Students may say that their voices were consistently ignored throughout the presidential search, but a series of three open forums this week with finalist Marvin Krislov attempted to assuage such frustrations. Each meeting was roughly one hour in length.

After some confusion as to the time and location, a small but interested crowd attended the first presidential forum Wednesday night with Krislov at First Church. Questions spanned topics from the integration of athletes into the greater Oberlin community to increasing town-gown relations, from accessibility in higher education for low-income students to the highly contentious “Fearless” campaign.

Krislov seemed most interested in discussing increasing tuition costs, his own desire to teach on campus, options for breaking the Oberlin bubble and increasing community on campus.

In response to College junior Ashley Gorham’s question about his own goals for Oberlin, Krislov spoke in depth about the difficulties of striking a balance between giving people what they want and what is financially feasible for the institution.

“[One] goal would be to build external support for the College’s success…that means financial support,” Krislov said. “That will enable you to do what you want to do and for the faculty to do what they want to do.

“It’s going to mean that not everyone gets what he or she wants,” he continued. For example, can the College prioritize attaining socio-economic diversity on campus while remaining competitive with the expansive facilities of other liberal arts colleges?

“You can’t have top-notch everything all at once [while keeping] tuition reasonable,” Krislov said.

Krislov was careful, though, to emphasize the delicate nature of attending to the needs of different interests within the Oberlin community: “It’s important that people feel like they are being listened to.”

In response to a student’s inquiry about his thoughts on returning Oberlin to its former “need-blind” policy, Krislov mentioned the difficulties of creating a campus community with higher numbers of low-income, first-generation and minority students.

“I recently had a conversation with the president of a similar liberal arts college and he had said that he had moved his school to ‘need-consciousness’ and he did say that it was not a decision that was easily reached,” Krislov said. He stressed the importance of allowing academically strong students access to higher education regardless of their wealth, but also commented that it is “a very subtle and nuanced [issue that] does warrant a larger discussion.”

Field hockey player and College senior Samantha Kyrkostas wondered how Krislov would help integrate student-athletes into a larger community that leans heavily toward the arts. Krislov was adamant in expressing his support for the athletic community, explaining that athletics “[bring] people together in a way that few other things do.”

Krislov later mentioned his desire to increase town-gown relations as well as his intention to involve himself directly in the College community through a variety of means including teaching classes. “If I didn’t want to spend time with you,” he said of the students, “frankly this would be a very poor choice of jobs for me.”

Students at Wednesday’s forum also brought up more contentious issues, such as environmental sustainability, the Fearless campaign and the areas where Krislov saw weaknesses in Oberlin.

When asked by College junior and student senator David Casserly about his commitment to environmental sustainability and what actions he would take to ensure that new campus buildings meet green standards, Krislov admitted, “It is not something I have spent a lot of time on, but I know that it is something that is important here.

In regard to the contentious Fearless campaign, Krislov stressed his wish to know more about students’ dissatisfactions with it.

“I would like to ask what it is that makes you unhappy about it. To say that you don’t like it doesn’t tell me enough,” Krislov said. “I think there are so many important things that a marketing campaign may or may not tap into, that I think I need to talk to people and figure out what they feel is missing.”

He also said that he would place his priorities on discovering what Oberlin has to offer beyond a one-word campaign: “I care more about students getting a good education here. I care about athletes. I think there are a lot of things to think about and I hope that people don’t get so caught up on a small thing that they miss the more important things.”

One student straightforwardly asked Krislov, “What does Oberlin do poorly?”

“You’ve asked me a difficult question,” Krislov noted. “There are general things in terms of higher education…in terms of access…[the importance of] the academic and the extracurricular communities coming together. [We need] to be aware of trends but not be so focused on following them, and to acknowledge our values and always think about them.

As to the areas in which Oberlin needs strengthening, Krislov said, “I’m feeling that I shouldn’t make that judgment yet.” He did, however, go on to express his wish that Oberlin embrace multiple points of view in light of its predominantly liberal political leanings, and also make all students feel comfortable in the community.

“I have met a lot of rural students from parts of Michigan who feel as isolated and alone as students from urban areas. I also think religious students can feel very alone too,” Krislov explained. “I think it is very important to consider multiple points of view…If Oberlin needs perspectives from the outside, [like] a devil’s advocate, I would like to bring people onto campus who can provide those points of view.”

At Thursday night’s forum in West Lecture Hall, Krislov was met with similar questions and provided similar answers. Some overlaps included closing the gap between athletes and other Oberlin students, his commitment to environmental sustainability and general goals he has for the institution.

Some new questions centered on transparency in administrative decision-making and Krislov’s personal views of and commitments to Oberlin.

Aries Indenbaum, a College sophomore, said that “one of the biggest problems [she sees] with the administration is that it’s not transparent at all.” She asked what Krislov would do to improve this area as Oberlin’s president.

“The idea of some accountability and transparency is important,” Krislov said. “[One] thing that you can always do if you are wondering what is going on is ask, and we’ll try to provide opportunities [for you to do that].”

This assurance came after a comment in his opening remarks that expressed his desire to be accessible to students through possible weekly meetings, office hours and meals in co-ops.

Another student asked Krislov to speak about how he reconciles his values with his social status: “I was wondering what you have done personally to educate yourself about your privileges, going to Yale, being a white male [and] straight.”

“I grew up in a place where I was a little bit of an outsider,” Krislov replied. “Growing up, one of the things my parents did to show me my privilege is to take me to neighborhoods and to people who were very different from me…The most constructive way of channeling that guilt or angst is try to find ways to make the world better so that other people can have some of the same opportunities.”

Krislov also had multiple opportunities to express his enthusiasm for Oberlin and his commitment to joining its community.

“The energy, the activism…,” Krislov said, listing the positive qualities he had seen during his visit to campus. “Fundamentally, what has been striking about Oberlin is that you are willing to take ownership of your education,” said Krilov. “My God, I’m surprised you’re all still here!” he added, in reference to the late hour of 10 p.m.

Krislov met with students once more earlier today at 12:15 p.m. The Review went to press before it could print coverage.

Additional reporting by Nate Roth