Oberlin College

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Coordinates: 41.292929° N 82.218576° W

Oberlin College is a small, highly selective liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, in the United States. It was founded in 1833 by progressive Christians, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top ranked liberal arts college with a top ranked conservatory. A recent study found that more Oberlin College alumni receive doctorates than do alumni from any other liberal arts college in the country.^[3]

Oberlin College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and The Five Colleges of Ohio consortium, including Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, Kenyon College, and The College of Wooster.

Oberlin College's motto is "Learning and Labor" (see the college seal above). Its school colors are officially crimson and gold. Oberlin College is also home to Oberlin Steel, one of the premier college steel drum bands in the United States.

[edit] History

The Oberlin campus in 1909

Both the college and the town of Oberlin were founded in 1833 by a pair of Presbyterian ministers, John Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart. The ministers named their project after Jean-Frédéric Oberlin, an Alsatian minister whom they both admired. Oberlin attained prominence because of the influence of its second president, the evangelist Charles Finney, after whom one of the College's chapels, also a prominent performance space, is named. Its first president was Asa Mahan (1800-1889), who served as president from 1835-1850.

The college was built on 500 acres (2 km²) of land specifically donated by the previous owner, who lived in Connecticut. Shipherd and Stewart's vision was for both a religious community and school. For a more detailed history of the founding of the town and the college, see Oberlin, Ohio.

One historian called Oberlin "the town that started the Civil War." A century later, many Oberlinians were deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement and various peace and justice campaigns, and a railroad track rising from the ground towards the sky has been erected as a monument to the Underground Railroad.^{[citation needed]}

Oberlin was the first college in the United States to regularly admit African-American students (1835), and is also the oldest continuously operating coeducational institution.

[edit] Pre 1950

Prior to 1950, most of Oberlin's students lived in large houses around town, some owned by the College, and others owned by individual landlords. Starting with the G.I. Bill and continuing with the Baby Boom, Oberlin's student body swelled in the years after World War II, and the College's president, William Stevenson, decided to house this influx in large dormitories on campus. In Oberlin's own version of urban renewal, many wooden houses were torn down to make way for Dascomb Hall and its fraternal twin, Barrows Hall, both completed in 1956. Dascomb replaced the former residence of Dr. James Dascomb and Marianne Parker Dascomb, the first principal of the Oberlin Female Department, and was named for the latter.^[4]

[edit] Introduction of co-ed dormitories

In 1970, Oberlin made the cover of Life as one of the first colleges in the country to have co-ed dormitories. The historian Geoffrey Blodgett pointed out that campus architecture was the means by which the student anger of the 1960s came to Oberlin.

Students reacted vocally against the new dorms of the 1950s (Dascomb, East, North and South), calling them expedient "slabs" of "sleeping and feeding space," ^[5] and this protest soon took on other controversies, including the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Dascomb went from being the impetus for protest to the vehicle of social change in 1967 when it was transformed into a coed dorm during winter term of 1969. Hebrew House, as it was known, was set up as winter term project to operate similar to an Israeli kibbutz. In January 1969, with the approval of Dean of Students George Langeler, Dascomb became the first co-ed college dormitory in the United States. The experiment was a success, and now all but one of Oberlin College's dormitories are coed. The Baldwin Cottage dorm is open only to women and transgendered people.

The first four women to enter as full students were Mary Kellogg (Fairchild), Mary Caroline Rudd, Mary Hosford, and Elizabeth Prall; all but Kellogg graduated.

Oberlin has long been associated with progressive causes; its founders bragged that "Oberlin is peculiar in that which is good." Oberlin was a hotbed of abolitionism and a key stop along the Underground Railroad, station number 99. Both students and faculty were involved in the controversial Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of a fugitive slave in 1858.

[edit] Sports teams

The school's varsity sports teams are the Yeomen. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the North Coast Athletic Conference. Oberlin's football team was the first team coached by legendary coach John Heisman, who led the team to a 7–0 record in 1892. Though in modern times the football team was more famous for losing streaks of 40 games (1992–1996) and 44 games (1997–2001), the Yeomen have enjoyed limited success in recent years. The college also hosts several club sports teams, including the notable Oberlin Ultimate team. One of the oldest ultimate clubs, Oberlin Ultimate was famous for hosting OMIT, the Oberlin Mellow Invitational Tournament, a weekend ultimate tournament in which no score was kept.

