After wavering on the issue, Antioch College has decided — again — to shut down. Unfortunately, this time it looks like they’re planning to go through with it.
One of my good friends, Tyler Lee, started there this year as a first-year student. Going there was his dream, and now it’s shutting down. Since the school decided to shut down again, its students were forced to transfer to other schools. But because of the timing, many schools — including Columbia — have refused to accept applications from Antioch students, without regard for the extenuating circumstances.
While I think he’s missing out on a great experience at Columbia — and though he really wants to come here — it really is Columbia that is missing out. Antioch’s students redefine “liberal”; they’re socially conscious, dedicated, and informed. But what makes me respect them most was the ferocity with which they fought for their campus and their college experience.
As a member of CCSC 2011, I was one of the people who greeted the prospective students during the days on campus. The lady sitting next to me happened to be one of the admissions people (for one of the graduate schools, if I remember correclty). I mentioned this in passing, and she seemed surprised, saying something about how Columbia accepted students from New Orleans after the Katrina disaster.
This made me wonder about the difference between the two situations — why would Columbia make an exception in one case but not in the other? The only difference, to me, seems to be that while the effects of Hurricane Katrina received widespread coverage, the closing of a small liberal arts school in Ohio has not. While the effect of accepting NOLA transfers was certainly good, the reasoning behind it — I think — wasn’t quite as selfless.
Tyler took a lot of initiative himself, sending an e-mail to Columbia admissions. He received an e-mail saying that not only does Columbia not allow transfer students to defer for a year, but also that they wouldn’t accept a late application despite extenuating circumstances (indeed, not even bothering to acknowledge those circumstances).
In a response to that e-mail, Tyler sent yet another on March 29. He received the following response from the Director of Transfer and Visiting Student Admission:
Due to Ivy League regulations, I am unable to confer with applicants, their parents, second school counselors and alumni regarding admissions decisions from 6:00pm on Saturday, March 29, 2008, until 6:00pm on Wednesday, April 2, 2008. I will be available after 9:00am on April 3rd. Your message will be returned after that time
Today is April 20, and Tyler is still awaiting a response from her.
