December 5, 2014

The Oberlin Review

DECEMBER 5, 2014 VOLUME 143, NUMBER 10

Local News Bulletin News briefs from the past week White House Recognizes City of Oberlin The White House named the city of Oberlin a “Climate Action Champion” last Wednesday for its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change. Oberlin is among 16 communities nationwide recognized by the Department of Energy for their reduction of carbon emissions.

Other communities include Montpelier, VT; Boston; San Francisco and two tribal governments. Designation as a Climate Action Champion lasts for 27 to 36 months and comes with a variety of benefits. The city will be a target for federal funding, be provided access to climate data and tools, and also become a part of a network of communities planning longterm responses to climate change.

According to the Oberlin Project, Oberlin is on track to reduce its carbon emissions by 50 percent from 2007 rates in 2015.

This drop is largely due to the institution of renewable energy sources such as landfill gas, hydropower, wind and solar power.

Local Transit Service Approved for 2015 City Council approved a contract to renew the Lorain County Transit service for next year. Ten local businesses donated $22,000 to almost entirely cover the cost of operation. On average, the two-day-per-week service provides 156 rides every month. In 2014, service was extended by three hours — an expansion that will continue into 2015.

The service runs on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Students Protest Systemic Racism, Police Violence Madeline Stocker News Editor Oberlin students, faculty and staff came together this week to organize and execute a variety of protests, demonstrations and actions that highlighted what they identify as the College’s complicity in the systemic oppression of people of color.

While these protests were not the only actions that took place this week, they were among the more heavily-attended demonstrations.

Students Challenge Board of Trustees Over 100 students occupied the Board of Trustees forum in Stevenson Dining Hall on Thursday, crowding along the walls and dispersing themselves throughout the space in order to ensure that their voices would be heard.

“I look at the disdain in your faces, and I can see that you don’t respect me or the people who look like me,” one student said to the trustees, many of whom were white men.

“Don’t admit students into this college just to make this college look good,” said another.

“You limit access to students of color at this school,” a third said. “You limit our access into your classrooms.

Why is it that the only people I know who have ever heard of Oberlin are rich and white?”

The action, which was organized by several students of color, called attention to what many have identified as Oberlin’s institutional marginalization of low-income students and people of color.

Many of the students who spoke at the forum demanded the Board take accountability for what they viewed to

College junior Lisa-Qiao MacDonald (left), double-degree junior Caylen Bryant, College junior B.J. Tindal, College junior Ariana Abayomi and others protest outside the Conservatory on Monday. Since a grand jury announced its decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson last week, students have joined actions in Cleveland and initiated actions across campus to speak out against police violence.

Courtesy of Cheyenne Rubin

be the Board’s apathetic approach, as well as for the racist microaggressions that some used in their responses.

“Hands up,” several students of color shouted when they heard language they identified as violent or oppressive.

“Don’t shoot,” the rest of the demonstrators yelled back.

According to College junior and action organizer Kiki Acey, the chant was a way for students to express the pain that comes from destructive and dehumanizing language.

“If they kick us, we will say ouch,” said Acey.

Other students used the forum to address specific concerns and demands. College junior Amethyst Carey

asked the Board why the Multicultural Visit Program had been expanded to give even more access to white students, while College junior Lisa-Qiao MacDonald demanded that the trustees take part in anti-racist and antioppression trainings — a comment that garnered much support from the protesters.

While these remarks elicited responses from several trustees, many other comments went unaddressed.

“These issues are central to our conversations,” said Board Co-chair Diane Yu, OC ’73.

Other board members agreed and stressed that their goal was to serve students.

“We want to [allocate resources] where they can best be used,” said trustee Alan Wurtzel, OC ’55.

Wurtzel went on to say that the Board was between a fiscal rock and a hard place when it came to earning revenue, as the College has very few income channels and cannot afford to vastly reallocate its assets.

Peters Protest Denounces Respectability Politics While the Board of Trustees enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in the lobby of Peters Hall earlier that evening, a group of protesters were congregating upstairs.

See Protesters, page 4

Frandsen Presents on Current College Finances Oliver Bok Staff Writer Mike Frandsen, the vice president for Finance and Administration, gave students a broad overview of Oberlin’s revenue and expenses on Monday amid widespread student concern that the College isn’t doing enough to make Oberlin more affordable.

According to Frandsen, gross tuition — the sticker price that does not include financial aid — has increased by 4 percent on average over the last five years. Net student tuition — the actual amount of money collected from students after factoring in financial aid — has increased by 5.9 percent per year since 2011. Financial aid has increased by an average

of 5 percent per year during the same time period.

“Eighty-two percent of our projected revenues for the next fiscal year are net student revenue, so the net amounts that will come on your behalf, either from you or others, for tuition, fees, room and board. … Student revenue drives the revenue side of the budget,” said Frandsen. “We’re tuition-dependent, and more so than our peers.”

According to Frandsen, 8 percent of the rest of the operating budget comes from the endowment.

Before the 2008–2009 economic downturn took a sizable toll on Oberlin’s endowment, the rise in the endowment payout — the money Oberlin chooses to use from the endowment for its annual operating budget — typically matched the growth in financial

Giddy Up!

Teach-in Talk Alison Williams discusses the responses to Ferguson.

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ONLINE & IN PRINT

Sing, Sing, Sing The Women’s Chorale performed in Warner Concert Hall Wednesday night.

See page 3

See page 15

See page 12

INDEX:

Opinions 5

The equestrian team looks to pick back up in the spring after a successful season this fall.

This Week in Oberlin 8

Arts 10

Sports 16

aid. Frandsen stated that due to the recession, that was no longer the case.

“Since that endowment downturn in 2008–2009, the endowment payout leveled out. … But the student aid amount kept growing and growing and growing. So that has created a challenge not unique to Oberlin, but a challenge for colleges,” he said.

According to a graph shown by Frandsen, the percentage of American families that have a household income that’s more than three times Oberlin’s tuition fell from over 50 percent in 2002 to just under 30 percent in 2014.

“Can we sustain annual tuition rate increases? I See College, page 4

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Public Transportation Activists Reorganize Molly Brand The Sustainable Transportation Coalition, a joint city-College effort to improve public transportation in Oberlin and Lorain County, established a new branch last month.

The Sustainable Transportation Action Team is a group of nine students who takes ideas generated by the STC and researches their feasibility by examining the history of transportation in Oberlin and Lorain County.

The STC grew out of several separate groups that were meeting to work on public transportation, including the Student Senate’s public transit working group.

The coalition began to meet at the beginning of this semester and includes Oberlin students, Kendal at Oberlin residents and members of the Oberlin City Council, Oberlin Project and Oberlin Community Services.

STAT co-founder Aaron Appel, a former student senator and College junior, has spent much of his Oberlin career working and speaking with members of Oberlin’s larger community.

“I feel like the issue of public transportation always comes up in some capacity, whether it’s people at Kendal needing to fill a prescription, people at community meals needing to get to a job, [or Oberlin Community Services] getting people to come in for food distributions because there’s no transit stop nearby,” Appel said.

“It’s everywhere, even in a small community like ours.”

While the Action Team is technically a Student Senate working

group, it is no longer a Senatedriven initiative. Rather, Senate now takes more of a sponsorship role.

Appel became involved in public transit through the Senate working group, which he chaired last spring. Appel and Sharon Pearson, City Council member and program coordinator at the Oberlin Project, worked together to broaden the efforts of the working group. “[The working group] started to expand, and we changed the name to Sustainable Transportation Working Group to get more kinds of transportation into the conversation,” Appel said.

The team came together at what several group members believe to be a potential turning point in Lorain transportation history. With a possible ballot initiative proposing to increase the number of county commissioners from three to seven next year, some fear that transportation would largely be forgotten.

“As [that] becomes more of an issue, people will be talking about public transportation less and less,” said Ohio PIRG organizer and team member Neil Button.

The proposal would increase the number of rural representatives on the county commission, who may have less of an interest in paying for public transportation since transit systems would offer little benefit to their rural constituents.

“There have been Lorain County residents that have been working on the public transportation issues for three years, and we believe we only have one more shot

The Sustainable Transportation Coalition met in the Oberlin Public Library last Tuesday. The STC, along with the Sustainable Transportation Action Team, is working to improve transit in the city and the county. Simeon Deutsch

at a levy that will financially support a viable transportation system, as the county has attempted a levy two times already,” said Pearson. “Our fear is the discussion for reforming county government will overshadow the transportation discussion.”

Pearson is hoping that STAT and the coalition will be able to generate momentum that will be instrumental in passing a levy to support public transit in Lorain County. The next two years offer a window of opportunity for public transit in the county because Commissioner-elect Matt Lundy will be serving his first term.

Lundy, a current state representative, is a big supporter of public transportation.

However, transportation is not the only concern. By focusing on sustainability, the coalition intends to broaden the conversation about transit to include means of transportation other than driving.

“The Oberlin community is committed to becoming a positive climate community by 2050 through reducing our carbon emissions [to] below zero,” Pearson said. “We are on track to meet this goal and will be reducing our carbon emissions by 50 percent by [the end of 2015] because our energy portfolio is moving toward 85 percent renewable energy. However, by doing so, our carbon emissions from transportation will increase unless we begin to shift to alternative modes of transportation that reduce carbon emissions.

Also, walking, biking and public transit are healthier choice[s] than driving alone.”

In addition to researching the ideas generated by the coalition, STAT works to promote public transportation by distributing the Transportation Guide and highlighting existing systems. Examples include the Oberlin Connector and Shopping shuttle, along

with sustainable transportation alternatives such as biking and carpooling.

In setting up STAT, Appel and Button decided to reach out specifically to first- and second-year students. Appel, who has worked with various student organizations since his first year, has repeatedly found that student organizations have a difficult time with institutional memory. They wanted to avoid that problem in the first couple of years it takes STAT to get going.

“The goal is that this semester we create a cohesive team of very excited and interested individuals.

They’ve been phenomenal people, primarily first- and second-years,” said Appel.

College first-year Renwick Wilson said he joined the team because “transportation is a huge part of building a sustainable future.”

As operations manager and outreach coordinator, Wilson has been working on a survey of the student body “to find out what people think about current modes of transportation, and what their habits are.” According to Wilson, for STAT, being successful would mean being able to “raise awareness and enact change in the community.”

Button said that short-term success for STAT would be to keep the conversation about transportation alive.

“We want public transportation to be something that is talked about more in the state of Ohio and in Lorain County specifically,” said Button.

Groups Fear Tighter Abortion Restrictions under New Appointee Sarah Conner Three weeks ago, the Ohio Senate voted 24–8 to approve the appointment of Rick Hodges, OC ’86, to head of the Ohio Department of Health by Gov. John Kasich. Hodges has only four years of administrative medical experience, which some have argued is not enough to fulfill the position’s experience requirement.

Hodges, a Republican, served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999.

He has extensive experience managing public infrastructure, serving as the executive director of the Ohio Turnpike Commission before being appointed to the Health Department. Prochoice groups have criticized Hodges for his anti-abortion views.

Opponents have questioned whether Hodges is qualified for the position under Ohio law.

The Ohio Revised Code states that the position should be filled by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the state or an individual with significant experience in public health.

Kasich appointed Dr. Mary Applegate to the position of interim medical director in order to help Hodges perform his duties.

“Ohio’s public health responsibilities cover a wide range of complex issues, requiring a team of people with a rare mix of skills,” Kasich stated in a press release. “With his proven management ability, Rick [Hodges] is well prepared to lead the department to carry out its mission, and Dr. Applegate’s medical expertise will allow her to support Rick by focusing on medical issues and assisting him in recruiting an expert clinical team.”

Even though the Senate backed Kasich’s decision, critics are not convinced that Hodges is qualified to do his job.

“Governor Kasich couldn’t find a qualified medical professional willing to continue his regulatory witch-hunt against abortion providers and family-planning clinics, so he appointed Rick Hodges, a political operative who does not meet the legal requirements for the position, to be his new hatchet man,” said Executive Direc-

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tor of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Kellie Copeland in a press release. “Now the Ohio Senate has rubberstamped Kasich’s pick, which will no doubt allow the politicization of this agency to continue.”

Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, also expressed concerns over the politicization of the state’s health department.

“The confirmation of Rick Hodges is a huge step backward and is an assault on the rights of Ohio women by politicians pushing their personal ideologies,” said Hogue in a press release.

“We insist on the appointment of qualified men and women for posts in charge of public health decisions and safeguarding the programs that keep our families safe. We demand accountability for anyone who puts partisan politics over sound public policy.”

There are currently eight clinics in Ohio that offer abortion services, down from 14 in 2013. Currently, over half of Ohio’s women live in counties without abortion clinics, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Julia Liv Combe Herbst Allegra RoseKirkland Stoloff Managing editor Samantha Julian Ring Link News editors Elizabeth RosemaryDobbins Boeglin Madeline Alex Howard Stocker Opinions editor Will Rubenstein Sam White This Week Weekeditor editor Hazel Zoë Strassman Galloway Arts editors Jeremy Kara Reynolds Brooks Vida Georgia Weisblum Horn Sports editors Nate Quinn Levinson Hull Madeleine Tyler O’Meara Sloan Layout manager editors Tiffany Taylor Fung Field Layout editors Abigail Ben Garfinkel Carlstad Alanna TaliaSandoval Rodwin Photo editors Sarah Olivia Gericke Snider Photo editors Brannon Rockwell-Charland Mike Plotz Online editor Effie Alanna Kline-Salamon Bennett Editors-in-chief Editors-in-Chief

Currently, there are no clinics offering abortion services in Lorain County.

Family Planning Services has two locations, one in Elyria and one in Lorain, and offers services similar to those of Planned Parenthood.

Only one Planned Parenthood location is open in the county. While the Lorain clinic offers basic services such as birth control, STD testing and pregnancy testing, it does not offer abortion services. However, the clinic helps patients find nearby locations that offer this service.

The closest abortion clinic, Preterm, is located in Cleveland.

Access to abortions in Ohio has become more restricted in the past year. On Nov. 20, a “heartbeat” bill passed through the House Health and Aging Committee and will soon be voted upon by the House. This bill would restrict most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about eight weeks into pregnancy. If this legislation is not overturned, Ohio will have some of the strictest abortion laws nationwide.

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Corrections: Corrections

In “Activists Concerned Over Black Student Enrollment Numbers” 21,of2014), the The Review is not(Nov. aware percentage of students identifying any corrections this week.as black at Oberlin is 5.2 percent.

The Review strives to print all In “Emergency Declarationasinpossible.

Ferguson information as accurately Premature, Discourages If you feel the ReviewStructural has madeChange” an (Nov. 21, 2014), error, pleasea State send of anEmergency e-mail to was declared in the state of Missouri, not in the managingeditor@oberlinreview.org. city of Ferguson.

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Page 3

Off the Cuff: Alison Williams, associate dean for academic diversity and Multicultural Resource Center director Associate Dean for Academic Diversity and Multicultural Resource Center Director Alison Williams was a panelist on the Faculty and Student Teach-in on the events in Ferguson last Wednesday. She sat down with the Review to place Ferguson in a systemic context and discuss the responses of both students and the general public.

What was the goal of Wednesday’s teach-in?

Well, we wanted to accomplish a few things. [We wanted to] bring the community together to talk about the events in Ferguson and put them in a broader context. We wanted to give a space for expressing the frustration and anger about those events. For me, it was important to put it into the context of the history of this country and current events in this country beyond just the police killings. And also, we wanted to give people a place to put that anger so that people would act moving forward, and not just act in a hotheaded way, but to have a place to act that would accomplish a longer-term goal — something that would change the existing structures so that we don’t have to keep witnessing these kinds of murders.

And how do you think students can react to events like Ferguson?

