Lori announced that Steve Lawry ,Toni Murdoch and a Board of Trustee
member were invited to speak tonight but they were not available,
therefore Lynda Sirk, Antioch College Director of Public Relations will
speak as a member of the College administration and will also relay
questions and comments to Toni Murdoch and Steve Lawry. This meeting is
designed to produce working committees that are charged with helping keep
Antioch and Yellow Springs alive and thriving. There will be a global
bake sale on October 25th, 2007 to commemorate the anniversary of Horace
Mann’s speech. Lori reported that the press is in attendance at this
meeting and that WYSO will be podcasting this town meeting on their
website as of Wednesday, July 13th 2007. This meeting will also be filmed
and put onto youtube. Lori gave thanks to the Presbyterian Church for
giving the town this sacred space as a meeting place. Yellow Springs is a
complex community and Lori acknowledged that there are many feelings about
Antioch, but that collectively the town wants Antioch to continue as a
laboratory for democracy, do it yourself organizing, and service. Keeping
Antioch alive will benefit Yellow Springs and all the institutions that
bare Antioch’s name. Many members of the community may be feeling anger
and grief about the situation and this meeting will serve as a way to
address the historical roots of the current crisis. While it is tempting
to scapegoat individual people this is usually counter-productive, and this
meeting is not the place for that. Lori urged that our energy be focused
on the current students, staff, and faculty at the College and that Yellow
Springs can do this in a way that holds the University accountable to the
Village and the College. Continue reading

Hello from Yellow Springs, the village that continues to hold the constant-beating heart of Antioch College…

I write to you all a brief update on our Emergency Town Meeting we held on Tuesday, July 10, 2007. I keep it brief because I believe that Diane Chiddister, editor of the Yellow Springs News, summed it up best, in her article in the latest issue of our local paper. Despite the unbearable heat of the day, over 300 people crowded into and outside of the meeting space, staying well past the agenda schedule. It was encouraging to see that most of the meeting attendees were in support of keeping Antioch College open (based on their applause and public questions and comments.). We, the meeting organizers, now know that we had over 300 attendees because 280 people signed in as they entered, and well over 20-30 more people entered late, filling in the standing room-only spaces outside and throughout the hallways. The Yellow Springs group to keep Antioch College open has officially increased 7 times from its original number of 40 people! Now, to continue the momentum… The meeting can be heard in its entirety on the WYSO website, where they have kindly loaded a podcast onto their site. It’s good to listen to while you’re multi-tasking (almost 2 hours-worth of listening). Link to WYSO podcast of Yellow Springs Emergency Town Meeting or you can click play directly at the end of this post.

The next meeting we urge people to attend is the Village Council Meeting at which chancellor Toni Murdock and president Steve Lawry will be presenters. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be on Monday, July 16, at 7pm at the John Bryan Center. Two more important dates for Yellow Springs: July 21, 2007 – A fund raiser screening of the film, “The Antioch Adventure” (1967) will be at the Little Art Theatre, time TBA. July 23, 2007 – Next major meeting for subcommittees from the Yellow Springs Residents in Support of Antioch College Revival Resolution, will be at 7pm at the Senior Center.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the town meeting presenters, to the attendees, to members of the press, to the members of the First Presbyterian Church (which housed the town meeting) and especially to each of the hard-working individuals who helped to organize and volunteer at the town meeting!

Onward,

Judith “juju” Wolert-Maldonado, ’05

(attended ’94-’96, then ’03-’05)

juju70

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More Coverage in :

• Residents, faculty, alumni question Antioch’s closing – the Xenia Daily Gazette
• Villagers overflow church at meeting to save the college – Yellow Springs News

 

 Yellow Springs Holds Emergency Town Meeting- WYSO: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download