Opi n ions
SLAC Talk Addresses College’s Financial Situation
Comic: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Tal Clower On Nov. 2, I attended a talk led by financial experts Kelly Grotke, OC ’89, and Kris Raab, OC ’89. They were invited by the Student Labor Action Coalition to discuss Oberlin’s financial investments. Learning about Oberlin’s investments shed light on a common pattern in Oberlin’s current budgeting plans: austerity. Austerity measures work to reduce spending, which to many appear to be prioritizing profits at the cost of student satisfaction, good working conditions, and accessibility. Instead of acting as a college — whose goal should be redistributing excess earnings to make the school a more accessible learning environment for its students and a healthy workplace for faculty and staff — I believe that Oberlin is acting more as a company, with a goal of increasing wealth. Alternative investments are investments that fall outside of the typical markets, such as stocks or cash. These investments are illiquid, meaning they are hard to back out of even if they’re performing badly. Many alternative investments are also governed by private contracts, meaning they are subject to little oversight, and they are hard to value beforehand; they can often cost five times as much as what is disclosed on tax forms because of hidden fees. They do not legally have to be disclosed to the public, and they are a new attraction to colleges due to the possibility of a higher rate of return compared to traditional investments. Alternative investments typically go hand in hand with austerity measures; while they have the potential to raise a lot of money for an organization, they are associated with a lot of fees. These fees have to be covered somehow, which might result in other expenses being cut, such as low-level workers’ health benefits. Based on Grotke and Raab’s research, Oberlin currently has 64 percent of its money in alternative investments. This prioritizes business values over community values, because it means that we have no way of holding Oberlin College accountable for the investments they’re making, due to the secretive nature of alternative investments. Most of the questions surrounding Oberlin’s alternative investments have only one answer: we don’t know, because the College won’t tell us. Is Oberlin investing in morally reprehensible companies? We don’t know, but they have a history of investing in companies that don’t align with the values of students, including investing during apartheid in South African companies, which they only divested from once students learned about it and protested. Are the trustees in charge of investing dealing in conflicts of interest or self-dealing, using our money to boost their own or their friends’ companies? How much money is Oberlin actually making from these investments? We don’t know, but since it’s relatively easy to hide alternative investment fees, it could be less than the College is telling us. It’s possible that the College would make more money by investing in more secure and public routes, but it might refuse to because the resulting loss of secrecy would reduce personal profits. Oberlin’s reliance on alternative investments has very real impacts on the College itself. Grotke and Raab explained that when an organization embraces austerity and turns to alternative investments, it typically experiences low-level job loss, acceleration of work and deterioration of working conditions, declines in service quality, bankruptcies and loss of pensions due to opaque ownership structure that hinders accountability, maximization of “shareholder value” at the expense of other values, and increasing income inequality. We can see most, if not all, of these happening at Oberlin. The College has fired dining and custodial staff unionized with the United Auto Workers, who had stable jobs amid Lorain County’s high unemployment rate. It has also renegotiated the rent contract with the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association and closed two co-ops, cut disability services and other student wellness programs, and signed a contract with AVI Foodsystems that arguably decreases the quality of dining services while exploiting already-overworked students. They have shut down several faculty lines and have drafted a more expensive health care plan for many faculty and students without health care. I believe that our school, which boasts a history of academic access for traditionally marginalized communities, is now following broader trends of restriction in the name of monetary gain. They might be doing this, in part, through the secrecy of alternative investments, which helps them move money around without us being able to know if all these cuts are necessary. Oberlin College needs to stop going down a path of austerity and return to a mindset of public service and accessibility. There are many next steps that must be taken in order to ensure that Oberlin College does not continue down this path. Pressuring the College to allow an independent auditor to look over their investments would be a good place to start, so we can at least know what we’re working with, and so the College gets used to someone holding them accountable for the decisions they make. Go to oberlinslac.org to submit demands for anti-austerity measures and to get more involved with organizing. The slides from and recording of Grotke and Raab’s talk can be found there as well. We have the collective power to resist the College’s efforts to line the pockets of the most powerful stakeholders. Join groups that help you channel that power.