I think there’s a lot of ways. I think it’s very personal and it depends on your positionality and your identity and your community. [This includes] speaking up [and] working with communities. One of the things I think is very important is to have community control of the police — so working, especially in the cities where these murders have happened, to develop community control boards for the police is a really important thing to do. It may be something little. For instance, the prosecutor in Ferguson ran unopposed. There’s different views on electoral politics, but the fact that this person ran unopposed — you know people should be mobilizing to get him out, right? So I think that there’s a lot of things to be done, and I think it should be dependent on what skills you feel you have and tools [you feel you have].

I think the worst thing you can do is not do anything, and at the least people need to speak out, to write to legislators. At the very least.

You mentioned the way you react depends on your identity. Could you speak a little to those different identities and perhaps the role and responses of peo-

Thursday, Nov. 27 12:42 a.m. Officers assisted a student that was ill, possibly from something they ate, at Kahn Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

the dehumanization of black people.

For hundreds of years, people have not viewed African-Americans as equal humans to whites. And [when] I say people I mean mostly white people, but then that can also create an internalized conflict.

To me the events in Ferguson are tied to a broader picture. We see such a polarization in terms of the distribution of wealth. The rich are richer than ever before, and regular, every day working folks are not able to make it. And there are a lot of good, really hard-working people that are really scrambling to make ends meet, and it just should not be that way, and yet we vote down these minimum wage laws. We vote down things that will make people’s lives better. So I see Ferguson as another example of the dehumanization of brown people, of working people, of poor people.

Alison Williams, associate dean for academic diversity director and Multicultural Resource Center Coordinator, spoke on the panel at Wednesday’s Faculty and Student Teach-in.

ple who do not belong to the communities most directly affected?

Well, I think that people who are not African-American, or certainly people who are not people of color, really need to understand that the way that they experience these events is very different than

flict. I think because we are privileged to be in these spaces we need to take all the knowledge we can and then bring it to bear on our communities for change.

From Audre Lorde to Toni Cade Bambara to Malcolm X, the power of knowledge is so important. And to have access to knowledge, especially at a time when our –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– educational system is just falling apart at K-12 [is especially important]. And here “I see Ferguson as another exwe are at one of the best institutions of ample of the dehumanization higher ed in the country. I think people of brown people, of working need to take as much as they can away from these institutions, and then use that people, of poor people.” to guide their actions. For me, it’s not a –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– conflict. For me, marching is important, challenging the system is important, but those of us who are. And people need the more articulate we are in doing that, to be willing to step back and listen to the more we learn how to do our research, people who are most directly affected by to bring facts to light, to communicate all these events and give voice to those folks of those things, the more useful we’ll be and to empower those voices. For some in creating change. people that’s hard to step back, but I think it needs to happen. There are plenty Could you speak a little about the of things people can do that are effective, broader context of Ferguson and how as I said, regardless of your identity. But the events at Ferguson are indicative there’s been instances where the white of larger structural issues? community, in their wishes to be helpful, I think people don’t really understand have drowned out the voices of the black the impact of having a poor educational community, and I think that that can’t system, a system where jobs have been happen in this case. removed from inner-city communities or just a lot of neighborhoods. People Several students also brought up, dur- are being displaced through forecloing the teach-in, the conflict of aca- sure, through unfair housing practices, demic responsibilities and activism. through not having places to live. All of Do you think there is a conflict? And, those things, I think, feed the kind of rage if so, how can we navigate in between that comes when something like this these two things? happens, and I think they’re connected.

Personally, I don’t think there’s a con- And all of this also feeds the result of

5:13 p.m. An officer was requested to assist a student who cut their finger while doing dishes at Price House. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Friday, Nov. 28 10:19 a.m. An officer on patrol in South Hall noticed graffiti, done in black permanent marker

on the HVAC unit outside the dance studio. Non-offensive graffiti was also located on the plywood board covering a window on the northeast side of Kellogg wing. A work order was filed for cleanup.

Monday, Dec. 1 1 p.m. A student reported the theft of an unlocked bike from

Do you think this could ever change moving forward?

If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t be here. I have to have hope. Though I have to say that when you’ve been hitting the streets for as long as I have and you just see things repeat, it does get frustrating, and it’s hard not to get cynical. But then I see the energy of students and young people, and that gives me hope. That gives me hope. I mean, there are some things that have changed in this country in my lifetime, but there’s still so, so much more work that has to be done. But I have to have hope.

In your talk during the teach-in, you spoke a little about the media’s coverage of the riots in Ferguson. What are your thoughts on the coverage?

Well, I just found it really frustrating that the media focused on the violence of the riots and not on the violence of the police. And I thought that was really racist in itself, and again, another example of this view of black people as savage or whatever and that it’s OK. And we should sit back and say it’s OK and not get angry at the killing of our people. The media just did not do due diligence by focusing on the violence. I think that if you read the statement from the prosecutor and you read the testimony of Wilson — how they could not focus on those comments and the comments that were made in those statements and just go for the sort of sensational pictures of the riots. I found [that] infuriating.

the bike rack on the north side of Mudd ramp sometime between Nov. 25 and 26. The bicycle is a purple 21-speed Raleigh Mojave valued at $50.

9:27 p.m. Wilder staff reported graffiti in a stall in the women’s bathroom in Wilder Hall basement. The graffiti was done in black permanent marker. Graffiti was also found in the men’s restroom, done in black letters

Interview by Elizabeth Dobbins, News editor Photo courtesy of Dale Preston

circled with red spray paint. A work order was filed for removal.

Tuesday, Dec. 2 4:34 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Police department responded to a 911 hang-up call in the fitness area of South Hall. The individual responsible for the call was located, and everything was found to be in order.

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The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Protesters Decry Administrative Silence Continued from page 1 “Ferguson is all around us. We need to pop the bubble that insulates us from the rest of the world. We do not get to compartmentalize these issues,” said Bautista.

When the time came for the students to interrupt the dinner, they split into two groups. The white students descended the staircase first, filling the lobby with shouts and other loud vocal noises that called attention to the demonstrators. They were soon followed by students of color, who silently dispersed themselves throughout the lobby.

According to Bautista, the demonstration was purposefully chaotic and inconvenient and was purposefully designed to have white students enter the lobby first.

“We need to reverse the racial paradigm that is associated with activism,” Bautista said. “Not just on campus, but nationally. It’s a paradigm that allows people to be apathetic and police other students. This policing has been mostly coming from white students on this campus unfortunately, and when you see a cohort of people who look just like you, it’s a little bit harder for you to criminalize them and demean them and invalidate everything they’re saying because they are you.”

While the rest of the students descended into the lobby, Bautista remained on the stairwell to request the crowd take four and a half minutes honoring the memory of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO, this summer.

In demonstrations across the country, the four and a half minutes of silence was specifically chosen to represent the four and a half hours that Brown’s body was left lying in the street.

During the silence, trustees craned their necks to see the demonstrators, some of whom were holding posters of other black and brown Americans who have been murdered by white

Students hold signs during a protest in Peters Hall Thursday. The protesters disrupted a dinner for trustees and called for four and a half minutes of silence in memory of Michael Brown.

Mike Plotz

police officers. Others were holding posters of the 43 Mexican students that disappeared in southern Mexico this September.

Other students passed out a list of demands to the trustees, which were a direct reproduction of the demands that were presented at the Board of Trustees meeting in October of 2013.

The demands called for increased institutional transparency, divestment from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine, creation of a scholarship program for undocumented students, a ban on fracking on College-owned property and the official formation of an Asian-American studies minor.

“We were highlighting the fact that there has been complicity and inaction [from the trustees] despite student protest,” Bautista said. “How will trustees wield their privilege moving forward?”

Though the trustees and other dinner attendees were largely silent during the demonstration, Dean of Students Eric Estes said the protest had an important message.

“I think they thought it was incredibly powerful,” Estes said. “I was just talking to a trustee who actually occupied this building during the Vietnam War protests. We were having a fascinating conversation… I love and

respect our students very much.”

Protesters Unite in Oberlin, Cleveland Nearly 200 students participated in the national Hands Up, Walk Out day of solidarity on Monday, shouting chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “No justice, no peace” as they marched through the campus and into town.

Protesting against the systemic marginalization, brutalization and dehumanization of black and brown Americans and denouncing police brutality and other forms of racialized violence, the demonstrators called out Oberlin’s administration for its inaction.

The protest formally started at 1 p.m., when dozens of students walked out of their classrooms and convened in front of the Cox Administration Building. After staging a four-and-a-

half minute “die-in” — in which protesters lay on the ground — they advanced toward the King Building, where they weaved in and out of classrooms in an attempt to engage their peers in the action. From there, students marched into the Science Center, through Wilder Bowl and into Bibbins Hall, where several teachers were holding music theory classes.

While some professors allowed students to join the protest or cancelled class, others chose instead to ignore it. Many of the students, however, chose to ignore their professors, and by the time the crowd surged out of the Conservatory, it was over 100 strong.

“No justice, no peace, no racist police,” the students shouted as they headed toward the Oberlin Police Station, where they aimed to hold officers in Oberlin and nationwide accountable for police brutality enacted against black and brown Americans.

After protesting outside the police station, students moved toward Oberlin High School, where they proceeded to inform those exiting the building of how to get transportation to several protests in Cleveland.

Demonstrators then returned to Cox to reconvene and discuss productive ways to move forward. By the time the crowd dispersed, students had formed groups that focused on media saturation, artistic expression, direct action, decompression and community and church engagement.

The Hands Up, Walk Out demonstration was part of many that were

Students and local residents block a road during a protest in Cleveland last week. During the past week, students have organized several protests on campus to bring attention to systemic violence.

Courtesy of Libby Salemi

organized in response to the recent events in Ferguson. Many communities have been protesting police violence since the shooting, strengthening their efforts when Missouri’s grand jury announced last month that the officer who killed Mike Brown would not be indicted.

A number of Oberlin students have participated in several of these demonstrations, including one that took place last week in Cleveland.

The protest, which was organized by Cleveland anti-mass-incarceration group Puncture the Silence, saw nearly 100 Oberlin students stand in solidarity with Cleveland residents who condemned the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson, as well as the recent murder of black 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a white Cleveland police officer.

One of the other highly attended actions on campus was Wednesday’s Faculty and Student Teach-In on Ferguson, during which approximately 300 students gathered in King to hear individuals speak on the historical context of police brutality and systemic oppressions of people of color, as well as the ways that students can prioritize activism. The Multicultural Resource Center as well as the Comparative American Studies, Africana Studies and History departments organized the event.

According to College President Marvin Krislov, these initiatives will be taken into consideration as the administration moves forward with its action. In his weekly Source column published on Wednesday, he announced the formation of a working group designed to determine the “best principles and practices for ensuring campus safety in an inclusive and equitable fashion.”

In an interview with the Review, he highlighted the importance of community.

“We recognize that these events are very concerning and upsetting to a lot of people, and we want to be there as a community to support students and others — faculty and staff — who want to talk about this, and I hope that we can figure out educational ways in which we can think about these issues together.”

Students Request More Specific Financial Data Continued from page 1 imagine that’s part of what your question is. But at the same time can we remain competitive with compensation? You want the best professors in the classroom. They’re not free.”

According to Frandsen, about two-thirds of Oberlin’s expenses comes from salaries, wages and benefits, and 40 percent of total compensation goes to faculty. The remaining third of expenses pays for maintenance and repair costs as well as operating costs such as heating and lighting.

“For every dollar that we spend, 56 cents is going directly to instruction,” said Frandsen. “Another 15 percent goes to academic support — things like the library. Institutional support, people like me and the administration, get 17 percent.”

Most of the remaining money goes to student services, according to a graph shown by Frandsen.

Frandsen said that for the last five years, revenue and expenses mostly rose together, with expenses growing slightly more than revenue. However, Frandsen predicted that Oberlin would face “pressure” in the years ahead on both the revenue and expenses sides of the equation.

Frandsen said that going forward, the finance department would focus on controlling unnecessary costs and gaining potential new, non-tuition-based revenue sources, such as renting Oberlin’s facilities out more frequently.

Several students in attendance wanted a more detailed breakdown of financial aid at Oberlin, but Frandsen said that

he did not have those figures.

“At the end of the day, students as a class versus administrators as a class have competing interests,” said Zachery Crowell, College senior and student senator. “The people in finance, the people in admissions, the people in financial aid, as the 2005 Strategic Plan said, they have to lower the discount rate, they have to increase net revenue. … We want to make sure that [increasing revenue] isn’t preventing lowincome and racially diverse students from coming here.”

Student Senator and chair of the transparency committee Ben Libbey was concerned about the accessibility of the College’s financial information.

“Right now our focus isn’t necessarily on finding out more raw information; our focus is on taking what we have right now and packaging it in a way that is easy to understand so people can inform themselves about Oberlin’s budget,” said Libbey. “I know there are a lot of people who want to learn more about the endowment, but frankly that’s up to the trustees. We also want to find out more about financial aid.”

Libbey said he felt this information session was a step in the right direction.

“I think we had great turnout,” he said. “In terms of a good, broad overview, this was very great.”

For extended coverage of College financial data, see the This Week section on page 8.

December 5, 2014

Opinions The Oberlin Review

Letters to the Editors

Open Letter from Oberlin’s Equity and Diversity Committee

Dear members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, As members of the Oberlin College General Faculty Committee on Equity and Diversity, we are writing to urge you to consider the fundamental place of diversity (including, but not limited to, differences of race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability and religion/spirituality) in Oberlin’s continuing mission as an elite liberal arts college and conservatory.

We ask you as a committee to place a high priority on the creation of a diverse learning environment in the current Strategic Planning process, with particular emphasis on the following: –Increased racial and ethnic diversity of faculty and staff, reflected by specific hiring recommendations –Increased socioeconomic, racial and ethnic diversity within the student body –Increased global diversity within the student body Ideally, the Strategic Planning process would also produce as a critical output a definition of “diversity” as it relates to future College policy and processes and a statement on the value of this type of diversity that can be embraced by the College community.

As you are well aware, Oberlin points with great pride to its 19thcentury activism around both racial equality and the coeducation of women and men. The College’s special relationship to the education and training of African-Americans has distinguished it in the 20th and 21st centuries as well, as have its broader commitments to diversity and inclusion (the 2005 Strategic Plan, for instance, states in its first paragraph that “Oberlin’s excellence encompasses the highest standards for liberal and musical education and diversity, inclusiveness, and social engagement”).

Despite its well-justified pride in past accomplishments, however, Oberlin College’s current commitment to diversity has fallen short of its peer institutions in established diversity benchmarks, such as faculty and staff hiring and enrollment of domestic students of color. Pres-

ently, for example, 15 percent of Oberlin’s tenured and tenure-track college faculty are faculty of color, ranking Oberlin well behind many of its peer institutions, including Carleton, Vassar, Haverford, Grinnell and Kenyon Colleges. Funds are also limited at the College and Conservatory for recruiting diverse faculty members through target of opportunity hiring and outreach.

In addition to improving Oberlin’s faculty, staff and student diversity to reflect emerging national demographics, creating a dynamic learning environment at Oberlin also requires rich and diverse curricular offerings and support for programs where students are introduced to new intellectual fields and modes of inquiry by faculty and staff committed to serving a diverse student body. Diversity is vital to the overall quality of education and has led to demonstrably improved outcomes in learning in categories like academic skills, intellectual engagement and motivation and active (i.e., more complex, analytical and social-historical) forms of thinking.

A robust commitment to diversity also calls for greater interactional diversity — that is, the creation and maintenance of formal and informal spaces where students have the opportunity to talk with, work with, learn from and teach those who are different from themselves. One of the fundamental goals of a liberal arts education is to send students into the world beyond Oberlin with a deeper understanding of, respect for and empathy toward those who view and experience the world in different ways.

