school

I have returned to school, after taking two quarters off, due to finances and transportation. I love school, but not as much as before. I attend Antioch Mcgregor, it is a a part of the Antioch University network. Antioch College is closing, despite heroic efforts of alums to keep it open. Negotiations between the alum group and the Board of Regents have stalled. My division of the university has moved, from the old, historic, beautiful campus to their new, sterile, strip mall facility. I am not feeling the love. Yes, the new building is state of the art, but it has no personality. I miss the old campus, I even miss the heating and air problems, the outdated bathrooms, and the lack of technology. I miss the close access of Yellow Springs, I know the new building is close, but I can't walk into town at lunch.

When I was on the old campus, I felt connected to every other student who had been there. From 1852 on, this college has turned out independent original thinkers, it has marched to its own drummer, it is inspiring. Now it is lost. This is not the first time Antioch has encountered financial ills, in the past, generous alums have always bailed them out. It is a jewel, a rare gem, but it is also a venue for a different type of student. The Antioch community has always embraced the alternative. Lifestyles, philosophies, politics, religions - all were respected and nurtured here. Rote learning does not exist at Antioch, it teaches critical thought. Find your own knowledge, map your own path, but know you have thought it through and you can defend your own knowledge.

My time here has taught me to dissect and examine information that is presented. I have learned to consider and be open to all kinds of ideas and philosophies. Even those I do not agree with, I now have understanding of. However, there is a new trend, less Humanities majors, more Management majors. Less open and spirited discussion, more acceptance of mainstream ideas. I am not as pissed off about this as I was, without the new building, even this division of the whole would not remain. I am still surrounded by many of the old guard, people who have have opened my mind and made me think until my brain hurts. But the mix is changing, more of the new is appearing. The push for online technology, register, email, submit, all through the university system online. Less personal interaction, less of discussions and debates continuing well after class, less initiative. More students that are in quest of that piece of paper than of real learning.

I miss the trees, the art work, the architecture, the ghosts of past Antiochians. I miss the glen being across the street, I miss people taking the stairs instead of the elevators, I miss the accessibility, the dissonance of ideas. I feel like the changes that are occurring, the updates, the marketing are akin to the emperor's new clothes. I know I am not the only one who sees he is naked.