Oberlin College - Hi-O-Hi Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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1 Sketch Oberlin College Historica

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M 2 Historical Sketch written by w: . Geoffrey Blodgett ' i... hanks to the Oberlin Alumni .M 4 Magazine. ww NW'W' ! ;m wit Vi km . :2, 5 whW L I mwww M ' 9w r w .. as $35

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1833 Oberlin College, from its founding in 1833 has been a proud and unconventional place, distinctive in its sober moral purpose, its special sense of what was wrong about the past and present, its special vision of a desirable future. The College's first 50 years clinched these traits. They left marks on this place that are invisible but unforgettable. They shape our behavior from year to year in ways we sometimes do not fully know. A central fact about Oberlin has always been its distance, both geographical and psychological, from the ingrained habits of the outside world. In 1983 as in 1833, Oberlin often seems about 10 miles from everywhere: 10 miles from Elyria, 10 miles from original sin, 10 miles from normal American society. We're not unique in being located in a small town. Most 19th Century American colleges were put in villages. Their function was to serve as conservative oasises of knowledge and morality where children of the middle classes could be safely kept during their vulnerable years. But Oberlin's main purpose in the early years differed sharply from most other colleges, and from society at large. These differences enforced a constant tension between Oberlin and the rest of the world. tThat tension survives to the present, though we love to quarrel among ourselves about its current vitality and meaningj .Xhi Xi HltX :l'lHHI .: piiutugmpix in tin tnwlllil tullr'gr' I ihlulm . ..-..... ....r-............4. M-MA-...- Asym- .4 -.g. a w-M.Ag$gmd5.a uh rx-IJJK . :v,.;t.-...iv' V a ..,., val. . .;A has i. -A WW4;