That goal is, however, frankly unattainable without a rigorous and lasting commitment to diversity at all levels of the institution.

Alongside fostering interactional diversity in classroom and co-curricular settings, Oberlin’s efforts at equity and inclusion must also include the wider communities of the city of Oberlin, Lorain County and broader northeast Ohio and could spark innovative programs in job training, student internships and entrepreneurial enterprises.

As a General Faculty committee with strong staff and student representation, we look forward to participating in the strategic planning process. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with the Steer-

ing Committee and individual work groups and discuss further the future of diversity at Oberlin College and Conservatory.

–Oberlin College General Faculty Committee on Equity and Diversity This letter was co-signed by more than 50 members of the College and Conservatory faculty and staff. For a full list of names, please see the Review’s website.

Student Senator Provides Information on Laundry Price Increases To the Editors: It is no secret that the cost of higher education is rising overall, and with this trend of price increases, little fees or costs for services rise slightly as well. Students frequently express concern about the lack of transparency around these increases and wonder what their money is going to. It should be no surprise that students have been alarmed at the 50-cent price increase for laundry. Students often feel “nickel-anddimed” by the College as they notice rises in little necessities, especially in these cases where the increase is literally nickels and dimes. As a student senator, I have spoken with several students and read reactions online in social media about how students are interpreting this change. Many simply wonder, “WHY?” So, I interviewed Director of Dining Services Michele Gross about why and how this price decision was made, and I would like to share the information she provided.

The core reasoning of why the price increased is because the school renewed the contract with the laundry machine company that we use, and the cost agreement in the new contract is higher because of the overall increases in prices as the business grows and as it reflects inflation. The school decided to reflect the contract price in the price of doing a load of laundry. Ms. Gross emphasized that the last time the school increased laundry prices was five years ago, and that is generally the average time between See Letters, page 7

SUBMISSIONS POLICY The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and column submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in the following Friday’s Review. Letters may not exceed 600 words and columns may not exceed 800 words, except with the consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names, for all signers. All electronic submissions from multiple writers should be carbon-copied to all signers to confirm authorship.

The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for content, space, spelling, grammar and libel. Editors will work with columnists and contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. In no case will editors change the opinions expressed in any submission.

The Opinions section strives to serve as a forum for debate. Review staff will occasionally engage in this debate within the pages of the Review. In these cases, the Review will either seek to create dialogue between the columnist and staff member prior to publication or will wait until the next issue to publish the staff member’s response.

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Opinions expressed in letters, columns, essays, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review.

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The Oberlin Review Publication of Record for Oberlin College — Established 1874 —

Editors-in-Chief Julia Herbst Rose Stoloff Managing Editor Julian Ring Opinions Editor Sam White

Representative Media Coverage Requires Voices of Citizen Journalists Hours after a Staten Island grand jury announced Wednesday that a white NYPD officer would not be indicted in the death of Eric Garner, a black father of six who stopped breathing while held in a banned chokehold, The Huffington Post published a headline that stood out in the media frenzy: “A Grand Jury Did Indict One Person Involved In Eric Garner’s Killing — The Man Who Filmed It.” More surprising than the news of another non-indictment of a white police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man is the rarity of this type of media angle. In the cases of John Crawford in Beavercreek, Ohio, Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and now Eric Garner in New York City, corporate-backed national media outlets have largely framed these police killings — and subsequent non-indictments — as singular, exceptional events. While the protests sparked by these high-profile cases are certainly newsworthy, so too is the overlooked picture underlying them: pervasive, systemic violence inflicted upon communities of color every day, carried out by police departments acting upon a legal system covertly designed to criminalize and incarcerate black and brown people.

The Huffington Post’s headline, while sensational, is essentially true: 22-year-old Ramsey Orta, a longtime friend of Garner whose video of the incident went viral over the summer, was indicted on illegal weapon charges not long after Garner’s death. Orta contended that the arrest was a setup and that prosecutors filed charges against him for filming Garner’s fatal encounter with police. The uncomfortably close relationships between prosecutors and police departments, exemplified in the non-indictments of officers like those who killed Garner and Brown, lend plausibility to Orta’s account.

Furthermore, the challenges Orta has faced are not unique. Though it is legal to film law enforcement activity, citizens who attempt to document police racism and brutality frequently encounter similar obstacles, ranging from forcible confiscation of their cameras to arrest.

Troublingly, this holds just as true for citizen journalists, the growing numbers of community residents who use the power of smartphone video and easy online video sharing to “report” on local events.

Bassem Masri, an outspoken activist known for livestreaming footage from Ferguson protests to thousands of online followers, has been arrested many times on a variety of charges — many of which he, like Orta, characterizes as deliberate attempts by police to silence him.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, he was released from custody on one such arrest, covering his $15,000 cash bond entirely with crowdfunded donations raised by his supporters.

Predictably, this style of activist reporting has its share of critics.

Among these are representatives of traditional media outlets, including CNN’s Michael Smerconish, who, in a Nov. 22 interview with Masri, accused the activist of worsening the situation in St. Louis by engaging in behaviours such as “taunting police officers.” Masri’s response to the criticism is telling: “There’s blood on the street and you’re worried about words. Come on, man! That’s what journalists are missing right now. Why don’t you go investigate something real? … Why don’t you worry about us getting killed?”

Smerconish’s interview — and Masri’s impassioned retorts — highlight many of the problems that have become evident in mainstream coverage of high-profile police killings. In a demanding, nonstop media environment, national networks like CNN and its competitors send their correspondents far and wide in a valiant effort to provide objective coverage of events of national importance. Their efforts are inherently limited, however, by the impossibility of capturing the community histories, values and conflicts — crucial context for stories like the See Editorial, page 6 Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, managing editor and Opinions editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Opinions

Page 6

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Online Prejudice Reveals Weak Allyship Samantha Smylie Contributing Writer When the St. Louis County prosecutor announced late on Nov. 24 that a grand jury found that “no probable cause exists to file any charge against Officer [Darren] Wilson,” millions around the country were in shock, outraged at the decision not to indict the Ferguson, MO police officer who killed Mike Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, in August. According to Dorian Johnson’s eyewitness testimony, Wilson fired shots at Brown after a confrontation, and Brown then tried to flee the scene. Wilson chased after Brown; once confronted again, according to witnesses, Brown put his hands in the air in an attempt to surrender and show that he did not have a gun. However, no one will ever really know Brown’s true intentions, because Officer Wilson then fired six more shots that resulted in Brown’s death. Not only was this teenager killed while unarmed, but his lifeless body was left on the ground for four and a half hours.

As a result of the decision, protests erupted all over the country and sparked conversations over social media. Personally, I was devastated by the news. In that moment, I knew there was an injustice done, and I was angry about it. Most of the anger came from the fact that Darren Wilson was not sent to trial even though there seemed to be a conflict between witness testimony and evidence. However, I feel that I made a mistake by looking at the commentary on Facebook and other social media outlets — especially anonymous ones.

My anger at the situation grew stronger after seeing these comments. Some internet “trolls” would say things that were obviously prejudiced, throwing around the N-word to describe Brown. Some would say things that were covertly prejudiced about Brown by indicating that he was an imminent threat because he was a Black 6-foot-4-inch teenager, or they would bring up the topic of Black-on-Black crime or say that the case is not a race issue.

Others would scream through the white noise that the police are “the good guys,”

that Darren Wilson was simply doing his job and that the judicial system in America is the best. And there were those who were simply misinformed about the case and the protesting in Ferguson — some believed that a majority of protesters were looting stores and rioting.

I do believe that the sensationalized media, which has consistently spread misinformation in order to distract the public from the actual facts of the case, is responsible for many of these misguided comments. Nevertheless, most of the comments are coming from those who are simply ignorant or choose not to see the systematic oppression of communities of color. I know that I cannot fight all of the ignorance by others on social media; I have to pick and choose my battles.

But what truly disappointed me were the similar comments posted anonymously on Oberlin’s Yik Yak and the Oberlin Confessions Facebook page. For the most part, Oberlin students have the reputation of willingly learning about systems of oppression and taking a stand against them. Most of us came here to learn about systems that deter the advancement of people of color and to fight the prejudices that we grew up with. For some, though, that is not the case. After the grand jury decision, there were many comments on Oberlin’s Yik Yak that reflected the same ignorance and prejudice demonstrated in the comments stated above.

I understand that anonymity gives people the opportunity to say anything they want, especially if it is things they would feel uncomfortable saying publicly. However, now I am cautious of the people who are in my classes or who I meet at social events, because they could be the same people posting prejudiced things in these anonymous online forums. As a Black woman on a white campus, I already feel overly conscious of myself in different spaces I occupy on campus. I would prefer to be around people who understand the prejudices that I face in life, instead of people who pretend that these prejudices do not exist or who say very prejudiced things to

me. Unfortunately, the lesson that I have learned from reading all of those anonymous posts is that there is social justice work that needs to be done not just in America, but here at Oberlin.

I think that we need to change our approach in how we tackle this issue. As some have stated on social media, white allies need to educate other members of the white community about systems of oppression. White allies have the privilege of being able to occupy more than one space. White allies are getting educated about racism in America in POC spaces, but I question if they are challenging other whites when they are not in the presence of other people of color.

Think about it from this perspective: When have you corrected your parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, or even partners about the prejudiced statements that they have made? Did you delete one of your white friends on Facebook after Darren Wilson was not indicted instead of engaging in conversation with them?

Do you let it go because you do not want to initiate an argument or because it makes you uncomfortable?

Every day, Black and Brown people experience being uncomfortable in white spaces and feel pressured into speaking about their own experiences. So be bold and speak up: Your voice needs to be heard in these spaces where POC voices can’t enter. You have the knowledge and the ability to create a dialogue that will change the minds of those around you.

When you do social justice work, you must think on this scale and educate others in these white communities who are not confronted about their own prejudices every day.

In order for Black and Brown people to be liberated from oppressive systems, we must reach a broader audience of people.

The anonymous racist commentary on online forums here at Oberlin proves that allies have more work to do. Only by confronting those who are perpetuating white supremacist attitudes can allies get to the root of the problem and mobilize more communities to think critically about structural racism and privilege.

Editorial: Corporate Media Misrepresents Communities Continued from page 5 death of Michael Brown — and packaging them into 90-second segments.

These shortcomings are amplified by the impossible standard of objectivity to which reputable national sources are held. Even in the absence of overt ideological bias, virtually every component of a news story — from the selection of the news angle to the choice of background imagery to the script fed into the teleprompter — is inherently shaped by the individual experiences of the story’s contributors.

The same contextual knowledge that is unattainable for nationally dispatched correspondents is unavoidable for citizen journalists like Masri and smartphone videographers like Orta. These storytellers report events as they see them, and they frame the story in terms of the experience of their own communities. There is no effort to be objective, and there is no need: They are telling their own stories.

This is not to say that traditional reporting is without merit. The resources afforded to long-established networks and publications provide unique and valuable institutional capital, allowing The New York Times, for instance, to practice the in-depth investigative journalism for which it is known.

Yet the voices of Masri, Orta and citizen documentarians nationwide must be treated as essential, guiding parts of the conversation. Traditional media organizations, like government, are hierarchical; left unchecked, this hierarchy all but ensures the silencing of voices already excluded in representative government.

Keystone XL Debate Prioritizes Politics over Environmental Realities Chloe Vassot Contributing Writer In navigating the political obstacle course necessary for its approval, the Keystone XL pipeline has all but proved itself “the little pipeline that could.”

At this point, the pipeline’s creation seems almost inevitable. Though a bill to approve the construction of the pipeline was defeated in the Senate on Nov. 18, Republicans have vowed to revive it when they take control of the Senate in January. The New York Times called the Keystone XL controversy “one of the most fractious and expensive battles of the Obama presidency,” and now there is speculation that the president may not veto the bill if — or when — it passes in 2015. It’s been a long road for the proposed pipeline, which almost quietly gained approval in 2011 under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At one time, it was neither hailed as a miraculous job creator nor vilified as the single most evil and environmentally destructive thing ever envisioned. Now, after the

investment of millions of dollars spent in advertising trying to either kill it or build it, the pipeline’s creation is back to seeming nearly certain.

The contention surrounding Keystone XL hasn’t hinged on the facts of its potential effects on the environment or the economy, though the rhetoric of the debate implies otherwise. The pipeline has become a symbol of the environmental movement versus the Big Oil lobby, and now it has been appropriated as a prop in the partisan political theater of Washington, D.C. The political right has professed to love the pipeline for its economic advantages and job creating power. However, sources ranging from The New York Times to The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart have pointed out that the pipeline is only expected to create 35 permanent jobs.

Environmentalists, on the other hand, have fiercely opposed Keystone XL because of the carbon emissions it will produce, because of the risk of leaks and because the tar sands oil the pipeline would transport is impli-

cated in the destruction of Canada’s boreal forests.

I am, admittedly, sympathetic with the arguments of environmentalists, but their side has lacked clarity in articulating the actual effects Keystone XL will have. Keystone XL is not the only factor that will cause the exploitation of Canada’s oil sands and the degradation of ancient forests, and it will not save the forest environment if Keystone XL dies a legislative death.

The boreal forests are already being uprooted. Keystone XL is a shortcut corridor proposed to supplement TransCanada Corporation’s already-operational Keystone Pipeline System. The XL pipeline will transport crude oil to U.S. refineries faster, but the Keystone System began delivering this oil in 2010 and continues to do so.

And while fights over Keystone XL have raged, TransCanada expanded its U.S. pipeline system by constructing the Gulf Coast Pipeline, which carries oil from Oklahoma to Texas, in 2012. The Gulf Coast Pipeline became operational in late 2013 with none

of the national outcry and debate that dogs Keystone XL. If Keystone XL is approved and built, it will contribute to further environmental degradation and have the potential for leaks, just like all the other pipelines already operating in America. It will also contribute to CO2 emissions, yet it will still account for less than 1 percent of the U.S.’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and a relatively small contribution to worldwide emission figures. The fight around Keystone XL has been incongruous with the pipeline’s reality.

Politicians have focused disproportionately on this particular pipeline not because of a knowledge of its potential devastating (or miraculous) effects, but because it has been a convenient political prop and symbol for their individual environmental stances. But relative to its actual importance, choosing to focus on Keystone XL has been a waste of energy and resources that could have been used more effectively elsewhere.

The symbolic importance of the pipeline is clearly exempli-

fied by the case of Senator Mary Landrieu, the imperiled Democrat who, facing a runoff election, fervently supported the pipeline construction bill to woo her Louisiana constituents. According to The New York Times, Landrieu tried to convince her fellow Democrats to vote for it by arguing that this would help the president by giving him something to veto (assuming he doesn’t approve the pipeline to use it as a bargaining chip with the right). Her efforts failed with the bill’s defeat, but not before revealing quite clearly how political self-interest can supersede the actual substance and ramifications of legislation in Congress.

And that leaves Keystone XL in the politically charged present, with a Republican legislative victory and maybe 35 jobs in the proposal’s foreseeable future. But we can hope. Maybe Obama will trade pipeline approval for some beneficial act of political drama — like concrete climate change legislation or an end to the fight against Obamacare. Only time and politics will tell.

Opinions

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

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Student Senate Student Senate December Update Machmud Makhmudov Student Senator Last month, Student Senate engaged in a variety of unique projects in addition to its regular duties. On Nov. 19, Senate hosted a forum discussion to explore the issue of student hunger during term breaks. Given that many students do not have the resources to return home during fall, winter or spring break, a sizable portion instead stays on campus.

Dining halls are not open during these periods, which can make it difficult to feed oneself. Furthermore, not all co-ops are fully functional during this time period either.

