[Alumni-chat] immediate media response required - NY Times/AP

[Marianne Connolly]

The NYT article is an AP article.  Unfortunately, the last time I checked
google there were almost 100 clones.  So.... more papers need more letter
writers.  Here's the AP original:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
No Deal: Antioch College Closing in June
1 day ago

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — Cash-strapped Antioch College has rejected an
alumni group's fundraising offer, moving ahead with plans to shutter its
doors this summer unless a buyer offers more than $12 million up front, a
school spokeswoman said Sunday.

A group of wealthy alumni and former trustees scrambled to raise money after
the school announced last year that because of declining enrollment, heavy
dependence on tuition and a small endowment the college would close to
reorganize and reopen in 2012.

The group, called the Antioch College Continuation Corp., offered to pay
half of the $12.2 million price over five years to take over operations and
keep the school running.

Despite months of negotiations, Antioch University trustees declined the
offer on Friday and announced it would move ahead with its plan to close its
flagship college on June 30 for at least a year.

"They were requesting the university to be their banker," Toni Murdock,
chancellor of the university, said on Friday. "It would have put the
university on the cliff as far as jeopardizing its financial future."

Antioch is open to negotiations with any potential buyer that can provide
all of the money at closing, said Antioch University spokeswoman Lynda Sirk.

If the trustees feel "they can work out the financing on $12.2 million, the
rest is definitely workable," Sirk said.

The alumni group said it had raised $18 million, primarily in pledges, to
operate the college in the short term. It said it was preparing to begin a
fundraising drive to raise a total of $100 million and was working on a
five-year plan to increase enrollment and staffing.

"We are deeply disappointed that the university did not take this incredible
opportunity to preserve Antioch College, which has long been one of the
nation's most unique and important institutions of higher education," said
Frances Degen Horowitz, co-chair of the alumni group.

About 200 students are enrolled at the southwestern Ohio college known for
its pioneering academic programs that produce students with a passion for
free thinking and social activism. Famous alumni included "Twilight Zone"
creator Rod Serling, Coretta Scott King and evolutionary scientist Stephen
Jay Gould.

The university has campuses in Yellow Springs and Seattle, Los Angeles,
Santa Barbara, Calif., and Keene, N.H.

Antioch College, which costs $36,000 a year to attend, was founded in 1852
and located about 15 miles east of Dayton. It doesn't grade classes,
encourages students to develop their own study plans and combines academic
learning with experience through a co-op program in which students leave
campus to work in various fields.


On the Net:
http://www.antioch-college.edu/


-----Original Message-----
From: alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu
[mailto:alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu]On Behalf Of j.d.wood
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 10:01 PM
To: alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu; antioch nyc; ACAN
Subject: [Alumni-chat] immediate media response required - NY Times/AP


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Saving-Antioch.html

"The group, called the Antioch College Continuation Corp., offered to pay
half of the $12.2 million price over five years to take over operations and
keep the school running."

WTF??!?!???!?!???  What the hell kind of not-even-half-assed journalism is
THIS??!?!?!??  This infers that the AC3 was only offering $6M for the
College, completely ignoring that $6M was to be paid up front and the
remaining balance to be paid in installments over 5 years.  This is
jaw-droppingly bad journalism.

Time for everyone to put their writing caps on a let the NY Times and AP
know exactly what they can do with their ridiculous drivel that is passed
off as journalism.

NYTIMES
Letter to the Editor: letters at nytimes.com.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
To send comments and suggestions (about news coverage only) or to report
errors that call for correction:
nytnews at nytimes.com or leave a message at 1-888-NYT-NEWS
THE EDITORS
executive-editor at nytimes.com
managing-editor at nytimes.com
PUBLIC EDITOR
To reach Clark Hoyt, who represents the readers:
public at nytimes.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS: info at ap.org
Headquarters
450 W. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001
212-621-1500



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