Critical Thinking course I took with Lara Mitias, which really made me think about how we frame different arguments and the assumptions underlying them.”

AlumniSpotlight Life as a Diplomat

By Sophie Malon

Gabriel Iglesia ’16, who majored in Political Economy at Antioch, has been working for the U.S. State Department for four and a half years (two of which were with the Foreign Service).

He has had the opportunity to work for five U.S. Ambassadors, work in three U.S. embassies, support one Secretary of State visit, volunteer as an accredited election observer in two countries, and represent the United States abroad 24/7.

During his Co-ops, Gabe was able to serve two State Department internships which in turn allowed him to remain with the State Department after graduation.

Read our Q&A on the highs and lows of serving as a diplomat, including Gabe’s advice for students who are thinking of pursuing a path to diplomacy.

Was a career in Diplomacy always the dream?

“I was interested in the international relations field as early as middle school. At the time, however, it wasn’t clear what career options were out there. In my first year at Antioch, a recruiter from the U.S. Department of State came to talk about careers in the Foreign Service, and he gave insight into the internship opportunities at State.

I would ultimately get to do two State Department internships for my third and fourth Co-op jobs, 2 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

which in turn led me to essentially remain with the State Department after graduation.”

With the goal of becoming a Diplomat in mind, was studying at Antioch an easy decision?

“I distinctly remember that critical decision-making period over eight years ago. It came down to choosing between Antioch and another liberal arts college that had an established IR program. For my parents, the Horace Mann Fellowship was a big deal, but I knew I very much wanted to study IR. However, what Antioch had to offer was much

more than just the degree. Going to Antioch was an opportunity to be a part of a reopening college—the aptly named “150-year-old startup.”

The opportunity to do a minimum of four Co-op jobs also provided much-needed practical experience.

Antioch for me was “the road less taken,” and as Robert Frost puts it, that has made all the difference. I 100% believe I would not be where I am now if it wasn’t for Antioch.”

What are some of the difficulties that come with the job?

“The Foreign Service requires us to serve in very difficult hardship as-

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work as a Diplomat?

“Like most industries and businesses, diplomats have had to adapt to the era of social distancing, teleworking, and virtual interactions.

This is a particular challenge in a field that critically depends on faceto-face interactions. For most of my colleagues who interact on a regular basis with interlocutors outside the embassy, the pandemic makes these interactions more difficult.

This forces us to come up with creative ways to continue maintaining our relationships while also protecting the health and safety of the local community.”

Was there a class at Antioch College, or perhaps a teacher, in retrospect, that helped shaped your career the most?

“I really enjoyed the political economy courses I took at Antioch with Hassan Rahmanian and Sean

What advice would you give for current students pursuing your path?

“When I attended Antioch, I majored in political economy. But looking back at these past few years being out in the “real world,” I would say the time that is most valuable during your undergraduate years is the time spent gaining practical experience, especially from Co-op jobs. The Foreign Service does not require an IR degree; artists, scientists, journalists, and people of all walks of life have all joined the ranks of the Foreign Service with the same desire to serve. Also, if you ever get an opportunity to do an international co-op, I strongly recommend you do. I am a firm believer that travel broadens the mind, and I believe Americans would be a lot more open-minded about the world if they traveled more.”

Black Yellow Springs The 365 Project is a Yellow Springs-based nonprofit organization that promotes African-American heritage, Black culture, and racial equity 356 days a year. It was formed in 2008 to serve as a catalyst that challenges and supports the people of Yellow Springs and Miami Township in fighting racism, and to share the history of Black Americans in the local area.

Dr. Kevin McGruder—Antioch College vice president for Academic Affairs and associate professor of History—is Treasurer of Project 365 and, with Steve McQueen ’08, co-coordinates the Blacks in Yellow Springs walking tour program and the Blacks in Yellow Springs Encyclopedia program.

McGruder explains that for the last six years, Antioch students have been actively involved with the project, many involved through the Miller Fellowship program. Administered by the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, the student Miller Fellowship has been awarded to over 200 Antioch College students since its inception in 2011, thereby allowing students to work in more than 185 positions for over two dozen Yellow Springs nonprofits.

Regarding student involvement at present, Dr. McGruder says, “Fourth-year student Kensy Zelaya Sabillon ’21 is currently work-

ing part-time as a Miller Fellow, assisting with website management, Blacks in Yellow Springs Encyclopedia editing, and other tasks. Second-year student Rayy Graham ’24 is working as a Miller Fellow student doing his Co-op during this Winter quarter. He is constructing an online Yellow Springs African American history exhibit using materials from our various projects.”

Dr. McGruder says that Professor Emerita Louise Smith ’77 has been an active member of the 365 Project as well. “A few years ago, Louise was on the subcommittee that developed information regarding re-visioning policing in Yellow Springs.”

One initiative of the project is a video series produced by local high school students that takes viewers on a virtual journey through the

Black history of Yellow Springs. The video shared this week on Facebook is a walking tour of Black land ownership history in the village, and begins on the Antioch College campus before exploring the surrounding area. Another video, shared in August, focuses on the Black History of Antioch College.

Learn more: the365projectys.org

Board Moves to Affirm Tenure The Antioch College Board of Trustees has voted to approve a faculty proposal, advanced last spring, to convert all existing faculty positions to tenure track appointments. With this move, all previously contingent members of our current small faculty are now eligible to earn tenure.

A principal goal of this move has been to stabilize the composition of a core faculty, which will be able to deliver a consistent curriculum and to engage in long-range planning in order to meet the needs of current and prospective students. Students will be more able to rely on developing enduring working relationships with their faculty mentors and advisors throughout the progressive phases of their self-designed major processes and academic careers.

The proposal was drafted by the College’s Faculty Assembly and advanced through the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) before being presented to the Board. The AAC is co-chaired by Trustees Susan Mayer ’79 and Shalini Deo ’02, and comprised of members of the faculty, Brooke Bryan, Michael Casselli ’87 (Faculty Trustee), Dr. Kevin McGruder (VP for Academic Affairs), and David Kammler (Dean of Academic Affairs).

“The Board of Trustees’ recent affirmation of the faculty’s tenure-track conversion proposal represents a necessary step in providing equity and career stability for all members of our small and dedicated faculty at a time of great uncertainty in higher education,” says Mayer,. “Committing in this way to our faculty members, all of whom have had to shoulder the extraordinary burdens of this time, also promises to stabilize students’ experience by providing greater continuity in the areas of academic mentorship and curricular planning. The leadership of the Academic Affairs Committee would also like to recognize the considerable work that was required of so many within the faculty and administration in order to achieve this successful outcome.”

Faculty members moving into newly approved tenure-track positions will be placed on promotion pathways commensurate with their time of appointment at the College, with the understanding that all candidates will be expected to satisfy all substantive tenure requirements as determined through peer review.

Antiochian THE

Supplement

A companion to the magazine for alumni and friends of Antioch College.

Contributions & Editing Fred Kraus James Lippincott Sophie Malon Sarah Marsh ’24 Christine Reedy Anna Robinson ’24 Scott Sanders Design & Production Jandos Rothstein ’86 Photos Dennie Eagleson ’71 Coco Gagnet ’18 S. Quinn Ritzhaupt ’23 Anna Robinson ’24 Published by the Office of Advancement. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Supported by contributions to the Antioch College Annual Fund.

Write to: communications @antiochcollege.edu Copyright 2021, Antioch College An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

Each term, we pause to celebrate Community Day, a dedicated time for students, faculty, and staff to come together to learn, volunteer, and celebrate. Karaoke at the Foundry capped off a busy and fulfilling Winter Quarter Community Day organized by CM Coco Gagnet ’18.

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Is This America?

In the aftermath of the events in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, a planning group led by Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin McGruder planned a three-session teach-in series, titled, “Is This America?” for the College community. The sessions were conceived to help contextualize the siege on the US Capitol, to model open and productive dialogue, and to begin a discussion of the range of actions that can be taken to protect democratic processes in the future.

The first session, “Understanding the Roots of the Resistance to Democratic Change,” featured presentations by members of the faculty—Psychologist Teo Espada Brignoni, Anthropologist Jennifer Grubbs, and Historian Kevin McGruder—through the perspectives of their disciplines as a framework for a community conversation.

Organization of the second session was led by Truth Garrett ’20 and Assistant Dean of Students JP Robinson. The session, “Intersecting Ideologies & the Capitol Siege,” featured guest speaker Dr. Michael Loadenthal, founder and executive director of the Prosecution Project.

Loadenthal discussed the range of ideological beliefs represented by those involved in the January 6th siege on the Capitol.

The final session, “The Age of Disinformation,” examined a range of questions and was led by members of the faculty. Ecologist Kim Landsbegen examined questions concerning how people receive information, evaluate evidence, understand truth, and know what to believe. Political Economist Dean Snyder reviewed questions about Donald Trump’s enduring popularity within the Republican party, as well as the role television and social media play in fostering consent for disinformation.

Visiting Artist

Amia Megumi Yokoyama—a multimedia artist who focuses on experimental animation, video, sculpture, and installation currently living and working in Los Angeles and New York City—taught MEDA265: Intro Animation during the 2021 winter quarter.

Students developed a solid understanding of the principles and history of animation and the art of motion and time. The course explored the basics of both stop-motion and digital hand-drawn animation, as well as various animation technologies and software (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate, and Stop Motion Studio).

‘Her Voice Rises’ During the month of Februar y, Antioch C olle ge hosted “Her Voice Rises,” a transnational arts exchange with Mujeres de Artes Tomar (MAT)—a feminist performance activist troupe in Argentina.

Organized by Associate Professor of Cooperative Education and Yellow Springs-native Luisa Bieri, the artist residency was a project three years in the making connecting over 100 people from different corners of the globe who were able to tune into an Artist Talk, a twoday Workshop, and the world premiere Performance of Instructions for HOLDing Up (instrucciones de SOSten) on Zoom. An accompanying exhibition was installed in Herndon Gallery by Sarah Mills ’22 and Michael Casselli ’87.

While the global pandemic made holding the primary events in person impossible, transitioning the residency to an online format using Zoom helped widen the

reach of Her Voice Rises. “It was a real convergence of people from all over the country and around the world,” says Bieri. For example, Hannah Craig ’17—who was the first Co-op student to work with Mujeres de Artes Tomar in 2016, and who also designed the promotional materials—participat-

ed in this performance series and Her Voice Rises programs from Los Angeles.

Bieri has a background in performance, women’s and gender studies, international education, and community engagement through the arts and joined Antioch’s Cooperative Education

Liz Flyntz ’02

Collaboration This spring, alum Liz Flyntz ’02 and Assistant Professor of Media Arts Catalina Jordan Alvarez.

Collaborated to present a virtual five-session workshop, “The Collaboration Agreement: Designing for Creative Conflict and Consent.” Offered through The School of Making

Thinking, workshop participants examined examples of successful and disastrous creative collaboration.

Flyntz is an artist, curator, writer, and digital experience designer. She works with archives and digital tools to develop exhibitions, performances, multimedia projects, software

and websites. Her work uses contemporary tools and systems thinking to explore time, governance, economics, communication, idealism, and futility. She’s written extensively about early media art for publications including Afterimage, Intercourse, and The Creators Project.

’20s and ’70s in Conversation

4 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

Watch: vimeo.com/showcase/8183555

Ecoliberation

Learn more about the artist: amiayokoyama.com

Tied to the ongoing Alumni Lecture series, two alumni sat down recently for interviews to discuss their backgrounds, experiences, and how Antioch College shaped their careers.

Mary Evans ’20 conducted a radio-style interview with Idris Ackamoor ’73 in advance of his March 6 lecture, “Don’t Drop Dead on Stage.” Ackamoor is the founder of the jazz and world music ensemble Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids, and founder of the San Francisco performance company Cultural Odyssey. Listen: youtu.be/jbslAq6Aun4 (audio only) And Dela ney Schlesinger-Devlin ’22 interviewed Dr. Nora Newcombe ’72 via Zoom prior to her April 10 lecture, “Spatial Thinking and STEM Education.” Dr. Newcombe is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple University. Her research in cognition and cognitive development has centered on spatial cognition and on episodic memory, along with translational work on STEM education. Watch: youtu.be/mPhQUpjEFAs

(Co-op) faculty in 2015. She has designed Co-op coursework engaging art as social practice, community action research, and place-based learning, and developed Co-ops opportunities in Latin America.

With certain courses conducted virtually during Winter Quarter due to COVID-19, instruction and classroom routines had to adapt in many ways.

Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science, Kim Landsbergen, made sure that her students were able to continue hands-on learning by collecting, pressing, and packaging fall leaves to analyze in ENVS205.

ENVS205 covers the basic principles of ecology using an evolutionary perspective. The

activities of organisms and their relationships to one another are the foundation upon which populations, communities, and ecosystems are built. Students examine factors that influence exchanges between organisms and their physical environment; how organisms transform energy and process materials as they metabolize, grow, and reproduce; the characteristics of populations and how they interact within communities; and the dynamics of ecosystems.

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and convener of the Prison Justice Initiative at Antioch College, Dr. Jennifer D. Grubbs, has authored a new book, Ecoliberation: Reimagining Resistance and the Green Scare.

The book will be released in June, 2021, by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Disenchanted by indirect forms of protest designed to work within existing systems of corporate and state power, animal and earth liberation activists have turned instead to direct action. In this detailed ethnographic account, Dr. Grubbs takes the reader inside the complicated, intricate world of these powerful and controversial interventions, nuancing the harrowing realities of political repression with the inspiring, clever ways that activists resist.

Dr. Grubbs draws on her personal experiences within the movement to offer a thoughtful and intersectional analysis. Tracing the strategies of liberationist activists as they grapple with doing activism under extreme repression, Ecoliberation challenges ubiquitous frameworks that position protestors as either good or bad by showing how activists playfully and confrontationally enact radical social change.

Commencement Speaker

Culture and Music

Basim Blunt

Dawn Knickerbocker

Media Production Baptism by Fire

Dawn Knickerbocker has been selected by the graduating class as the 2021 Commencement speaker. Commencement will be held virtually on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at 1:00 PM and streamed on the College’s website and YouTube channel.

Dawn Knickerbocker (she/her/ hers/kwe) belongs to the Anishinaabe people, is a citizen of White Earth Nation/ gaa waabaabiganikaag, and enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe from the Ottertail Pillager Band of Indians.

An activist, advocate, organizational strategist, land- and water-defender, and a leader in the

philanthropic sector, Knickerbocker believes that peace is not merely a distant goal but can be achieved within our lifetime through deeply connected and authentic relationships with the land and the people. Knickerbocker is the former elected Chair of the Advisory Commission on Diversity for the most diverse city in the State of Washington, Renton. She is a published nonfiction writer, poet, public speaker, columnist at the Yellow Springs News’ Little Thunders column, and in 2020 received the Coretta Scott King Center’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award.

During the 2021 winter quarter, Basim Blunt—WYSO’s senior media producer and instructor, Dayton Youth Radio Project coordinator, and onair host—taught Media Production 102. The course offered real-world experience and perspective including an understanding of production costs, budgeting, and timelines.

“Working in the media profession is a highly competitive career field,” explains Blunt. “Most entry-level applicants don’t have a portfolio sample of their work. After taking my course, a student begins building self-produced media content that they place on the internet for a potential employer to view.

I think that increases the chance of getting a callback or interview when someone can Google you and

The Board of Trustees named Tom Manley president emeritus of the College effective December 1, 2020 in recognition of the work during his tenure in a particularly difficult period for the College and higher education at large.

For some time, President Manley has been monitoring a recurrence of prostate cancer. After evaluating the medical options and consulting with his family, he has decided to seek a combination treatment involving both hormone and radia-

tion therapy. In an October letter to alumni and friends of the College, Manley writes, “The Board has encouraged me to prioritize my health and developed a leadership transition plan that will work well for the College.”

President Manley has continued to actively serve the College during the transitional period through the end of his contract, which ends June 30. Manley has worked closely with the Board and others on fundraising, partnership development,

strategic initiatives, communications, and projects that advance the Antioch College Works program and the College’s distinctive applied liberal arts approach.

President emeritus is a permanent, honorary title, and the president emeritus holds the same teaching and research privileges as a retired member of the faculty. Manley may also be called upon to offer counsel, historical perspective, and other service upon request as is typical for presidents emeriti.

see what you’ve produced. Handson experience makes that happen.

Students even get a chance to work the mixing board for me during my Friday night radio show—it’s literally baptism by fire and builds self confidence in their skillset.”

Due to the pandemic, the course had to contend with a variety of challenges, including a hybrid format with some students attending in-person while others were virtual. “The pandemic has helped me see this resilient character and backbone that I think defines an Antioch student,” says Blunt.”

That’s something special about this college: Antioch students are tough, talented, and persevere during tough times, finding their own way, and I admire them.”

The College is grateful to Tom Manley and Susanne Hashim, former VP for Advancement, for their contributions and for their continued dedication to our community. If you would like to send them a note of appreciation please do so via email directed to communications@antiochcollege.edu, or by mail to Tom Manley and/or Susanne Hashim, c/o Anita Brown, Antioch College, 1 Morgan Place, Yellow Springs, OH 45378.

Manley Named President Emeritus

Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Téofilo Espada-Brignoni has recently published two articles in scholarly journals, both centering on culture and music.