Students and community members came together during the forum to discuss possible ways to make food accessible to all students who remain on campus during breaks. A few students mentioned the possibility of using Hall Council funds, provided through ResEd, to purchase food and host meals in various dorms. Several community members suggested that local religious organizations would be interested in hosting and preparing meals for students on break. Student Senate has formed a task force on the issue and will continue to solicit community input in the future with the aim of producing policy recommendations for spring break of 2015.

Senate also heard two Student Finance Committee appeal cases from student organizations regarding stipends this past month. Organizations can appeal the budget allocation decisions made by the SFC if they feel that the decision was made in an “unfair or arbitrary manner.” In November, two organizations, Wilder Voice and The Oberlin Review, submitted budget appeals following the reduction of their stipend allocations.

Following an appeal hearing, Senate declined Wilder Voice’s appeal and upheld The Oberlin Review’s. Full minutes covering the discussion and details of both appeal hearings can be found on Senate’s website.

On Dec. 1, Vice President for Finance and Admission Mike Frandsen held an open-forum presentation on the

state of Oberlin’s finances. The event was held in part as a response to widespread student requests for greater transparency in the Strategic Planning process. Frandsen categorized the components of Oberlin’s annual budget during the presentation. He also discussed projected forecasts regarding future student enrollment and subsequent implications for annual costs and revenues. The full presentation can be found on Student Senate’s website.

The Sustainable Transportation working group has worked with the Bike Co-op to install lights on all of its bikes next semester. The group is also close to publishing a sustainable transportation guide that will soon be available to the public. If you have a question regarding sustainable transportation at Oberlin, please contact Senator Nolan Scharper at nscharpe@oberlin.edu.

All Student Senate working groups are still seeking members. Students, faculty, staff and community residents are all welcome to join. The names, duties and contact information for every working group are listed on the Student Senate website. Additionally, Senate will be advertising for openings on General Faculty committees. These committees present a tremendous opportunity for all students to work on school policy in a variety of fields, including but not limited to environmental sustainability, dining services and admissions and financial aid. Please be on the lookout for a recruitment announcement near the beginning of next semester.

Additionally, Senate will be holding elections for open seats near mid- to late February. While it is currently unclear exactly how many seats will be open, a minimum of two new student senators will be elected. If you are interested in working with others to help improve the experience of students, faculty, staff and community members at Oberlin College, I hope that you will consider running. As always, plenary sessions are held every Sunday at 7 p.m. in Wilder 215 and are open to the public. The last plenary session of the year will be held on Dec. 14. Good luck with finals, and have a great Winter Term!

Letters to the Editors, Cont.

Continued from page 5 price increases. In five years, it is likely the prices will go up again. The alternative option to this relatively large increase every five years, she stated, would be to have small, yearly, incremental price increases.

She said this would be difficult because the machines are only designed to accept quarters, and the yearly increases would be less than 25-cent increments. She gave no indication that the price would reach a threshold where it would stop increasing, and she stated that it would not make sense for prices to decrease.

One other factor in the price increase is that the school bought new machines for all but four dorms. This price change is not necessarily intended to offset those costs, but the income from the price increase may help. Many of the machines in the dorms are fairly old, and their age shows in their quality of service, which is why the school chose to purchase new ones. These will be installed in the near future.

I asked Ms. Gross why there has been no communication about this change, and explained that students are alarmed when they see price increases that seem arbitrary with no explanation. She said that she didn’t see it as necessary since the cost change was a few cents, and when the price increased in the past, there was no

alarmed response. It seemed unnecessary to her because there was little precedent. She said price increases happen across campus in little ways without communication all of the time, without needing to alert students. Her comparison example was a recent increase in broken bed frame replacement prices.

I asked how she accounted for the expansive impact of this policy, since almost every student uses the laundry machines as a necessity, and few students need to replace beds. She had not considered that, and explained that she also could not figure how to tell the student body.

She questioned me about how to determine which price raises to publicize and how to do it, thinking about what is necessary and where to target communication. Resident assistants, I explained, are a perfect body to ask about how students might respond to these kinds of student life policy changes, and they provide an easy vehicle to spread information. I suggested posting a flyer in each laundry room with the information she told me, so that students would have easy access to the reasons for these very noticeable price increases, and that this would prevent speculation about the reasons why, although students may still feel alarmed and nickel-and-dimed.

–Nicholas Olson Student Senator

Controversial Albums Reflect New Challenges in Music Business Kevin Sloan Contributing Writer Up until this fall, few people might utter the names U2 and Barry Manilow in the same sentence. Someone who rocks out to “Sunday Bloody Sunday” probably doesn’t also boogie to “Copacabana.” But in 2014, these two artists have much in common.

They have both seen careers studded with platinum-selling records, conferring upon them substantial wealth and influence in the music industry.

They are both, for lack of a better word, old. But most importantly, they both released new albums this fall that challenge existing conventions.

U2’s release strategy and Manilow’s recording techniques raise important ethical questions about privacy, intellectual property and the acceptable limits of digital technology’s influence on recorded music.

On Sept. 9, U2 delivered Songs of Innocence onto our computers and phones. The band struck a multimillion-dollar deal with Apple to release the album for free to all iTunes users.

It didn’t go entirely as planned: Frustrated users found it difficult to delete the album from their devices, fueling larger concerns over a twisted marriage of art and corporate leverage.

The surprise release didn’t impress critics, either, who greeted the record with mixed reviews.

In an interview with The Seattle

Times, the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney discussed the strange message the album sends to bands “that are just struggling to get by.” In an interview with Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason explained how the album contributes to the devaluation of music in the 21st century. And, most recently, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Sinead O’Connor said, “There was something almost terrorist about it.”

In an age of growing concerns over privacy and surveillance, it’s easy to see why this surprise album rubbed people the wrong way.

For a while, I passively resisted the album. But I felt a journalistic responsibility to listen — after all, how can I write about an album I haven’t listened to? In listening, I heard a return to the tried-and-true U2 formula: Bono’s anthemic “whoaaa”s, straight eighth-note bass lines, tons of reverb and lyrics like, “You’re breaking into my imagination / Whatever’s in there is yours to take.” Songs of Innocence doesn’t sound like something the whole world needs to hear, but diehard U2 fans might appreciate this watered-down version of sounds they have grown to love.

For better or worse, the release of Songs of Innocence managed to defy the expectations of millions of people and has made a sizable impact.

A band that was releasing platinum albums more than 30 years ago has elicited the biggest reaction from the

general public in its career. The release also taught us an important lesson: This is what happens when we agree to the terms and conditions of iTunes without reading them. Seriously: We don’t actually own our iTunes libraries. Apple does.

Other aging artists, including several who were popular in the ’60s and ’70s, have released new albums in which they perform covers of songs they love. These projects tread a thin line between earnest and indulgent.

To name a few: In 2000, Joni Mitchell released Both Sides Now, on which she sang jazz standards and reimagined some of her original works. In 2004, Brian Wilson released an album titled In the Key of Disney, performing his favorite hits from Disney films. In 2009, Bob Dylan released Christmas in the Heart. And in 2010, Carlos Santana released Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, where he jammed along to his favorite riffs. Seventy-one-year-old Barry Manilow’s latest album, My Dream Duets, takes this strange genre to new and questionable heights.

Manilow doesn’t just recreate his favorite songs from the past; he inserts himself into them. He sings alongside a diverse group of artists, making immediate and jarring transitions from Whitney Houston to John Denver, for example.

The only theme running through the entire album is that the artists

behind the original recordings are dead.

Yet Manilow shares the stage with the original performers. Thanks to modern technology and licensing, his dream has become a haunting reality. Manilow’s reverence for legends of the past takes the combination of earnestness and indulgence to a new level. He is living every fan’s dream, but because of his wealth, he is also benefiting from recordings that do not belong to him.

Songs of Innocence and My Dream Duets are revolutionary in that U2 and Manilow both managed to do something completely original. Each introduces new possibilities for the production and distribution of recorded music. Ethical concerns aside, I can appreciate where these releases are coming from. U2 and Manilow are responding to what they see as a serious problem in the contemporary music industry: As music becomes more accessible and readily available, the relationship between artists and listeners diminishes.

In U2’s case, what many saw as an invasive release strategy had benevolent intentions. By abolishing commerce, a typical separation between artists and listeners, U2 thought they were simply sharing their newest work, an admirable act. Unfortunately, many felt they were being force-fed.

Manilow attempts to connect to his audience in a different way; on the

album, he is just another fan who gets to sing with his idols. In a convincingly edited artificial conversation with Jimmy Durante on the album’s first track, he asks, “I mean, what chance do I have singing duets with all these legends?” Durante assures him, “It’s gotta come from the heart!” as they break into song together. He also moans, “Sing to us Whitney!” after his duet of “I Believe In You And Me” with Whitney Houston. Manilow playfully brings himself down to the listener’s level. Unfortunately, the listener is unlikely to see the album on Manilow’s terms. Similar duet projects have been done before, but mostly by family members of late musicians; Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley come to mind. Here, however, Manilow’s only relationship to his fallen heroes is his wallet. And frankly, listening to these tracks only directs me to listen to the originals and appreciate them for what they are.

Technological changes necessitate new approaches to the production and distribution of music. As new possibilities emerge, artists will continue to experiment with original ways to connect to their fans. For better or worse, I imagine that innovations like these albums will continue to be released in coming years. While Manilow and U2 managed to push boundaries in ways that are disconcerting, they have pushed boundaries nonetheless.

Average Percent of Tuition and Fees covered by Aid

This section is seeking writers for the spring semester!

Earn Practicum in Journalism credit and gain writing experience. Email thisweek@ oberlinreview.org for details!

* This figure has been adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, which gives an indication of value based on thenconsumer purchasing power.

Values are equivalent to 2014 dollars.

45

40

40

35

35

30

30

40.18%

Tuition and Fees, Room and Board Charged per Student *

14,000 $14,000

$48,682 $13,106

$45,00013,000

** These figures have been adjusted for inflation using the Higher Education Price Index, which takes into consideration the cost drivers in higher education and tends to increase faster than the CPI. Values are equivalent to 2014 dollars.

COLLEGE FINANCE

Oberlin College Discount Rate

45

45,000

$12,000 12,000

$40,000

Tuition & Fees Room & Board

40,000 11,000

$10,000 $35,00010,000 35,000 9,000

$8,000 $30,00030,000 8,000 Bates Wesleyan

$172,586,904

Dollars in Millions

Scripps Harvey Mudd Davidson Macalester

$170,166,792 Revenues Expenses

150,000,000

Carleton Vassar

What changes will be necessary?

I think that’s part of what the strategic planning process will resolve: really thinking about prioritization of things and addressing where those opportunities make sense for Oberlin. It’s going to have to be a combination of changes on both the revenue and the costs side.

140,000,000 $140

Colby Haverford

130,000,000

Hamilton Middlebury Claremont McKenna

Enrollment

3000

3000

Smith

Total Students

Bowdoin

2961

2950

Washington and Lee Wellesley

2900

2900

Grinnell

2850

Williams Amherst

2800

2800

Swarthmore Pomona

2750

$400

$800

$1,200 $1,600

“Our continued review has made clear that any changes to financial aid policy must be considered as part of the broader strategic planning process that began in June.”

2700

2700

Market Value of Endowment **

1,100,000,000

Dollars in Millions

$-

$1,000

1,000,000,000

900,000,000 800,000,000

$275,328,496

$800

700,000,000 600,000,000

$600

500,000,000

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

- Email sent to the student body on Nov. 14 In the two weeks that have elapsed since the student body received the latest update to the College’s proposed financial aid changes, student attention to the school’s finances has grown. The Student Labor Action Coalition has hung posters in dorms and academic buildings, and the College responded Monday with a presentation and question-and-answer session by Mike Frandsen, Oberlin’s vice president for the Office of Finance and Administration. A separate panel on Thursday night, hosted by the Strategic Planning Committee, aimed to address rising costs of higher education.

Not only does the issue generate a strong reaction among the many students committed to supporting equitable access to education, but ever-increasing tuition is difficult to ignore. Over the past decade, the cost of an Oberlin education has increased at more than twice the rate of median household incomes — and once adjusted for inflation, income among the families of most college students is actually falling.

The conclusions on financial aid and other policies reached by the Strategic Planning Committee will impact the College’s finances for years to come.

However, an understanding of Oberlin’s recent financial history is vital to understanding its future. These figures reflect data filed in College financial statements going back almost two decades.

2% 3%

Total Operating Revenue by Source (Fiscal Year 2013)

Total Operating Expenses by Source (Fiscal Year 2013)

11%

10%

4% Student Income

Salaries & Wages Investment Earnings & Gain Gifts & Grants

20%

44% 24%

Interest on Debt

Auxiliary Enterprises, Other

65%

Bene ts Other Operating Expenses Depreciation

Other Sources

Something that stands out when you look at these trends is how the discount rate has decreased over recent years. What are the factors behind this trend?

One of the things that was cited in a Review article last week was the previous Strategic Plan, which had as one of its goals increasing revenue per student. Carrying out that plan is certainly part of this. And it’s also a function of generating revenue to match the cost [of delivering] the education we want to deliver.

Considering your office’s prediction that the College will be running a deficit beginning next year, how do you view Oberlin’s financial outlook?

That’s predicting, but I think we’ll make whatever changes are necessary to have that not be the persistent situation. It’s something that the College can work through.

Total Operating Revenues and Total Operating Expenses **

Endowment180,000,000 $180 levels per student at 170,000,000 the top 25 liberal arts 160,000,000 $160 colleges

Oberlin Colgate

The Oberlin Review spoke with Mike Frandsen, the new vice president for the Office of Finance and Administration, about these data and his outlook on the College’s financial future.

Data gathered from forms published on the website of the Office of the Controller.

Endowment data courtesy of the College Board.

Dates indicated represent fiscal years, which end on June 30.

This Week editor: Hazel Galloway

Some observers have blamed administrative growth for contributing to increases in the cost of higher education. Has this been the case at Oberlin?

Our administrative size has been basically flat [over the past five years] and in about the middle of the peer group that’s part of the survey. … Over a 20-year period, there’s certainly been administrative growth in higher education.

Part of it is federal government compliance matters — and even as a private institution, there’s some of those for us.

Part of it is change in expectations of those coming to college. Part of it is providing support services for more and more students who need special support services as they come to college. … I haven’t been here long enough to learn about Oberlin specifically, but those are some things driving the general trend.

If you could give a message to Oberlin students about how to look at the College’s financial position and how it impacts them, what would it be?

There’s a cost to the things we have here and that we do here, and for every thing that one person might think we could give up, there’s another person who would cling to that absolutely. It comes down to a matter of tradeoffs and making the best use of our resources. … This is a unique point in Oberlin history because of the strategic planning process. And that’s going to have a big impact on what happens for around the next decade at Oberlin. Because you’re here now, you have a chance to engage in that process that someone who’s here three years from now won’t have. So it’s incumbent on you to take advantage of that opportunity and engage with the process, but do so maturely, recognizing that it’s going to be about tradeoffs. We can’t probably have everything we want. There are going to be more good ideas than there are resources to implement them.

17%

CALENDAR

Bad Writing Friday, Dec. 5–Sunday, Dec. 7 Wilder Hall

Rent Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Wilder Main

Collegium Musicum Oberliniense Friday, Dec. 5, 8–10 p.m.

Fairchild Chapel

OCTaiko & ExCo Final Show Saturday, Dec. 6, 4:30–6 p.m.

Hales Gymnasium

Indonesian Gong Concert Sunday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m.

Shipherd Lounge, Asia House

Oberlin Poetry Group Reading Sunday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.

The Slow Train Café

“The Song is You”: An Evening of Jerome Kern Music Thursday, Dec. 11, 10–11:15 p.m.

