Herman Blake and writing instructor Don Rothman discuss Oakes' legacy on April 27.
Oakes College started in 1972 as something of an experiment, a multi-cultural–themed resident UCSC college that represented a serious departure from the norm. As Don Rothman, senior writing lecturer emeritus, recalls, it soon became clear that the faculty there was doing things differently and leaving a mark.
“The faculty, staff and students had a sense that we were part of changing the world,” says Rothman, who hosts founding Oakes provost Herman Blake this Friday, April 27, at the Humanities Lecture Hall as part of Alumni Weekend festivities. “And we weren’t embarrassed to say that. There are a lot of dangers in having a mission. You can also derive a huge amount of solidarity and courage.”
Rothman says Oakes faculty and staff quickly realized the student body—largely made up of working-class students and people of color—would require an approach different from the one already in place at UCSC’s other six colleges. For one thing, they would need to focus on teaching students how to write. “There was still this illusion that students were already coming in ready for college writing,” Rothman says.
Oakes College also offered health and science classes geared toward students who might not have had much exposure to such courses in high school. Rothman adds that Blake, now at Medical University of South Carolina, and the rest of the Oakes faculty were ahead of their time in recognizing students’ needs.
“Any college that wanted to make a difference in the lives of these students and in the lives of our society collectively would of course include this,” Rothman says. “It wasn’t obvious at the time. And it seemed really innovative.”
HERMAN BLAKE AND DON ROTHMAN discuss Oakes College on Friday, April 27 at 7:30pm at the Humanities Lecture Hall, UCSC. Free, but reservations recommended. http://events.ucsc.edu/reunion/