Co-authored with clinical psychologist Frances Ruiz-Alfaro and published in The American Psychological Association (APA) journal International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, “Culture, Subjectivity, and Music in Puerto Rico,” examines the 2019 summer protests in Puerto Rico which eventually forced the governor to resign. The authors carefully analyze the role of popular music in organizing and sparking a sense of unity among those who took to the streets to fight oppression and government corruption in the aftermath of Hurricane María.

And the journal Rock Music Studies published Dr. Espada-Brignoni’s article, “Jazz, Pandemics, and Our Stubborn Humanity,” in which he provides a personable account of the meaningful bonds that music helps create. He writes of his own experiences at Antioch College and in Yellow Springs both before and during the pandemic.

The Father of Harlem

Dr. Kevin McGruder, vice president of Academic Affairs and associate professor of History at Antioch College, has recently completed his second, sole-authored book, Philip Payton: The Father of Black Harlem, which will be published in July by Columbia University Press. The book focuses on the life and successes of Philip A. Payton, Jr. who formed the Afro-American Realty Company in 1903 and, through the media, branded Harlem as a place where Black people could live and assembled Black investors to begin buying property in the then-predominately white, urban area. It is a follow-up to Dr. McGruder’s 2015 book, Race and Real Estate: Conflict and Cooperation in Harlem, 1890 to 1920, and stems from his long-held interest in community formation and urban history.

Previously, he worked for many years in nonprofit community development, holding positions such as program director at Local Initiatives Support Corporation and director of Real Estate Development with the Abyssinian Development Corporation, as well as embarking on two entrepreneurial ventures that helped celebrate Harlem.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Dr. Jennifer Grubbs facilitated the final session in her Spring Quarter course, Activist Anthropology, on March 22 via GoogleMeet. The course focused on the ways in which public anthropologists engage with and analyze social movements. Specifically, students were grounded in social movement theories that span Anthropology, Communication, and Social Movement Studies. Each week, they engaged in case study analyses that illustrated powerful ways

anthropologists locate and disrupt structural violence. In their final session, they participated in an exercise Dr. Grubbs calls, “The Nonviolence Sociogram: A Continuum of Effectiveness.” Using an X-Y axis, students plotted where they felt various political actions fell along a continuum of effective/ineffective and violent/ nonviolent. The culminating activity was a thoughtful way to conclude such a fantastic experience.

For Earth Day 2021, Antioch College Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Dr. Kim Landsbergen presented, “Looking Back and Looking Ahead: An Ecologist’s Overview of the Trump Era Environmental Legacy.”

A scientist who believes in the application of science in policymaking, Dr. Landsbergen has been engaged in Environmental and Social Justice policy issues at the state and national level, engaging in direct action as well as citizen lobbying for change.

The talk was held virtually and broadcast on Community Access Yellow Springs.

Watch: https://youtu.be/-V4ll5gekWk THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 5

Stoop

The

Sisterhood & Social Justice

The Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom (CSKC) held its annual Legacy Celebration virtually on Thursday, April 29. The gathering was open to the public and co-hosted with the Celebrate! Maya Project, the first collaboration to flow out of discussions with organizations in Little Rock, AR, in 2019.

Sisterhood & Social Justice honored the life and legacy of two American giants, Coretta Scott King (Antioch College Class of 1951) and Dr. Maya Angelou. The event was an acknowledgment of—and celebration of—Coretta Scott King’s and Maya Angelou’s lifelong works to address America’s historical racial and social injustices through their art, humanities, civil rights, and social justice efforts, and recognition of other Americans whose work closely align with theirs. Both were born in the month of April, and both left the world better thanks to their legacy of civil rights, social justice, and the humanities.

Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine, who collectively resisted opposition to the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957, gave the keynote ad-

dress. Jamee McAdoo and Norel McAdoo, both graduates of Little Rock Central High School, performed their poetry for attendees.

The CSKC presented awards to Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Mila Cooper and current Antioch College student Chris Chavers ’21. Cooper was honored with the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of issues of equity and social justice at Antioch College and the broader community. Chavers received the Coretta Scott King Justice Award for his public advocacy on behalf of issues of equity and social justice in our local communities. The Celebrate! Maya Project Social Justice Award was presented to Minnijean Brown Trickey.

Future plans call for discussions on how to utilize Mrs. King’s and Dr. Angelou’s works as blueprints for addressing America’s social injustices and inequalities, and how to measure real and lasting progress toward equity and justice in our local and national communities.

Minnijean Brown Trickey

Watch: youtu.be/deCqMm-BFoQ

Thank you Donors and Volunteers Antioch College is a miracle in the landscape of higher education. After independence was secured by dedicated alumni and friends a decade ago, we have made incredible progress having reopened, gained accreditation (ahead of schedule), and through our ambitious drive to innovate and reinvent ourselves as a college of action. Antioch’s dedicated supporters have made all this possible. And, it is donors who continue to make an Antioch College education a reality for students who own their education, learn experientially, and act for justice; students who want to win victories for humanity and who will change the world.

We thank all of the donors and volunteers who so generously support Antioch, a college that works.

View the 2018–19 & 2019–20 Honor Roll of Donors including giving

by Class Year online at: antiochcollege.edu/honor-roll-of-donors

A Buffalo Grazing

Some Romance, Some Revolution, and the ‘Square Root of Love’

By Steven Duffy ’77 (originally published February 11, 2021) I guess many Antiochians know that there are many couples who are Antiochians who have met here and then have fallen in love. For some, romance was transient, and for countless others, forever.

Some decades ago a smiling older couple came into the Olive Kettering Library during a Reunion and said they were going to walk over to the very stack where they had met. Their joy was palpable.

They disappeared into the stacks while holding hands. I hoped they got to their exact destination!

Many years later on a hot summer day (2008) while I was working at the College Revival Fund on Xenia Avenue, I slipped over to the OKLibrary during lunch to see how my ex-co-workers and the shuttered campus in general were faring. I saw a couple who seemed to meander in the horseshoe area near the McGregor Building. They flagged me down and asked, “What was happening with the College?”

Then they pointed up to McGregor and said, “We just wanted to see the place where we first met.”

That turned out to be an Entrepreneurship course taught by Catherine LaPalombara ’78, former Professor of Management. They were driving across the country and wanted to take a quick detour and pilgrimage to the spot where they met. They didn’t know we had closed. Who knew that a class in entrepreneurship could start a great new venture like theirs? That just figures.

And speaking of figures, once during a 2010 phonathon to get people to a San Francisco Chapter meeting, about 10 local volunteers scattered around South Hall (the only building open at that time other than the library). We used temporary Virgin Mobile cell phones to call everyone we could in the Bay Area. The newly reopened campus had had most of its phones removed! As luck would have it and the way the database got printed out, I received sheets of just “couples” in the Bay Area. Believe me, it was page after page of couples.

I started wondering in awe how many Antiochians must be married 6 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

to other Antiochians, I guess, for me, each of these “come to meeting” calls was a two-fer, yet more people than one could count easily. I was amazed!

After I returned back to the library in Fall 2011, as the first few classes in years arrived, it wasn’t too long before some people bonded in a romantic way. One night at the library’s closing, I bumped into some romance happening in the basement area where Antonio Gramsci and other revolutionary thinkers are shelved. So I walked around to the other side of the basement and closed it first to give them and myself some breathing room. That particular romance did not last forever, though. Another night some months later and also upon closing, the door to the “Joe Cali Room” was closed, and when I opened it to tell them we were closing, the atmosphere was heavy and full of very intense conversation. That only meant one thing. Close the door!

In the time since I have seen several of the more recent grads meet, get married, and through the wonders of Facebook see that among them one couple has had two blessed events along with two master’s degrees. Also at the College, there were a few students whose parents were married Antiochians from the ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s. There must be something in the water if it isn’t in the classroom or community. Yellow Springs and the campus is collectively really quite a romantic place. (Co-op in its own way too!) For some city people, the giant trees and natural environment may seem to get in the way or be too quiet, but perhaps that lack of constant city distraction allows some sparks to start fires, maybe through a classroom or maybe in local political activities. Romance may be a revolutionary act whether you are hanging out near Marx or Gramsci, in the classroom, or even heading out to a Co-op together. If you are between 18 and 22 and traveling all over the country and then

then look back...it is a romantic notion of a different kind.

Some first-year students are currently slowly getting ready to solidify their first Co-ops. I imagine a few more than usual will be near Yellow Springs or perhaps near students’ parents’ homes as this era is so crazy.

But some students will be taking their first Antioch Adventure (Co-op) to places that to many of us might seem to be romantic by their very location.

I became aware of one because of being on a committee that helps give Co-op stipends to students of color.

The following proposal with its thoughts and aims seems to be really its own revolutionary act of love—of a different kind—but also what makes for a future victory for humanity. Maybe for them, and if we are blessed maybe the victory will include many, many. It may give you a sense of campus life now even in this time of terrible travail. What follows is a Co-op stipend proposal submitted to the Alumni of Courage for Diversity group and contains thoughts of the College itself. It will tell you in simple terms that “Antioch College Works” in all ways.

My name is ........ and I am a first-year student here at Antioch. I enjoyed my time here during the Fall term, and I am now preparing to go on Co-op for the first time. I really admire the Co-op Program and the opportunities it gives students to learn and grow as human beings. One of the reasons why I chose Antioch was that it was unlike any other college I had heard of before and is extremely non-traditional when it comes to academics. I felt that Antioch was the only school that could properly support my desired career. I wish to study Alternative/Integrative Medicine and Women’s Health with a focus on Chinese traditional medicine. Even though

the medical field is slowly accepting alternative ways of medicine, there still aren’t many options for studying my specific major. So in the end, I chose Antioch to follow my dreams and study my specific career. Now that we are in the Winter term, it is time for students to pick their Co-ops and pursue them.

The Co-op that I found on the list was an internship at Kokolulu Farm and Cancer Retreats. The founders have studied many ways of healing the body through natural practices and products. They are specifically passionate about the practice of Qigong, which is a traditional Chinese form of healing the mind, body, and soul through slow movements and putting oneself in a meditative state.

They use Qigong along with all natural healthy eating and activities to help teach others peace of mind and potentially recover from terminal diseases. On top of those healing methods, they also have a hot spring, Chinese temple, and various fruits and vegetables growing right on their farm. I had done some research and decided that Kokolulu was the best fit for me. That sense of belonging took over me, and I had become more excited about the opportunity everyday. I chose to apply with the help of my Co-op advisor Beth Bridgeman and quickly scheduled an interview. The founders continued to explain what they do at Kokolulu and why it’s a special place not only for patients, but for interns as well looking to learn more about natural healing and experience life in such a spiritual place.

I recently have received the news that I was accepted into their internship program! I am truly grateful and I am excited to see Hawaii in the way of healing and positive energy. However, since this Co-op is in Hawaii, the price of fees and other expenses are quite high at the moment. I am requesting $500 from you to assist in my travels to Hawaii for this experience of my very first Co-op. I am from a low-income family, and while they wish to help me with my studies and anything I need, they

cannot fully support me with any extra funds that are greatly needed.

I deeply appreciate your kindness and willingness to help students in need of financial assistance.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration Of course, giving this humyn a stipend is a no-brainer. I wish them the best of an Antioch Adventure and a future romantic remembrance of coconut palms and learning some new, yet very old, and revolutionary methods for healing.

To tie some love and other revolutionary acts together I sometimes remember an art exhibit that John Sims ’90 brought to the College before we re-opened. It was called the “Rhythm of Structure” and was all about the intersections of Math and Art. John is a mathematician and an artist who does art with math but also deals with matters of the heart, including revolutionary performance art, like projects dealing with the Confederate Flag in unusual ways.

When his exhibit came to the Herndon Gallery, there was a piece called “The Square Root of Love.”

I think many Antiochians work on solving this “equation,” sometimes as couples and sometimes as people doing or undoing things. The results are seemingly revolutionary, but yet, acts of love. John, also in conjunction with Bill Chappelle ’95 and villager Faith Patterson, helped get a February African-American Cultural week going in YSOH (which later became African-American Cross-Cultural Works, 24/7/365) and got an Antioch Cross-Cultural field program up and running at the Penn Center in one of the less-developed South Carolina sea islands. Perhaps these are some partial solutions for that square root of love.

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day or at least some “romantic” and “revolutionary” moments or memories.

Please stay in touch! If you move often like Antiochians seem to do, please send the Communications Office your new address, email, and phone numbers. If you have a lead to a Co-op, contact Brooke Bryan ’03, or if you know someone who is just meant to have an Antioch Adventure, be sure to drop Toni Dosik ’67 an email and she will get the Alumni Recruitment Team in gear and more!

Winning Victories for Food Security The Gem City Market—a co-op grocery in west Dayton, OH, spearheaded by Lela Klein ’02—opened to the public, bringing to fruition six years of planning.

The project was made possible in part through the Winning Victories Grant awarded to Klein in 2019 for her proposal to create “a co-operative economy in the Rust Belt.” The Winning Victories Grant program was established by Matthew Morgan ’99 to support alumni initiatives that impact quality of life, public good, social justice, and the environment in local, national, and international communities through an annual grant competition.

Klein is Co-Executive Director of Co-op Dayton and sits on the board of Gem City Market. She said that the Gem City Market has been a major milestone, “We raised over $4 million in grants and obtained a New Market Tax Credit. We knocked on more than 200 doors, hosted bi-monthly community meetings, held phone rallies

to elderly and low-income members, and hosted online sessions to use real-life pandemic experiences to understand and reimagine our economy.”

Planning for the market began in 2016 with the development of a business plan. “It’s a slow process,” Klein said. “You have to develop community trust. We surveyed 1,200 people to determine if the location and product selection would work.”

The location for Gem City Market was determined to fill a void left when the local Kroger store closed in 2009, leaving an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people living miles away from a grocery store.

And, according to Food Hardship studies by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Dayton ranks in the bottom quartile of cities in the nation for food hardship for families with children.

“Now people have to shop at a dollar store or ride a bus 45 minutes to get to a grocery store,” Klein said. “Since we started three

Lela Klein ’02

Joan Argetsinger Steitz ’63 Awarded Wolf Prize

more grocery stores closed in the area. This is an economically depressed area.”

Gem City Market’s 16,000-squarefoot facility located at 324 Salem Avenue in Dayton will include a kitchen classroom, a Five Rivers Health Clinic, an outpost of the local Third Perk coffee shop, and a community room designed to host a variety of events and meetings aimed at bringing people together. Gem City Market is also working together with local farmers with the hope to supply their store with 15–20% locally grown produce.

Gem City Market currently has around 3,200 members that have paid a $100 membership fee, 2,000 of whom live in Dayton. A $10 membership is available for people that self-identify as limited income. Gem City Market also has a 50/50 match membership for people who live in the trade area zip code made possible through Premier Health which will pay half of the membership fee.

Learn more: gemcitymarket.com

Peter Jacobs ’61

Order of Canada for Peter Jacobs ’61 Joan Argetsinger Steitz ’63 in her office in the Boyer Center at Yale University Medical School with molecular models The Wolf Prize in medicine was awarded to three scientists—Joan Argetsinger Steitz ’63, Lynne Maquat, and Adrian Krainer—on February 9, 2021, whose research in messenger RNA (mRNA) enabled the development of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Steitz is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is a pioneer researcher in ribonucleic acid (RNA)—a molecule similar to DNA. Her discoveries in RNA research now form the foundation of scientists’ knowledge of genetics.

Since 1978, the Wolf Prize in medicine has been awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. Recipients are chosen “for achievements in the interest of mankind,” and receive a $100,000 monetary prize.

Steitz states that her “interest in science began at a young age,” but growing up in the 20th cen-

“The Antioch science Co-ops are what set me on course for my entire career.” tury meant that she had few female role models in molecular biology. Despite this, Steitz pursued her passion for science at Antioch College, where she was awarded a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.

Steitz cites Antioch’s century-old Cooperative Education program for its enduring impact. “The Antioch science Co-ops are what set me on course for my entire career,” she says.

During one of her Co-ops, Steitz was able to spend time working in the laboratory of Alex Rich at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-

nology—it was here that Steitz first discovered her interest in molecular biology and genetics. “This was just at the dawn of the era of molecular biology, and discoveries about DNA and genes at the molecular level were so new that they weren’t in any textbook or courses I took,” Steitz says. “But when I got to Alex Rich’s lab and heard about the recently discovered double-stranded DNA, I was completely amazed. It was my time there that fostered my lifelong passion for RNA.” After graduating from Antioch, Steitz attended Harvard Medical School, completing the doctorate program in biochemistry and molecular biology. As she followed this path, she came in contact with many prominent figures in biology.

In 2018, Steitz received the Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science for four decades of leadership in biomedical science. The Lasker awards are sometimes referred to as “America’s Nobels.”

Peter Jacobs ’61 has been named a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors for his contributions to Canadian landscape architecture and for his commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable development.

Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. According to the Governor General of Canada, “those who bear the Order’s iconic snowflake insignia have changed our nation’s measure of success and have helped us build a better Canada.” Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.

A leader and advocate for sustainable development, Jacobs is known for his sensible and sensitive approach based on environmental, social, and aesthetic values. His 38year appointed term with the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission is just one example of his demonstrated commitment to environmental sustainability.

