Whether the slogan is “Think one person can change the world” or “Fearless,” Oberlin has always professed to support its students and their aspirations. Yet Board of Trustees Chair Robert Lemle’s letter of Wednesday, Sept. 27 suggests that there may be a gap between the words and actions of the Board of Trustees.

This letter, while intended to soothe anxieties over Dye’s resignation, actually raised questions as to whether the Board is prepared to support its students. After listing broad goals for the College and remarking on Dye’s legacy, Lemle ended with the following words:

“Even though Oberlin offers one of the most important College presidency experiences in American higher education, we can expect the candidates to study and explore Oberlin, its culture and its challenges…Consequently, the campus community needs to begin assessing now how we will present ourselves to the candidates.”

If the Board has the same hesitations as Mark Edwards regarding Oberlin’s “weirdness,” then it is grossly missing the point. A sentiment that students should, for example, refrain from streaking naked through Mudd during reading period, suggests a preoccupation with Oberlin’s image at the expense of substance and quirkiness. If the Board is concerned that the College is not desirable enough in the eyes of outsiders, then it would do well to focus less on individual behavior and more on the current state of the institution itself.

Oberlin is currently suffering from the “lack” syndrome: a lagging  minority enrollment, a lack of curriculum offerings in certain fields and acutely felt absences in faculty and staff.

Oberlin prides itself on having been the first college with an admissions policy of race-blind admissions, yet only 44 black students matriculated in the class of 2010.

The College is reputed to have one of the best undergraduate programs in creative writing in the country, but there are only three full-time professors to teach the overwhelming number of prospective majors. This semester, two poetry professors are on leave, with only one visiting and one part-time professor left to sponsor related advanced projects and teach all workshops.

With the highest ratio of students who go on to pursue PhDs of any other liberal arts college, Oberlin should act to support those prospectives. Instead, it is arresting to know that the Office of Career Services no longer has a pre-law advisor.

Despite an increasing awareness that a Middle East and North African Studies program is a necessity, it remains unclear whether Oberlin will be able to recruit any faculty with MENA expertise in the near future.

As the College struggles to increase its prestige, applicant pool, alumni-giving and financial stability — all the while searching for a new president — it must also remember that a carefully marketed image will not supplant quality of education. The eccentric student body is not the risk-factor in this equation; it is the lack of cultural diversity and the blatant absence of essential fields of study that will raise eyebrows and shut doors.

The Board cannot rely upon Oberlin’s facelift or appeals for faculty and students’ best behavior to attract qualified presidential candidates. Instead, the Board must address these critical missing links and take responsibility for Oberlin’s problems. These actions will ensure that our new president will be invigorated by his or her challenges — not anxiety-ridden and overwhelmed.