A worker went atop Antioch College’s Main Building Wednesday, July 3, to repair wind damage. See sidebar on page 7 for more on its restoration. (Photo by Megan Bachman)
Antioch Reunion — Talking town-gown links
- Published: July 18, 2019
• Read the related article, “Antioch College — Summer Institute series debuts.”
Last week, ahead of a thunderstorm, a worker braved the heights of Antioch’s Main Building to repair wind damage on one of its copper spires.
Shuttered for a decade, the 1852 building is getting some needed repairs after the Yellow Springs Community Foundation dedicated a half million dollars last year to help maintain it.
The new collaboration is both a symbol of strong town-gown ties and a likely topic of conversation at this year’s Antioch College Reunion, alumni board member David Scott said this week.
“It is the iconic building of Antioch that it must find a way to use,” Scott said.
Scott went on to cite a proverb of historic preservation.
“Use it or lose it,” he said.
The college’s recent sale of its radio station, WYSO, and the status of the Antioch College Village housing development are two other possible subjects at a session on Village/College on Saturday, as part of Reunion this weekend, July 12–14, Scott added.
“Those are the major issues, but anything’s on the table,” he said.
The session is Saturday, July 13, at 5:30 p.m. in McGregor 118, and is free and open to the community. Antioch panelists Tom Manley (college president), Kevin McGruder (faculty member) and Malte von Matthiessen (board member) will join community panelists Brian Housh (Village Council president), Jeannamarie Cox (Yellow Springs Community Foundation director), Luke Dennis (WYSO development director) and Len Kramer (YSCF Encore Miller Fellow).
Scott, a villager and an Antioch alumnus, class of 1972, believes the return of the Village/College session from last year’s reunion is a good sign.
“It highlights the fact that the college recognizes the synergistic nature that can lead to a stronger college and a stronger community,” he said.
Another free session is the Higginbotham Distinguished Seminar Series, on Friday, July 12, at 4:15 p.m., in the Wellness Center’s South Gym. Speaking at this year’s series is LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, the United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York and Antioch College alumna, class of 1992. A graduate of Howard University School of Law, Hall was nominated to the U.S. District Court by President Barack Obama in 2015.
The Higginbotham series, inaugurated last year, is named in honor of famed civil rights advocate and federal judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr., a 1949 graduate of Antioch College. It is presented by the college and Antioch’s Coretta Scott King Center.
And on Friday evening, alumnus Jay Tuck, who is the keynote speaker at the college-sponsored Artificial Intelligence Symposium, will host a movie night in the Arts and Science Building’s cinema room, from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Villagers who are not alumni can also sign up for the reunion’s paid events, Scott added. Registration begins on Thursday and continues on Friday all day in the North Hall lobby.
“Our intent is to include the community in our reunion even if they’re not Antiochians,” Scott said.
This year’s reunion will also feature the Class of 1969’s 50th reunion reception, the reunion for Maples (the former Antioch fire department), folk dancing, Cabaret Horace, baseball on the main lawn, awards presentations and more.
For a full list of events, visit: https://alumni.antiochcollege.edu/page/reunion.
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