The Cat in the Cream

This three-day series of discussions, readings and workshops will feature three acclaimed poets: Tarfia Faizullah, Jaswinder Bolina and Richard Siken. With its provocative title, the event’s organizers hope to acknowledge and even celebrate the inevitability of occasional bad writing while allowing all students a chance to critique each other and think about their own work. The festival opens with a gala dinner Friday in Wilder 115 at 6 p.m., followed by a poetry reading from Bolina. For a full schedule, see the Oberlin events calendar.

Oberlin students will bring this classic rock musical, set in the 1990s in the bohemian East Village of Manhattan, to the Wilder stage this weekend. The plot follows a small group of artist friends over the course of a year as they make their way in a world troubled with poverty, prejudice, gentrification, the AIDS epidemic and, naturally, the rent.

This 40-voice choir performs ethereal medieval, Renaissance and early baroque vocal music, both at its biannual campus concerts and at performances at the Cleveland Museum of Art and elsewhere. Its Christmas- and Advent-themed program will feature seven selections from 16th-century composers as well as a work by 20th-century German composer Hugo Distler.

The vaulted ceiling of Hales Gymnasium may not be able to contain the resounding rhythmic commotion produced by two groups performing in this traditional style of Japanese drumming. Members of OCTaiko will take the floor following a performance by participants in this semester’s ExCo. Donations and proceeds from baked goods sold at the event will benefit OCTaiko’s Winter Term trip to Hawaii to study under taiko master Kenny Endo.

This concert will unite the arts of Javanese gamelan and West Sumatran talempong in a single program, said to be the only such conjuncture anywhere in the country. Gamelan, a native Indonesian music form at least eight centuries old, involves a percussion ensemble of gongs and drums. Small brass talempong drums lend their name to music typically played in a smaller group that also involves drums and gongs.

Nine junior and senior student poets will take the stage at the Slow Train Café for a reading of their recent works, the culmination of an informal poets’ workshop that has met weekly over the semester.

Although the café has hosted a number of readings and other showings of student work, this marks the first student group poetry reading of the semester.

Jerome Kern earned two Oscars for his Broadway and Hollywood composing; his most beloved songs include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “All the Things You Are.” The Oberlin Musical Theater Association production features a cast of stage and screen actors, jazz singers, nurses and sailors to set the scene at a USO Holiday Camp show in 1944.

The production’s second night will open at 7:15 p.m. at Kendal at Oberlin, followed by a Saturday showing at 6:30 p.m. in Conservatory Central 25.

Average Percent of Tuition and Fees covered by Aid

This section is seeking writers for the spring semester!

Earn Practicum in Journalism credit and gain writing experience. Email thisweek@ oberlinreview.org for details!

* This figure has been adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, which gives an indication of value based on thenconsumer purchasing power.

Values are equivalent to 2014 dollars.

45

40

40

35

35

30

30

40.18%

Tuition and Fees, Room and Board Charged per Student *

14,000 $14,000

$48,682 $13,106

$45,00013,000

** These figures have been adjusted for inflation using the Higher Education Price Index, which takes into consideration the cost drivers in higher education and tends to increase faster than the CPI. Values are equivalent to 2014 dollars.

COLLEGE FINANCE

Oberlin College Discount Rate

45

45,000

$12,000 12,000

$40,000

Tuition & Fees Room & Board

40,000 11,000

$10,000 $35,00010,000 35,000 9,000

$8,000 $30,00030,000 8,000 Bates Wesleyan

$172,586,904

Dollars in Millions

Scripps Harvey Mudd Davidson Macalester

$170,166,792 Revenues Expenses

150,000,000

Carleton Vassar

What changes will be necessary?

I think that’s part of what the strategic planning process will resolve: really thinking about prioritization of things and addressing where those opportunities make sense for Oberlin. It’s going to have to be a combination of changes on both the revenue and the costs side.

140,000,000 $140

Colby Haverford

130,000,000

Hamilton Middlebury Claremont McKenna

Enrollment

3000

3000

Smith

Total Students

Bowdoin

2961

2950

Washington and Lee Wellesley

2900

2900

Grinnell

2850

Williams Amherst

2800

2800

Swarthmore Pomona

2750

$400

$800

$1,200 $1,600

“Our continued review has made clear that any changes to financial aid policy must be considered as part of the broader strategic planning process that began in June.”

2700

2700

Market Value of Endowment **

1,100,000,000

Dollars in Millions

$-

$1,000

1,000,000,000

900,000,000 800,000,000

$275,328,496

$800

700,000,000 600,000,000

$600

500,000,000

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

- Email sent to the student body on Nov. 14 In the two weeks that have elapsed since the student body received the latest update to the College’s proposed financial aid changes, student attention to the school’s finances has grown. The Student Labor Action Coalition has hung posters in dorms and academic buildings, and the College responded Monday with a presentation and question-and-answer session by Mike Frandsen, Oberlin’s vice president for the Office of Finance and Administration. A separate panel on Thursday night, hosted by the Strategic Planning Committee, aimed to address rising costs of higher education.

Not only does the issue generate a strong reaction among the many students committed to supporting equitable access to education, but ever-increasing tuition is difficult to ignore. Over the past decade, the cost of an Oberlin education has increased at more than twice the rate of median household incomes — and once adjusted for inflation, income among the families of most college students is actually falling.

The conclusions on financial aid and other policies reached by the Strategic Planning Committee will impact the College’s finances for years to come.

However, an understanding of Oberlin’s recent financial history is vital to understanding its future. These figures reflect data filed in College financial statements going back almost two decades.

2% 3%

Total Operating Revenue by Source (Fiscal Year 2013)

Total Operating Expenses by Source (Fiscal Year 2013)

11%

10%

4% Student Income

Salaries & Wages Investment Earnings & Gain Gifts & Grants

20%

44% 24%

Interest on Debt

Auxiliary Enterprises, Other

65%

Bene ts Other Operating Expenses Depreciation

Other Sources

Something that stands out when you look at these trends is how the discount rate has decreased over recent years. What are the factors behind this trend?

One of the things that was cited in a Review article last week was the previous Strategic Plan, which had as one of its goals increasing revenue per student. Carrying out that plan is certainly part of this. And it’s also a function of generating revenue to match the cost [of delivering] the education we want to deliver.

Considering your office’s prediction that the College will be running a deficit beginning next year, how do you view Oberlin’s financial outlook?

That’s predicting, but I think we’ll make whatever changes are necessary to have that not be the persistent situation. It’s something that the College can work through.

Total Operating Revenues and Total Operating Expenses **

Endowment180,000,000 $180 levels per student at 170,000,000 the top 25 liberal arts 160,000,000 $160 colleges

Oberlin Colgate

The Oberlin Review spoke with Mike Frandsen, the new vice president for the Office of Finance and Administration, about these data and his outlook on the College’s financial future.

Data gathered from forms published on the website of the Office of the Controller.

Endowment data courtesy of the College Board.

Dates indicated represent fiscal years, which end on June 30.

This Week editor: Hazel Galloway

Some observers have blamed administrative growth for contributing to increases in the cost of higher education. Has this been the case at Oberlin?

Our administrative size has been basically flat [over the past five years] and in about the middle of the peer group that’s part of the survey. … Over a 20-year period, there’s certainly been administrative growth in higher education.

Part of it is federal government compliance matters — and even as a private institution, there’s some of those for us.

Part of it is change in expectations of those coming to college. Part of it is providing support services for more and more students who need special support services as they come to college. … I haven’t been here long enough to learn about Oberlin specifically, but those are some things driving the general trend.

If you could give a message to Oberlin students about how to look at the College’s financial position and how it impacts them, what would it be?

There’s a cost to the things we have here and that we do here, and for every thing that one person might think we could give up, there’s another person who would cling to that absolutely. It comes down to a matter of tradeoffs and making the best use of our resources. … This is a unique point in Oberlin history because of the strategic planning process. And that’s going to have a big impact on what happens for around the next decade at Oberlin. Because you’re here now, you have a chance to engage in that process that someone who’s here three years from now won’t have. So it’s incumbent on you to take advantage of that opportunity and engage with the process, but do so maturely, recognizing that it’s going to be about tradeoffs. We can’t probably have everything we want. There are going to be more good ideas than there are resources to implement them.

17%

CALENDAR

Bad Writing Friday, Dec. 5–Sunday, Dec. 7 Wilder Hall

Rent Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Wilder Main

Collegium Musicum Oberliniense Friday, Dec. 5, 8–10 p.m.

Fairchild Chapel

OCTaiko & ExCo Final Show Saturday, Dec. 6, 4:30–6 p.m.

Hales Gymnasium

Indonesian Gong Concert Sunday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m.

Shipherd Lounge, Asia House

Oberlin Poetry Group Reading Sunday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.

The Slow Train Café

“The Song is You”: An Evening of Jerome Kern Music Thursday, Dec. 11, 10–11:15 p.m.

The Cat in the Cream

This three-day series of discussions, readings and workshops will feature three acclaimed poets: Tarfia Faizullah, Jaswinder Bolina and Richard Siken. With its provocative title, the event’s organizers hope to acknowledge and even celebrate the inevitability of occasional bad writing while allowing all students a chance to critique each other and think about their own work. The festival opens with a gala dinner Friday in Wilder 115 at 6 p.m., followed by a poetry reading from Bolina. For a full schedule, see the Oberlin events calendar.

Oberlin students will bring this classic rock musical, set in the 1990s in the bohemian East Village of Manhattan, to the Wilder stage this weekend. The plot follows a small group of artist friends over the course of a year as they make their way in a world troubled with poverty, prejudice, gentrification, the AIDS epidemic and, naturally, the rent.

This 40-voice choir performs ethereal medieval, Renaissance and early baroque vocal music, both at its biannual campus concerts and at performances at the Cleveland Museum of Art and elsewhere. Its Christmas- and Advent-themed program will feature seven selections from 16th-century composers as well as a work by 20th-century German composer Hugo Distler.

The vaulted ceiling of Hales Gymnasium may not be able to contain the resounding rhythmic commotion produced by two groups performing in this traditional style of Japanese drumming. Members of OCTaiko will take the floor following a performance by participants in this semester’s ExCo. Donations and proceeds from baked goods sold at the event will benefit OCTaiko’s Winter Term trip to Hawaii to study under taiko master Kenny Endo.

This concert will unite the arts of Javanese gamelan and West Sumatran talempong in a single program, said to be the only such conjuncture anywhere in the country. Gamelan, a native Indonesian music form at least eight centuries old, involves a percussion ensemble of gongs and drums. Small brass talempong drums lend their name to music typically played in a smaller group that also involves drums and gongs.

Nine junior and senior student poets will take the stage at the Slow Train Café for a reading of their recent works, the culmination of an informal poets’ workshop that has met weekly over the semester.

Although the café has hosted a number of readings and other showings of student work, this marks the first student group poetry reading of the semester.

Jerome Kern earned two Oscars for his Broadway and Hollywood composing; his most beloved songs include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “All the Things You Are.” The Oberlin Musical Theater Association production features a cast of stage and screen actors, jazz singers, nurses and sailors to set the scene at a USO Holiday Camp show in 1944.

The production’s second night will open at 7:15 p.m. at Kendal at Oberlin, followed by a Saturday showing at 6:30 p.m. in Conservatory Central 25.

Arts The Oberlin Review

Page 10

December 5, 2014

Sakakeeny Celebrates 25 Years of Bassoon Christmas Jeremy Reynolds Arts Editor There is perhaps only one commonality between the 2008 Summer Olympics, Harry Potter, the much-anticipated 2012 apocalypse and Georges Bizet’s beloved opera Carmen. It is true that two of these incidents feature music composed by John Williams and that two of these tales speak of great catastrophe. It is true that three of these four phenomena have occurred during the new millennium. But the only event that truly binds these disparate happenings together will take place next Thursday in the Conservatory. Immediately following Pizza with the Deans, Professor of Bassoon George Sakakeeny will celebrate his 25th anniversary of coordinating and conducting that jovial holiday tradition, Bassoon Christmas.

Sakakeeny began teaching at the Conservatory in 1989. According to the bassoonist, his predecessor, Ken Moore, oversaw the first run of Bassoon Christmas. One of Moore’s former students, Mike Telin, OC ’84, recounted how one of his fellow bassoonists came up with the idea for a Christmas concert to blow off some steam during reading period.

“Ken was all for the idea,” he said. “We did the first one in flash mob style; we took over the lounge and started playing.”

Moore’s students so enjoyed the experience that they requested that Sakakeeny continue the series of quirky concerts when he took over Moore’s position. Sakakeeny said that he was happy to comply.

“I really like Christmas,” he said. “I have this major child inside me, and he’s very immature.”

During the mid-’90s, the students started to take over and add their own personal touches to the tradition, introducing elements such as costumes and a cheekily ribald advertising campaign.

The first Christmas carols featured in Bassoon Christmas were a small collection of arrangements passed from Moore to Sakakeeny in

an old cardboard box. When the function began to gain traction, Sakakeeny began to commission new arrangements for his students to perform to keep the music fresh. Out of the original box, only the transcription of selections from The Nutcracker is still regularly performed.

Currently, there is one man who handles all of the bassoonist’s arrangement work — Alan Montgomery. “Every year we usually have one or two new arrangements. We have an official arranger; we call him ‘court composer,’” said Sakakeeny.

Montgomery, formerly an assistant opera coach in the Conservatory, is beloved by students for his transcriptions; he is known for his ability to work standard excerpts from the bassoon’s orchestral repertoire into traditional carols.

Sakakeeny said that most of the tunes that his students perform have Montgomery’s signature on them in one way or another.

These arrangements are consistently updated based on who is currently in the bassoon studio and whatever theme the performance is based on that year. Sakakeeny said that during one particularly memorable year, one of his students had begun her studies at the Conservatory as a flautist but quickly switched her major to bassoon performance. Montgomery arranged one carol to include an optional piccolo solo just for her. Similarly, Montgomery often included a part for Sakakeeny’s son, Nicholas, a percussionist who used to accompany his father’s students with timpani or tambourine.

Every year, Bassoon Christmas is centered around a distinct theme; this year’s theme is “Anniversaries,” in commemoration of the tradition’s 25th year under Sakakeeny’s baton. In 2007, the studio celebrated the publication of the final installment of Harry Potter by performing a medley of John William’s famously magical tunes from the cinematic adaptations. This arrangement will be featured again this year.

In 2009, the theme was the 2008 Winter Olympics, and the national anthems of both the United States and China were woven into

various carols. Because of the specificity of these themes, Montgomery’s work is often unrecyclable, though Harry Potter is an exception. During the year that the Conservatory billed Bizet’s famous Carmen, some of the more famous bassoon tunes from the operatic score were cleverly hidden throughout a collection of Eastern Christmas carols.

Like the revised arrangements, students adapt their costumes each year to coordinate with the theme. In 2012, the studio designed their costumes based on the Mayan calendar’s prophesy about the impending apocalypse.

“Someone was a zombie; someone was a cockroach,” he said. “Someone was a dolphin going back to their home in the stars.”

The wardrobe creativity will be present this year as well, according to Conservatory sophomore Corinne Crowley, who is preparing to perform in her second Bassoon Christmas. “We all work very hard on our costumes,” she said. But Crowley wouldn’t say what her costume would consist of this year.

Sakakeeny was similarly secretive. “I don’t know how people are going to dress up,” he said.

“I’m going to dress up this year. I usually don’t.”

When probed about what he would appear as next Thursday, he responded facetiously. “I couldn’t possibly say,” he said. “I’d have to kill you if I told you.”

While Sakakeeny selects the arrangements and conducts the rehearsals and concert, he leaves the matter of advertising the performance to the students. According to Crowley, there is a party following the first rehearsal wherein everyone gets together to create those famously eye-catching recital posters that are summarily placed all over the campus. She described the process as nurturing, explaining that the posterparty tradition helps the studio to bond.

