ExCos: Legacy Lives
 
33 Years Later, ExCo Still Valued As Key Curriculum
 
by Ariella Cohen

In 1968, Oberlin students, like others all over the country, were busy making love, not war. Being the school of the yeoman laborer, Obies were not only protesting Vietnam and fighting for civil rights, but also shaking up their own system. 
In the same year Robert Kennedy was shot and a new course in modern Black literature came into bein.g. The Experimental College was born. 
Despite skeptics claiming that faculty needed to learn to say no, and mean no, to student ideas, students and other members of the community began teaching within the Experimental College. 
In the words of the ’68 Committee on Educational Plans and Policies, the purpose of the ExCo is to “provide an opportunity of identifying areas of student’s academic interest, different from those of the faculty.” 
For us, two credits of kick-boxing and weekly showings of Beverly Hills 90210 fit between Women’s studies and South Asian history classes. Thirty years ago these courses did not exist. Before there was a women’s studies department or African American studies department, Oberlin students were teaching one another.
“ExCo was justified as a way to expand curriculum without formally designing programs and hiring faculty. The first women’s studies and environmental studies classes at Oberlin were taught in ExCo,” said Bob Geitz, associate dean of students. 
Completely student-run and providing opportunities for anything from prison activism or community organizing to John Waters movies and learning Cantonese, ExCo in many ways exemplifies the diversity of Oberlin’s campus as well as the College’s educational philosophy. 
College Dean Clayton Koppes said ExCo is important for the evolution of the curriculum, despite the questionable courses that are offered each semester. 
“Students have often taught courses that are not a regular part of the curriculum but some of those areas have eventually become a regular part of the curriculum. I think there are issues about quality control about some ExCo classes and we ought to keep an eye on that. But I think in general this is a way of recognizing student creativity and seriousness,” Koppes said, adding, “I know of many high-quality ExCo classes that have been taught over the years.”
It’s Monday afternoon on the third floor of Wilder and seven-year-old Oberlin resident Sharon Darien dances across WOBC’s recording booth. As Sharon and her friend Kendra Cosby belt a favorite church hymn into a microphone roughly the size of their bobbing heads, seniors Josh Rosen and Jeff Price stand just outside the booth, supervising their weekly “i’m on the stereo” ExCo session. This year the two decided they wanted to reach outside of Oberlin’s campus and let area kids know that they have a voice in the community. 
“ExCo and WOBC let us get involved in the community while still getting school credit,” Rosen said. “We have learned a lot about radio and documentaries and also really gotten to see the community. The best part is getting to know the cool kids,” Rosen and Price said. 
Running solely on student passion, ExCo seems to reflect campus voices. 
“ExCos can happen quickly, so whatever interest there is on campus can be acted on. Non-traditional stuff gets done in ExCo, and a lot of times becomes classes or other campus institutions,” ExCo committee member and senior Marie Rinkoski said. 
Through her four years working on the ExCo board Rinkowski has seen how Oberlin’s needs and interests have evolved. “Where politics and ethnic studies used to dominate ExCo offerings, now film related subjects and physical art has grown more popular,” Rinkowski said. 

The College is not blind to these trends. Just as students led the way towards ethnic and environmental studies programs, students are now demonstrating a need for a film studies program. “ We see huge interest in film from both students and faculty and are now moving towards creating a larger program,” said Geitz. 
ExCo and the formal classroom again overlap in the creative writing program. This semester, when Oberlin’s creative writing department realized it could not possibly meet student demand, junior Liz Harlan-Ferlo came to the rescue. Working in conjunction with faculty, Harlan-Ferlo will lead two writing workshops. “ExCos aren’t supposed to replace classes, but the ExCo, along with the department, helps create a community of writers,” said Harlan-Ferlo.