Jacobs is an international figurehead in academia. He has contributed to the development and accreditation of landscape architecture programs in Canada and around the world. His research

has focused on visual analysis and perception of landscape, environmental impacts, and on sustainable development of the North. Jacobs’ vast experience and fields of expertise are available to the public in more than 100 published articles, 15 book submissions, nine book chapters, and seven complete manuscripts. He is currently a Professor of Landscape Architecture, École d’architecture de paysage, Faculté de l’aménagement, Université de Montréal, and has held numerous academic posts including the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Tsinghua University School of Architecture (Beijing, China), École d’architecture de Paris-La Villette (Paris, France), and McGill University School of Architecture.

“According to Peter Jacobs, perseverance and courage come naturally when obstacles encounter deep convictions based on fundamental values that are shared by peers, colleagues, students, and institutions imbued with their respective missions,” says Isabelle Giasson, Association des architectes paysagistes du Québec president.

“Peter understood early in his career that the field of landscape architecture is one of the keys that leads to the development of solutions to the critical issues we face today.”

THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 7

Red Square

A selection of essays, poems, and thoughts submitted by Antiochians

A Trilogy Plus One

By Frank Maurer ’64

Number One. California is Burning Smoke pervades the air, irritating the eye.

California is burning.

Fire consumes the forest and the grassland.

California is burning.

Hundreds of homes are engulfed and rendered to nothing.

California is burning.

Cattle, sheep, horses, and chickens are homeless or dead.

But what of all the unmentioned, nor thought of wildlife, which has obtained the same sad plight?

California is burning.

What of all our driving, heating, and air conditioning which augment greater temperatures, which elevate the CO2 level, which desiccate everything, which leaves us an ever greater tinderbox?

California is burning.

This burning is the manifestation of the neglect and mismanagement of our very world--our only home.

Number Two. Florida is Flooding Marty Overstreet pictured with Paul Treichler in the amphitheater

Marty

By Ellen Tovatt Leary ’64 Marty Overstreet ran the theater department like a military command post. She was a large woman, with hips that could launch a battleship. She barked orders at delivery men, (“bring the lumber around through the shop door!”), bellowed at neglectful students (“who left the keys in the truck?”), sipped her ever-present cup of coffee or her Coke, and strode through the theater environs like a field marshal. She dressed for the part: black pants and a white shirt with her hair swept back into a ponytail, secured by a rubber band.

The enormous set of keys on her belt went to open every door in the theater: the costume shop, the dressing room, the offices, the carpentry shop, the paint storage cabinet, the cash box for the theater tickets. She also ran the box office.

Marty stage-managed all the plays, and she could as easily be seen climbing a ladder to check a light fixture, as driving the theater truck to pick up props.

“Ask Marty,” was the answer to every question that was ever asked in the theater department. The theater department worked like a Swiss watch. She must have come from some midwest state like Iowa, and perhaps she had siblings, but she never spoke of her personal life.

Her life was the theater.

She lived on campus in a tiny, one-room bungalow with a kitchenette and a bath. She had no need for more. She ate her meals at the student cafeteria and spent all her other waking hours at the theater.

I first got to know Marty when, in the final semester of my freshman year, I was cast as Rosalind, in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Marty loved Shakespeare as much as I did and the die was cast. History, Philosophy, English Lit, all took a back seat while I joyfully crammed words into my brain. The reward for learning the lines was Marty’s contented nod after she cued me.

And then life took one of its peculiar turns: Marty’s father died.

Whether Marty was the only child or the eldest, we didn’t know. But it was Marty who moved her mother to Yellow Springs, to live with her.

Of course, she could no longer live in the bungalow. She rented a small, one-bedroom house with a nice kitchen, a living room and a wraparound porch, typical of Ohio architecture. And Melba came to live there and to sleep in the bedroom where the twin beds each donned a rose-spattered coverlet.

Gradually, a change took place in Marty. No longer did she wear her black pants and her white shirt, but, when she wasn’t climbing ladders at the theater, she dressed in a skirt and blouse. The socks and sneakers gave way to stockings and lowheeled shoes. On her ears, there were earrings and there was lipstick on her lips. She referred to herself,

as her mother referred to her: “Marcia,” her given name. She went on a diet. The muffin-top waistline was whittled down and, on her face, cheekbones appeared. Then one Monday, Marty showed up at work; her long ponytail was gone and, in its place, a mass of dark curls sat on the top of her head, like a toy Poodle, taking a nap. She still growled at bill collectors and snapped at latecomers in the theater. But she and her mother could be seen around town, on a weekend, two ladies, in dresses, having lunch or going to the local movie.

I remember getting a dinner invitation, once, to their home. Melba cooked and the table was set like any mid-western home, with dainty, patterned china and covered casserole dishes. Oh, we all watched and whispered, but we gradually got used to the new Marty and life at the theater went on.

This must have persisted for some years. I really didn’t keep track. I was busy with my own life and other roles and boyfriends and classes.

But then, once again, life intervened: Melba died. Of course, Marty stayed on in the house they had shared, but gradually the stockings and heeled shoes gave way to sneakers and socks again, and the white shirts and the old black pants with the keychain attached to the belt returned. Gone was the lipstick. Gone were the earrings. The last I saw of Marty, her hair was swept back in the old ponytail, secured with a rubber band.

Only the ends retained the curl.

Ministers of Roofing

By Basia Miller ’59

Dawn just breaking, vehicles converge on my street, the plates say Chihuahua, Sonora, Santa Fe. The crew gathers. Dark pants, black kneepads. Gray hoodies are pulled up, caps brim-backwards. The guys toss coffee cups and close the phones.

Boots rise in front of my kitchen window, mounting the red extension-ladder rung by rung and, like balloons, disappear on high.

I hear orders barked between men whose faces I can no longer see.

Shovels overhead batter at the gravel, as if beating out a fire.

I’m at my desk when part of the ceiling caves in and clouds cross the hole.

Debris and Spanish curses filter through the gap and settle on the mantelpiece.

8 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

How little thought I’ve given to the roof ! It’s been a gaping absence in my count of blessings, this layer that marks my rooms off from sky.

Now the upended wheelbarrow drops the old roof bit by bit into the dumpster.

Now the crew dresses the deck in fresh tarpaper out to the parapets.

The drama’s at its height. Foreman Ruben and red-gloved Marco, handlers of the fire-dragon, put blowtorch to bitumen, then stomp it while it’s hot.

They generate an asphalt spell to keep sun and snow away from me, my fireplace and all I treasure.

The odor of tar pervades the space. I love the ritual, and I begin to love the roof that covers me.

Water is pervading the sewers, backwashing the pavement.

Florida is flooding.

Beaches are slowly eroding from a rising sea.

Florida is flooding.

Homes are quietly rendered useless from soggy ground.

Florida is flooding.

Pastures are continually wet, causing fungus to excel on hooves.

Puddles and standing water--a paradise for mosquito larvae!

Florida is flooding.

What of all our driving, heating and air conditioning which augment greater temperatures, which elevate the CO2 level, which allow for ever larger storms, which yield evermore destruction?

Florida is flooding.

These rising seas and greater storms are the manifestation of the neglect and mismanagement of our very world--our only home.

Number Three.

The Tundra is Melting Higher temperature pervades the north of our planet.

The Tundra is melting.

Once frozen roads are now rendered useless from the melt.

The Tundra is melting.

Homes and whole villages must be evacuated or physically moved.

The Tundra is melting.

Icebergs are melting early to nothing, Causing the hunting polar bear to invade the land.

The Tundra is melting.

What of all our driving, heating, and air conditioning which augment greater temperatures, which elevate the CO2 and methane levels, which are the source of warmer seas and atmosphere, which affect the shoreline of the entire world?

The Tundra is melting.

These melting icebergs and sinking Tundra lands are the manifestation of the neglect and mismanagement of our very world--our only home.

Number Four.

The Rainforest is disappearing The lungs of our planet are disappearing before the saw.

The Rainforest is disappearing.

Humans, their hunger for converting the forest to pasture.

The Rainforest is disappearing.

Rather than foraging the fruits of the forest; steaks are desired.

The Rainforest is disappearing.

Gold discovery now escalates everything to an ever-greater fevered pace.

Clearing the land for grazing presses the collapse ever sooner.

The Rainforest is disappearing.

What of our driving, heating, and air conditioning which augment greater temperatures, which elevate the CO2 level, which lower the oxygen production of the forest, which increase the relative CO2 level over all the world?

The Rainforest is disappearing.

The reduction of the forest mass on the belt of our planet is the manifestation of the neglect and mismanagement of our very world--our only home.

100 Years of Co-op “If the student combines work with study, work gives meaning to his studies and his studies to his work.”

—Arthur E. Morgan

“I couldn’t imagine how it would work. Five-week shifts, then go away?

How in heck could students learn mathematics that way? I was wrong.

I realized you don’t learn anything the first time you think about it.

If you go away and return, the residue is greater.”

—J. D. Dawson

Antiochians’ memories from Co-op in their own words

ly, stopping to read all mail—which was most of it—that was not sealed.

This way I learned a great deal about the advertising business and by the end of the term, I tossed it into my “Not That” basket. I wound up teaching sociology at Brandeis University and loved it.

Coping after Co-op

As we mark a century of coopera-

Beryl Radin ’58 Each of my Co-op assignments had a substantive impact on my personal development that went beyond preparation for entering the workforce as an adult. In fact, after I left Antioch, I continued the pattern that I had devised to try out jobs and locations. It took many years before I had a job that lasted more than two years. I guess I was still in the pattern of experimenting with elements in a career.

tive education, we will continue to welcome contributions and memories throughout the year. More stories were printed in the Fall 2020 issue of The Antiochian, as well as online at antiochcollge.edu/co-op-100 where you may also submit your own story.

1940s 75 years wiser Elizabeth Browning Murphy ’47 Chronic bronchitis (which I now have)

On the Road

is not to be taken lightly, yet 57 years ago when I took a job at a hemp mill in Illinois, I gave it no thought . . . much the same as hard rock miners who never thought about the inevitable silicosis.

At the time, when one could see them through the choking dust, the mix of personalities with whom I worked shoulder-to-shoulder was fascinating. I learned more in one

Allyn (Moss) Primoff ‘49, English and dramatic arts major, here gives the engineer a cure on radio station WNYC. She did script writing, some announcing, some radio drama.

summer about the many economic and moral levels of our population than one finds in a myriad of textbooks. I learned a lot about human nature, too, some funny, some not.

I had to convince Antioch that the job was worthy of being titled “Coop.” I wanted to write, and any experience would help me toward that goal. I didn’t realize in those young years that in the process of living a full life, I would get all I needed. 75 years wiser.

1950s A bracing tale Herbert S. Lindenberger ’50 After finishing coursework for the AB in 1950, I still needed four units of work credit, which I decided to finish that summer in a summer camp job.

I found a “progressive” camp for inner-city kids from Chicago in which punishment and threats were forbidden. But the kids were obstreperous and, as I tried to get them to go to sleep, would quietly run away.

My only means to control them was to tell bracing bedtime tales, among them Beowulf. An administrator spied on me and called me in to complain of my narrating the murder of a mother. “It’s a monster’s mother,” I replied, but the staff wouldn’t take any excuse since the violence I presented, they told me, must have caused at least five cases of enuresis. I was fired and found myself without the job credits. Luckily, I found a job in a more regressive

camp and got my credits in time to start graduate school in September.

Flush with responsibility

Barbara Bark Fussiner ’50 Worst: In Washington (in fall of 1947), working for United Press, I learned that I couldn’t change the White House teletype (archaic) ribbon because it was in the men’s room of the press section!

Best: In 1948, during a Co-op at Mademoiselle magazine, Carson McCullers and Truman Capote passed through the office.

Woman at work

Netta Sanow Kaplan ’51 Hardest Co-op: working at Mt. Sinai Hospital in 1947 and feeling a part of the “lower” caste—from the uniform to the dining arrangements. However, I learned that people with every “labor” type work respected their work and themselves.

Funniest Co-op memory: Mice jumping into my lab coat sleeves while I was trying to inject them.

Stop and smell the Four Roses Pauline Johnson Alexander ’51 My biggest lesson was not learned on the job, but in the 111th Street New York Rooming Hotel where a number of my Co-op students and friends lived. I learned to avoid peer pressure

to drink a pint of Four Roses bourbon the night before I was going home on a dare from the group. Oh my…

Fast Eddie’s lesson

Edward McCourt Jr. ’51 Don’t play poker on your first Co-op and lose—then don’t have money for food before the next day—especially with World War II veterans and you are just out of high school.

Johnny’s gone

Dan Hotaling ’51 On B-Div in the late ’40s, I seemed to follow the same A-Divver on every Co-op job with the kids. He was Johnny O’Neill ’50, and at least twice I was greeted on the job with “Good to have you, but no one could equal Johnny O’Neill.” Of course, I was (secretly?) very jealous, and I never did live up to his standard. Sadly, I never met him, and now he’s gone. That’s sad.

A sense of belonging

Alice S. Hayakawa ’52 It took two Co-op jobs to impress on me how important it is to belong to somebody. Working in a daycare, I was critical of tired and cross mothers until I worked in an orphanage (Xenia). Well-fed and nicely dressed

but didn’t belong emotionally to anyone. It was sad.

Life lessons

Lester Schulman ’55 I worked as a psychiatric aide at the prestigious mental hospital (now departed), Chestnut Lodge in Rockville, MD, and learned that insanity and normality were on the same spectrum, and that neither was alien to me. I worked as a farm laborer at the John C. Campbell Folk School near Brasstown, NC, and found I could talk race and politics with the locals whose views were diametrically opposed to mine without either giving ground or being condescending without hostile feelings being borne after a mutual respect borne of working together had been established. Both lessons have come in handy both in life and view of life.

Advertising and me

Gordie Fellman ’57 My first Co-op was in fall 1952 after my first eight-week semester at Antioch. Vaguely interested in advertising, my job at a major advertising firm in Chicago was wheeling a cart from which I delivered mail to all offices several times a day. There was not enough work to take all my time, so I completed my rounds very slow-

John Harris ’59 In 1957, I worked at the New York Psychiatric Institute, a teaching facility that was part of the Columbia University Medical School, as a ward attendant. I have so many incredible memories of that experience; here are a couple. A young Puerto Rican patient, C, who had trouble sleeping, used to keep me company when I worked the night shift. He would talk to me about life in Spanish Harlem. One night, he told me about a book that had been recently published. He said that it had not yet been discovered but when it was, it would change the culture forever.

I went right out and bought it; it was Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, the bible of the Beat Generation. I also was taught to play bridge by a patient, an elderly doctor. He was a good teacher but did not have much patience.

He would glare at me and growl, “I told you to pull trump, dammit, pull it!” For the past 60 years, whenever I play bridge, his voice will come up in my head, “Pull trump, dammit, pull it.”

Propelled into the sciences

Kenneth Knoll ’59 My Co-op job that was the best was with NOAA on their ship the Explorer taking water and atmospheric samples in the mid-Atlantic ocean. That work propelled me into the sciences, and most importantly, gave me a working résumé that I could use for gaining further education and for gaining employment post college.

1960s Attachment theory

Elizabeth J. Diaz ’65 My first Co-op job was with Emma Plank at Cleveland General Hospital, Cleveland, OH. She was a pioneer in establishing Child Life Programs for hospitalized children. I developed a lifelong respect for psychoanalytic THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 9

thinking and practice and was introduced to attachment theory there.

Emerging unscathed

New York living to last a lifetime. It was a six-month Co-op period.

Edwin Bornemann ’58 on Co-op in New York City working in the United Nations gift center in 1953.

Glimmers of growing up

Penny Storm ’65 My first job was at Cleveland General Hospital in the preschool tuberculosis ward. After one week on the job, the nurse had emergency surgery. I survived the day alone and was alone thereafter. I should have been more frightened than I was. I assisted in medical procedures, such as suctioning; did all meds, laundry folding, feeding, sterilizing, bathing, diaper changing. My adorable 10-month-old was in a walker and sailed out the door and down five iron steps to emerge unscathed! My experience was much the same and I loved every second—at least in my memory!

Randy Mevorach Greenberg ’66 First Co-op, Boston, pushing patients around the maze they call Massachusetts General Hospital. Four female freshmen in an apartment near Harvard Square. First checking account (no credit cards in 1962), telephone bill, rent payments, de minimis salary. Glimmers of growing up.

Invited four MIT students over; they said they were majoring in phys ed.

We thought they were telling the truth. Sweet innocents. Museums and historic buildings. Freezing cold in January, icy slippery sidewalks.

Making snow angels. Fearless, and so young.

Training ground

New York, New York

Paula Treichler ’65 The Schaller-Rubin job began on January 2, 1961. It was on Fifth Avenue, right around the corner from the Empire State Building. Two continual, though rarely expressed, irritants to the agency were the address on Fifth, not Madison, and the fact that their product line was pharmaceuticals, not something sexy like cigarettes or cars or any other product they could hire gorgeous models for. So Schaller-Rubin was Mad Men manqué but shared many of MM’s storylines: manic metabolism, fits of temperament, seemingly docile female secretaries and assistants (docile until they were by themselves), psychiatrists for Mr. Schaller and Mr. Rubin, frantic calls for the Account Director or the Art Department to make changes two minutes before a client presentation.

I was “the Antioch Student,” AKA peasant, who was told by Mr. Rubin to “fix yourself up?” “Even Bloomingdale’s has a discount basement,” and, most fateful of all, “My driver’s license expires tomorrow—please go down to City Hall to-

day and renew it.” It was the tail-end of a blizzard and I had not bundled up because I was briefly outside.

