Decade of Student Activism Preceded Oberlin’s Divestment from Apartheid-Era South Africa

Karthik Ranganadhan Staff Writer

Gautami Kunde

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, college students across the country protested and demanded their colleges divest from companies that were doing business with South Africa due to ongoing apartheid.

This concern led to the creation of the Sullivan Principles, which were aimed at governing American companies’ investments and operations in South Africa.

Named for Reverend Leon Sullivan, the principles included the elimination of workplace discrimination, pay equality, education, and sponsoring social programs and community investment. The hope was that companies signing onto the principles would help undermine apartheid on a socio-economic level.

The principles proved divisive. While they were heralded by some political and industry leaders as being a constructive way for U.S. businesses to engage with South Africa, activists saw them as a way for U.S. businesses to limit the effectiveness of corporate divestment. Oberlin students at the time also raised their concerns with the principles in a Nov. 16, 1978 open forum with the Board of Trustees.

The Oberlin administration’s policy was that it would not own stock in any company which had 10 percent or more of its worldwide sales in South Africa or did not comply with the Sullivan Principles. However, many students felt that the College’s mere presence in South Africa guided in providing the apartheid government with financial stability.

On April 6, 1979, students protested the College’s stance at a meeting of the Board of Trustees on the fourth floor of Mudd Center. As a result of the protests, 105 students were charged with “disrupting the essential operations of the College.” The charge carried the maximum penalty of expulsion, but the students were finally given a letter of reprimand.

Student protests continued throughout the 10-year period between the initial open forum and the College’s decision to divest. In 1986, students were charged on the same grounds as seven years prior when approximately 200 students disrupted another Board of Trustees meeting on the fourth floor of Mudd Center.

A Review article recounts the 1986 event (“Oberlin 59 Face Charges; Students Gain Wide Support,” The Oberlin Review, Feb. 6, 1987) written by Rachel Seidman.

“When students began banging on the windows of the Goodrich room where the meeting was being held, Dean of Students George Langeler repeatedly requested them to keep silent,” the article reads. “After several outbursts, during which time the trustees moved their meeting to an inner room, Langeler collected the IDs of 59 students.”

By February 1987, however, the charges were dropped due to the General Faculty voting to urge Langeler to that course of action.

In March of 1987, hundreds of students occupied the Cox

Administrative Building. Their protest was expansive, spanning three days and having up to 250 students participating at its busiest times.

Students filled as many offices as possible and hung signs of protest, such as the African National Congress flag, from windows. Students organizing the protest collected more than 300 student IDs in an effort to make sure no student could be singled out by the College the way the Oberlin 59 were.

Over the three day duration of the sit-in, the administration asked the students to vacate some of the offices, but the students did not comply, eventually leaving Cox only to move the protest closer to the Board of Trustees meeting.

Oberlin students wanted the administration to divest completely from investments in companies doing business with South Africa. Just a few hours after students ended their sitin of the Cox Administrative Building, the Board of Trustees began talks to divest from South Africa.

April 28, 2023

Volume 152

Special Edition (ISSN 297–256)

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Correction

In our article published April 21, 2023, “Conservatory Students Form R. Nathaniel Dett Music Society,” it was incorrectly stated that R. Nathaniel Dett, OC 1908, was the first Black graduate of Oberlin Conservatory. Nathaniel Dett was the first Black student to complete a double major at Oberlin Conservatory. Harriet Gibbs Marshall, OC 1889, Piano Performance major, was the first Black student to receive a Bachelors of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory. The Review regrets this error.

Upcoming Events

Friday, April 28

7-9 p.m.: Edie Carey in Concert at Mill on Main Edie Carey, award-winning pop-folk singer and songwriter, is set to perform, per the event description, a “humor-filled” concert. Doors open at 7 p.m., music starts at 7:30.

Saturday, April 29

9 a.m.–12 p.m.: Free Airplane Rides and Pancake Breakfast at Lorain County Regional Airport, Unit 6

Sponsored by the Young Eagles program and the Experimental Aircraft Association, youth ages of 8–17 are invited to take their first airplane ride. To participate, children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Contact Michael McCoy at (440) 915-8691 or mikemccoy100@netzero.net for more information.

1 p.m.: Serve the People Akron in King Building, Room 123

The Politics Representative Committee presents a local organization focused on abolition and grassroots organizing. Serve the People Akron will be discussing the history of their organization, their efforts in anti-eviction and supporting the Akron Bail Fund, and the fight to demand justice for Jayland Walker.

Sunday, April 30

12-3 p.m.: Play Like a Girl in Philips gym

Girls ages 5–12 are invited to participate in volleyball, football, basketball, softball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, cross country, and track and field alongside Oberlin student-athletes and coaches in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Attendees can register at this link, or in person starting at 11:30 a.m. in the lobby of Philips gym.

12 p.m.: Out of Status:

Undocumented Asians in American History in King Building, Room 101

Presented by the Asian American Alliance and Obies for Undocumented Inclusion, Former Chair of Comparative American Studies and Professor of History Shelley Lee is set to speak. Bagels and coffee from Slow Train Cafe will be provided.

2:30–3:30 p.m.: Bruce Liu

Piano Recital in Finney Chapel Bruce Liu, former OberlinComo fellow and winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021, is set to perform a solo program as part of the 2022–23 Artist Recital Series. Liu will perform works by Chopin and Liszt. Tickets are available online and for purchase in the Finney Chapel lobby starting at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the recital.

Monday, May 1

4:45–5:45 p.m.: Pathways: Isabel Yellin, OC ’11, in the Clarence Ward Art Library The Studio Art department, with support from the Ellen Johnson Endowment for Contemporary Art, is hosting a lecture series for alumni of the department to present on life after Oberlin. Isabel Yellin, OC ’11, will discuss her post-graduation professional developments.

Tuesday, May 2 12–6 p.m.: Oberlin College Baseball vs. Denison University on Dill Field

The men’s baseball team is set to face off against Denison University in a double-header game.

Wednesday, May 3

9:30–9:50 a.m.: Centerpeace in Fairchild Chapel, Bosworth Hall

A 20-minute, all- and nofaith-friendly silent gathering for individual devotion among College students and staff will take place in Bosworth Hall. An offering will be read aloud at the start of the event, and hot drinks will be offered afterward.

Thursday, May 4

11 a.m.–2 p.m.: May the Fourth Be With You During Finals! at Stevenson Dining Hall Blue Fin Station will feature a Star Wars-inspired menu and special features.

6–7:30 p.m.: Bad Art Gallery

Show in Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space

BadArtCo is hosting its final gallery show for students of the ExCo to present their final projects. Refreshments will be provided, and formal wear is “jokingly encouraged.”

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