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Holly Yelton, Staff Cartoonist
Pennsylvania’s Elections Matter — Yes, Even in Oberlin Emily Vaughan A few weeks ago I was sitting in my co-op’s dining room talking with two other students from Pennsylvania. I asked them what they thought about John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and a Democratic candidate in the state’s 2022 Senate race. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a politics junkie and “lieutenant governor” isn’t the most well-known position, but I was still shocked that neither of the people I was speaking to knew of him. Everyone from Pennsylvania should be at least keeping themselves informed on the Pennsylvania Senate race, but more importantly, this is an election that should be on every American’s radar. Following Republican Pat Toomey’s announcement of his retirement in October 2020, CNN ranked Pennsylvania as the Senate seat most likely to flip partisan control in 2022. After the recent November 2021 election in which Republicans had a wave of success, even in places where Joe Biden won in 2020, the importance of the Pennsylvania 2022 Senate election cannot be overstated. The Senate is in a 50–50 deadlock between Democrats and Republicans. This election will have an impact on the entire country for years to come, determining whether our government will pass legislation with the power to change the lives of all Americans for the better, or if it will implement policies that result in little to no change. Or, worse, if it will change things for the benefit of those who are already in positions of power and privilege. On the left, progressive politics are on the rise. John Fetterman is currently the frontrunner in a race against four other Democrats from Pennsylvania for the nomination, and his main challenger in the spring will be Congressman Conor Lamb. Should Fetterman become the next Senator for Pennsylvania, he has promised that he will “be that 51st vote” in support of progressive causes like a $15 national minimum wage, legalizing recreational marijuana, ensuring access to lifesaving health care by codifying Roe v. Wade, and abolishing the filibuster. Additionally, many of these issues have widespread bipartisan support. While I’m not saying that Republicans would be coming out in droves to support Fetterman in November 2022, I wouldn’t rule out his ability to flip at least a handful of voters. Meanwhile, across the political aisle, Republicans are struggling to find a proper primary candidate. Former Republican frontrunner Sean Parnell dropped out of the race after losing a custody case when allegations of serious domestic abuse were made against him. Parnell had paved the way to winning
the nomination in the May primaries with an endorsement from Former President Donald Trump, leaving his opponents in much weaker positions. Despite having seven other candidates currently in the race, Republicans are scrambling. Their big-name, Trump-supported candidate is out of the picture, leaving behind a sea of lesser-known, less-funded candidates. It’s pretty clear that Trump is very important in this race. Running a candidate with fewer ties to Trump could alienate voters, and the last thing the Republican Party wants is to lose their Pennsylvania Senate seat. On the other hand, many Republicans are attempting to distance themselves from the former president. Toomey was a reliable Republican vote in the Senate who consistently voted in line with Trump policies despite publicly claiming to keep his distance from him — a quiet but key Republican presence. With Toomey out of the picture, Republicans are looking to fill the seat with someone who will always vote along party lines. You should care about this election because its results will impact you no matter where you’re from. Setting specific policies and political candidates aside, it will serve as an indicator for the future of national politics. In recent years, Pennsylvania’s political parties have become a good representation of both the Republican and Democratic parties on a national scale. This election will indicate the directions that both parties are heading in, regardless of the results of this specific election. Is supporting Trump a new must for Republicans seeking office? And for the Democrats, does the future of the party lie with moderates or progressives? The unfortunate reality is that Democrats have everything to lose in 2022, with the exception of the presidency. As this shapes up to be the most important Senate race in 2022, we should all be paying close attention to the tactics that politicians and candidates on both sides of the aisle are using and how the votes eventually play out. If Oberlin students truly care about progressive causes as they claim, they should be invested in this election, as well as every other Senate election, no matter where they are from. We’re in for a nail-biting, stress-inducing rollercoaster year of watching Pennsylvania yet again, so catch up on what’s happening and enjoy the ride. If you’re so inclined, find a candidate you like and support their campaign by donating or phone banking. If you have friends in Pennsylvania, remind them to vote. Finally, remember: even if you’re not from Pennsylvania, keep your eyes open. Our future depends on this.