Wearing my usual jumper and turtleneck (not from Bloomingdale’s), black tights and black flats, and a nylon coat with a faux fur lining. At City Hall, the line was extraordinarily long. I got there about 10 AM and stood in the freezing cold till about 4, when I stepped inside and fainted. When I came around, folks were very nice, brought me water, renewed the license, and called a cab to take me to my apartment. Mr. Rubin was very nice to me until I was working the switchboard and disconnected him from his psychiatrist.

Last and possibly least was a job as a salesclerk at Macy’s, hired to take phone orders for the Christ-

mas rush. I drove with Patti and Holly, two friends from Yellow Springs, to San Francisco, where we had a swell apartment one block from Haight-Ashbury. Patti got a similar job at Roos-Atkins, a Macy’s wannabee just across the street, so we could eat lunch together every day.

Holly interviewed at Macy’s and was turned down (!). That night she announced that she was going to interview again the next day, in disguise.

She wore a dress of mine, stockings and heels, put her hair up in a bun, wore glasses, and was business-like and prissy. She got the job.

original career goal was to become

City living

for whom I helped find books to re-

a translator at the United Nations, so I wanted to try out living in the city.

At Doubleday I was in charge of the travel books at the 57th Street store, across from Tiffany’s, where I watched the clock to tell me when it was break time. Later I was transferred to the 52nd Street store. More interesting people shopped at that store: Happy Rockefeller, Martha Graham, Truman Capote (I waited on him; what a horrible little man!), John Forsythe, Dorothy Kilgallan, and contestants from What’s My Line and To Tell the Truth

Susanna Ehrmann ’66 My most interesting Co-op experience was working as a sales clerk at Doubleday Book Shops in Manhattan. My

search their subjects. I roomed with

to travel, find housing, make new friends, and function independently; and, most importantly, one must reflect critically on these experiences, evaluate them, and absorb their meaning on how life can be lived.

An Antioch College student’s “ work” periods are typically a pastiche of different jobs and settings without any necessarily cumulative characteristics of relatedness even if any individual choice was based upon wanting to know about a particular vocation or profession or wanting to live in a place one has never been before.

Here is a typical Antioch Co-op transcript: one quarter as a community worker in Freedom Village in Greenville, Mississippi; two quarters as an aide working with children in a pediatrics department in a San Francisco Hospital; one quarter as a research assistant helping on a project to study the growth and development of sheep fetuses; one quarter as a science teacher in a campus-based elementary school.

This student also was given some Co-op credits for a stint as a volunteer on a kibbutz in Israel.

Another Co-op transcript: assistant in a college infirmary; work in a hospital clinic; an aide in a children’s home; an assistant in a college psychology department. Yet another: laborer for a construction company; rod and chain man for a state department of natural resources; personnel administrator in a wholesale food company. And another: messenger in a magazine firm; clerk in a major corporate office; an accounting intern; a longshoreman; work in a college admissions office; a librarian in a college library. And another example: laborer on ships and railroads;

steamboat deckhand; clerical assistant in the U.S. De­partment of Labor; an assistant furniture buyer in a New York department store. And, a final example: research assistant at an international educational institute; researcher for a national children’s society; sales person in a major Chicago department store; a physical education assistant in a public school system; a special education assistant.

The individuals represented by these transcripts are pursuing or have pursued careers in medicine, law, psychology, business, and public relations. But, more importantly, these sample Co-op resumes span five decades from the 1930s to the 1980s. They exemplify a philosophical consistency across more than 50 years, alternating periods of work with academic periods of high quality liberal arts study.

The Co-ops are not designed to test career ideas in medicine, law, psychology, business, or public relations though one or more of an individual’s Co-op periods may have been related to a specific vocational exploration. Nor are they designed to match an academic major of philosophy, history , business, psychology, political science, or education, though one or more Co-op periods may have had a relation to an academic interest. Rather, each Co-op period is a time to experience the everyday work world, to test one’s skills of independence off campus and far from home, to chal­lenge one to draw upon one’s individual resources, and to test or touch the limits of self and understanding. Equally important, the mandatory Co-op report filed after every work period involves reflection on what has been learned. It may take creative or re-

two other Antiochians at an apartment hotel on West 48th Street. We

Bernard Kaplan ’66 Why did I go to work at Macy’s in the fall of 1962 for my first Co-op? I wanted to live in the city. I wanted to take care of myself. I wanted to learn what I could not anticipate learning. I worked in the toy department under legendary electric train layout designer Maurice Sass. I learned about electric trains. I learned about and from a plethora of seasonal workers, including the first out gays I ever met, the first aspiring actors, the first 50-year veterans who had known Mr. Macy. In short, I learned stuff about the world I didn’t know I needed to learn. I roamed the city.

I learned about a profession, sales, I never wanted to go into. I saw my beloved Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. I sold trains to Phil Rizzuto and Kim Novak. I felt that I was in the world. I had lunch (Miracle on 34th Street) with Santa Claus.

Washing and drying

Lisa (Zetumer) Wellman ’66 Working in DC in the Neurological and Sensory Disease group at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, I was living with two

A Co-op is Not a Co-op is Not a Co-op…

By Frances Degan Horowitz ’54 (originally published in a 1988 issue of The Antiochian)

Editor’s Note: Frances Degan Horowtiz passed away on March 16, 2021. An obituary is posted on the College’s website and will be included in the next full issue of The Antiochian magazine.

When Arthur Morgan pioneered an innovative educational workstudy program (known as cooperative education and shortened to Coop) at Antioch College in 1921, there was little concern for the relationship between the world of work and the world of study. Since then many schools, often professional in orientation, have included cooperative education programs as an option or as a requirement for a curriculum.

(There is also a federal financial aid program called “work-study.”) Large numbers of undergraduate students in the United States now work while going to school and during the summers. These facts might be taken as evidence that Arthur Morgan’s vision of work and study as integral components of a liberal education is now commonplace and that the ideas that once distinguished Antioch College and its cooperative education curriculum have melded into the mainstream of American higher education. Such a conclusion could not be more wrong.

The cooperative education programs at many colleges and universities typically have a vocational-professional impetus; the federal work-study program is designed to help students earn money to reduce the expense of going to college. Most undergraduates who work and go to 10 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

school do so out of financial need. In all these instances the work experience is not integrally related to liberal arts study.

It is true that some Antioch students on “Co-op” jobs may well be testing the work world with vocational or professional exploration in mind. It is also true that Antioch students on Co-op (a very few) may be earning enough money to help defray college costs. However, the Antioch Co-op program serves neither of these purposes primarily. In form, in philosophy, and in execution it is profoundly and pervasively a different kind of program. In its every dimension it aims to involve the student in experience and in reflection, in questioning, and in trying on answers. The relationship of work to the on-campus academic program is philosophical and abstract as opposed to pragmatic and concrete.

For almost 60 years students at Antioch College have alternated periods of intensive on-campus liberal arts study with periods of off-campus work in the “real” world. The periods last for three months each, sometimes six months. Antioch’s on­-campus academic program is dedicated to the liberal arts tradition. Students sample the ideas and methodologies of various disciplines; they choose one or two for in depth study. In contrast, Antioch’s off-campus Co-op program has few formal para­meters. Its basic guiding principle involves the notion that students must periodi­cally live and work off campus, often in distant and disparate parts of the country.

The essential requirements are philosophical: one must experience dayto-day work in a typical “real” world work setting; one must learn how

had a grand time, but I had enough of

portorial form, it may be focused upon a specific project or simply a set of introspective analyses.

Back on campus there is no attempt to make one-to-one correspondences between the Co-op experience and the classroom. Instead, there is an integra­tion of the maturing that comes from work with the maturing that comes from serious study resulting, over time, in an unbelievably dramatic cumulative effect from four or five years of workstudy education embedded in the liberal arts and in an on-campus college governance system that stresses participa­tion, social responsibility, and community.

Recent commission reports critical of higher education call upon colleges and universities to examine their curricula for relevance to the real world and for the impact of higher education’s lifelong influence on students. Curiously, the Antioch model, which has endured for more than 60 years, which has contributed more than its share of leaders, creators, and thinkers to our nation, which has commanded a lifelong loyalty and a fiercely positive evaluation of the Antioch experience among an impressively high proportion of its alumni, still stands as a unique example in American higher education today. Its in­herent strength, born of the deep conviction about the primacy of the libernl arts, the meaning of work, and the importance of community has served students for almost six decades, weathering rocky social and political periods in this nation and at Antioch itself. The Antioch Coop program is still a unique and remarkable model in American higher education.

other Antiochians on the first floor of a brownstone just off Dupont Circle. I slept in a single bay in the living room window. The laundromat was several blocks away, but convenient.

One evening I’d done my wash but all the dryers were full. It was late. I was tired. And one dryer had finished its cycles. Testing the clothes I discovered they were both dry and a man’s clothing. I took them out, folded them and hoped that tall, good looking guy who just walked in wouldn’t be upset if these were his clothes.

They were, and he wasn’t. We started talking and he spoke with a beautiful British accent. After 30 minutes as I packed my now-dry clothes, he shared that I was the first person he had met in the U.S. who cared to talk with him. He said he was most appreciative and would I care to come to a party at his embassy. I gave him my name and address, only later wondering if that had been smart.

But two days later the engraved invitation from the embassy of Ghana arrived. Wonderful, lovely people— good parties.

Evelyn Koenig LaMers ’69 providing clerical support for public relations and fundraising at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital in 1967.

Finding a calling

Amy Valens ’68 Co-op gave me confidence that I could find my way in new worlds.

Sometimes that meant literally finding my way to the job on a Greyhound bus with a pittance of money in my pocket! How many worlds I entered in such a short but pivotal period of my life! Witnessing the shocking condition of children at Dixon State School [for the intellectually disabled], as well as joyous immersion in the lives of autistic children at Clear Water Ranch, it became clear that working with and for children was how I wanted to spend my life.

Mentoring in experiential learning from Uncle Wally at Otter Lake Conservation Camp formed the cornerstone of my approach to teaching.

The intensity of Co-op led to valuable lessons in interpersonal relationships. While I sometimes dreaded the self reflection of the Co-op paper, those papers remain the most important writing I did as a college student.

Operatic encounter Bob Borgen ’67 My first Co-op job was in a New York department store, where I handled film brought to be developed. I chose a job in New York because the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, famed for its Gilbert and Sullivan productions, would be there on tour. As a longtime fan, I bought tickets to each of the shows they brought with them.

I discovered that, if I showed up during intermission, I could join the crowd and walk in to see as many second acts as I liked for free. The theater was nearby and I went often. Then, one day as I was sorting packages of prints that had come back from the processing company, my heart stopped. The name on one was “Dawn Bradshaw;” her address: “D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.” She was a member of the chorus with a few small solo roles. My heart stopped again when a customer identified herself as Dawn Bradshaw and asked for her pictures. I mentioned that I had seen her perform (but not free second acts). I no longer clearly recall her response, but I still fondly remember that encounter whenever I listen to the two recordings that include her small parts.

Striving for good

Bill Dalton ’67 Co-ops both changed and forged my life. At my first Co-op for the NY State Deptartment of Public Works in Long Island, NY, I reported mis-documentation of time reports from a major state subcontractor. I was told by my big boss not to “rock the boat,” and “don’t be too honest.” That made an indelible impression on me at 17 years old; I then, of course, committed to just the opposite approach the rest of my personal and professional life (happily consistent with the modeling from both my mother and father). Having acknowledged that Engineering was not the best “fit” for me, and searching for a sense of “Where from Here/After,” I spent one and then 1½ additional Co-ops at Cushing Hospital in Framingham, MA, in the Psycholody Research Department. Between that and Clarence Leuba and Wally Sikes’s psychology and management classes on campus, I developed an appreciation (love) for psychology, sociology, and management that guided and lasted my entire professional life.

But—all that begs the issue: The most influential, guiding, and abiding influence in and on my life was Horace Mann’s edict. “Victory” has been hard to define—but I guess that’s what keeps us/one/me striving; at least doing some “GOOD” for humanity has been (and IS) an ongoing call for me.

Go ahead and jump

Ron Dean ’67 My first Co-op was in Boston in 1962 at Filene’s Basement. I was terrible at sales so they made me a manager. I managed people who’d worked there longer than I’d been alive. When

mous radio soap opera actress. One day I said to her, “You know, Sarajane, I think there’s a better way to do this.” And she said, “If I had wanted a better way to do it, I would have asked you for a better way to do it. I just asked you to do it.” And I thought, there’s a life lesson: if you want to make changes to things, you should try to get the person to think it was their idea.”

Handicapping doctors

Deborah Horn Daniel ’69 I wanted to be a doctor and my first Co-op was in Philadelphia at Albert Einstein Hospital as an operating room nurse assistant. I had to scrub, hand instruments, and sanitize rooms while watching operations.

The nurses were great; the doctors were babies (“I told you I only use my gold-handled hemostats!”), abusive, and only talked about their golf games. I didn’t become a doctor, and I think I am thankful I didn’t choose that line of work at that time.

I said “jump,” they said….well, you know exactly what they said.

Watching autopsies

Chuck Lynd ’67 In the Spring-Summer Co-op of 1963, Tom Sewell ’67 and I roomed together and worked at the Maricopa County Hospital in Phoenix. After initial training we served as inhalation therapists, assigned to administer treatments using ventilators (vintage versions used to treat COVID-19 patients today). We treated post-surgery patients, emphysema and respiratory patients, and sometimes we were called to ER to treat an emergency tracheotomy!

We were second-year students living in an apartment complex near a fifth-year student, Joan Goldsmith ’64, who worked in the Social Services department of the hospital.

Joan was dating some of the young resident doctors and Tom and I met them in her apartment. One resident was taking his turn conducting autopsies, so he invited Tom and me to come and observe. We soon adapted to the smell of formaldehyde, and eagerly watched autopsies every day after lunch.

In fine Co-op tradition, Tom took another Co-op job in the surgery ward at a hospital in Cleveland, and later enjoyed a long career as a pathologist.

Running in reverse

Jerry Spindel ’67 WNYC radio in 1964, my job: editing tapes for broadcast. After a piano concert was aired, the angry pianist called the station. It seems I forgot to rewind the tape, and the concert was broadcast in reverse. It sounded good to me, but I did wonder why the pianist got such an enthusiastic ovation which ceased the moment he began to play.

WNYC was staffed by weird and funny characters. One, a man at least as old as I am now, used his work time thinking up sitcoms to sell to TV (e.g., “My Mother the Car” was a hit, so he’d pitch, say, “My Father the Truck.” Pathetic.). A year later he had a comedy on Broadway, “The Zulu and the Zayda.”

Thriving on change

Ann Brayfield ’68 Co-op prepared me well for the work world after graduation and for living on my own in a variety of places and situations. New places and situations continue to be something which

Every day an opening night

Social Psychology and Arts Communications major Akili Hayden ’22 (center) on Co-op in spring 2019 as a Special Events and Development intern at Creative Time in New York City. Also pictured, Eduardo Gomez (Senior Associate Of External Affairs and Intern Advisor at Creative Time) and Luisa Bieri (Assistant Professor of Cooperative Education).

I seek out and thrive on. My curious nature was well supported by Co-op experiences from small town Iowa making corn cob jelly to being robbed my last night in Philadelphia to making deliveries to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Witness to a new world

Deborah R. Brandt ’68 I had lived in bucolic Portland, OR, for all but one of my 17 years. After six months at Antioch, here I was in the most complex city in the country, New York City, working in the department store best known for offering you a good deal, Ohrbach’s on 34th Street. My deal wasn’t so good.

My first manager, Miss Simos, on the first day of my first full-time and first Co-op job, assigned me to work alone at a free-standing sale container with carefully boxed hosiery in drawers. She told me which drawers held plain and which drawers held mesh, which I was unable to remember, nor could I remember how the colors were grouped when a crowd of customers approached me.

Frustrated with my inability to be helpful, the customers, being real New Yorkers, took things into their own hands and went diving into the stand to find their hosiery.

I was witness to a world I had never seen before and did not know existed. “Ladies, put those stockings

down right now. Shame on you,” emphatically scolded Miss Simos, who miraculously appeared to save her stockings, and only incidentally me.

Miss Simos’ final report to Antioch stated that she would never hire me for anything. Thankfully, Antioch didn’t hold that against me.

Fast times

Rhodes Hileman ’68 As an education major in Co-op jobs, I had taught at two outdoor education school-camps, before I took on a remote school for kids that had been tossed out by normal schools.

I was searching really hard for a foothold to engage with this group. My supervisor said, sharply, “You’re afraid to get your hands dirty!” Because I was trying so earnestly, his accusation was way off the mark. I teared up, turning away. He mocked me for crying.

I was out of there a week later, by my choice. I learned that teaching was something I could do at a high school or college level, but 12 yearolds were too fast for me; I could not keep up.

Here’s an idea

Charles Rosenberg ’68 My first Co-op was working as a docent at the Chicago Historical Society giving tours of Chicago history to school kids. The woman who ran the program was Sarajane Wells, a fa-

Alison Harris ’69 My most important Co-op was my first. I was a presumptive poli sci major, but I worked 18-hour days and nights at McCarter Theatre in Princeton—backstage, front-of-house, press office, you name it. Arthur Lithgow ’38—who taught at Antioch and produced the Antioch Shakespeare Festival—was McCarter’s producing director. After graduating as a theater major, my first “real” job was three years back at McCarter Theatre with Arthur. Seven years later, Arthur long gone, I returned to McCarter as the managing director. Antioch Coop makes good!