[edit] Student Cooperative Association

The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, or OSCA, is a non-profit corporation that houses 175 students and feeds 630 students in multiple sites. Its budget is nearly $2 million, making it the third-largest of its kind in North America, and by far the largest relative to the size of the institution whose students it serves.

OSCA is entirely student-run, with all participating students working as cooks, buyers, administrators, organizers, and every participant is required to do at least one hour per week of cleaning, making sure that no one is valued above others. Most decisions within OSCA are made by Consensus. Oberlin bans all fraternities and sororities (although for generations the presence of underground African-American fraternal organizations has been rumored), making the co-ops the largest organized social system at the college.

[edit] Academics

Of Oberlin's 2,800 or so students, roughly 2,200 are enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences, a little over 400 in the Conservatory of Music, and the remaining 150 or so in both College and Conservatory under the five-year Double Degree program.^[6]

[edit] College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts & Sciences offers over 45 majors, minors and concentrations. Based on students graduating with a given major, its most popular majors over the last ten years have been (in order) English, Biology, History, Politics and Environmental Studies. Sciences are considered strong for a smaller liberal arts college, especially Chemistry and Neuroscience.

[edit] Allen Memorial Art Museum

The Allen Memorial Art Museum is one of the top handful of college or university art collections in the nation, and the Art History major is understandably strong. The Oberlin College Library is one of the finest undergraduate libraries in the country, with over 2 million volumes, 3,500 print subscriptions, 5 separate facilities (Main Library, Art Library, Conservatory of Music Library, Science Library and Carnegie Storage), a very rich Special Collections department and 62 library staff members (full and part-time individuals). The library received the Association of College and Research Libraries Award for Excellence in 2002 and Director of Libraries Ray English was named the ACRL 2006 "Academic/Research Librarian of the Year". U.S. News and World Report listed Oberlin as #22 in its list of Liberal Arts colleges for 2007.[1]

[edit] OhioLINK consortium

Oberlin students and faculty benefit tremendously by Oberlin's membership in the OhioLINK consortium, through which access is gained to 12,000+ commercially licensed online journals, 130 databases, 18,000+ ebooks and rapidly growing digital media collections. The OhioLINK Central Catalog represents the library holdings of 87 libraries in the state, including the State Library of Ohio, plus the Center for Research Libraries. The collection is nearing 10 million unique records representing 27.5 million holdings in the system, and undergraduates account for the larger percentage of OhioLINK online borrowing - the process by which any enrolled student can readily request the loan of books and other items from any other library in the system.

[edit] Experimental College

The college's unique "Experimental College" or ExCo program, a student-run department, allows any student or interested person to teach their own class for a limited amount of college credit. ExCo classes by definition focus on material not covered by existing departments or faculty. Many courses supplement conventional disciplines, from languages and areas of cinema or literature, to musical ensembles, martial arts and forms of dancing. Other ExCos cover non-traditional topics too numerous to mention, in the past ranging from Aquariums[2] to Wilderness Skills[3]. Due to the nature of ExCo, while some staple courses are continued for years, the overall number and selection of classes offered varies dramatically from semester to semester.^[7]

[edit] Winter Term

Another aspect of Oberlin's academics is the Winter Term during the month of January. This term was created to allow students to do something outside the regular course offerings of the college. During this time, students work on individual or group projects in one of three categories: academic study, field experience, or personal growth. Students may work alone or in groups, either on or off campus, and may design their own project or pick from a list of projects and internships set up by the college each year. Projects range from serious academic research with coauthorship in scientific journals, to humanitarian projects, to learning how to bartend. Almost anything will be considered, although two of the three winter term credits required for graduation must come from the categories of academic research and field experience. A full credit project is suggested to involve five to six hours per weekday.^[8]

[edit] Political activism

Students passing through the Memorial Arch in front of Peters Hall. The arch is dedicated to the memory of missionaries from Oberlin who were killed in the Boxer Rebellion.

