Alumnus Expresses OC Love

To the Editors:

On Sept. 28, 2001, I was supposed to have been in Oberlin as the President of the Class of 1968 and as a member of the Alumni Executive Board at the annual Alumni Council meeting. Seventeen days earlier, my life, and those of millions of New Yorkers, Washingtonians and Americans everywhere, had been forever changed. Rather then enjoy the company of my fellow alumni, interacting with Oberlin students, faculty and administration and delighting in the spectacular new organ dedication, I remained at home to grieve the loss of friends and colleagues. However, as soon as phone service had been restored, there was an e-mail from the Alumni Office asking simply, “Are you OK?” While I confess to having gotten scores of those from all over the world, none was more meaningful then the one that contained those three simple words. My “family” had reached out and I felt comforted. Apparently many others felt as I did, since out of the 1,500 or so e-mail addresses available in the NYC and DC areas, 1,000 of us responded!
Several weeks ago I finally had the opportunity to return to campus for another Executive Board meeting and this time I arrived with great joy and anticipation. While I remember how happy I was, and how privileged I felt as a student, one’s awareness and appreciation of the experience only grows over time. I’m not sure what part of the weekend meant more: the work, interchanges and fun with fellow board members, the football win over Denison (the first victory I had seen in over 30 years), the extraordinary Jazz tribute to Wendell Logan at Finney, lunch and chats with students, the progress of the new Science Center or just plain being “at home.”
I envy you that “home” and urge you to cherish it. And for those of you who will graduate this May and become an alum, or those of you moving on to other pastures, I can only assure you that the experience will remain with you forever. Being an Oberlin alum is something very special. While it is all the serious and important things that being a graduate of a fine school should be, it also makes you a member of a very special “fraternity” and the only one we have at Oberlin, and wow, is it fun!
So to all of you who were there for me and for countless others like me during some extraordinarily difficult times, I would like to say thank you. I look forward to sharing the joys of the alumni experience with all of you some time very soon.

–Gideon Y. Schein
OC ’68
Executive Board of the Alumni Association