In the 1800s Yellow Springs was home to the underground railroad; in the 1940s it became a safe haven for Japanese Americans targeted by the US government; in the 1960s its residents hid activists in “transient mode.”

The continuing uncertainty over the future of Antioch College and loss of valuable time for recruitment and planning for an up-and-running college by fall 2008 have led a number of students and faculty to discuss alternative ideas to continue classes past July 2007 to oppose a closing or bridge a possible transition period.

In an attempt to continue the legacy and institutional memory of Antioch College, we, The Blaze, call on the villagers of Yellow Springs to sustain the legacy of their predecessors and unite with faculty, staff and students of The College in beginning the planning for ANTIOCH IN EXILE.

We seek creative ideas to accommodate students, find teaching locations, and fundraise in support of faculty, staff and students that want to be part of this alternative endeavor.

We invite alumni and sympathizers of the College to join this discussion, to generate ideas and to consider donating time or resources to this initiative. We hereby call for proposals for ANTIOCH IN EXILE.

Negotiations between the University Board of Trustees and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) will come to a temporary conclusion at the February 21-23 meeting in L.A. While no one is certain of the outcome of this meeting, we need to be prepared for a negative decision, in the form of a delay of the vote or a decision to close the school by July 2008. Either decision will force the college to temporarily discontinue operations and, quite possibly, to never open its doors again.

But even if trustees do decide to embrace the opportunity that lies in front of them and transfer the college to the new corporation, the damage inflicted on the College in past months and years is severe and might call for faculty and student to once more make the impossible possible.

We do not want to wait for what is handed down to us. We want to secure the spirit of the current community and enable it to be passed on to the next generation of Antiochians. We are not ready to let it die!

 

WHEREAS we fear the illusory ease of making a decision in a vacuum, thousands of miles away from the community whose future is at stake;

WHEREAS we fear the Board putting all its faith into the Chancellor to supply the information on which it will base its decision;

WHEREAS we fear a vote taken without the opportunity for direct communication between all members of the Board and the ACCC and other stakeholders of the community;

WHEREAS we believe in the mission of Antioch College and the strengths of community;

WE THEREFORE ask you to join hands now in organizing for ANTIOCH IN EXILE, to continue the legacy of Antioch College and the village of Yellow Springs.

 

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The Blaze Editorial Collective