My favorite Co-op was six months as a copy boy (yes “boy” in those days before women’s lib) at The Washington Post in the pre-Watergate era of Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee. The newsroom was a clatter of typewriters and ringing phones. Lead type was set on clunky linotype machines in the composing room just below. A spiral stair connected the two so we could quickly run galleys up to the copy editors. Oh, the excitement of preparing for the mid-afternoon meeting where editors would pitch their stories and the daily thrill of the first edition rolling off the presses. Not unlike the thrill of opening night in the theater, I later realized.

Throwing dough

John C. Lamb ’69 The Antioch Co-op job system enhances learning by giving students a chance to compare the books to real life. It has been partially copied by almost every university in the U.S. They call them “internments.” Antioch’s Co-ops teach you a little more.

I learned a lot on Co-ops in the mid’60s. I learned that: Big Sur is beautiful; there is lots of good free music in Haight-Ashbury; I wanted to teach and spend my professional life with 10 year olds or younger; Summerhill schools were alive and well; Fritz Perls is not a warm fuzzy guy; STP oil additive can keep a car with no rings running across country; I was able to THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 11

Emily Lambert Dalton ’84 on Co-op at the Kettering Institute.

take Chicago subway and not sleep through my stop; all people have feelings; people pick you up hitchhiking but be careful they don’t stone you; it’s fun to throw dough at Antioch students over the wall in the Village Bakery when they buy doughnuts at 2 AM; good friends are a saving grace; we don’t live in a democracy; I wanted to travel and live in South America; I don’t know that much; and many people oppose the Vietnam War.

Battling malaria

Evelyn (Koenig) LaMers ’69 My second Co-op, in 1965, was at Clear Lake Camp in Dowling, MI, a school camp serving fifth graders from the Battle Creek schools. Every December, the director hosted all the neighbors to a dinner in gratitude for support of the camp. Dressed in old fashioned attire, the six Antioch Coops greeted guests and served up a fancy turkey dinner. It was a good lesson in community building!

My third Co-op, in 1966, was in Baltimore working for the International Center for Medical Research, affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical School.

In the lab, we were studying treatments for a new strain of malaria infecting soldiers in Vietnam. One room of the lab was kept at 80 degrees and near 100-percent humidity—for the comfort of our mosquito population.

My fourth Co-op, in 1967, was a clerical job at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital. My office was on the first floor, and one February day, outside my window, strode a long line of elephants, all sizes, nose to tail!

The circus was in town, and twice a day the elephants were walking from their residence at the Armory to the Coliseum. My co-workers thought this was the absolutely most normal thing in the world!

The way we were

Rona L. Levy ’69 New York City, 1967 and 1968. My strongest memories include: 1.) Vietnam protests and seeing people who were holding up flowers being clubbed by police.

2.) Being really poor, and in the winter always cold (I did not have good winter clothes, and raced from one subway grate to another to warm up on my walk home).

3.) The exciting hip feel of the Lower East Side when it really was the Lower East Side, before it became whatever it is now.

4.) Life with an intense poet boyfriend who (accurately) wrote about how satellite Antiochs would drain the original Antioch, resulting in the demise of the Yellow Springs campus.

12 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

5.) The comforting feeling of coming back “home” to the weird cocoon that was the Yellow Springs campus when each work quarter ended.

6.) Knowing that people like us (anti-materialistic, anti-war, non-conforming, long-haired) somehow knew what everyone and everything else—society, governments, the world—was about and what made them tick, and being sure that we were wiser than anyone who did not think, act, or look as we did. But that might have been our age speaking too, not unique to the Co-op.

(But I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now…)

Moveable feast

Helen Welford ’69 Going AEA, we still had Co-op jobs.

Mine was already set, along with studies in Paris. I wanted to attend the Cordon Bleu, and had been accepted, but how to fit that into an Antioch curriculum? Enter Louise Riddock and Paula Spier of the AEA office! Both enjoyed good food, so took it upon themselves to declare that Co-op credits could be assigned to attending the Cordon Bleu. My final paper was to be a recipe book from my lessons, a copy to be made for Louise and Paula, as well as the files.

1970s You don’t need a weatherman

John Klein ’70 1.) Never let the editor realize you don’t know what you’re doing, or he’ll try to help and you’ll NEVER get it done.

2.) I can look at the sky and predict the weather as accurately as the Associated Press wire service (from 1964 Co-op at the Delphos Tri-County Daily Herald.)

The garden state?

Isabel Auerbach ’72 On one Co-op, the boss of my supervisor spoke briefly to me every few weeks. He never got my name straight. Every time, for no discernible reason, he would ask, “You’re from New Jersey, aren’t you?”

Burning image

Mark Weiss ’72 I learned in 1969, while teaching at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, that if you spill enough gasoline in the river, it will burn. For two days, we watched the river burn.

It was almost as scary as my class, which was filled with kids being

Melaina Eller ’93 on Co-op at the Wolfe Family Sheep Farm. paid minimum wage to stay off the streets. Highly educational.

Euphemistically speaking

Melissa Nappan ’75 I learned what a “euphemism” was.

One of my first Co-ops was advertised as a position at a private elementary school in Maine as the resident “grownup” chaperone for a handful of kids who were staying the summer to work on a project. When my Antioch buddy Anne Heimlich ’74 and I arrived, we discovered we were the full-time COOKS for about 20 people.

What a Trip

Robert Goldsmith ’76 It was 1971, after my first study quarter on campus at Antioch, I went on AEA (Antioch Education Abroad, as was the terminology of the day) to do a Spanish Immersion Program in Cuernavaca, Mexico (about 100 km outside Mexico City).

Once the immersion program ended, I decided to hitch down to the Yucatan Peninsula to look for a sailboat to crew on. I already knew how to sail because my father owned a 32-foot sailboat at the

time. However, I had never learned celestial navigation, which was essential for ocean sailing (remember this is 1971, GPS did not yet exist).

On the island of Isla de Cozumel, I came across a sailboat headed to Fort Lauderdale, FL, which was willing to take me on as a crew member.

After crossing the Gulf of Mexico and finding myself in Fort Lauderdale, my next goal was to hitch down to Guatemala.

After crossing the border back into Mexico, I hitched a ride from a Mexican-American driving a nondescript American pickup truck. He was headed to Durango, which was about a 12-hour drive from the Mexican border.

His attire was very ordinary: a clean white T-shirt and beige khaki pants. During our 12-hour drive, we had a lot of time to talk. I discovered that he was perfectly bilingual (English/Spanish) and well educated. He claimed to have graduated from Colorado School of Mines, which I believed. I had told him that I was studying geology, so I knew of the school.

I also learned that as a profession, he was working as a smuggler, transporting gold and silver into the

States. He might have also been in the drug trade, but never mentioned so.

Upon arriving in Durango at nightfall, we stayed in a modest clean hotel and he paid for my room. Furthermore, he promised that we would meet his friends in the morning who would get me a free bus ticket to Mexico City. Now from Durango, Mexico City was about another 12-hour drive.

In the morning, I went to his room. His door was open and he was in the process of placing a thick roll of bills into his pants pocket as well as a gun. During my time in Mexico, I had seen on numerous occasions men carrying pistols in their pants. So, this did not faze me.

We then drove to the parking lot of the Durango bus station. And whom do we meet? Two Federales (Mexican federal police) who leave their patrol car to greet us in the parking lot. We then both exited the pickup.

The driver of the pickup then pulled out from behind the bench seat a loaded M-16 (military assault rifle) and handed it to his friends who proceeded to place it in their patrol car. As the Federales go inside to get me my free bus tick-

Collectively, my Co-op experiences

Co-op at Vermont Women’s Health Center, early 1990s.

have shaped who I am today as an employee, as a volunteer, as a parent, and as a human.

Cold and tough Laura Tadiello ’91 My worst Co-op experience was spent boarding a room in San Francisco with no heat, no hot water, and no shower. Being sick most of that winter, I learned a lot about resilience and endurance!

Auspicious experience Ty Maloney ’98 I arrived in Fort Collins, CO, early summer 1995. Antioch College had written me a letter stating I would need to complete a Co-op before I returned to school that fall. They also sent a dozen-page dossier on all the available Co-ops. I perused through them but kept thinking about what my roommate was fascinated about during my first semester at Antioch, and maybe what an old friend circled et, I ask him why he gave them the M-16. His response was quite simple, and he said, “Oh, they like to play with it for the day.”

The Federales came out with my bus ticket and handed it to me. I thanked everyone and continued my journey to Guatemala.

Second time’s the charm

Ken Barnes ’77 I had three Co-op jobs during my two years at Antioch (1972-1974). In a roundabout way, the second one set me on my career path. I was initially interested in education reform, so arranged to do my first Co-op at an alternative elementary school in Binghamton, NY. Had a great time, but concluded that it would be enough to eventually have kids of my own—I didn’t need to spend my entire life with them. Another interest was environmentalism, so my advisor Dan Hotaling lined up a Co-op at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. At the last minute, however, Audubon was unable to commit to room and board, so Dan set me up instead with the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.

CCAG organized around both environmental and economic issues. I quickly realized I was more passionate about the anti-poverty aspect of the work than I was about recycling. Back on campus for the Spring of ’73, I supported the New Directions strike and was dismayed to see that some of the professors I most wanted to study with were fired in the aftermath. I escaped to a fun Co-op on a cattle ranch in Wyoming. By the time that six-month gig was over, I had reached the conclusion that I wasn’t going back to Antioch. I wanted to find work in progressive politics and learned that my former boss at CCAG had just been elected to Congress. Went to work for him for a couple years, got a degree in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz, worked as a community organizer for 10 years, and eventually moved into anti-poverty work at the municipal level.

Even though I only spent two years at Antioch, I credit that second Co-op job with helping me find my vocation.

Chaos theory

Steve Duffy ’77 I had two back-to-back Co-ops in southern California in the early ’70s: one doing immunology research and the other a two-year extended Coop coordinating 250 medical volunteers at the Los Angeles Free Clinic. I learned from the first that too much structure and endless repetition felt stifling. The latter with constant surprise and chaos somehow felt more palatable. Maybe that was a training ground for riding through the College’s suspension, working at the College Revival Fund, and then at Antioch College as it re-opened.

1980s Body of truth

Shelley Diamond ’80 1976, Riverside, CA, a group home for six teenage girls who had been

abandoned by their families. I got room and board to live in the home with the girls. The 85-year-old social worker wanted someone closer to the girls’ age. Unfortunately, I didn’t find out until I got there that the home was run by a Christian fanatic and the girls were told to find all their answers in the Bible. Yikes!

I was asked to leave because I gave the girls a copy of the book Our Bodies, Ourselves. The good news was that I decided to visit San Francisco before returning to Ohio and decided to stay. I’ve been in San Francisco ever since....

Going solo

Eric Miller ’81 My second Co-op (summer of ’76) was at my family “farm” in upstate NY. My plan was to find some local farmhand work and to train my year-old horse. Weighing in at all of 130 pounds, no one was interested in hiring me. I totaled my car the second week I was up there. And, I had a book on horse training, but that was all the knowledge I possessed on the subject. So, I didn’t get very far with much of any of my plans. What I did get was the experience of living in solitude. There was one month in which, in retrospect, I realized I had spent a total of about two hours in the company of other human beings.

The rest of the time, when I wasn’t trying to train my horse, I spent wandering in the woods or fishing. I learned what it felt like to live an unfragmented life.

Before fax machines

Lynne “Jasmine” Murphy-Rivera ’82 Spent my two of my best Co-op experiences in Washington, DC : the Library of Congress and the Associated Press (AP).Two bastions of knowledge and historical significance. In 1979, I was a “Runner” at the AP tasked with collecting and delivering data (on foot) between the federal office buildings. I actually had the fortune of watching the late Honorable Ron Dellums advocate during an open session of Congress for MLK Day to be a recognized Federal Holiday. Once that Co-op ended, I then became a research assistant with the Library of Congress where I learned the art of compromise, taking direction from a manager, and acceptance of critical feedback. I also met incredible co-workers who would frequently take me out to lunch and to their homes for dinner.

It was a magical experience.

Moon-shot scores

Edward Carmien ’85 In 1984, Professor Tom Haugsby asked for my moon-shot Co-op idea. I said I wanted to work as a writer for a game company, thinking it wildy unlikely. One of the most focused and effective lessons Antioch ever taught me? Watching Professor Haugsby work—through mail and finally telephone—his magic: he landed me a spot at TSR, Inc., best known as the publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons game. A six-month stint in Lake

Geneva, WI, produced many lessons and memories: standing off a grizzled fellow boarder who felt all eggs in the common refrigerator were his eggs; learning the key lesson supervisor Harold Johnson had to teach: if they ask you if you know how to do a particular job, you say yes—then learn how to do it if you don’t already know; and how cool working as a writer could be. I’m still a writer, though I followed the path illustrated by professors like Haugsby, Denman, and Watson, and became an educator.

Berry sweet summer

Aaron Schwabach ’85 A magical sunlit Norwegian summer picking raspberries on a farm on the Sognefjord, with fellow Antiochians—Joy Silverman ’85 and Sue Anderson ’84—and four other students—Koos and Anika from the Netherlands, and Brigitte and Pierre from France. The endless daylight produces raspberries larger and much sweeter than those that grow in more temperate climes. The first day, I must have eaten five pounds of berries. Weekends we rowed out to the 700-year-old stave church on Kvamsøy islet in the fjord or hiked to and on the Jostedalsbreen glacier.

All summer long, while the sun shone on the fjord, snow fell on the top of a mountain across the water. On August 31, 1984, we watched the storm clouds roll off the mountain and down into the fjord, filling our sunny fields with opaque grey mist and gently falling snow. The temperature dropped 40 degrees in fewer than that many minutes. Harvest season was over; it was time to pick the last berries, cut the canes, and head for warmer climes. The next day we were on the side of the road with our thumbs out, beginning an epic 1,800-mile southward hitchhiking journey that eventually led us to the island of Gozo in Malta…but that is another story.

Losing it all in New York City

Jesse Zoernig ’85 I transferred to Antioch from Grinnell College. My first Co-op was working on a 13-acre homesteading farm in Katonah, NY. Day one I helped slaughter 18 chickens. The final day I helped slaughter three hogs, ate a spaghetti lunch, took the train to NYC. and jumped on a subway train to put up concert fliers with my (NY) brother. The mix of hog-slaughter, spaghetti, and trains caused me to lose it all in the Village. Great way to end a Co-op job. I remained a vegetarian for several years.

Potential of print design

Jandos Rothstein ’86 “Don’t let them put you in the blue Room,” Gret warned me before I headed off to Detroit, to start what was to be my most consequential Co-op. And, it’s true, I probably should have protested. The room

was so small and angled under the house’s roof that you could not stand up in it and was not particularly well insulated against the Michigan winter, but I loved the grand Victorian house it was in, liked my (very) communist roommates (one of whom was then an Antioch dropout), and the funky Hispanic neighborhood it was in.

My job, at a start-up alternative newsweekly owned by two romantically intertwined alumni (then in the process of breaking up), was laying out the paper’s entertainment section, ads, and whatever else needed to be done in terms of office work.

While large parts of my weeks were dull, I loved the layout part and seeing my work—cut up sheets of phototype, tape with printed line rules, halftoned photostats of images, and rubylith overlays—transformed into professional looking newspaper pages. While making that particular section was less creative than the studio art I had always done, I could see the potential of print design from watching other parts of the newspaper come together. It all looked addictive to me, and I guess it still does. I went on to head the design department at the DC equivalent of that paper, and I still design a magazine today.

around about back in high school,

1990s

since most of these programs had

Stepping stones and building blocks

luck. Now, this is just an intro as I

Craig Johnson ’91 I had several Co-op jobs during my tenure at Antioch: Atlanta Economic Development Corporation, Lambert/Dupree Real Estate (Atlanta), May Company Department Store (West LA), City of Philadelphia Office of Special Events, Associated Press (Capitol Hill, DC).

Each Co-op experience allowed me the opportunity to (1) apply the concepts that I learned on campus in Yellow Springs; to (2) earn real job experience (with pay) and learn from mentors in a professional environment; and (3) to explore independent living in four major cities across the U.S. before I graduated from college.

I learned about employer expectations and on-the-job nuances that can make or break employment opportunities. I also learned about the employee commitment that we all make to achieve success, respect, and impact. And during each Co-op experience, I had several unexpected outcomes, including the development of lifelong friendships and the opportunity to explore the cultures of different cities. After the conclusion of each Co-op, I would return to campus excited and recharged. I approached subsequent courses with a new perspective as to how they would all impact my life.

Thirty years later, my Antioch Coops still shape my life. I still appreciate and apply something from every Co-op experience I had, which was such an integral part of my Antioch student experience. They brought real meaning to concepts like teamwork, dedication, and achievement.

which was Buddhism; namely Tibetan Buddhism.

I chose Rocky Mountain Dharma Center (RMDC) as my Co-op.

The guy next to me was also headed to the same destination, in fact, when I got onto the Greyhound bus in Portland, OR, very late one night.

The next day, in Boise, ID, he introduced himself and knew who I was and where I was going. Apparently, he called RMDC and they gave him a heads up. It was auspicious we caught the same bus at the same time, going to the same place, etc.

Auspicious.

