News Briefs

Hungry SWAT Team Swarms Rathskellar

Students were startled by a SWAT team walking through Wilder Hall yesterday, but there was no cause for alarm. The SWAT team was made up of 18 hungry law enforcement employees from varying departments around the county. Each month they practice tactics and maneuvers in case of emergencies around Oberlin, and yesterday they decided to stop at Wilder's own Rathskellar for lunch.

"The food's great and the people are really nice," said Tim Mahar, a lieutenant in the Lorain County Sheriff's Department who is part of the riot team.

The SWAT team was practicing in Green Acres, an old children's home on the outskirts of Oberlin after which they ate at the Rat. According to Mahar, the team usually splits up for lunch, but yesterday the whole team was lured to CDS by Mahar's glowing recommendations. "I told them it was a great place to relax, sit down and have a good meal," he said.

Students in Wilder were a little nonplussed by the appearance of the squad with no accompanying explanation. "I saw about 15 guys wearing various kinds of uniforms. It didn't look like they were there to accomplish anything specific. It was curious, but not scary," said first-year Matt Franks.

The arrangement between the SWAT team and the College will continue to benefit both: the College feels safe, and the team continues to enjoy the Rat's quality cuisine. "The pork chops were great today. It was pretty decent," said Mahar.

-Elizabeth Heron

First-year Seminars a Go

College faculty passed an Educational Plans and Policies Committee (EPPC) proposal this week requiring that all incoming first-year students enroll in special seminar courses. President Nancy Dye called the first-year classes "an introduction to liberal study," and said, "they should be exciting courses on interesting and vibrant topics." Dye stated that the chief reason for deciding to implement the first-year courses was the large size of many classes normally taken by first-years. "They will be an introduction to the life of the academy. They should be small and facilitate a lot of rich interaction." At the Feb. 8 GF meeting, Bob Geitz cited a "decline in basic skills among incoming students" as a major factor prompting the proposal.

Dye stated that her primary reason for endorsing the proposal was her "concern that too many of our first-year courses are kind of big." At the Feb. 8, GF meeting Geitz conceeded that the faculty was "stretched to the limit", and that more faculty would likely need to be hired before the enactment of the first-year seminar plan.

-Nick Stillman