[Alumni-chat] Antioch presidents

[YAZZ Allen]

Feb. 13, 08
 
Thanks Art Dole '46 (same year as Academy Award Winner Cliff Robertson '46!) for further information about Simeon Fess.
 
Antioch's politics changed to "left wing" after WWII.  It really wasn't "liberal" with a "capital L" before or during the War (when it was used for military officer training, and nobody objected).
 
Even when my geezer Dad, David Roger Allen, gold medal class of 1966, started out at Antioch, the serious left wing political people did not dominate the school and weren't typical of students at Antioch.  There was a sort of "lunatic fringe" fun to watch and listen to from a distance....entertaining folk in a dull small Ohio town, so always welcome...especially at a school without a good Fraternity/ Sororit "Greek" system or intercollegiate athletics.  Not much to do but watch the lunatics (and listen to them) rant.
 
Back then (early 60's) on-campus time was for books and studies, and not much else. Co-ops were the socially interesting part of Antioch....the travel, the diverse people Antiochians met at co-op job locations.
 
Then the 60's arrived and VERY pushy left-wingers "took over."  The Gegner Barber Shop thing got big, and blew up in the Fall of 1963. Antioch got swept up in the 1960's, and got VERY wierd and unpleasant in many ways starting in about 1965....before then it was much quieter and more peaceful.  Probably like Kenyon or Oberlin.  A good school which attracted smart students interesting to talk to...by not nutty and mostly not outspokenly the types Lowell Fess feared.
 
All of Europe had turned Socialist in the 40's and 50's, though, including England.  Americans who didn't want Socialism in America had good reason to fear it would come to America if cries didn't go up.  William F. Buckley wrote a good book titled MCCarthy And His Enemies about the whole 50's "McCarthy" thing.
The right wing saw the 60's coming...with all the violence and problems...and they were correct.  Bad times came in the 60's....came to Antioch, too.
 
Fess had reason to worry about "the big picture." (Lowell Fess).  His point of view was almost NEVER discussed at Antioch...exept by a few interesting right wing stalwarts who put our a newspaper during the summer of 1963 at Antioch for Antiochians called THE DAILY AMERICAN.
 
Everybody at Antioch read that paper distributed in the Union Caf at lunchtime.
 
Touchy to ask about the right wing point of view at Antioch back then.  Left wingers were (still are) very intolerant.  Left wingers have witch-hunt tendencies of their own, and did at Antioch.
 
Thanks again for information about Antioch President Simeon Fess's son Lowell. Interesting guy who never left YSO!
 
Warmest Wishes,
Yazz (David) Allen '92
 
PS.  No replies from me to either Matt Baya or Gerry Bello.  I don't like either one of them, based on contact and writing both have done over past times on this chatline.  Nobody, including me, is required to reply to "challenges" from people like them.  

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Contact "Yazz" (David) Allen directly via email at YazzAllen at Yahoo.Com, mail to 644 Shrewsbury Commons Ave., #239, Shrewsbury PA USA 17361...Phone (717) 235 - 1982!
 
See my pro movie actor photos and recent credits/resume by visiting WWW.IMDb.Com (world's largest movie info database, owned by Amazon.Com) IMDb RESUME.  Also WWW.SAG.Org "IActor" file.  Also WWW.CastingNetworks.Com and/or WWW.NYCasting.Com. > Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:27:45 -0800> Subject: Re: [Alumni-chat] Antioch presidents> From: aadole at roadrunner.com> To: alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu> > On 2/13/08 5:14 AM, "YAZZ Allen" <davidrogerallen at hotmail.com> wrote:> > >Thanks, Yazz, for bringing up Antioch President Simeon Fess and his son Lowell.> My mother-in-law Margaret Welsh worked in Dr. Fess's Senate Office as a co-op.> This experience led to a career as Congressional staffer. She often spoke of> Senator Fess with affection and with admiration for his intellect and integrity.> He was a specialist in American history. Whether or not he can be blamed, he> left the presidency when the college had severe financial problems and only a> handful of students.> > I rented an apartment from Lowell "Red" Fess when he was mayor of Yellow> Springs. We occasionally chatted about the state of the college. He was an> adamant McCarthyite who was highly critical of the new Antioch that was> being ruined by communists and pacifists--a nest of free lovers! I was too> polite to counter that his local Republican machine was probably corrupt and> involved with the numbers racket and arson.> > Art Dole '46> > _______________________________________________> Alumni-chat mailing list> Alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu> http://w3.antioch.edu/mailman/listinfo/alumni-chat> Visit http://www.Antioch-College.edu today!
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