When I arrived at RMDC, they were going through a name change. Since then, it was renamed Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center (RMSC). And again, since my time in and about RMSC, they change their name once again. It is now officially called Shambhala Mountain Center, SMC, located about an hour northwest of Fort Collins. As a student, I was allowed to attend any and all programs that were available, and this was the greatest treat years of prerequisites. Talk about have been visiting SMC since then off and on, taking eight years or so to revisit. It has become a part of my life, and I am forever grateful. I truly believe I received my best and most important education at SMC, namely the science of psychology and the importance of meditation and practice. I have participated in Setup and Takedown, which are events at the beginning and end of the summer programs, when entire swaths of people wishing to understand American Buddhism is all about, would stay in tents, practice in tents, and dine in tents, in a remote valley about five miles from the nearest convenience store. I have also led a Setup in 2012, which is no easy feat, but did come easy after participating in the process for so long.

While at SMC, I have seen a few students from Antioch come and go. One female had visions higher than American Buddhism and was planning to Co-op in India. Another became a leader of sorts and stayed with Shambhala for many years. Still another was a mirror to my own experiences, and I am glad he has found a niche in that community, just as I am so very thankful for this experience.

From the creaky floors of a church in Yellow Springs where I first met a real Tibetan talking about real Buddhism, to slowly walking barefoot in summertime at SMC, I truly believe Antioch and their Co-op program has changed my life for the better.

THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 13

PostcardsFromCo-op Kensy Zelaya Sabillon ’21

Swimming Against the Antiimmigrant Current

By Kensy Zelaya Sabillon ’21 I am a fourth-year student with a self-designed major in political economy and social psychology.

For my last Co-op, I found an internship at CARECEN, located in Houston, TX. What is CARECEN? Under the slogan “No Human Being is Illegal,” the Central American Resources Center (CARECEN) is a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to Central American immigrants and beyond.

Since 1985, CARECEN has empowered the immigrant community by assisting thousands of people in their citizenship path. In an effort to respond to the growing demand of Central Americans due to the immigrant reform of 1986, CARECEN offered a “hands-on” response to the increasing numbers of Central Americans entering the United States. CARECEN’s mission is to improve the living conditions of immigrants in Texas by providing legal services and advocating for the immigrant community. The CARECEN located in Houston is part of a larger network of other offices located in major cities across the U.S. (Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, DC).

My role at CARECEN At CARECEN, I work in the reception area, and I also translate legal documents, as well as complete forms in the National Visa Center (USCIS) for our clients. My most significant role is organizing all the work coming into the office while also meeting the deadlines I am given with translations or client applications. My morning in the office starts at 9:00 AM when I open the office and make sure everything is ready to start receiving clients. Our walk-ins and appointments start arriving trying to get different services done, like DACA, citizenship forms, 14 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

or their residency card. I make sure that they have the qualifications and the documents they need to get their processes done. I compile and organize the forms and documents before giving them to my supervisor, who distributes the job amongst the other paralegals.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of working in a place like CARECEN is that there is a community feeling with my co-workers and the clients due to its small size. I get to do my job like the translations or filling out forms, but I also know who I am doing it for. I think it is important because, as a worker, I am not detached from the work I am doing or the clients receiving the service. There is not only a monetary value to what I am doing, which is a great criticism for our current capitalist society. Many elders want to renew their green card or apply to other services but are illiterate. I help them to fill out their forms, and we end up laughing and forming a bond.

It is meaningful to see their faces full of joy after knowing that someone was willing to help them. Since we help low-income people who cannot afford an expensive immigration lawyer, our focus is not the financial means, but helping those who need their legal services done.

I enjoy what I do and have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with the people I work with—they say that I am part of their family. As a worker, I think this is important because I feel that I belong here, and besides being relatively new, they do not alienate me. I think that my job is essential because they are always supportive and at the same time, they give me responsibilities that I am held accountable for. Interestingly, the people I work with are older than me yet at different stages in their lives. I find it interesting that I have learned a lot from them in our conversations and their experiences in life and the professional field.

Meaningful impact on the immigrant community I think my job directly impacts the immigrant community, their daily lives, and their accessibility to good working conditions, healthcare, and the certainty of living the “American Dream.” Now, more than ever under the current administration, the undocumented community is pushed into the shadows, and thousands of people protected by working per-

mits walk on a “tight rope.” The fear of deportation increases daily. Our current administration promotes anti-immigrant policies and some of the most impacted communities have been the Dreamers that are protected under the DACA program and the “Tepesianos” that fall under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Every day I receive calls from people at the brink of despair because our current administration eliminated the TPS programs that had thousands of Central Americans as recipients. We are talking about thousands of people who might be left jobless, separated from their families, and there’s also an impact on the economy for the companies that hire them. Many of their contractors threaten to fire them if they don’t provide other documentation that extends their program longer.

Dreamers are finding out the shocking truth that DACA might gradually be eliminated, and their renewals are just for one year now.

Working in a place like CARECEN allows me to offer this community help and a sense of hope, even when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department is getting even more rigorous to prevent people from obtaining their permanent residence or citizenship. Our biggest hope is for a change in our current administration after the elections in November. If the Democrats win the presidency, there might be a path to obtain legal status for people with work permits. We work as hard as we can every day because our commitment is with the people we serve. We are also making a statement that we are fighters, and we are here to advocate for those who are busy running the economy of this country.

Working at CARECEN aligns with my educational goals and beyond…

Working at CARECEN is meaningful to me because I feel that it connects to real life and all of my academic preparation throughout these years at Antioch. It fits perfectly within my major since it focuses on immigration and the political, economic, and social components within this area. Every day I see the people directly impacted by decisions made in the White House and the importance of politics in our daily lives, even when people think that politics should be left to politicians. Working at CARECEN also provides me with

more insight into the population I intend to focus on in my Senior Project and the challenges they face daily once they live in the United States.

I am certain about what I want to do once I leave Antioch and enter the professional field. I can see myself working in a place like CARECEN.

New Skills and Meaningful Service During a Pandemic

By Dillon Powell ’22

My day-to-day during the COVID-19 pandemic has been one to remember. It’s October and things haven’t changed much since March for everybody’s day-to-day lives.

Luckily, I was able to find something that made me feel personally fulfilled while learning something new. I’ve been employed by a couple of different private contractors, and I’ve always had fun doing this sort of thing. Helping see a shed or a hydroponic system or a greenhouse come together has always been a fun way to spend my time.

The jobs always came to me for one reason or another, I knew someone or someone knew me.

Recently, I’ve been expanding some of those skills on Co-op in Los Angeles, my hometown. Working with a seasoned contractor like my current employer has been quite the learning experience. I think it’s because Dave, my employer, has some perfectionist tendencies which has meant that I’m able to learn in greater detail. He cares so much about how the job is done that it forces me to make sure the job really is done right.

A lot of the work is precise and requires patience. For instance, laying mosaic tile over a wall in a pool can actually be quite the tedious task. Especially to get them all level. As well as the prep to get there.

So, every little mistake counts and one must be extremely gentle and intentional making sure everything’s straight before it dries. Everything is measured three times before you cut. Things like that.

The kind of care and attention that

is required to make these things has taught me a lot about what it takes to build anything, and the level of focus that is necessary. The reason I say this is because there are times where you can’t afford to be distracted because the mistake can cost you. Luckily, I’ve been fine.

This said, I work with materials that are meant to make something last for a significant amount of time, like concrete, thin-set, sealer, stain, various adhesives, epoxy grout. These are all things that you don’t want to get all over the customer’s property because it’s hard to correct those mistakes. So, not a lot of time for day-dreaming.

After a couple of delays related to the California fires as well as other complications, we just finished building some trellises for a customer and now we’re going to make a private salon for an upcoming business owner. I can’t wait to see what this is going to look like. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and I think the skills and lessons I learn here will definitely be a part of my experience at Antioch in the future.

I feel like getting my feet wet with different contracting jobs can be helpful with a goal of mine to build an instrument and design some sort of acoustically sensitive space for recording and practicing. I feel like I’m learning things that I could definitely use in the future, even beyond Antioch, in one way or another.

I also have some music in the works. I hope to come out with at least a single by the end of the year.

I’ll have to get in touch with a couple friends who have some recording equipment, but I think I can manage even if I use really terrible mics for recording (like the one on your phone). The goal for me is to lay some music down that I feel good about. I’ll have to make sure that I stick to a style of music that can sound good with whatever recording equipment and mixing software I end up using. My thing is, I’m a self-proclaimed musician who has never really recorded anything seriously. And since I decided to take a musical direction at Antioch, I think this will definitely be the start to something that I’ve always wanted to do. I think recording and mixing your own music is another level to music that I’m very excited to start and develop at Antioch.

In addition, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend some

Kaylee Rutherford ’23

time with my family whom I haven’t been able to see in quite some time.

I’ve stepped in as a part-time caregiver for my grandmother since I’ve been back, and I feel like it’s been time well spent with her. I help with her meals and other regular needs.

She has onset dementia that seems to be getting worse, but she still has good advice to give. We’ve been making sure we take every measure to be sure she’s safe from the virus.

Luckily, everything has been okay because everyone has been wearing their masks. I feel like my grandmother has taught me a lot about the aging mind. This has reminded me of my long interest in psychology and neuroscience, as well as the strength I find in the giving of service to others. I’ve also been helping my grandmother’s dog walk again, as well as monitor and feed him. We just got him a doggie wheelchair because he couldn’t use his hind legs anymore. He actually seems happier with it, and it’s really nice to see such a difference in attitude with him.

I can feel this chapter of my life can be called “love service” or something. I appreciate the sense of fulfillment I feel as I continue being of some help to my family while I’m here during this pandemic. The time I spend making sure my family has everything they need and the gratitude my grandmother has shown, specifically, is always so amazing to feel. I can feel a lot of healing occur in my own heart as I rekindle the relationships I have with my family. I’m reconnecting with them in meaningful ways that will give me a better sense of family connection in the future, which I felt I had not had in a long time.

Archival Aspirations

By S. Quinn Ritzhaupt ’23

Five days a week, I walk to the Olive Kettering Library (OKL) for my Co-op.

Any student living on Antioch’s campus will be familiar with the OKL—a building from the mid 1950s, filled with shelves of books and serials, CDs and DVDs, computers, and a healthy dose of mold. The ground and basement floors are just that; an extensive collection of anything

a student could ever need for research. My favorite part of the OKL, however, is the second floor.

The second floor is home to the College’s archives, Antiochiana.

Dusty books, files upon files, and oddities relating to Antioch live in Antiochiana, waiting for an email or a visitor to come look at them (but never take them!). Most of it is organized, but some is scattered about the main room and the additional storage spaces with boxes of papers and photos yet to be incorporated.

I worked in Antiochiana in Winter 2020, and I expected to again in Winter 2021.

Things have a way of working out on their own. After a tumultuous hunt for a safe Co-op job in Fall 2020, I was again in a situation where I was unable to travel. I told my advisor, the unparalleled Richard Kraince, that I wouldn’t mind staying at Antioch, particularly if I could once again hold my position in the archives. A few pulled strings and a call received at Dollar General later, I was informed that this would be my reality for the next three months: an archive assistant to Scott Sanders. I was elated to be up there again, breathing in the dust and handling whatever old thing Scott would give me.

Four days prior to the beginning of my Co-op, I was informed that our library director was departing the College. Short-staffed and the only student worker with enough hours to fill the void, my position was hastily changed to being a library assistant. The archivist-turned-acting-director, Scott, was in a cheery mood on my first day there, though let me know he wished I (and him!) could be in the archives. I shared this wish.

I’ve worked as a library assistant at the Olive Kettering Library for six weeks now. It’s not what I expected, but I love it nonetheless. My tasks vary from day to day: sometimes I’m sitting at the circulation desk, making sure it “doesn’t float away” (according to Sandy, who I enjoy working with immensely); sometimes I’m finding and copying periodicals for the Inter Library Loans system; sometimes I’m watering plants and changing light bulbs.

I shelve books and CDs, I creep around the basement, I watch the dust settle. My favorite tasks are the ones where I have the opportu-

nity to return to my love, archival work. Sometimes I’m sent to Antiochiana on quests to find 50-year-old articles from The Record, or photograph address books from an alumna c. 1890. I get to use my dear friend, the microform machine, to preserve century-old senior papers.

All of my job is good, but those are the parts I really adore.

I get to hear a lot of stories in the OKL. Scott is a natural storyteller, both of history and of his own personal life, and there’s a lot of downtime at the library. I rarely leave a shift without some new facts about Antioch to bore my best friends with, or a tale to post to my Co-op Instagram.

The Olive Kettering Library is an intrinsic part of this campus, beyond just a home for books and the mailroom. It is a gathering place, a study hall, a venue for clubs, and much more. Even with a skeleton crew running it, nothing can stop the OKL from continuing its immense and beautiful presence, just as it has for the past seven decades.

It is truly an honor to be a part of its staff.

The Dream of a Future Farmer

By Kaylee Rutherford ’23

At the Antioch Farm, sustainability is of the utmost importance.

Food forests and annual gardens spread across the vast fields towards the south end of the campus, where permaculture practices are explored and utilized to create a beautiful and bountiful environment. The food grown on the Farm is harvested for the benefit of those on campus and has also been donated to local food banks. The Antioch Farm provides students and volunteers with the opportunity to experience a farm-to-table lifestyle. It also allows us the chance to explore and learn about the biodiversity of plants, beneficial insects, and the sustainability of rich, organic soil.

There are many projects underway on the Farm: chickens and ducks to be fed; beds to be tilled, mulched, and weeded; and compost to be turned. Organic matter is always used to ensure the health of

the land and those who benefit from it. Every morning, the chickens, ducks, and geese are fed and given fresh water, and their eggs are collected and prepared to be taken to the kitchens. Newly sprouted plants are then watered, as well as those in the greenhouse. Once the beds are tilled and ready, seeds and seedlings can be sowed or transplanted straight into the ground, then watered, mulched, and weeded as often as possible. This year has provided us with a number of varieties of potatoes, cabbages, and flowers.

The three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) beds have already begun to sprout. In the food forest, you can find a number of fruit trees, herbs, and other edible vegetation. During the days of harvest, lettuces, herbs, and asparagus are among some of the crops that are collected and taken to the kitchens to be prepared for those on campus. The scraps are then brought back to the Farm and are added to the compost.

The Antioch Farm has been a fully hands-on experience, with the great benefit of witnessing hard work producing yield that is shared with the community. As a student of the Sustainability program at Antioch College, the opportunity to work on an organic farm for the first time has provided me with immense knowledge and discipline.

This particular job has been both extremely inspirational and motivational in my journey to become a sustainable farmer and provide for communities in the future, and has given me insight into the necessary requirements for managing and maintaining such goals. I plan to fully utilize this acquired knowledge and insight for every farming opportunity I may have in the future, for my goal is to reconstruct communities and to teach sustainability to others so that they too can benefit from their yields.

Socially Distanced at Agraria

By McKenzie Smith ’23

“We envision a world where people live regeneratively and cooperatively in local communities that are diverse, equitable, and just.”

–Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solution This winter quarter 2021, I have had the exciting opportunity to Co-op at Agraria, a regenerative farming project of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions located in Yellow Springs. In just a few weeks of working here, I have gone out of my comfort zone in many ways which has been nerve-racking, but ultimately an opportunity to grow.

One of the main assignments I am working on is building a website for the Yellow Springs Wildlife Habitat Community. This is a group dedicated to the village-wide wildlife habitat certification through the National Wildlife Federation. I have no background in website building, so this project seemed a bit overwhelming, but it has been fun and I have been learning a lot. I am the main person working on the website for now but I have help from others in the group and at Agraria. We are hoping to get a good bit done by the end of my Co-op before passing it on to someone else.

I am also helping with a few hands on projects at Agraria. I went on a manure run to the Riding Center, and I also helped get a start building the new hoophouse. I have never done outdoor, hands-on labor, so this was an interesting experience for me. I was nervous to do the wrong thing, or be in the way, but the people I work with are very supportive and helpful. Ultimately working outside was an opportunity to grow and learn more about the work they do. The weather is a big factor in the work that I do. If the weather isn’t too cold, I am on site, but if it is too muddy or cold, I am inside working on the website or any other indoor projects they might need a hand with.

While working, I tested positive for COVID-19 and had to be quarantined. This affected my work greatly, and I stayed home for two weeks developing the website further. Luckily, I have support at Agraria and they were flexible with me. The work Agraria does is extremely important to me. They are working hard to bring the community together with sustainable farming practice and education on growing food. The work I am doing is very new to me, but I am excited to grow and learn from my experience here.

THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 15

InBox Steve Eckroad ’65

tersweet final act between DC and Charlottesville. I’ve got a long short story of that time I have kept tweaking for the 40+ years since that time that I won’t inflict on you. But I am attaching a poem that is the closest experience I’ve ever had of feeling something almost dictated to me.

Seems to fit with your theme.

And, as we share graduation years, I’m sure we must have been on campus simultaneously at some point or other. But as a transfer, I often feel I just sort of zipped through the Springs not leaving much of an impression. Other than long runs with Al Denman, my major connections were Maples and The Record.

Dennis Albrecht ’65

All the best, Michael McCoy ’77

March 23

Co-op Swap “That is not a picture of me!” wrote Steve Eckroad ’65 regarding an incorrect caption on page 38 in the Fall 2020 issue of The Antiochian.

Our apologies.

The correct caption for the photo (above right) is: Dennis Albrecht ’65 during fall quarter 1964 at work in the radioisotope laboratory of the general therapeutic department of Smith Klein and French Laboratories, a Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company.