[edit] Culture

Oberlin students have a reputation for being radically liberal and/or progressive. Oberlin has a thriving LGBT community, and most students are well informed as to the intricacies of gender politics. The college was ranked as the eleventh most politically active by the Princeton Review, in 2005. The college also received an A+ among so-called "hipster ivy leagues" in Robert Lanham's homage to the eponymous subjects of his 2003 Hipster Handbook, the sole institution to earn such a "distinction".

Student unrest following what was widely perceived as the heavy-handed arrests of protesters on the lawn of then-President S. Frederick Starr's home on April 13, 1990, and his ongoing struggles with the faculty, were major factors in his eventual departure from Oberlin. Recent activism among the student body has resulted in a campus-wide ban on Coca-Cola products^[9] and a vote of no confidence in the college's president, Nancy S. Dye, in May 2005.^[10]

A sampling of the school's past commencement speakers reflects its reputation for embracing diversity, ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesse L. Jackson to figures as varied as Pete Seeger and Robert Frost; even Adlai Stevenson appeared, a month prior to his death.

[edit] Music

Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College

Oberlin has always cultivated a lively community of talented musicians and artists. College students benefit from over 500 performances by conservatory students, whose performances rival that of touring professionals. Studying alongside such gifted individuals who attend the highly selective conservatory adds to the diversity of the school, as they do not quite fit the mold of the typical liberal arts student. During the semester there are concerts and recitals through the conservatory almost daily; it is not uncommon to be able to choose among three or more concerts on a weekend day. Most of these concerts are free of charge.

Oberlin has a myriad of musical opportunities available for amateur musicians and students in the college. The Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players (OGASP) perform one Gilbert and Sullivan operetta each semester. There are a number of a cappella groups, including the Obertones. In addition, students in the college can form chamber groups and receive coaching through the conservatory. Student composers also provide a demand for musicians to perform their work.

The college radio station WOBC, and the party circuit (including the popular on-campus venue, The 'Sco) contribute to the success and popularity of their homegrown talent. Some notable alums have graduated to lucrative careers on the indie music scene, including members of the bands Come, Deerhoof, Songs: Ohia, The Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Trans Am, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Due in part to both this and the school's proximity to Cleveland, the college attracts touring artists with a frequency nearly unparalleled among institutions of its size.

[edit] Art

Oberlin is also notable for its unique art rental program. At the beginning of every semester students camp out in front of the north gate of the college's Allen Memorial Art Museum to get first pick of original etchings, lithographs and paintings by famous artists like Renoir, Warhol, Dalí, and Picasso. For five U.S. dollars per semester, students can hang these works on their dorm room walls. The program was started in the 1940s by Ellen Johnson, a professor of art at Oberlin, in order to "develop the aesthetic sensibilities of students and encourage ordered thinking and discrimination in other areas of their lives." ^[11]

[edit] Sexuality and nudity

Oberlin is also famous for Safer Sex Night and the Drag Ball, two annual school-sponsored parties that garner national attention.

Oberlin is also known for its relaxed attitude towards nudity, with some students frolicking topless or nude during the first evening of heavy snowfall and the first heavy rainstorm of the school year. Certain sports teams will streak through campus throughout the year. On the last day of reading period at the end of each semester a group of students runs naked through the main campus library.

It should be noted that the amount and frequency of nudity isn't significantly above that of other small colleges, and probably large universities during party time.

[edit] Other events

In addition, an annual bike derby takes place on Harkness Bowl on the Sunday after Spring Finals.[4] [5]

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Football

Oberlin played its first football game in 1891, going 2 and 2. In 1892, they were coached by John Heisman; Oberlin went 7 and 0, beating Ohio State twice by scores of 40-0 and 50-0 and the University of Michigan. They outscored opponents 262 to 30.

Oberlin was one of the founding members of the Ohio Athletic Conference in 1902, along with Case, Kenyon College, Ohio State, Ohio Wesleyan University and Western Reserve. The league commonly was known as the "Big Six." Ohio State joined the Big Ten in 1913. Ohio State's all-time highest margin of victory was a 128-0 thrashing of Oberlin in 1916. Oberlin is the last in-state school to defeat Ohio State. The Yeomen upset the Buckeyes 7-6 at Ohio Field in Columbus in 1921.

