I'm a native Columbusite and a second generation Buckeye, also a former prof at OSU, with a different (academic snob) perspective. I think rich liberal kids in Ohio are great, the more the better, and the more from out of state the better. Ohio only benefits by Oberlin, Kenyon, Wooster -- its great liberal arts schools. The better that OSU itself is, the more rich out of state liberals kids it attracts, be better it will be for all Ohioans. If rednecks can't appreciate that -- btw, Charles, this is what Nietzsche meant by ressentiment, a kind of hatred that makes one feel inferior and want to destroy what one thinks is a better in the object of your envy -- it's their loss.
Antioch was not was one the great liberal arts schools of Ohio. My experience there was that Antioch had low academic standards and was in the grip of mindlock political correctness of the most stultifying sort. It neither brought credit on the left nor constructively educated students in a way that progressives would prefer -- that is, in clear critical thinking. For example when I debated a famous academic racist there one time, the student paper pilloried me together with him as an apologists for racism because I answered his arguments with reasons instead of larding him with him with insults. Friends of mind who went there in the glory days agree; Antioch had pretty much gone down the tubes. That's what's unfortunate, not its closing. Hopefully when it reopens it will be be at a higher level.
--- Jim Straub <rustbeltjacobin at gmail.com> wrote:
> Given the unanimous mourning for antioch on this
> list, I dunno if this means
> anything on this list, but-
>
> I live in OH now, in columbus. All my housemates
> other than me are native
> buckeyes, from blue-collar backgrounds (parents
> former factory workers or
> truckers). Each of the three reacted the same way
> to the antioch news the
> same way: with glee. Could not have been happier.
> In fact the news was
> toasted and laughed at uproariously.
>
> The general opinion was, the fewer rich liberal kids
> in the state the
> better. there was a widespread perception that
> antiochers were rich idiot
> silver spooners. In fact an idea was debated to use
> our houses' new
> lockpicking kit to go break into the campus grounds
> this summer and declare
> a 'peoples college'.
> I don't live with full-time lefties, mostly just
> ohio-bred ex-punk kids.
> I thought it might be interesting, given the
> disputes about the place the
> left occupies in the US these days.
>
> BTW I used to work on a hospital organizing campaign
> in the blue-collar
> factory town springfield next to antioch. 98% of
> regional RNs did not live
> in antioch, but the rare housecall one had in
> antioch, was a treasured
> moment bc one got to then get lunch at the veggie
> restraunts of yellow
> springs as opposed to long john silvers or burger
> king back in sfield. We
> used to pretend we hated having to be in yellow
> springs, but secrelty, would
> find reasons to all go to yellow springs on our
> nights off to be in
> counterculture land yellow springs. Pretty much we
> just went there to pick
> fistfights with nader swingstate voters.
>
> J
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>
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