Rasa's (and Ken Burns') alma mater is shutting down

The Harold F. Johnson library at Hampshire College. (Copyleft photo under the Free Art License, details here.)

Most of you know Rasa, the fine dude who runs Hilaritas Press for the Robert Anton Wilson Trust. A few months ago, I mentioned that Rasa had attended a reunion for his alma mater, Hampshire College, where he presented a copy of RAW Memes to fellow alum Ken Burns, the famous documentary filmmaker. Burns sent Rasa a nice letter revealing that he had loved Illuminatus! I also have a friend here in northern Ohio  who graduated from Hampshire; she runs a book club I belong to.

This week came the news that Hampshire College (in Massachusetts, despite the name) will be shutting down. "Many small schools have struggled to enroll students in places facing population declines, a factor in Hampshire’s demise. Hampshire College has about 625 students, Ms. Chrisler said, about half the school’s enrollment in the early 2000s," the New York Times reported.

Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, which figures in Illuminatus! as Simon Moon's school, has closed repeatedly. The last time it closed was in 2008. It has been revived, though just barely: It had 15 graduates in 2025, according to the Wikipedia article.