When questioned about the risqué nature of the advertisements, Crowley said, “It’s very graphic. But that’s all meant as fun and games.

I feel like the students would be disappointed if there weren’t graphic Bassoon Christmas posters

This year George Sakakeeny, professor of Bassoon, celebrates his 25th year of coordinating and conducting Bassoon Christmas. Sakakeeny succeeded Ken Moore to join the Conservatory faculty in 1989.

Courtesy of oberlin.edu

everywhere.”

Sakakeeny was emphatic that his part in Bassoon Christmas was entirely distinct from the advertisements. “I haven’t seen most of them. It has nothing to do with me,” he said. “I have absolutely zero involvement with the posters.”

Mary Kay Gray, associate dean of Student Academic Affairs, also participates in the effort to get the word out about Bassoon Christmas.

“I’ve tried to make sure that other administrators across campus have the opportunity to participate,” she said. According to Gray, the concert is now listed as an official Conservatory tradition.

See Sakakeeny, page 13

On the Record with Kestrel Felt and Olivia de Toma, Pericles Stage Managers This week, the Review sat down with Pericles stage manager and College junior Kestrel Felt and assistant stage manager and College sophomore Olivia de Toma to discuss their involvement in the upcoming adapted main stage production of Shakespeare’s Pericles.

They were excited to share news about transitioning onto the main stage, Renaissance literature and 20-foot puppets.

I’ve heard you’re both pouring your hearts and souls into Pericles. Why is Pericles so exciting and important?

Olivia de Toma: Olivia nods vigorously! [Laughs.]

Kestrel Felt: I care a lot about Pericles because I am also an English major, and I have been focusing a lot on Renaissance literature and trying to combine my interest in that with my work in the theater, and so stage managing Shakespeare gives me an outlet to do that. I have found myself caring about Pericles because it’s a play not many people know of and they especially don’t know that it’s Shakespeare. And it’s very rare that it’s performed. I’m trying to make it as good as it can be and make it exciting for the Oberlin

community.

OT: I like plays and I like [our entire] cast, and I like [our director] Paul Moser. And he’s really invested in it, Kestrel is really invested in it, and that makes me really invested in it and just wanting our cast to have the best time.

What has your involvement been in Pericles, and what has your role been aside from your designated titles?

KF: We are “team stage management,” which is a really important job in any theater production.

Stage managers are really in charge of the organization of the play —organizing rehearsals, sending out rehearsal reports every night, making sure that there is communication between the cast and director and also between the director and the design team. So I’ve been kind of doing that for the past few months.

Then, during rehearsals, making sure the space is set up, making sure the actors have everything they need and recording everything that happens so that we can do it again, and then when we move to Hall [Auditorium], moving more into production mode. I’m the one that calls all the cues for the show; Olivia is taking care of props and

making sure everything is in the right place every night. It’s kind of making sure the director’s concept and vision for the show can actually [come to fruition] and create it every night.

OT: Without stage managers the show does not happen, and a lot of people do not realize that.

as you can, even if it’s things you don’t really focus on. I think Pericles combines a lot of things that can draw an audience.

OT: From an actor’s standpoint, there’s a lot of things that they might not have been able to do, like with huge puppets. We have puppets!

Have you had any personal influence over how the play has unfolded or been adapted?

KF: [The] stage manager’s job … is less of an artistic job and more of a technical job. It’s more like a management job, so I’ve been working really hard to make sure that what Paul wants [to happen] actually does.

OT: We usually pipe up when we think something technical needs to change. Like if something about a prop isn’t working, we’ll help them voice that and work with the director to switch that around.

What kind of puppets?

OT: Big puppets. 20-foot puppets. We need stage crew to help get them on stage because they’re so big. We don’t have any sound cues.

KF: The cast does all the sound for the show with their mouths — OT: That’s why I call it “a cappella-cles.”

KF: And to have it here in this setting, where we’ve had professional designers build this incredible set and these puppets — it’s such a cool experience. [Paul] also adapted Pericles for the setting, so it’s a fun show to watch because there’s a lot of mask work.

How do you think Pericles fits into the realm of Oberlin? Does it?

KF: I was actually thinking about this biking over here. I think at a liberal arts college, it’s really important to experience as much

How difficult will it be to shift from the rehearsal space to Hall Auditorium? How does being in Hall differ from other performance spaces you’ve worked in?

KF: Usually we rehearse in Warner [Gymnasium] and we move

over to Hall [Auditorium] about three weeks before the performance, so we’ve been there for a while now. Generally, once the set is up, we start having rehearsals onstage.

OT: I like going into Hall and seeing the actors’ faces when they see their set for the first time.

KF: The first day is really exciting, because in rehearsal they just have tape on the floor, and then when they walk in [to Hall] it’s, like, dimensional. And our set is very cool with a lot of different levels.

OT: It is not flat.

KF: I’ve worked on a lot of student shows in a lot of different spaces. I’ve done shows in Wilder [Main], I’ve done shows in Little Theater, and the biggest difference for me is that when you work on a main stage show you are more directly in contact with faculty designers and directors — sort of communicating with them and operating with them on that level is really great.

OT: It’s kind of like training wheels for a professional show. It is, in a sense, kind of professional work. It feels pretty legit to me.

Interview by Vida Weisblum, Arts editor

Arts

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Keaton, Iñárritu’s Oscar Buzz Well-Deserved Clark Sacktor Columnist Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman is a creative and thought-provoking drama unlike any other film this year. Despite its nontraditional cinematography and jarringly strange scenes, Birdman leaves room to display the poignancy of the art of acting.

The film has rightfully garnered Oscar buzz both for Best Picture and for Michael Keaton’s performance in the lead role.

Keaton plays a former fictional superhero-movie star named Riggan Thomson — a direct parallel to his performances as Batman in 1982 and ’92. Thomson, well past his prime, gives one last effort to revive his once-booming career by writing and starring in “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” an interpretation of Raymond Carver’s collection of short stories reimagined for the Broadway stage. Throughout the course of the movie, the imaginary character Birdman follows Thomson around as a reminder of his previous character. The audience is kept under a looming cloud of suspense as to when Thomson’s next breakdown will occur.

The play seems destined to fail from the onset, but big-time Broadway actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton) joins the cast at the last minute in an attempt to save the show. Shiner and Thomson, the acclaimed Broadway actor and the washed-up celebrity, are constantly in contention for ultimate control over the play. The dynamic between Keaton and Norton, who both give stellar performances, creates some of the most intense scenes in the film.

Emma Stone also gives a convincing performance as Sam, Thomson’s daughter, who has recently returned from rehab to work as her father’s assistant. Thomson’s inability to build a solid relationship with his daughter contributes to his declining mental state. Thomson’s father-daughter saga serves as a counter narrative to Shiner and Sam’s budding romantic relationship, which Thomson struggles in vain to ignore.

Zach Galifianakis plays Jake, Thomson’s best friend and lawyer. Jake’s character is the least comedic of the bunch; Galifianakis gets to show off his range of acting talent, which had been largely untapped until now.

Because of the length of each scene, the viewer is forced to share in the anxiety and pain that Riggan feels over the course of the film. The documentary-like cinematography often allows the viewer to see what a particular character sees through the use of eye-line matching and the creation of off-screen space. These techniques give the film a claustrophobic feel that emphasizes the strong acting performances, especially those of Keaton and Norton. Because the film is made to appear as if it was shot in one take, there is no break from Riggan’s fractured psyche and desperation to succeed in his production, which helps heighten the tension of the film.

Iñárritu’s innovative style will surely influence many future filmmakers. The film does an excellent job of weaving Carver’s stories into a complex exposé about relationships and appearances. Birdman is a creative landmark and the type of film that stays with audience members long after they leave the theater.

Page 11

Creative Writing Students Mentor Young Poets Liam McLean Staff Writer “I was told to write a love poem. I have a try and hope you like it,” seventh-grader Emma Comings read into the microphone on the Cat in the Cream stage, beginning her unassuming but gorgeously lyrical love poem “Sorry, I Tried.” Comings was one of 100 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from Langston Middle School who collaborated with Oberlin students in Creative Writing 450: Teaching Imaginative Writing, where they explored, wrote and published poetry. She was one of the 48 students who shared their poems in the packed Cat in the Cream this past Monday as part of the Langston Middle School Poetry Celebration.

“I was so scared that people were going to judge me for my poem, because it wasn’t a normal love poem that you would write to somebody,” Comings said after the event, reflecting on her performance. “It’s not cheesy,” she added, grinning.

“You’re addressing the person in a way they didn’t expect.”

“Sorry, I Tried,” a deliberately self-effacing spin on the classic love poem, did not represent the only unexpected poetic take that the students shared.

Sixth-grader Anna Dedecek evoked the Manhattan subway in “the taste of a two-day-old doughnut with cinnamon and chocolate on it,” while seventh-

grader Evan Inglis provided a whimsical step-by-step guide for painting the human mind.

The children’s mentors, college students from the Teaching Imaginative Writing class, prompted their imaginations with exercises that urged them to, for example, write from the perspective of a beloved childhood object or cast a terrifying being in a sympathetic light.

Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Lynn Powell established and currently teaches the Teaching Imaginative Writing course in which she promotes the importance of imagination among middle school children. “It’s at least an ethical and moral imperative that people exercise the muscle of imaginative thinking,” Powell said, discussing the significance of her work. “The best poetry asks us to do that. It takes us inside someone else’s experience.”

Powell first introduced the course in the spring semester of 2004 as a Creative Writing practicum, a partial-credit course designed to teach practical applications of academic material. Powell taught the course again in this format in 2005 and 2006. After a four-year hiatus, during which Powell did not teach at all at Oberlin, the course returned in the spring of 2010 as a full-credit course, bolstered by the support of President Krislov.

Powell said that the fundamental format of the course

has not changed much from its original incarnation. She accepts eight to ten students into the class each semester. Early in the course, Powell models what a typical lesson for the middle school students might look like, and then invites her students to craft individual lesson plans that generally revolve around teaching a piece of contemporary poetry and using it as an impetus for a writing exercise. The students then workshop their lesson plans extensively in the class to hone their approach.

“Workshops can be pretty tough,” Powell said. “There’s a lot at stake.” Nevertheless, she emphasizes to her students the unpredictability of the educational enterprise.

“It’s never about teaching the perfect class,” she said. “It’s going in as well-prepared as you can be, as passionate as you can be.”

During the second half of the semester, Powell’s students bring their lessons to the Langston Middle School students. This year, Powell divided her students into pairs and assigned them to work with one of five classes: two sixth-grade classes, two seventh-grade classes, and one eighth-grade class. The seven-day residencies culminated in the middle school poets selecting, from among the poems they had written over the course of the week, those that would

be anthologized. The college students then produced and distributed these anthologies among the middle school classes. The collections represent the work of all of the students in each class.

The annual Langston Middle School Poetry Celebration was an opportunity for the poets to share their work with a diverse Oberlin community, including their parents, peers and College students. Nearly 200, including the 48 middle school students themselves, attended Monday night’s reading.

In orchestrating this collaboration, Powell draws from rich experience as both a writer and an educator. She is the author of two published books of poetry, Old and New Testaments and The Zones of Innocence, and a nonfiction work, Framing Innocence: A Mother’s Photograph, a Prosecutor’s Zeal, and a Small Town’s Response. In working with the students in Teaching Imaginative Writing, she draws from an over 20-year career as a Writer-in-the-Schools, during which she strove to encourage K-12 students in diverse public school systems to actively engage with poetry.

Powell received her first teaching position in 1979, shortly after graduating from Cornell University. Her MFA in creative writing led her to become a Poet-in-the-Schools in See Langston, page 12

Feature Photo: OSteel Reclaims Finney Stage

Joined by guest artist Leon Foster Thomas, OSteel performed on the stage of Finney Chapel for the first time in 13 years on Wednesday. OSteel continues to perform at various venues across the country in cities like Austin, New Orleans, Chicago and New York. The group celebrated its return to Finney with music composed by Thomas, a steel pan virtuoso as well as an accomplished composer and arranger. The Trinidad native received his bachelor of music from Florida Memorial University and his master’s degree in music from Florida International University.

Olivia Scott

Arts

Page 12

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Choir Struggles with Timbre, Delivers Spirited Concert Aviva Blonder Staff Writer At its best, a choir sounds like a single homogenous instrument as opposed to many distinct voices.

The Oberlin Women’s Chorale only occasionally achieved that level of cohesion during its concert on Wednesday night in Warner Concert Hall. Though the chorus sang competently, its sound was occasionally hesitant, and after a time, the musical selections became repetitive.

The concert began with Conservatory sophomore Chuyi Liu coaxing soft tones from the piano to set the melancholy mood. The choir then performed Joseph Martin’s hauntingly beautiful “The Awakening.” When Martin’s music branched off into several different, overlapping melodies, the students carefully interwove their voices to blend the contrapuntal lines. A round in the middle of the piece sounded at first like the chiming of bells as each toll echoed among the voices, but as more and more singers entered, the sound became muddled. However, all of the singers soon rallied, and their collective timbre grew stronger than before, ending the song on a hopeful note.

Before they sang “Things That Never Die” by Lee Dengler, the conductor, Director of Music Education Jody Kerchner, introduced the piece by saying that it “speaks to issues that never die.”

She explained that she felt it was particularly timely, given all of the current problems in the world, particularly the recent issues pertaining to race. The song was short and sweet. The several rounds incorporated in the piece were much clearer, creating an echoing sound.

Kerchner introduced “Ave regina caelorum” by Chiara Cozzolani with a description of the composer. She explained that Cozzolani was a nun who lived not in a convent but in “a house with nuns.”

The inhabitants were renowned for their musical talent at a time when it was unusual for women to be composers. The pre-baroque song was only recently arranged for a women’s choir. The text was in Latin, so most listeners were left to focus on the sounds themselves. The whispering quality of the ‘s’ sound contrasted with the more full and open vowels.

By the time the chorale sang “Measure Me, Sky” by James Mullholland, the songs had begun to blur. All of the pieces had the same high-pitched, melancholy sound, with only slight variations on the theme to differentiate them. The words were often muffled behind the instrumentals, so the emphasis mainly fell on the rise and fall of the singers’ combined voices.

The song came to a full stop several times, breaking it up into sections. Their voices rose to a powerful finale, though the high register of their voices was shrill to the ear.

The Oberlin Women’s Chorale sings in Warner Concert Hall on Wednesday. The all-female vocal group gave a spirited performance of both contemporary and traditional pieces.

Yushu Liu

Gwyneth Walker’s “Now I Become Myself ” added some muchneeded variation to the program with a few distinct touches. The piece began with a powerful sound on the piano, contrasting the sharper, high-pitched voices of the singers. The singing was also accompanied by vocalizations and the low chanting of what formed the chorus of the song: “Now I become myself, myself,” repeated in short succession. When the singers first branched off into several different, simultaneous melodies,

it became muddled so that the parts were not distinguishable from one another. When the melodies separated again, however, the overlapping strands brought power and urgency to the piece without losing clarity. The song ended with everyone impressively sustaining a single note.

For “Look to the Rainbow” from Finian’s Rainbow, composed

by Burton Lane, one of the students in the chorale stepped up to the conductor’s stand. The song had a similar sound to those that

preceded it, but since the performers sang in near-perfect tandem, the words were clearer. The song told the story of a family’s legacy and hopes for a child who is told to “follow the fellow who follows a dream.”

Jody Kerchner returned to conduct the final piece of the evening: “Clap Yo’ Hands” by George and Ira Gershwin. Several of the singers put down their songbooks before it to clap along with the music, making for a fun and spirited finale.

