Sunday, March 18, 2012

Spring Break Reading

We've gained so many new readers and supporters over the past few weeks that I want to take a moment and point our new Save OBU audience to some blog posts of interest.  As you're finding out, the consequences of OBU's new fundamentalist takeover are wide ranging.  The posts below are organized by category.  Hopefully reading them together will give a better sense of the complicated issues we face, the stealth nature of OBU's opponents and their dramatic and unprecedented new policies, and the web of OBU constituents who are being affected.

If you agree that ending the BGCO's legal and political stranglehold of OBU is the only surefire defense against fundamentalist encroachment, please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Students and faculty, you may want to bookmark this page and use Spring Break to get caught up on everything that's been going on here at the Save OBU blog.

Student Experiences Under the Norman-Whitlock Regime
Contributing Editor Veronica Pistone looks at how dismissive (and frankly inappropriate) administrators stonewalled students who asked honest questions about the unprecedented new policy changes during the 2010-11 academic year.
The New OBU Student Experience
We Will Not Be Silenced (Part 1)
We Will Not Be Silenced (Part 2)
Why Not Sit Down to a Little Fireside Chat?
Week Recap

What Makes a Good Administrator?
Veronica's first series looked broadly at the issue of administration at OBU.
My OBU Story: Veronica Pistone
Some Historical Background
What Makes a Good Administrator (Part 1)

What Makes a Good Administrator (Part 2)

What Makes a Good Administrator (Part 3)



Guest Blog Posts
The [Forgotten] Rights of Conscience Inalienable, Caitlin Dacus ('11)
My OBU Story: Clayton Mauritzen ('06)
My OBU Story (Part II): Travelers on a Journey, Clayton Mauritzen ('06)

The Administration's Ongoing War on Faculty Norms and Autonomy
Faculty Friday: Why Turnover Matters
Faculty Friday: Firing Professors a Favored Tactic Among SBC Fundamentalists
Faculty Friday: Open Hostility on Bison Hill
Faculty Friday: Games Administrators Play
Faculty Friday: The Long War
Faculty Friday: Church Affiliation Politics (Part 1)
Faculty Friday: OBU An Indoctrination Station?

Other Baptist Schools' Experiences
Sunday School: William Jewell College
Sunday School: Stetson University
Sunday School: Furman University
Sunday School: Things Can Get Worse
Sunday School: Yellowstone Baptist College
Sunday School: Reassessing Institutional Parallels

Money and Power: The Mutually Draining Side of the OBU-BGCO Relationship
Money Monday
Money Monday: Falls Creek a Better Bet for OK Baptists
Money Monday: OBU Subsidy Dwarfs BGCO's Evangelism Budget
Money Monday: Capital Campaign Looking Good -- On the Surface
Money Monday: The Cooperative Program and the Great Recession
Money Monday: BGCO Evangelism Conference
Money Monday: BGCO's OBU Subsidy Drops as Its Influence Skyrockets
Money Monday: The Truth Behind the Faculty/Staff Phase of the Capital Campaign
Money Monday: OBU -- The Baptist Building's Newest Tenant
Money Monday: OBU and the BGCO Since the 1980s

Looking Ahead
While students, faculty, and staff enjoy a well-deserved break, Save OBU will spotlight other constituencies we need to bring on board.  While students, faculty, and alumni personally have the most at stake in OBU administrators' recent decisions to run the college more like a fundamentalist Bible academy and conform to the BGCO elites' dream of purging moderates from Bison Hill, a cheapened and diminished OBU has consequences for other people and groups as well.  This week, we'll look at some of the other constituencies we hope to welcome into our growing coalition.

Happy Spring Break, everyone!

2 comments:

  1. Hello SaveOBU,

    I want to thank you for your dedication to our exceptional school. As SGA's External Vice President (new title, first chance I've had to use it) I've had the opportunity to sit in numerous meetings with the President, Provost, and many others. Given the information that has been imparted to me as a result of being a student representative, I will attempt to bring context to many of the issues that have been raised.

    I will not attempt to address issues related directly or indirectly to the BGCO, the SBC, or the "fundamentalists."

    If you please, look for my responses on past and future postings. Please do not interpret my answers as personal attacks, even where we disagree. Furthermore, you may contact me at ethan.groff@okbu.edu.

    With Regard,

    Ethan Groff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ethan. You're welcome to comment. We're still trying to define our comment policy. Allowing anonymous comments has been a mixed bag. Glad you have the courage to attach your name to your comments (even where we disagree). But remember that you're speaking only for yourself. You do not speak for the SGA or the University in any official capacity. You may want to consult with your colleagues before you embark on a mass commenting spree. I'd hate for you to divide the SGA over the issue of BGCO separation (the end toward which Save OBU is dedicated).

      Delete

We invite you to join in the conversation. However, anonymous comments are unwelcome.