The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Commentary February 16, 2007

Building from the Inside Out

Oberlin College is in a time of transition, one that goes beyond searching for a new president. You can see it everywhere: the now-flattened Mount Oberlin makes way for a new athletics complex, the fearless neon-on-black pages of the new admissions viewbook, the redesigned Blackboard that notices twice a day if you have dropped a class. New programs and classes are springing up, from the new Graduate Program in Teacher Education to the greatly anticipated Arabic class.

Unfortunately, too many of these changes are superficial or not fully actuated. The new jazz building and the athletics center are exciting and will see much use, but they will not meet the needs of the entire Oberlin community. Studio art majors have limited gallery space, and theater and dance students struggle to find space in Warner’s Rehearsal rooms.

Oberlin’s strategic plan calls for it to be a residential campus, yet many of the dorms on campus have long been in need of repair. In fairness, the College has formed a committee to assess the condition of the dorms, but when the need for repair is so easy to see, it is frustrating to wait so long for tangible improvements.

The College’s decisions to hire a visiting Arabic professor and to create a second Arabic class when the demand for the subject was so great are praiseworthy. They are also insufficient. All courses related to Arabic or Islam are taught by visiting professors, suggesting an augmented awareness of a need but not a long-term educational commitment.

It is ironic that we are building permanent structures to support a College whose educational infrastructure cannot support the needs of its students. Much like the new viewbook, these buildings may well serve to attract students to Oberlin. If the College is attempting to inflate its rankings by increasing its applicant pool, it should also consider that retention affects rankings too. The adage of “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” comes into play here: What will these students encounter when they enroll? One can expect that students will demand more from an institution that is demanding more from them.

This should be of concern to Oberlin whether it approaches college as a business or as an educational institution. From a business perspective, Oberlin is worth more if its product is better, so the College stands to gain from substantially improving itself through such construction products. For the education-minded, Oberlin has an obligation to provide its students with academics that live up to the College’s reputation, standards and history.

The College’s interior and exterior aspects need to complement one another for either to be successful. If an advertised product fails to meet or exceed expectations, sales will drop. Likewise, if an amazing product exists but is not sufficiently promoted, the range of consumers will be limited.

Oberlin has addressed the latter problem, but in the process has neglected or set aside the former. To the Oberlin student, what happens inside the College, in his or her dorm, classrooms and dining halls, is as, or more, important than how the College markets itself.  In the end, word of mouth may prove to be the best — or worst — advertisement.


 
 
   

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