Langston Middle School Students Read Imaginative Poetry Continued from page 11 rural Jefferson County, TN, where she grew up. Reflecting on her initial performance as an educator, Powell was lighthearted but ruthlessly critical.

“I’m sure I was pretty terrible at first,” she said.

Nevertheless, Powell said she realized through this experience that despite her lack of professional training, the students she worked with were surprisingly receptive to her invitation to exploring poetry and challenging their preconceptions of it as a tedious literary form. These preconceptions, she said, stem from the devaluation of poetry in American culture and the cor-

responding incompetence with which it is often taught.

“Where I grew up, [poetry] was very badly taught, because it was taught by people who didn’t have any real, honest feel for it,” she said. “They were going to talk about the symbolism and write a summary of what the poem was about, and call that [the] experience of poetry.”

In contrast, what Powell endeavored to do as a Writer-in-the-Schools was to urge students to experience poetry viscerally and to use it to explore their interior lives; as well as those of others. She strives to impart her wisdom to her students through Teaching Imaginative Writing.

The many college students involved, for

their part, said they gained valuable insightson their own approach to poetry through the process of preparing their lesson plans.

As part of the workshop, Powell asked the students in her class to try out the writing prompts that they were going to give to the Langston students. College senior Miryam Coppersmith said that this was liberating.

“I wrote some of the best poetry I think I’ve ever written in my life,” Coppersmith said, regarding her responses to the prompts. “A lot of college-age writers get very in our own heads and self-edit a lot.”

The inventiveness of the prompts, she said, encouraged her to break out of the need to write “serious” poetry with unnecessarily complex forms.

College senior Annie Rasiel expressed her surprise at and admiration for the unabashed sentimentality and vulnerability of the students, many of whom wrote poems that grappled with themes of unrequited love or difficult home situations.

Coppersmith and Sydney Spiro, another College senior who taught the same seventh grade class as Coppersmith, said that they hope that the night’s celebration conveyed to the audience the value of this collaborative effort. Spiro urged the College to expand Powell’s budget for the program, saying that, with greater resources, Teaching Imaginative Writing would have the potential to reach even more middle school students.

SIC Burlesque Show Features Mix of Traditional Performances, Emerging Acts Tristan Cimini Staff Writer On Tuesday night, the Sexual Information Center turned the ’Sco into a burlesque club. All proceeds benefited Preterm, a clinic that provides compassionate abortion care in Cleveland. Each ticket purchase bought guests unlimited drinks and a raffle ticket for prizes, such as a box of Awake N’ Bake cookies and “the ultimate slumber party kit,” which included glow sticks, temporary tattoos, glitter and more. Sexual health trivia in between sets offered the audience a chance to win candy bars and M&Ms. College seniors Juli Ruoff and Sarah MacFadden were the event’s lively and entertaining hosts.

College sophomore Annika Hansteen Izora started off the evening by taking the stage to share an

emotionally relatable personal piece about the lack of appreciation for women by men. It was short and sweet but incredibly moving, and it set the tone for the rest of the night’s readings. College junior Alison Kronstadt and College first-years Andres Emil Gonzalez and Sarah Knapp all performed incredibly intimate and empowering original writing.

Knapp even incorporated TLC’s hit song “Waterfalls” into her poem, to which the audience responded with enthusiasm.

The incredible burlesque performances transported the audience back in time to the sensual era of the cabaret. College senior Dan Laufer and College junior Jackie Meger took the stage for a stunning dance duet.

Their choreography was seductive and intimate, and they didn’t miss a beat. The Hotsie Totsies showed up

for the second year in a row, sensually stripping down to their lingerie. The four-member group was even able to gracefully unlace their corsets during their vaudeville-esque routine.

Everyone in the crowd enthusiastically cheered on the performers, who deserved every bit of the audience’s support.

Next, two of Oberlin’s improv comedy groups took the stage. Kid Business stripped down to nipple tape and undies, and Primitive Streak sported big winter parkas and scarves. Primitive Streak is highly regarded on campus, but this performance was either not its strongest or went over the audience’s head. Much of their set was devoted to a combination of things vaguely related to the word ‘moist,’ and every sketch seemed to bring up death, poison, mutated animals

or wordlessness. Kid Business did a variety of fun improv games, one of which was titled “Sex with me is like.” Audience members filled in the blank by shouting out things like “pizza” and “Marvin Krislov,” and the actors improvised based on the suggested simile.

Oberlin’s own version of *NSYNC, the Obertones, stripped down to reveal holographic nipple tape. The group put on an amazing show, covering Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.” Their arrangement of “Hey Ya” by Outkast was particularly strong. Die-hard fans sang along to the words, shouting out “cooler than being cool” and “ice-cold.” Everyone appeared to be having fun during their set.

The audience quickly and quietly filtered out before the end of the night, most people exiting after

the last burlesque dance. Unfortunately, those who left missed out on the most outstanding sideshow of the night. The jazz ensemble Fry Boy treated those who remained to some good jams as an afterthought for the walk home. The piano-based tunes recalled Robert Glasper, and their mellowness threw off some J. Dilla vibes.

Individually, each musician’s technical skill and melodic sense was very strong, but it seemed like they could have benefited from some time together off-stage to tighten things up.

With their quick setup, it was surprising that the tone was so well mixed.

After the first song, the leftover audience quickly moved up to the front of the stage to dance and cheer on the performers. Fry Boy’s final performance provided an energetic conclusion to the quirky event.

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Arts

Alto Flutist, Violinist Join Guitar Ensemble for Diverse Chamber Concert Colin Roshak Staff Writer The Oberlin Guitar Ensemble, contrary to what its name implies, does not exclusively consist of guitarists.

The ensemble’s concert, which took place Tuesday night and was directed by Stephen Aron, featured a collection of small chamber groups including flute and violin.The groups performed a diverse array of chamber music pieces for a small, intimate audience in Kulas Recital Hall.

After nervously thanking the audience for attending, a guitar quartet comprising double-degree fifth-year Philip Lutz, double-degree sophomore Rebecca Klein, Conservatory first-year Brian King and College senior Zhouru Lin opened the concert with two short waltzes in a Venezuelan style by Gilbert Biberian. The music began with a slow drone in the low register of the guitar created by repeatedly plucking a single note. The piece featured dissonant harmonies combined with quick, fiery Latin rhythms. The quartet struggled with intonation and rhythmic coordination early in the performance, but as the music progressed, the students began to adjust to one another’s playing. By the end of the waltz, the ensemble had improved dramatically.

The group’s second piece was far livelier and more melodic than the first, and their performance was markedly more confident. Their intonation and accuracy were spot on, and the quartet’s energy and physical cues all contributed to a successful rendition of the music.

The next ensemble, comprising Klein and doubledegree junior violinist Greg Gennaro, performed three short works by Émile Desportes. The pair performed Desportes’s music with dazzling virtuosity, rendering technically complex passages and melodies in the extreme upper ranges of their instruments with comfortable ease.

Klein and Gennaro played with impeccable intonation, with Klein accompanying Gennaro’s smooth, almost liquid violin melodies with a delicately nuanced sensitivity.

A guitar trio followed the duo to play a pair of Spanish dances by Manuel de Falla. Conservatory senior Jacob Blizard and Conservatory juniors Stephen Fazio and Leonard Ranallo passed intricate solo lines back and

forth with clean technical mastery. The group performed with precise intonation and rhythm and maintained a confident, calm stage presence throughout its recital.

The strident bravura of de Falla’s music provied an engaging contrast to the gentler sonority of the guitar and violin duo.

Next, double-degree fifth-year Crispin Swank bowed to acknowledge the audience before sitting to accompany himself while singing a short trio of songs. Although Swank appeared nervous at first, he performed with conviction. He began with a simple strophic song by baroque composer John Dowland before moving on to two works by 20th-century composer Benjamin Britten. The Dowland allowed Swank to utilize the clear purity of his voice, while the Britten featured his technical abilities as a guitarist. Swank appeared to perform from memory, barely glancing at his music and engaging the audience with deliberate eye contact.

After Swank’s stirring performance, the guitar trio returned to deliver a two-movement work titled “Chimera”

by Stephen Aron, which contained elements of jazz as well as some Latin influences. The piece seemed more devoted to dissonant harmonic progressions than a discernable melody.

Flautist and double-degree junior Erica Zheng and guitarist and Conservatory senior Max Lyman performed the final piece of the concert, “Toward the Sea” by Toru Takemitsu. The composer scored the music for alto flute, one of the less popular lower-pitched members of the flute family. In contrast to the rest of the music, Lyman performed the melodic material while Zheng created a bass line. Each of the three movements contained a bevy of extended techniques for the flute; Takemitsu utilized flutter tonguing and semi-tones in the piece to capture the sounds of the sea. Unfortunately, the music failed to capture the audience’s attention. Each movement lacked distinction, blurring into the next before the final movement ended with a quiet solemnity. The concert could have benefited from a more emphatic ending to alert listeners to the fact that the piece was over instead of fading slowly into silence.

Page 13

Alumni Return for Holiday Carols, Bassoon Excerpts Continued from page 10 “It just seems to bring an amazing amount of goodwill,” she said.

In 2011, Bassoon Christmas was featured in the Oberlin Conservatory Christmas card. Sakakeeny recounted how the studio was asked to perform “Winter Wonderland” and how there was no arrangement to date of that particular tune for a complement of bassoons. Montgomery whipped up an arrangement of the carol overnight, and the piece remains a staple to this day. “Winter Wonderland” is among the carols to be reprised this year.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary, Sakakeeny said that six alumni will return to campus to bolster the ranks of his studio, creating one of the largest Bassoon Christmas ensembles to date. He said that while alumni are always welcome to return, they are usually detained by professional obligations during the holiday gigging season. This year, however, one former student is actually taking two days of leave to participate in his former teacher’s quarter-centennial. According to Andrea Kalyn, dean of the Conservatory, “[Sakakeeny] has had an extraordinary class of alumni, and I think that’s fantastic and that they are returning is a testament to the specialness of something like this.”

While the Conservatory lounge provides a fittingly relaxed atmosphere for the concert, the studio usually draws an enormous crowd that fills the lounge and extends down both hallways. When asked if there was any talk of moving Bassoon Christmas, Kalyn stated that the venue was an integral part of the tradition, and that moving the concert could cause the tradition to lose some of its appeal. “People can’t get by; they have to stop and listen,” she said.

Sakakeeny explained that the bassoon has a reputation for being a clownish instrument, and stated that he has fought that stereotype throughout his 25 years of teaching at Oberlin. According to Sakakeeny, he rehearses with his students for between six and eight hours in preparation for the concert. “You’ve got to lay it down, and it has to be in tune, and it has to be good,” he said. “These things aren’t fun if they aren’t well done.”

According to Telin, one of the original bassoonists, “The event has come a long way since then, thanks to [Sakakeeny].” The bassoon studio will begin rehearsing this Saturday and tacking up posters this Sunday.

Concerning his plans for the future of Bassoon Christmas, Sakakeeny said “It has become something that absolutely must happen.

Come hell or high water, it absolutely must happen.”

Sports

Page 14

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Men’s Basketball

This week, the Review sat down with men’s basketball players Jack Poyle and Nate Cohen, both sophomores, to discuss their breakout seasons, a new defense for the Yeomen and an upcoming trip to Los Angeles.

How has the season been going so far?

Jack Poyle: It’s been pretty good so far. We’ve gotten off to a good start, and I don’t think we have played nearly as well as we could have, but we are still 3–1.

Nate Cohen: We’ve been winning, and we have not been playing well at all. But we are going to pick it up, and it’s going to be great.

in our conference, not one team especially.

What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

JP: I think we should definitely finish in the top half — at least the top four — of our conference.

We should definitely be looking to make a run in the tournament.

NC: I think we could make a deep run in the conference tournament, if not win it. I think that should definitely be our goal, to win the conference tournament.

Nate Cohen (left) and Jack Poyle

You have already won against Muskingham University and Wittenberg University, two teams that you saw tough losses to last year. How have you adjusted your game from last season to this season to win more games?

JP: We have grown a lot as a team from last year. Everyone is a year older and more mature, and I think it’s really helped us.

NC: We put in a new defense — a completely different defense from last year — and it’s been catching a lot of people by surprise.

experience under your belt factor into your play?

JP: I know what to expect from our conference; we have one of the tougher conferences in the nation.

I guess just knowing what to expect from each team and the level of play. It makes it easier to compete.

NC: He’s definitely right. Also, last year we took a lot of time just getting acclimated, and now that we know what to expect, we are coming in and just trying to make it happen.

Both of you have stepped into leadership roles this year and made your presence felt on the court. How does having a year of

What has been the highlight of your season so far?

JP: Watching Nate hit the gamewinner against [Wittenberg].

NC: Watching Jack score 26 [points] against [Wittenberg].

JP: We’re only four games in, but we’ve already had some positive points.

What is it like to have only one first-year this year versus last year’s five?

JP: It’s definitely different. I don’t know, last year there were five of us. I don’t know what it would be like to only have a class of one. I feel like that would be a lot different.

Sam [Kreisberg] has been playing well, and he’s stepped up his game.

We don’t really see him as a freshman; he just is part of the team.

NC: Since we graduated four

people [last year], it’s easier with a smaller team. We had an army last year. So it means in practice we get more reps; it means in practice [Sam] gets more reps. He has actually picked up the offense way quicker than we did last year.

Do you have a conference rival?

JP: I don’t think that you can have a rival when you are normally, historically bad. When we start winning we could have a rival.

NC: I would say DePauw [University] for sure.

JP: We beat them last year when they were ranked and kept them out of the tournament. I guess I would want to beat everyone

Do you like staying here for Winter Term?

JP: It’s really fun, because all you really have to do is play basketball. You don’t have to worry about class, so that’s nice. It’s really cold though. Last year was terrible. I’m from here, and it was really bad.

But this year, we get to go to Los Angeles for a tournament, so that will take a little bit of time out of the snow.

NC: It’s really not as bad as you might think.

Kobe or LeBron?

JP: Now that LeBron is on the Cavs again, I’ll go with LeBron. The Cavs are the best team in the league.

NC: LeBron.

Interview by Tyler Sloan, Sports editor Photo by Yushu Liu

Editorial: NFL in Trouble Continued from page 16 Thursday — a situation made far more common after the NFL scheduled 16 Thursday night games this season.

Three days is simply not enough time for players to recover from the physical toll of playing just one game.

Now, why did they do this despite the obvious safety concerns voiced by Sherman, Baldwin and dozens of other players? The answer is easy: money.

This year, CBS paid the NFL $275 million to produce all 16 of those games and air eight of them.

The NFL can change the rules, improve equipment and promote its player safety and health website, NFLevolution.com. But as long as it refuses to put safety before economic gain, there will be no evolution — only more injuries that haunt these players for the rest of their lives.

I won’t advocate for the complete removal of Thursday night games, but at the very least, there needs to be a rule that ensures that teams may only play on Thursday night following their bye week. Only then would they have enough time to get healthy and prepare for that midweek game.

Sherman did well to point out a number of hypocrisies that exist within the NFL, but there’s one more dubious distinction the league holds that I must note while on the subject.

Since 1942, when the IRS ruled that the NFL was a trade association for its member teams, the league has been classified as a nonprofit under section 501(c)6 of the tax code. That’s right: Somehow a corporation that made over $10.5 billion and paid commis-

sioner Roger Goodell $44.2 million in 2013 is tax-exempt. According to CNN, that salary would rank in the top 20 of CEOs in America, above those of Disney, Visa and Yahoo. That doesn’t exactly sounds like a nonprofit to me.

Not all of that $10.5 billion was subject to the tax exemption, but the “nonprofit” NFL made more than $326 million from April 2012 to March 2013.

That’s no small chunk of change.