The Oberlin teams of 1994 to 2000 have been rated the fifth worst college football team of all time by ESPN.com's Page 2. In 1994, Oberlin lost all nine games of its season scoring only ten points and giving up 358 points. In 1995, the Yeomen were outscored 469 to 72. In August 1996, Sports Illustrated featured Oberlin in its annual College Football Preview as the worst team in Division III. When in 1997, they won their first game since 1991, ESPN featured the win on SportsCenter, fans rushed the field. This would be Oberlin's last win for years. Swarthmore and Oberlin scheduled a 1999 matchup, with both schools nursing long losing streaks, just so one of them could end their streak. Swarthmore won the game and Oberlin would lose 40 straight games before winning a game at home in October 2001.^[12]

Since then the team has enjoyed modest success, staying competitive in most matches and going 5-5 (with better than .500 records in conference) in both 2003 and 2006.

[edit] Ultimate

Oberlin has a both a men's and a women's Ultimate team, known as the Flying Horsecows and the [6]Preying Manti respectively. The Horsecows have made trips to College Nationals in 1992, 1995 and 1997. The Manti qualified for Nationals for the first time in 1997. Both teams maintain a tradition of emphasizing the spirit of Ultimate, and Oberlin hosts the OMIT (Oberlin Mellow Invitational Tournament) in May, where teams who wish to unwind after an intense season gather and play Ultimate without scorekeeping or pressure, but with kegs.

[edit] Notable alumni

Main article: List of Oberlin College alumni

Oberlin alumni have had notable successes in a variety of fields. Oberlin has graduated several Nobel Laureates (Stanley Cohen, Robert Millikan, and Roger Sperry) and other prominent academics and scientists (Anita Roberts, Willard Van Orman Quine and Charles Martin Hall), award-winning writers (Tracy Chevalier, William Goldman, John Kander, Carl Rowan, and Franz Wright are among the most well-known; Thornton Wilder attended the college's preparatory program in the 1800s), prominent politicians in the United States (Adrian Fenty, Erwin Griswold, and Harrison "Pete" Williams) and abroad (Eduardo Mondlane and H. H. Kung), artists and entertainers (Julie Taymor and Eric Bogosian), as well as notable athletes (Daniel Kinsey and Moses Fleetwood Walker). Oberlin's avant-garde reputation has also led it to produce many alumni whose success has been outside the mainstream, such as feminists and abolitionists Lucy Stone and Antoinette Louisa Brown, Ben & Jerry's founder Jerry Greenfield, lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel, clown Bill Irwin, and modern political commentators and activists spanning the political spectrum from Michelle Malkin to Stephen Zunes.

[edit] Notes or references

1. ^ Oberlin President Resigns Amid Criticism From Faculty and Students. The Chronicle of Higher Education (September 13, 2006). Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
2. ^ National Association of College and University Business Officers 2006 Endowment Study (web link: http://www.nacubo.org/x2376.xml)
3. ^ US interagency 2003 report of earned doctorates (web link: http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/issues/sed-2003.pdf, page 81)
4. ^ Oberlin College Archives. Web link: this article
5. ^ Blodgett, Geoffrey (May 11, 1995). "The Grand March of Oberlin campus plans". Oberlin Observer. Vol. 16 No. 17 Sec. Observations. (web archive: http://www.oberlin.edu/observer/observer16.17/observations.html)
6. ^ Office of Admissions (web link: http://www.oberlin.edu/coladm/about/stats/enrollment2005.html)
7. ^ ExCo Committee (web link: http://www.oberlin.edu/exco/about/history.htm)
8. ^ Office of Winter Term (web link: http://oberlin.edu/winterterm/)
9. ^ Taylor, Samantha (November 19, 2004). "College set to ban Coca-Cola". Oberlin Review (web link: http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2004/11/19/news/article1.html)
10. ^ Keating, Josh (May 13, 2005). "Students vote 'no-confidence' in Nancy Dye". Oberlin Review (web link: http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/5/13/news/article1.html)
11. ^ Angell, Sue (September 26, 2005). "Art Rental Still Going Strong After 60 Years". OBERLIN Online: News and Features. (web link: http://oberlin.edu/news-info/05sep/art.html)
12. ^ Page2 Staff. "Worst college football teams of all time". ESPN.com's Page2. (web link: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/colfootball/teams/worst.html)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Oberlin College

• Oberlin College Website
• Oberlin College Library
• Oberlin College Archives
• Oberwiki