And, above is Steven Eckroad ’65 working as a laboratory technician in Cambridge, MA, at Arthur D. Little, Inc., an organization that conducted research for indus-

try (today a multinational management consulting firm).

Steve says, “I did Co-op at Arthur D. Little two quarters and went on to work there after graduation.”

Rainy spring Saturday In Baltimore

You in one chair, Biology.

Needing only a glance To know

Brings feelings Of memories

I in the other, History.

You were.

Reassurance at that

Of Ohio Saturdays When we’d lie late in bed

The window open, A crack.

Reality.

Rise Put on gentle music

The leaves outside Dripping in the mist.

And share the gray Damp Quiet Peace.

The lights inside Warm shelter from the gray.

Inspired Romance

The leaves dripping Warmth Quiet Peace.

Steven, Your latest [February] Buffalo Grazing [please see page 6] stirred up all sorts of stuff as one of the great romances of my life began on the front lawn, played out over a couple of quarters in the President’s dorms, and finally came to a bit-

�

No such reassurance Today.

Only the memory Of the feeling Of The mist The gray The love, The leaves dripping Warmth Quiet Peace.

We love to hear from you.

Please direct your letters to the editor to communications@antiochcollege.edu, or submit your comments.

Letters should be no longer than 150 words, must refer to content from The Antiochian. Published correspondence may be edited for length or clarity.

Tributes to Louise Smith ’77 Louise and I were both Theater majors at Antioch in the 1970s. I graduated in 1975, and, according to my admittedly faulty memory, the Antioch outdoor summer theater was revived that summer by Downing Cless. The two productions were Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht and The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

Downing had some creative casting ideas for The Tempest. He cast me in the role of Prospera, a part that was written for a man, and he cast both Jane Woodman ’75 and Louise Smith ’77 as Ariel. This did not mean that they alternated performances but rather both of them played Ariel in each performance, so the sprite popped up in more than one place at once, as befits a magical being. I can still see Louise and Jane in their matching skintight costumes popping up here and there, as if out of nowhere.

Louise, Jane, and I lived together off-campus that summer.

At the end of the summer, Jane and I moved to Boston, and Louise stayed on at Antioch. Over the years, I lost touch with Louise, only keeping track of her career through the alumni magazine. But I will never forget the summer we spent together—rehearsing, performing, talking late into the night, eating, playing, and occasionally getting some sleep!

I wish Louise many new adventures and challenges in her retirement. And I cherish the connection we had many years ago.

—Jeanne Orden ’75 Louise and I entered Antioch at the same time, and acted together in our first quarter, the summer of 1973, in the Jules Pfeiffer play, Little Murders. Louise, congratulations and thank 16 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

you for your long and rich service to the College.

—Richard Robinson ‘77 I first met Louise through my father when she was a student in theater in the 1970s, but I only got to know her after the Antioch University Board of Trustees announced in June 2007 its intention to close Antioch College in June 2008. In shocked response, Barrie Dallas Grenell ’65 and I believed that the Antioch Area Theatre was a potential source of revenue, a significant benefit to the wider community, and therefore a good reason to keep the College open. In developing a proposal that could be presented to the Board of Trustees, we talked with a range oftheater alumni and especially Louise. As thetheater’s budget and resources contracted each year, she had compiled an impressive dossier of statistics: the shrinking budget, the state of the building and estimates for its rehab, productions mounted, a timeline showing that thetheater building was in essentially year-round use by both College and community members, sources of income existing and potential, and a minimalist budget for the future. We incorporated her data into our proposals, along with history, reputation, and testimonials. None of this cut any ice with the Board.

Later in 2007 or early 2008, Louise came to Urbana-Champaign to perform with Meredith Monk at the University of Illinois Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She and I had a chance at my house to talk at length about Antioch, thetheater, and the looming closure of the College. Louise recounted her interactions with Toni Murdock, the Chancellor of Antioch University, who was spearheading the drive to close the College. I so admired Louise’s

Louise Smith ’77 and Jane Woodman ’75 playing Ariel and Jeanne Orden ’75 as a female version of Prospero in The Tempest directed by Downing Cless in 1975.

stamina: along with teaching, production, administration, and her own work intheater and therapy, she had met with Toni since the closure announcement and presented her with all thetheater data—which was seemingly incomprehensible to Toni and the Board. Though at this point it was clear that the Board was determined to close the College, resistance was in full swing, and in 2008, a group of Antioch alumni proposed to buy the College from the University. It took more than a year to finalize a deal, enabling the chancellor to mothball the whole campus for the 2008–09 year. As soon as the keys were transferred in 2009, a bunch of us went to inspect thetheater building. Once a foundry, the building’s fundamentals

were in better shape than most of the buildings on campus; the mothball period, however, had enabled families of raccoons and possums to take over the bathrooms and other spaces in the building, and leakage had occurred in numerous places.

To the uninitiated, the place looked like it should be condemned. Totheater people, however, it was a “great space” and “nearly workable.” The architecture firm eventually hired to rebuild the campus targeted thetheater building for early rejuvenation, for the reasons noted above— the soundness of the building’s foundation and its resistance to deterioration.

In 2016,theater and performance was the theme of the annual Antioch Alumni Reunion. Many

alumni came to campus to participate; the raccoons were gone and much of the space could be used.

What had been the Workshop Theatre was the setting for a fascinating presentation with slides by thetheater group Otrabanda and for a series of short plays by alumna Robin Rice ’64. Several members of our Reunion Committee were cast, in plays both comic and dramatic. The last play was performed by Louise and alumnus Patrick Tovatt ’66, both experienced professionals, who did it so well I cried. I think the world of Louise and know that she deserves the peace, potential, and nights of restful sleep that I hope retirement from Antioch will make possible.

—Paula A. Treichler ’65

Remembering Bob Devine ’67 Robert H. “Bob” Devine, Class of 1967, passed away on November 7, 2020. Bob served as president of Antioch 1996– 2001. An obituary released by the family in May is published online (antiochcollege.edu/bob-devine) and will be included in the next full issue of The Antiochian magazine. A celebration of Bob’s life is planned for Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 2:00 PM in the Herndon Gallery at Antioch College for vaccinated family and friends in accordance with the College’s pandemic protocols at that time. The event will also be livestreamed for those unable to attend.

The following are remembrances sent to the College.

I remember that when he first came to campus he always wore a coat and tie—until one day a young woman student approached him and said, “Mr. Devine, you gotta lose the tie!” I think he did.

—Gary Houseknecht ’66 Bob was a close friend at Antioch.

We lived in married student housing in units facing each other. I loved the root beer runs to Fairborn. The ride was always memorable. Spent many evenings listening to music or talking philosophy.

We played baseball on the no holds barred married students intramural team. We were vicious and victorious. Bob had great hands. And great hands in everything he did. I had hoped to catch up with him in Yellow Springs this year but not to be.

—John Blethen ’67 I have known Bob since the maid 1960s. We were students together.

Then as alums, faculty and president of the College. His heroic efforts helped save the college, but more important, he taught and mentored at least two generations of critical thinkers and activists. Every one of his devoted students is one of his victories for humanity. My thoughts are with Callie, another extraordinary Antiochian, and to his family.

His memory is a blessing to not just Antioch but to all of humanity.

–Barbara Slaner Winslow ’68 I got to Antioch as an APIE recruit in 65. Got a Co-op with Bob, Steve Perry, Flo Lorenze in 1966 in the video dept. Heaven for a ghetto kid with no direction. Bob is paramount in my mind for patience, acceptance, brains, world view, truth, laugh, and daily smile. I guess I have lived longer than Bob but I would trade.

RIP, old long lived man. I feel what you feel. Peace.

—Jesse James ’70 In the late ’60s, I was floundering while trying to figure out how to actually graduate from Antioch on time. Bob guided me through the process of pulling together my academic credits and various experiences to craft a degree in Communications, which didn’t really exist at the time. (He agreed that singing in a rock band—Ed Chicken And The French Fries—for a quarter could be construed as an in-depth independent study of American blues music. Magic!)

I loved working with Bob, and learned a lot about A/V, which served me well in my various careers. He was very bright and empathetic, and had a wry sense of humor that was never far from the surface. The world was a better place with him in it.

My sincere condolences to his loved ones.

–John Draper ’71 Sad news. Bob was a giant among giants in the old Antioch and never quit or shirked the work of rebuilding.

–Tim Klass ’71 It was Bob Devine who taught me how to weave video into a story 55 years ago. That was no small trick in the days of half-inch black and white tape! You had to pick an edit point on the playback reel and the master tape, backtime them both, then roll the two machines and go into record manually.

One of my favorite memories from my time working a Co-op job in the Antioch video department

was when Bob, Ed White and I carted two bulky, balky half-inch tape machines to Moosonee, Ontario, to shoot a documentary. It was during that edit that I learned from Bob that not just the finished master, but every shot, is a story with a precise beginning, a unifying middle and a perfect end.

—Bonnie Taylor ’71

wasn’t even his student. Eventually I became a Communications major. I treasure everything I learned in his classes. Especially his approach to community media and valuing grassroots voices. I became a photographer and photography professor and tried to emulate his never-ending support for students in my teaching.

—Gail Rebhan ’75

Bob Devine was unquestionably the best teacher / professor I had in my 20 years of education. He was never “just a chapter ahead of his students” in the textbook because there was no textbook in the classes I took under him. Instead, he tapped current events to force critical thinking. For example, he made us confront the implication of facial recognition software and the government’s potential use of it back in the early 1970s. It took the NY Times almost forty years to catch up with him. Unfortunately, all that he saw so clearly—and revealed to his critically-minded students—is now thoroughly entrenched.

Antioch was a richer place because of Bob’s smart and soulful presence. May he RIP. —Anne Marie Garti ’72

What sad news to hear of Bob’s passing.

Bob played an important role in my life’s path, along with Antioch as

My older brother Larry Weiner and I attended Antioch and studied with Bob. I fondly remember his kindness and intellect. I recall his melodic voice and grin and how he always illuminated a conversation. He was a mentor to me. And a friend to my brother. His impact changed the course of our lives.

Deepest condolences.

—Sara Rothholz Weiner ’79 It was 1979, maybe ’80. Cable TV had taken hold, and we all thought it was the greatest thing ever. Bob told us

So sorry to hear that Antioch—and all of us—have lost Bob Divine. Mostly I remember a video he did that may have been titled ‘Winter Wheat”— the music may have been a track by Dory Previn… I hope that it has not been lost. One of the most empowering gifts I received was learning to make videos (via Ladies Home Journal?) and editing them on what probably was old Panasonic equipment.

A great man, he will be much missed.

—Noël Dorsey Vernon ’72 One of the things I am most grateful for is meeting my (future) wife in Bob and Steve’s Video 1, 2 and 3 classes. As he said, “One is unity, two is duality, three is everything else.” That is his gift to us…everything else.

—Robert Fishbone ’74 Reading about the passing of Bob Devine makes me very sad. I sincerely extend my deepest sympathy to his family.

I attended several colleges before finding Antioch, and I spent two years there and graduated in 1976.

Out of all those schools and graduate school, Bob Devine was the most significant educational influence for me. He saw something in me that I didn’t see myself, and gave me responsibilities that boosted my confidence and abilities. He was always encouraging and positive, and never condescending. He was a pioneer in the new technology that was emerging at the time, and brilliant at teaching us about it.

I was fortunate to be his student, and will always remember him with the deepest gratitude and respect.

–Eve R. Pines ’76 Bob Devine changed my life. He was an indescribably generous and supportive professor. During my first year at Antioch, I worked on a “Sexism in Saturday Morning Children’s Cartoons” project for a sociology class taught by Marg Nelson. This involved recording and editing Saturday morning cartoons. Bob personally opened the video lab for me early on Saturday mornings and taught me how to record broadcast television.

He taught me how to edit (then stateof-the-art) now primitive ½ inch black and white reel to reel video. I

a whole. When I arrived at Antioch in 1971, just 10 days after graduating high school, I had no idea what field to pursue. Then I took a few classes from Bob and realized the importance of communications in bettering our world. His easygoing style convinced me to select him as my faculty advisor, a role where he proved to be a superior coach.

After over 4 decades of international work developing communication networks around the world, I know that Bob steered me right. His influence was a major benefit for so many of us, and a big piece of the Antioch experience. Thank you Bob. —Joel Hariton ’76 It is hard to encapsulate the breadth of Bob’s impact on so many of us.

Perhaps it is best captured with Process and Effects of Mass Communication, a class that was about art and culture, discovery, understanding complexity, critical thinking, and considering the many paths to solving any particular problem; it provided so many life skills, one might say Bob’s intellectual DNA is spread (consciously and unconsciously) among us, our families, and beyond.

Then there was his empathy, love of music, wonderful family, and Callie, who was his Philosopher’s Stone through so many health and work challenges, not least his stepping in to help lead Antioch out of diverse crises and his struggle against the death eaters that sought to destroy the college.

This sure makes us agnostics hope there is a cosmic paradise where our souls mingle and catch up.

—Steve Spector ’76

that this was just the camel’s nose, the tip of the iceberg; that the insidious goal of wiring people up was not to provide entertainment to you, but to get information from you.

I thought he was being paranoid.

Yet, here we are. RIP, Professor.

—Eric Block ’80 I think of Bob Devine often, mostly calling to mind his positive energy and caring commitment to his students, but also his rigorous scholarship. His influence on me was life changing. He opened doors of creative possibilities (one of our first exercises, to re-imagine and re-edit a well-known documentary was a revelation); of ways of understanding the structures of media organizations, and of personal expression.

His self-reflective “Elavil, Ohio” so far ahead of its time remains an inspiration. His mentorship and friendship to me and so many will reverberate for generations.

—Dan Lang ’80 I graduated from Antioch in 1982.

I still have treasures from my days there, intaglio prints, photos of me as a young man with long hair and beard, a great horned owl feather found on a full moon night in the Glen, and a written evaluation from Bob. I saved it because Bob saw me clear as day, my gifts and my challenges. He applauded my uniqueness, invited me to be an eternal student, and to both create and live courageously. Thank you Bob, for your eyes and your heart, for your years of visionary service. You broadened my perspective, deepened my understanding, and inspired me in

ways that continue to buoy my courage in turbulent waters. Mahalo Bob. —Kabba Anand ’82 (was Daniel Rosenberg at Antioch) So sorry to hear about the death of Bob Devine.

That first day in class as a freshman was like nothing I had experienced before. Bob was such a dynamic, enthusiastic presence. Bob was a wonderful professor and generous with his time. I remember Bob driving me out to a local garbage dump where I was going to shoot some footage for a project, obviously I had no car. I had spoken to the manager of the dump on the phone and had secured permission to shoot there, although Bob was, I think, skeptical it would happen. Sure enough when we arrived, the person at the gate was leery of our intentions and refused us entry.

Driving back we talked of various things and Bob shared anecdotes of students from days past and why Antioch students wouldn’t necessarily be welcomed with open arms at some places.

My sincere condolences to Callie Carey-Devine ’84 and the rest of his family.

Cheers, to Bob Devine, a wonderful human, who has impacted so many lives.

—Rich Katz ’84 Only a week or so ago, I heard the sad news that my former academic advisor Bob Devine has passed away. I feel compelled to share some thoughts with the college community. And how much his support meant to accomplishing my dream.

My condolences to all of you in the community and especially to his family.

I got my degree in 1992 from Antioch College School of Communication and Media Arts and I did a self-designed major in Journalism.

However I took a lot of Bob’s courses on communication theory.

I was a foreign student, however I came to the campus with the determination to become a journalist in national television. Yea right, was the initial reaction from Bob. Naturally he was very skeptical but he eventually came around to supporting my endeavors.

He warned me getting an opportunity those days to be a journalist at TV networks (there were only 4) was one of the most difficult things, if not the most difficult career choice in the US. And he was not sure if anyone from Antioch had ever succeeded.

Well that gave me more fire in my belly and I wondered: could I be the first in Antioch history? Also it would be the first time for a foreign student, he quipped. I was excited and terrified at the same time with the challenge.

After I had managed to land and successfully complete a couple of Co-ops with well known regional and national news organizations on east and west coasts, Bob came around and started supporting me wholeheartedly.

But before that he did try to persuade me why I ought to have considered going into public access television. He was a renowned authority on it having launched several public access stations across the US. He even told me he could help me get a job in that field. But he couldn’t help me in network television; he told me he’d give all the support I needed though.

At the same time, I was very naive, THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 17

InBox Bob Devine in Moosonee, Ontario, November 1970. Photo

by Bonnie Taylor ’71.

to say the least, to aim for something so lofty. Now I know looking back.

Fast forward, after finishing my degree, I had moved to Washington DC. After a couple hundred rejection letters from all 4 national TV news networks (ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and CNN), finally I got an opportunity of a lifetime to be a Producer at CNN in Washington DC. Naturally I was on cloud 9 for accomplishing my dream.

It was in the later half of 1990s and the Internet was starting to become more mainstream. Yahoo was the first major web portal but there was no news source on the web. So CNN had launched CNN.com which was the first news website tied to a traditional news organization. Very few of us, the journalists at CNN TV would pay attention to CNN.com.

As CNN Producer, I was deeply focused on reporting big stories for TV. Learning process was extremely steep, especially supervising camera and sound crew in the field, staying in touch with the assignment desk in DC and often Atlanta. I was learning to tell stories with video, sound and script and under extremely fast-moving deadlines. But I was enjoying every single aspect of it even though I often felt overwhelmed.

