Memorial Arch
An arch on the west side of Tappan Square, across the street from Peters Hall. It was built in memoriam of the thirteen missionaries from Oberlin and their five children who were killed in the Boxer Rebellion; ninety years later, plaques commemorating Chinese citizens who were killed were put up as well.
When it was built, it served as the main entrance to campus from the west. (It's now at the eastern edge of the main north-south strip of campus.)
The arch was a focal point of Erik Inglis's fall 2003 first-year seminar Monument and Memory in Western Art (syllabus available online, see links below).
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[edit] History
The cornerstone was set October 16, 1902, and construction continued until its dedication on May 14, 1903. It was mainly funded by a Mr. D. Willis James, with other contributions coming from students and friends of the college.
The Class of 1994 funded new plaques commemorating the Chinese citizens who were killed during the rebellion. The plaques were put up in early May 1993, exactly ninety years after the arch was dedicated.
[edit] Graduation and commencement
The college's graduation ceremony is held in front of the arch.
[edit] Walking under the arch
It's somewhat of a tradition that graduating students walk under the arch during graduation.
As controversy and protest are also a tradition at Oberlin, some students take issue with the presence of missionaries in China in the first place. These students will walk around the arch instead of through it.
Every year as commencement approaches, there is a display in A-level to inform students about the details of the dispute.
[edit] External links
- more on the arch from the Archives
- older picture of the arch from Oberlin College Architecture: A Short History, by Geoffrey Blodgett
- a LiveJournal thread on the graduation controversy (31 May 2005)
- Letters to the Editor, one by Oberlin Shansi director/trustees, others by many students affiliated with campus organizations or otherwise, in the Review (13 May 2005)
- "Why Shun the Memorial Arch?" by Robert Calvert, Jr. 1947, in Oberlin Alumni Magazine (fall 2004)
- Syllabus of FYSP 161: Monument and Memory in Western Art (fall 2003)
- "Memorial Arch plaque in place" in the Observer (25 May 1993)
