Will we see mediocre grades and written exams eliminated from college curriculums so students can dedicate themselves to being activists?
At Oberlin College, that is the wish of many progressive students, according to The New Yorker.
Like many colleges nationwide, the Cleveland-area college has a lot of activism surrounding diversity, safe spaces, racial inequality, and much more.
Some of Oberlin’s students say their activism is getting in the way of their schoolwork and they have asked the college to eliminate grades below a “C,” as well as written exams, Nathan Heller found.
Some students have even decided to drop out of Oberlin because of their perception that other students, faculty, and administrators are against what they do. Those activists claim that because of the resentment of their activity, administrators have made it impossible for them to live at Oberlin.
Megan Bautista, an Oberlin student who identifies as Afro-Latinx, was upset when the school wouldn’t eliminate any of her low grades. She and 1,300 other students signed a petition asking for the college to eliminate any grade lower than a “C” for that semester. They knew that in 1970, Oberlin modified its grading standards to accommodate activism surrounding the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings. However, the college denied their petition.
“A lot of us worked alongside community members in Cleveland who were protesting. But we needed to organize on campus as well—it wasn’t sustainable to keep driving forty minutes away. A lot of us started suffering academically. Students felt really unsupported in their endeavors to engage with the world outside Oberlin,” Bautista said.
Another Oberlin student activist, Zakiya Acey, complained that professors made her take written exams instead of just discussing the subject matter.
“Because I’m dealing with having been arrested on campus, or having to deal with the things that my family are going through because of larger systems—having to deal with all of that, I can’t produce the work that they want me to do. But I understand the material, and I can give it to you in different ways. There’s professors who have openly been, like, ‘Yeah, instead of, you know, writing out this midterm, come in to my office hours, and you can just speak it,’ right? But that’s not institutionalized. I have to find that professor,” Acey said.
While a select number of professors have accommodated some students by granting them a verbal exam, Oberlin has held students engaging in activism to the same standards as every other student on campus.
There are many students at Oberlin who participate in extracurricular activities. Oberlin has a well-renowned music conservatory as well as many student athletes, who are held to traditional academic standards. Student activists who protest are using their free time to pursue their passion just like other students participating in extracurricular activities. Thus, it was smart for the administrators at Oberlin College to not give in to the special requests of progressives to eliminate grades and written exams.
