Author: Donovan Dennis
Occidental students know the script well: “Occidental? No, it’s not a dental school— it’s a small, liberal arts college in Los Angeles. Actually, President Obama went to school there.” Then the inevitable, uncomfortable question: “I thought he graduated from Columbia?” to which “Yeah, he transferred,” is the typically accepted response.
Even The Los Angeles Times hinted at the awkwardness of Obama’s transfer in a 2007 article, noting that his official website does not even mention the campus. Yet, despite his transfer, the bookstore proudly sells Barack Obama ’83 apparel, and hardly a day passes without students being reminded of his brief presence at Occidental.
Many students wonder what the benefits are of the college reminding the world at large that its most famous potential-graduate chose to finish school at Columbia University. Perhaps the gripes of current students rest in their admissions denials from selective, oft-sought Ivy League institutions. The soft pangs of malcontent resonate, pointing out that even Obama, a graduate who could have solely been Occidental’s, recognized the benefits of tacking an Ivy League name onto his diploma.
Obama’s transfer solidifies the perceived obviousness of Occidental’s inferiority in the face of Ivy League institutions. Furthermore, the college constantly reminds students, applicants, parents and visiting dignitaries that he once chose to attend here but left for an Ivy. Columbia even played into this set of preconceptions in its alumni newsletter, Columbia College Today, claiming that Obama said he “was still goofing off for the first two years of college, which he spent at Occidental” before attending their institution. Evidently at Columbia, Obama studied, while at Occidental he “had fun,” according to the newsletter.
What Columbia fails to mention, however, is that Obama is sometimes referred to by some, like fellow Columbia Class of 1983 graduate Wayne Allen Root as “the Ghost of Columbia,” because very few people even remember his presence there. Root wrote for the website theblaze.com in June that despite sharing the same major as Obama, political science, he never remembers him attending Columbia, and that many others in his class recollect — or similarly fail to recollect – him. Columbians may claim Obama as a graduate, but they have very little to offer recalling his time there.
On the other hand, Occidental procures a plethora of evidence of Obama’s time at the College; for example, the Obama shrine in the library. Photos of the president adorn the display: Obama lounging with classmates; working on the Feast literary magazine; and then, of course, giving his legendary speech in front of the AGC urging the college to divest from companies doing business with apartheid South Africa. Obama even devotes four substantial pages of his autobiography “Dreams From My Father” to the speech; no such four pages describe any monumental speeches made while at Columbia. Obama said in an interview with biographer David Mendell that while at Columbia, he “was just painfully alone and really not focused on anything, except maybe thinking a lot;” So alone, in fact, he skipped his own graduation ceremony.
An additional Obama biographer, David Maraniss, offers the belief that Obama’s first two years at Occidental “were a much richer and deeper experience” than his years at Columbia. In his book “Barack Obama: The Story,” Maraniss mentions journalists who reference Obama’s years at Columbia as “The Dark Years” — years where Obama failed to engage and fulfill his dreams of affirming his racial identity. Instead, he “disengaged,” according to Maraniss, leaving New York with neither friends nor lasting connections. Occidental, on the other hand, provided Obama with “the first stirrings of destiny” and the sense that “he was brought into this world with a purpose,” according to Maraniss in his book. In Maraniss’ eyes, however, he transferred to solidify his identity and to pursue the black experience in the heart of New York.
Nonetheless, Obama did leave the sunny skies of Los Angeles for the grittiness of New York City. While students may shame Obama, claiming he descended to the stereotype that only the Ivies provide for ultra-prominent success in life, they should at least take solace knowing that while at Occidental, Obama pursued social activism, pontificated about racial politics and built lasting relationships with professors and students. President Jonathan Veitch said in introducing Maraniss at Thorne Hall last year that, “the kind of liberal arts education that Barack Obama received here was instrumental in shaping his thinking.” Let students take pride in these words, and continue to proclaim Obama as a member of the Occidental Class of 1983. Although he may not have graduated here, he embodied the type of student Occidental prides itself in molding. For that, the college should claim Obama as an alumnus.
Donovan Dennis is a sophomore History major. He can be reached at dennisd@oxy.edu or on Twitter at @WklyDDennis.
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