Oberlin’s Future Hinges on Razor-Thin Decisions
College financially following the administration’s announcement of proposed outsourcing. But we should continue to support Oberlin financially — perhaps even more generously than in previous years — and encourage all our friends to join us, however razor-thin the decision to remain loyal may be in light of the impending mass firings of those most vulnerable. It’s the right thing to do.
The Board of Trustees’ decision to be one of the first colleges to admit blacks in the 1800s was a razor-thin one, but it was the right decision. A decision made by President Carmen Twillie Ambar to reconsider the College’s decision to make these layoffs may be a razor-thin one, especially because the original recommendation was likely made by her.
But the call for the College and for President Ambar to guarantee that all janitorial and cafeteria workers receive a living wage and health insurance, with current workers being given the first chance at any new positions, should not be a decision made by a razor-thin margin. Doing the right thing, especially when it is difficult, is Oberlin’s most distinctive and inviolable quality. It can become everyone’s.