It turned out CNN.com, which was the first News website, started putting my select TV news stories on CNN.com. Reading news on CNN.com was a novel concept and I didn’t make much of it until a friend alerted me to a story with my byline on CNN.com.

Around that time, I had managed to reconnect with Bob through email. And I told him I became not only a Network TV journalist and producer, I also accidentally became an internet journalist, if there was any such thing. But he was so happy and proud.

Now looking back, I realize Bob’s encouragement and nonstop support meant so much more to a foreign student who was still learning English.

I felt Bob was unique in a way that he’d challenge you and raise the bar.

If you succeed, he’d back you up all the way. Quite a mark of leadership!

About 12 years ago, I was on campus on my way somewhere. But Bob was out of town so we couldn’t connect. We exchanged emails weeks later and he asked me what my next dream was.

After hearing the news of his passing, now I regret I didn’t contact him sooner. CNN was my first network TV job that he knew. I wish I could’ve told him how that same foreign student who dreamed of working at one American television network, now has been Producer at 4 on 2 Coasts.

Thank you, Bob. You made a difference.

18 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021

P.S. I’d love to hear from other students who studied with Bob or others I knew as friends or any faculty members I studied with. You can reach me through my professional website: NEWSmaker1.com —Dave (Debasish) Adhicary ’92 When I was in my second year of college, I was chatting around the kitchen table about classes to take with Kirsten Ervin ’91. She said: “You have to take a class with Bob Devine. He is— hands down— the best professor in this college.” Antioch students, without grades and competitive sports and hierarchy, are usually loath to make such pronouncements, so I sat up and took notice. I enrolled in one of his classes, Media Criticism. I had no particular interest in media—like most activist students, I knew that capitalist media was part of “the problem,” but that’s about it.

During the course of his class, we learned all sorts of deeper critiques of media in society— from a feminist lens, structural ownership issues, content analysis, objectivity/subjectivity and so on. Each week, he gave us pieces of writing, music, videos to write critiques of, using the various analyses we had learned. I remember I watched Madonna’s “Express Yourself ” video so many times that I learned the words and started to play my own version on guitar.

His classes were always overbooked, there must have been fifty students—roughly 3 or 4 times your average Antioch class in those years.

But the thing that really struck me: Every week, we had to do an essay using our newest analysis that we had covered in class. It was 2-4 pages. When Bob returned our assignments, he had in handwriting numbered various sentences on our pages, and, point by point, he had given every one of the students 4 to 5 typed pages in response to the points we had made. He was sometimes insightful, sometimes sharply critical, sometimes made our points better than we had made them, sometimes encouraging, sometimes witty. No one has ever engaged my writing like that, before or since. All you teachers out there can imagine what it would take to do that!

Now I know that this was a little bit of a parlor trick. I’m sure lots of college students make the same handful of points, and he was a master of personalized cutting and pasting. However, even so, it must have taken him days to do this every week. He had figured out what was the best possible thing he could do with the new medium of word processing, when most professors were still writing the occasional “Good Point” in blue ink on the margin of the paper. He was by far the hardest working professor

I ever met. Being in his class really made me up my game, and work hard to improve my writing and analysis— and take the material as seriously as he was taking the development of my intellect.

At the time, I had decided that I wanted to go into solar energy, and that ended up being my major. I did this at precisely the wrong time— tried to get into the field right after the US won the first Gulf War and had as much cheap oil as it wanted.

So when the pirate radio movement arose, I found my main life’s work, in the reform of radio and media.

There hasn’t been a day that went by that I haven’t used the ideas that I learned in Bob’s two classes. Antioch does not have a lot of CEOs of corporations, or very many Nobel prize winners… but we are dramatically over-represented in the leadership of community media around the USA. Bob Devine had a lot to do with that.

Bob was also one of the only Antioch college presidents who was not totally weirded out by the students…he could engage us respectfully, point out generously when we weren’t making much sense, and take our concerns seriously. Most presidents, having gone to normal colleges, understandably could not quite make sense of the things that Antioch students care about.

Having been an Antioch student, during a tumultuous time in the sixties, we all seemed perfectly natural to Bob. With his insatiable intellectual curiosity, he remained able to engage the new issues as students raised them. I am so glad to learn that in the last years he was finally brought back as professor emeritus. Bob was a real treasure, he represented a lot of the best of what Antioch can be.

—Pete Tridish ’92 I am heartbroken and shocked to hear this. I took classes with him that were truly mind expanding— we had such wonderful discussions about a new phenomenon— cable television (something I never heard of until his class)—and its possible 1984-type impact if it were not thoughtfully implemented. He let us “play” all night long in the TV studio experimenting with video feedback and more. I also got to know him more personally when I worked for him as a video tape editor in my financial aid work/study job for a couple of quarters after my father died.

We have been FB friends, and I was thrilled to have that continuing relationship with him. I am shattered by this news & want to send all my best wishes to his family. So sad.

—Elizabeth Pond-McPherson ’85 Such a loss…Bob was president the entire time I was at Antioch and one of my intellectual mentors. I will always remember him teaching me the concept of “hegemony” in our Media Studies class when I was 19.

For the past 15 years as a university instructor, everytime I teach “hegemony” I find myself drawing the same hungry circle of power… Your

legacy lives long after you.

Rest in Peace, Bob. —Shayna Plaut ’00 I have the utmost respect for Bob Devine, but I can guarantee you that I didn’t want to give it to him initially. Initially, I thought he was the absolute worst of the ivory tower.

The first one-on-one interaction I had with Bob was argumentative and left me disillusioned with higher education. In a class with damn near 40 students, Bob told me that skateboarding has no cultural/social significance. In his words: there was no skateboarding culture.

I had been skating for 6 years and was 18. I am now 44 and have been skating for 32 years. Bob didn’t teach math, so don’t judge me if those numbers are off.

Intro to Communications, 1995, some cold Antioch building on a January morning. I stepped into my first media class. I had raised my freshman hand to make a note of “how skateboarding unites young people from really diverse backgrounds in a public space.” Bob hit me with the “there is no skateboarding culture.” Meanwhile, the half drunk punk said he plays shows in the woods and everyone parties, so his shit is cultural. Bob agreed. I really wasn’t following the logic.

I spent his next day’s office hours calling bullshit, loudly. I’m sure he was both amused and frustrated with me. As were the people waiting in the hall.

Years later, having taken time off I find myself back at Antioch and in one of his media classes my senior year. I really fell into that world at Antioch because of an elective with Christine Hill and was on a full media literacy trip. So I took a class with Bob again. On the first day of that class, Bob made a point to take me aside and tell me he was wrong. I’m not saying I was right, I am saying it was amazing that this man remembered the argument and wanted to address how it ended. That’s fucking amazing. I can’t recall the specifics, but it meant the world. It was an authority figure making a point to correct a perceived wrong.

It made me feel respected. As I have evolved to have more authority, I remember this lesson.

Arguments with professors, teachers, or coaches are a cornerstone of developing the skills of defending your beliefs and use of authority. Authority being the key issue here. He taught me to wield it lightly and honestly.

Correlation does not alway equal causation, however there is direct correlation between Bob’s honesty and my unwillingness to die without having won a victory for humanity.

Rest easy, Bob. — Alexander McBride Protzman ’01 Bob Devine profoundly impacted generations of Antiochians by living the values of shared governance through his teaching, community

organizing and as president of the college. Almost anyone who knew Bob has a story of how he made them feel important and necessary to Antioch’s growth and success. I am forever indebted to the mentorship he provided me as a student and Antioch community manager, and the tools he shared are ones I use daily in my life. May we reflect on the ways Bob impacted our lives and work to create a world that is liberating and full of joy.

—Shelby Chestnut ’05 Bob was the first administrator I met at Antioch, and one of the first classes I took was with him, Leadership Strategies. From that point on, I took every one of his classes offered. It is fitting, as it was a post in a forum board by Bob that enticed me to visit the campus and instantly fall in love with the setting and the ideology of Antioch.

Bob’s Media and Social Change course made me change and refine my major. He taught with compassion for his subjects and students. Everything centered around making people the heart and focus of change. Bob was an immense agent of change and a center point of my Antioch education. After experiencing many other campuses and their administrations in my studies, no one has yet to meet the bar he set in approachability and that he kept everyone on the same level. He was a great leader and I was so spoiled to have experienced his leadership while at Antioch.

—Maurya K. Orr ’04 I had the privilege of sitting on ADCIL for two years as a union employee and I don’t think I have ever been more impressed with another human being in my life.

Bob treated me well and welcomed my opinion, but what really impressed me was the amount of knowledge he had on any subject including things you wouldn’t believe a College President would have a clue about. I’m talking about electric, architecture, steam boilers, and you name it, there didn’t seem to be anything he couldn’t talk about knowledgeably. I’m sorry I never told him how I felt, maybe somehow, he knew.

— David McManamay, former staff I’m very saddened to hear of the passing of Robert “Bob” Devine, and send my heartfelt condolences to his wife eve and family. Bob was an incredible person, with a wry sense of humor and quick wit. He had an amazing wealth of knowledge and an impressive ability to convey concepts in the most illuminating ways. His magnetic presence in the classroom was unparalleled, and to this day I am honored and thankful for the opportunity he gave me to teach. I’m so glad he graced us with his good cheer, intelligence and humanitarian spirit.

Bob will be missed. May he rest in eternal peace.

—Edward Scott Jr, former faculty

Antiochiana ‘Race Relations’

Each month, College Archivist Scott Sanders digs into the archives and shares “songs from the stacks” which reveal pieces of Antioch College’s history. View more Songs from the Stacks at antiochcollege.edu/ antiochiana The November 1946 meeting of the Antioch College Board of Trustees was in many ways a typical one. As usual, finances (and lack thereof ) dominated the conversation. But when Algo Henderson was president, to make sure that the proceedings would not be limited to discussions of dollars, he

people made Antiochians largely by her efforts.

These program-related presentations to the Board were most effectively communicated by the students themselves. Three were on the schedule that day, including Nina Hamilton Anthony, whose presentation follows. Nina never finished col-

SONGS FROM THE STACKS

tor’s status, because he has probably had to train more Antioch students than any other employer, and probably knows more of them better than most of the faculty. Nina entered Antioch in the fall of 1943.

A local girl, she was valedictorian of her class at Bryan High School in 1943, and was awarded the twoyear Bryan High School Scholarship, which is given each year by Antioch to the top-ranking graduate of Bryan. Nina is a journalism major. She has had work experience as a mimeograph operator for the College Service Department, as

greater degree than any other single factor in my background. Segregated environments I have since learned, through some of my work experiences at Antioch, are unrealistic doges of actuality, breeding fear, prejudice, suspicion and hate.

I have been fortunate enough to escape this kind of situation through fifteen years of formal schooling.

I have been fortunate enough also to understand that, first of all, as a human being, and secondly, as a Negro, I cannot face the world and the problems which are a part of it by turning my back to the problems or burying my head in the sand when I choose to live in a segregated environment, learn in segregated schools or teach in segregated schools.

I have been fortunate enough to understand that I can’t as a human being and a white person sit in Congress and pass laws which will

Nina Hamilton Anthony ’47 (left) and Mari Sabusawa ‘45 as Antioch College undergraduates.

would schedule for the Trustees “programs which give glimpses of particular elements of the Antioch plan of education.” The topic, so the minutes say, was “the educational program in race relations,” and was led by the inimitable Jessie Cambron Treichler, whose introductory remarks are reprinted below. Mrs. Treichler’s name is well known to Antiochians, or at least it should be, as the greatest individual force for integration in the College’s history. As founder and chair of the Race Relations Committee, she led the way in recruiting Black students (and perhaps, more importantly, found the necessary tuition money as well), beginning in the 1940s. Coretta Scott King ’51, her sister Edythe ’47, and A. Leon Higginbotham ’49 are among the luminescent

lege, nor did her famous sister, the novelist Virginia Hamilton Adoff ’57, but they were practically raised on campus and personally educated by her father on concepts of race and equality. He was the remarkable Kenny Hamilton, longtime manager of many a student waiter in the old Antioch Tearoom. His soulful visage stands at the center of a mural of the Tearoom in Antiochiana done by one of his former employees, Ann Parker, a student in the 1930s.

Nina Hamilton’s Report to the Board of Trustees November 1946 The first student speaker today is Mrs. Nina Hamilton Anthony, junior student at Antioch. Her father, Mr. Kenneth Hamilton, is Head Waiter at the Tearoom with instruc-

secretary to Mr. Vernet of Vernay Laboratories, as secretary at the Cleveland Urban League, as cub reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier in Detroit. Last summer she married the young man, David Anthony, to whom she had been engaged since high school days. She is working at present as secretary to the Assistant Dean of Students. I asked her to try to think in racial terms, something she seldom does, and try to estimate the values of Antioch’s educational system as a Negro student participating in it.

Growing up in mixed neighborhoods, going to mixed elementary and high schools, and then going to college at a mixed Antioch has helped to develop me along the lines of symmetry, for which Antioch still strives, perhaps to a

affect people the world over, of all religious and political beliefs, with varying degrees of skin pigmentation when the only contact I’ve had with any people is from a pedestal of lily-white supremacy.

All of this may seem a little far afield from Antioch and the educational experiences I have found here, but when I came to Antioch, I wouldn’t even have known how to say the things I’ve said already, because I wouldn’t have understood them. And if I had understood them, self-consciousness would have prevented me from saying them.

I graduated from a mixed high school valedictorian of my class and won a two-year scholarship to Antioch. To a naive graduate of the local high school, native of an Ohio village, daughter of normal, poor, conservative parents, An-

tioch seemed to me the epitomy of liberalism and good in the world.

True, I’d always lived in a mixed situation. But something happens when you leave elementary school and enter high school. You suddenly stop seeing your friends and classmates as individuals and start seeing them as members of whatever group their color, their religion, their nationality, or their economic class obligates them to in society.

You start feeling and living the superficialities of society when you pass elementary level—a peculiar phenomenon of our society, but hardly an inevitable one. It is heartbreaking when you think what a little straightforward guidance on the part of parents and teachers could do. Antioch, in contrast, did seem to be “the guiding light.”

Students at Antioch were different, I was sure. Believing this perhaps lead to one of my greatest disappointments (though this disappointment did change to understanding gradually) because I found many Antiochians who were typical of the kinds I’d left behind in high school. As I continued living in the Antioch community, joining various committees and at one time being unanimously elected to the presidency of my hall, my disappointment grew less and understanding took its place. The reason? The same reason which makes the Antioch program vitally different from other college programs and which makes it a progressive program. At Antioch, all beliefs and ideas are challenged at some time or another, in some way or another—perhaps in a classroom—perhaps in a New York subway. All beliefs and ideas are subject to change when new facts and scientific proofs reveal that the old beliefs and ideas are invalid. This kind of flexibility of thought is necessary for social progress, just as it is necessary for scientific progress. This is the kind of flexibility of thought which was needed in my high school and other high schools, colleges and universities.

When I recall my work experiences at Antioch, I find a verification in actual circumstances of many of the things I’ve done some generalizing about here. The job that did the most to co-ordinate the ideas I’d gathered with real living and working was my job at the Vernay Patents Company, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Here Negroes, Nisei, whites, Jews, and Gentiles, about 20 in all, worked together, belonged to a union together, went to union meetings together and shop parties together with no degenerating results—we won the much coveted [Army-Navy] E-Award [for excellence in production of war equipment]. Quite a contrast to an incident on another job I had, this time in a large industrial city where racial lines were so strict that they ripped apart a few years back causing deaths and injuries to members of both races. People who had lived through the riot told me that an amazing thing had happened. Those neighborhoods of an inter-racial composition went unharmed! Perhaps amazing, but it also should have been a lesson in living. The superficiality of segregation was proved further when the outstanding Negroes and the outstanding white people of the city met together in an inter-racial dinner. The dinner appeared to be a flop and a show of mutual distrust to me when all the Negroes sat together and all the white people sat together. But, how could they feel natural when the only time they see each other is once a year at an inter-racial dinner.

These have been the outstanding of my experiences at Antioch. I have learned much and have seen my white friends and classmates learn just as much. It’s a gradual, thorough process. Antioch doesn’t change you from a reactionary to a radical, or vice versa, but it can change you from a reactionary or radical to a realist.

—Nina Anthony THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021 19

Antiochtober!

The Antioch College Alumni Association has announced that Reunion will again be virtual for 2021 and will consist of multiple events during the final two weekends of October—the weekends of the 23rd and 30th.

As it did in 2020, the virtual format will allow Antiochians from near and far the opportunity to visit with classmates and others who may not have been able to attend in-person.

There will be awards, decades gatherings, the State of the College address (perhaps by the new Antioch College President), the Alumni Association annual meeting when new board members are welcomed and retiring board members are thanked, and more.

Watch for updates and more information: alumni.antiochcollege.edu/reunion

Reunion Auction The annual Reunion auction will once again be held virtually this year, and the Alumni Board is calling for interested parties to donate items.

Suggested items can include, but not limited to: places to stay (ie: your home or vacation property), works of art, Antioch memorabilia, collectibles, or unique items (clothing, household, historical). If someone will bid on it and it’s legal, we are interested in it! Donors are asked to pay for shipping and delivery of items.

Please send a brief description and photo of your proposed auction item(s) to reunionacab@antiochcollege.edu.

20 THE ANTIOCHIAN SPRING, 2021