March 17, 1986

As roughly 300 students gathered in Wilder Bowl Friday to protest College policies they believe endanger the rights of students of color, President S. Frederick Starr fielded questions ranging from financial aid to minority recruitment.

...A surprise to most students, Starr’s appearance was in response to a list of demands to “insure a plan for equal representation of all segments of the United States population” at Oberlin.

The plan...listed five specific measures to create a study body representative of the race, class and sex of the national college-age population.

...Demands included a return to aid-blind admissions, maintenance of financial aid packages and retention and expansion of minority recruitment and admissions coordinators.

The plan — a “24-hour Alert” — also demanded a direct dialogue with the Board of Trustees at its plenary session, student participation in setting agendas for the student-trustee forum and future plenary sessions of the Board, and immediate divestment of South Africa-related stocks.

Thursday’s student-trustee forum was cancelled due to a general feeling that students were not being listened to by trustees as well as apathy among students, according to Executive Council member Catherine Barnes.

But at the Wilder protest, apathy was replaced by anger and frustration. “Why doesn’t the school have the diversity we’d all like to see?” asked junior Dan Jaffee. “They’re pouring money into new sidewalks before students. We need to ask Starr where the commitment is.”

Starr denied any lack of commitment to student interests, commenting first on admissions policies.

...At one point junior Daliah Lugo, frustrated at not being allowed to speak, left the crowd of students and approached Wilder steps, where Starr stood. “The only way for a woman to get a question addressed is to come up here and take the mike,” she said.

Lugo questioned Starr about the available channels of student-administration communication.

Starr responded, “I’m at your service as far as meeting and talking is concerned, but this is a complicated place. Oberlin is not a monarchy.”

One student retorted, “No, it’s a dictatorship.”