More Letters to the Editor
Class trustee speaks out for OCOPE

To the Editors:

I think President Dye’s Sept. 15 e-mail to the student body regarding College/OCOPE negotiations was unfair. Though I understand the importance of keeping students informed of the situation, the e-mail “update” was a thinly veiled effort to portray the College as “the good guy” and pin the blame for failure in contract negotiations on OCOPE. President Dye took advantage of her position—free communication with the student body and 2004 grads—which OCOPE does not have. Thus, I call on President Dye to give OCOPE the opportunity to e-mail the student body and present their side of the story. I suspect the union will paint a much different picture of the negotiations and have persuasive counterarguments on some of the sticking points of the contract.

In her e-mail, Dye uses the words “generous and fair” to describe the College’s offers, thus implying that OCOPE is not stepping up to the plate or upholding its side of the bargain. I urge students to treat President Dye’s words with skepticism. During my experience negotiating the OSCA rent contract with the College, such words were also used despite a very different reality. As they have in this negotiation, the College characterized their negotiation with OSCA as being in “good faith.” Yet the reality was that OSCA was denied any financial data it had asked for months in advance, denied the opportunity to negotiate directly with the College vice president of finance and repeatedly had scheduled financial presentation from the College delayed. This experience makes me wonder what OCOPE thinks about its own negotiations. If the College is serious about truly negotiating “in good faith,” then at the very least this should include equal access to mass communication.

–Adam Sorkin OC ’04

OCOPE workers express union solidarity

To the Editors:

Oh, no! Not another 527 group! This time it’s the “Secret Secretaries for Truth” telling us what’s really going on inside OCOPE: mass defections, panic in the streets and OCOPE President Diane Lee even claims to be negotiating from inside Cambodia! But wait, even those “Swifties” were willing to reveal their names, what’s going on here? Perhaps our two anonymous members know all too well their position is nothing but an anomaly among the overwhelming majority of members and that most of us are happy to enthusiastically share that fact!

Our Board is working very hard to get the College back to the table to continue negotiations that the College halted with a “take it or leave it!” offer and we, the undersigned, are only a few of the people offering the Board our wholehearted support. We have the confidence that our Board will continue to lead us in the effort to obtain a truly reasonable contract, knowing they have the backing of all of us who gave a resounding “No!” to the final offer.

In the interim, we close by respectfully suggesting that our anonymous writers are the only ones who should consider putting on an “interview suit.” The rest of us are going to stay here and work together to make Oberlin an even better place to be. Besides, dear members, your skills are wasted here. There’s a 527 group out there somewhere that could really use your talent!
–Deb Sutorius
–Yolanda Kistemaker
–MarleneSchreeber
–Sharon Shaffstal
–Sharon Miller
–Renee Hales
–Patricia Treur
–Janet Joseph
–Vickie Campbell
–William A. Ruth
–Brenda Young
–Robert L.Hoban
–Sandy Kanuch
–Heidi H. Chambers
–Barbar Winterich
–Laurie Holcomb
–Jill Drake
–Sue Davidson
–JudiDavidson
–Debra L. Williams
–Irene S. Brady
–Lois Ashby
–Debi Thomas
–Suzanne Overstreet
–Kimberly Marbury
–Delores Whitney
–Cleo Lanphere
–WandaMorris
–Janene Brunson
–Brenda Snell
–Stephen Fixx
–Kimberlie Fixx
–Dorothy Auble
–Twila Conley
–Ellen F. Broadwell
–Marjorie Berki
–Wendy Brill
–Judith Fannin
–Jennifer Schreiner
–Carol Liuchak
–David Bower
–Jennifer Gendics
–Greta Williams
–Melissa Ross
–Rhonda Locklear
–Beverly Pycraft
–Carol Ritchman
–Janice Sanborn
–Gretchen M. Higgins
–Linda Dewar
–Vicki Verlei
–Karen Barnes
–Andrea Duplaga
–Beverly J. Berner
–Gayle Schmitt
–Kathleen Drennan
–Cathy Evan
–Sue Elkevizth
–Jacqueline A. Fortino
–Catherine Murillo
–Retha J. Ball
–Paula M. Baymiller
–Phyllis J. Jones
–Mary S. Sutorius
–Dianne Beko
–Cheryl Switalski
–Sheryl Clark
–Myrna Fechko
–Faith Hoffman
–Sandra L. Austin
–Polly Hager
–Sheila H. Harley
–Rejoice Acolatse
–Nancy Linker
–Patricia Drake
–Helen Black
–Tina Roberts
–Deborah Hutnyak
–Jan Blanco
–Jan Bethard
–Diane Kajganich
–Linda Pardee
–Tracy Tucker
–Diane Lee
–Mary Kay Hipp
–Roxanne Bartish
–Sherry Matson
–Ed Fuquay
–Maryalice Davis
–Kelly Cassidy
[The above signed are all OCOPE employees.]

Obies promote grants to fund small projects

To the Editor:

The Bill Long Foundation (BLF) is now accepting applications for grants for 2005. The simple one page application form is available at Ben Franklin, the Oberlin Public Library, Oberlin Community Services Council, the Oberlin Senior Center and Ginko Gallery. The deadline for receipt is Dec. 31, 2004.

BLF gives small grants (past grants have ranged from $50 to $3000) with a minimum of red tape. Although small, these grants have a big impact, such as filling the gap for emergency funds at OCSC, providing scholarships for day care, funding youth programs that weatherize low-income Oberlin homes and buying equipment for FAVA and the public library. Funding decisions are made at the annual meeting in February by the members of the foundation. After a brief explanation of each proposal followed by questions and answers, the entire membership votes on the distribution of funds.

Founded by the Oberlin Consumer’s Co-operative (the Co-op Bookstore) in honor of longtime manager Bill Long, BLF is Oberlin’s only public community foundation. Established by a cooperative, it operates like a cooperative: open membership, one member one vote, open democratic process, elected volunteer board of trustees. There is no paid staff. Applications must be sponsored by a member of BLF. BLF’s membership is open to anyone who donates five dollars or more in any given year and donations are accepted at BLF, MPO Box 141, Oberlin, OH 44074-0141.

As BLF board members, we encourage anyone who sees a way to address an important need in the Oberlin community to apply. Feel free to contact us for further information at oberlinblf@hotmail.com or by calling Liz Burgess, the president of the board, at 775-1055.

–Melissa HinesCollege sophomore
–Ann SorichCollege senior
–Avery BookOC ’04
 
 

About us
Subscriptions
Advertising

Previous issue
Older issues