The NFL’s tax exemption isn’t exactly its fault, as it’s up to Congress to create legislation to change that status. Nevertheless, it’s still supremely frustrating that American taxpayers are subsidizing an organization that refuses to effectively protect its players’ health and has a team whose name is a racial slur and whose players routinely engage in domestic violence.

With a track record like that, it’s no surprise that the league has had to take steps to ensure it doesn’t lose that taxexempt status. It has spent over $1.6 million lobbying members of Congress in the last year and a half. It’s a small price to pay, considering what it saves in taxes. Most unfortunate is that Congress hasn’t used the considerable power it holds over the NFL’s economic bottom line to push the league to change its hypocritical ways.

As I’ve said before, none of the NFL’s shortcomings will stop me from watching the games. I simply love the on-field product too much. But that doesn’t mean I and my fellow fans shouldn’t push for change. It’s high time that on-field greatness is matched by responsibility off the field. It’s up to us, the fans and Congress, to hold them accountable.

Sports

The Oberlin Review, December 5, 2014

Page 15

— Equestrian —

Young Riders Bolster Equestrian Roster Sarena Malsin Staff Writer Since its founding in the 1980s, the Oberlin College Equestrian Team has established itself as one of the most popular club sport teams on campus, offering students the unique opportunity to take part in horseback riding near Oberlin’s campus.

The horses ridden by the team are housed approximately one mile north of campus at the Equine Differences Barn, a lesson facility that the team’s head coach Ric Weitzel and his wife

Julia Balint-Weitzel established in 2003. The close proximity of the barn to campus is advantageous to the team.

“It’s very convenient having the barn only a mile away,” said Weitzel. “For most collegiate programs, you have to travel maybe 40 minutes to get to the facility, which can be cost-prohibitive.”

While horse showing is a very expensive sport, according to Weitzel, the College subsidizes the team by paying for competition entry fees and travel expenses in order to make

OCET more accessible for students.

“This is something that’s unique to Oberlin College — the ability to walk on and have everything paid for,” said Weitzel.

Students on the team have access to the barn’s 22 horses and can participate regardless of their time commitment to the team. Though members have to pay for lessons out of pocket, junior team captain Caitlyn Pineault said that these lessons are inexpensive in comparison to other facilities, with a price tag of $35 per person for a group lesson.

Junior captain Caitlyn Pineault and her horse bound over hurdles in the novice level bracket at Stonegate Farm during a competition earlier this year. The equestrian team will resume practice and competition in the spring.

Courtesy of Michael Pineault

— Women’s Basketball —

Bernhardt Shines Despite Loss Casey McGuire The women’s basketball team defeated the Thiel College Tomcats at home by a score of 74–46 on Monday, Nov. 24. Senior Christina Marquette and junior Lindsey Bernhardt led the team with a combined 44 points.

The win pushed the Yeowomen’s record to 3–2 and helped them bounce back from their 63–43 loss to the Trine University Thunder on Saturday, Nov. 22.

The Yeowomen started slow against the Tomcats, scoring just seven points in the game’s first seven and a half minutes, but they put their foot on the gas pedal to close out the half, scoring 24 more points to take a 31–18 lead.

Despite the decisive win, Marquette noted that the team was unhappy with its offensive performance. Still, the Yeowomen’s stifling defense allowed the team to correct its issues on offense early in the game.

“We executed really well defensively. It wasn’t our best offensive game. We only let them score 18 points in the first half, which is pretty solid defense,” she said.

The second half opened with more lackluster play from the Yeowomen as they allowed the Tomcats to cut their lead to 10 in the first 15 minutes. However, from there on out, the Yeowomen dominated, outscoring Thiel by 18 in the game’s final minutes.

Marquette led the attack, scoring

17 of her 24 points in the second half.

The high scoring outputs of Marquette and Bernhardt stole the spotlight, but it was the bench of Yeowomen that gave them a great advantage over the Tomcats. First-year forward Anna Moore led the bench effort, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds in the second half.

In total, the Yeowomen’s bench outscored that of the Tomcats 19–13.

Though the Tomcats hung tough, the Yeowomen were able to hold onto their double-digit lead for the majority of the game, thanks to superior execution from every member of the team.

“We did what we were supposed to do on every play,” Marquette said. “We didn’t take breaks or let little runs on [Thiel’s] part get us down. We stuck with our team’s philosophy the whole game and beat them.”

Head Coach Kerry Jenkins agreed, noting that the team stayed within itself and carried out its strategy effectively.

“The players did a great job of implementing the game plan and sticking to it,” he said. “There was a big jump in execution. We are gradually improving game by game. It was encouraging to see us get better in our overall defensive and offensive execution.”

The team’s strong defense was reflected on the score sheet, as the Yeowomen racked up a season-high 18 steals and five blocks

during the game. Marquette again led the way with six steals and a block.

Not allowing themselves to be distracted by the big win, the Yeowomen quickly shifted their focus to their first conference game of the season against the Denison University Big Red on Wednesday.

“Denison has a really good post player — the leader in the nation in blocks and rebounds in Division III basketball — and so what we are going to do is force them to get all of their offense from her and take all their other players out of the game,” said Jenkins. “We’re going to play tough post defense, make her run the floor, get her tired and just wear her down as the game goes on.”

Despite the pre-game focus and preparation, the Yeowomen failed to contain Big Red sophomore center Jordan Holmes as she scored 18 points to go along with 18 rebounds and five blocks, leading Denison to a 72–48 win.

A failure by the Yeowomen to execute their game plan also allowed two other Big Red players to score double digit points.

Bernhardt was a bright spot for the team once again, scoring a season-high 25 points to give her over half of the team’s total output.

Next, the Yeowomen head to Youngstown, Ohio to take on the Youngstown State University Penguins on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.

Members also have the option of competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. According to Pineault, about 10 Oberlin students regularly attend the five show weekends that take place each semester.

Fourteen schools in the Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania regions participate in these weekends, as well.

IHSA competitions and Weitzel’s training program offer both English and Western showing options. The versatile array of training styles allows the team to sample different techniques and compete in a variety of events.

“The sport and team are very flexible,” said junior Anna Greenberg. “You can ride English, dressage, Western or any combination of the disciplines.”

Though the team hasn’t seen a great deal of success, individual riders on the team have earned many accolades.

“I’m most proud of participating in my first horse show this past month,” said Greenberg. “I even placed and got a ribbon to bring home, which was awesome. I’m super pumped to go to other shows and maybe bring home some more ribbons.”

According to Pineault, increased membership has also helped the team become more competitive this semester. During its showing at Lake Erie College, the team placed third of 12 competing teams.

“We had riders in four out of the

six divisions, and usually we only have riders in two or three divisions,” said Pineault.

Pineault is optimistic about the future of the team, given the number of first-years involved.

“It’s always fun bringing freshmen to their first meet because even if they’ve showed before, IHSA is a different animal.”

One challenge the team faces, and one that Pineault said might contribute to the team’s lack of a presence on campus, is fostering team cohesion in small lesson groups and optional shows.

“We can’t fit all 25 people on the team into one lesson, so lessons are between two and four people,” she said.

“You get to know your lesson-mates really well, but you kind of lose the sense of team that other club sports have when they all practice together.”

Although the team does not often meet as a complete unit, individual members do have the opportunity to create meaningful relationships with their horses.

“The care of the animals is probably the most rewarding and unique thing,” said Weitzel. “You have an equine partner that you have to compete with. You have to learn how to read and care for the horse and learn what its aches and pains are.”

The team will look to build on its success in fall competitions when it picks back up in the spring for riding season.

XC Finishes Strong Continued from page 16 to last year’s finish at the 111th spot.

Arthur’s time of 24:29.22 in the 8K race makes him one of only three male runners in school history to place in the top 20 at a NCAA national competition.

He also earned All-American honors for his efforts. Urso, just 30 seconds behind Arthur with a time of 25:3.24, crossed the finish line in 64th place. He also improved from last year’s competition, in which he placed 139th.

“It wasn’t a fluke that I made it last year,” said Urso. “I do deserve to be [at

nationals]. I performed really well there, and I can continue that. I just have to keep that mindset going into next track season. If I place that well in cross country, I can do that well in track as well.”

While Appenheimer, concluding his 11th year as head cross country coach, said he is incredibly proud of the group, he also already has his sights set on the upcoming track season and continuing to build his program.

“The great thing about this job is there’s always a meet coming up,” he said. “We’ve got lots to look forward to with this group.”

Men’s Basketball Beats Earlham Continued from page 16 been executing our coach’s defensive strategy to the best of our capability.”

The Yeomen are thrilled with their fast start, but the team knows it will have to stay focused in order to continue winning.

“We’ve had a decent start, but it’s all about how you handle being scouted, how you handle unforeseen adversity and what you do when you have quick turnarounds from game to game,” Cavaco said.

Unfortunately, the Yeomen saw their two-game win streak snapped on

Wednesday when they fell to the Kenyon College Lords by a score of 65–45, moving them to an even 1–1 in NCAC play.

The Yeomen made just 5 of 21 shots in the first half en route to their worst shooting performance of the season. Ollie had his second consecutive 12 point outing to go along with seven rebounds and 4 blocks, but his efforts weren’t enough to help the team overcome a night in which it made just three threepointers all game.

The 3–2 Yeomen will hope to get back to their winning ways on the road against the Wabash College Little Giants this Saturday at 3 p.m.

Home Games This Week Monday, Dec. 8

Wednesday, Dec. 10

7:30 p.m. – Men’s basketball vs.

Grove City College in Philips gym

7:30 p.m. – Men’s Basketball vs.

Denison University in Philips gym

Sports The Oberlin Review

Page 16

December 5, 2014

— Women’s Cross Country —

Yeowomen Place 7th at Championship Nate Levinson and Tyler Sloan Sports Editors The women’s cross country team, accompanied by Yeomen Geno Arthur and Josh Urso, both juniors, concluded its historic season at the 2014 NCAA Championship on Saturday, Nov. 22, placing seventh in the nation.

Seniors Emma Lehmann and Kyle Neal were trailblazers in the women’s race, fin-

ishing in times of 21 minutes, 55.9 seconds and 22:7.8 to take ninth and 14th places respectively.

Unfavorable weather, however, tore up the winding course, making the race all the more difficult for the runners.

“It’s just such a different race than any other just because of the size, not just of the field, but also the spectators — it’s just so many people,” said Neal. “On Saturday, it was super slippery so the

conditions were really bad.

It was a lot of having to focus on not completely wiping out when you run around turns.

It’s an odd course because it’s kind of like a maze.”

Neal climbed the ranks to improve upon her 28thplace finish in 2013 to 14th place this season. Lehmann also made strides in their final competition for Oberlin, moving from 11th to 9th place in the 2014 competition. Neal and Lehmann’s

Senior Emma Lehmann outkicks their opponents at a race earlier this season. Lehmann earned an All-American title for their 9th place finish in the 2014 NCAA Nationals last Saturday.

Courtesy of Dale Preston

fast finishes earned them All-American honors for the second year in a row. Head Coach Ray Appenheimer applauded the senior duo for their tenacity during trying conditions.

“It’s the kind of race where everyone is fit,” said Appenheimer. “These are the best teams and the best runners in the nation, and it always comes down to who handles that moment the best. Having a group of women there who have been there four years in a row gave a tremendous advantage, and I think it showed up on that day.”

Senior classmates Sarah Jane Kerwin, Carey Lyons and Erica Morelli also made the trip to Mason, Ohio for the race. Coming in a little over 30 seconds behind Neal, Kerwin just missed the cut for All-American honors with a time of 22:41.9, earning her 46th place.

Lyons was not far behind Kerwin, after recovering from an early setback when she slipped on the wet course, and pushed through to finish in 86th place with a time of 23:8.7. Morelli rounded out the top five Yeowomen runners, coming in at 163rd

place with a time of 23:40.5.

“Emma’s race was just tremendous,” said Appenheimer.

“Sarah Jane was so close to All-American. Carey, who fell during the race, which would destroy so many runners psychologically, got up and went on and passed about 100 people in the last mile or two of the race. I’m just so proud of all of them.”

Lehmann, a four-time veteran of the Division III NCAA championship race, said this competition bore similarities to years past.

“It was pretty similar to last year’s race,” they said. “I kind of just tried to stay with the front few girls — I don’t know why but I always get stranded by myself in some place where there is no one anywhere around me, and that happened again this year. Overall, it went pretty well I think.”

Meanwhile, just hours before the Yeowomen hit the course, Geno Arthur and Josh Urso competed for the Yeomen. Arthur jumped more than 90 places when he finished at 19th place in the 2014 competition, compared See XC, page 15

— Men’s Basketball —

Yeomen Continue Strong Start with Win Harrison Wollman The men’s basketball team ground out a 53–42 victory over the Earlham College Quakers last Tuesday night, improving to 3–1 on the season.

After opening the contest against the Quakers with a 9–0 run, the Yeomen allowed the Quakers to slow down the tempo of the game, resulting in an 11–1 run for the Quakers that left the game tied at 19 going into the half.

The team was able to make adjustments coming out of the half, however, and scored 10 unanswered points in the first four and a half minutes, capped off by back-to-back threepointers by sophomore guard Jack Poyle. The Yeomen never looked back and pushed their lead to 17 points with just over three minutes remaining.

As has often been the case in the season thus far, Poyle led the way for the Yeomen, scoring

a team-high 14 points on four-of-five shooting to go along with three steals, two assists and two rebounds. Junior center Randy Ollie contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, controlling the paint for the majority of the game. Sophomore guard Nate Cohen did his part as well, giving the Yeomen strong perimeter play and netting seven points while grabbing seven rebounds of his own.

Despite the convincing win, Poyle admitted that the Yeomen weren’t firing on all cylinders against the visiting Quakers.

“I would say we played down to their potential,” he said. “We came out a little flat, and we weren’t as energetic as we should have been.”

Poyle has been a bright spot for the team this season, leading the team in scoring (13.6 points per game), steals (1.8 per game), and field goal percent-

age (.522 percent). His most memorable performance to date was a 26-point game against the Wittenberg Tigers that earned him Player of the Week honors from the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco knew Poyle would take a big step forward in his second season with the Yeomen, but even he didn’t

expect Poyle to look as good as he has in the early going.

“Jack has bailed us out on a few occasions so far this season,” he said. “I expected him to be our most consistent perimeter player, but I wasn’t banking on his high scoring outputs.”

While Poyle’s play has been key for the Yeomen thus far, the Yeomen’s fast start has been

a team effort. Oberlin’s best start to a season in over a decade has included both a win over the formidable Wittenberg Tigers, snapping a 50-game skid against the Tigers dating back to 1979, and a loss to the Division I Youngstown State Penguins in which the Yeomen were down by just two points with 12 minutes to play.

“We’ve been doing

a very good job of sharing the ball in transition, and our defense has been forcing other teams to take shots that they might not have wanted to take,” said junior forward Matt Walker. “Other teams haven’t been able to figure it out against us, which is a great sign as it shows that we have See Men’s, page 15

NFL: No Fun League Nate Levinson Sports Editor I’ve used this column before to express my displeasure with the NFL’s handling of numerous on- and off-field incidents, but as long as it continues to mishandle seemingly every adverse situation thrown its way, I’ll continue to write about the so-called No Fun League.

Much of the inspiration for this week’s editorial is owed to controversial Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and his teammate, wide receiver Doug Baldwin.

Last week, the two reigning Super Bowl champs and Stanford alumni ripped the NFL’s decision to fine Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $100,000 for refusing to speak to the media after a Nov. 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“You know, the other day Marshawn Lynch got fined $100,000. A hundred thousand!

And it’s like, they wouldn’t have even paid him $100,000 if he had talked,” Sherman said.

He also went on to criticize the league’s other hypocritical practices, such as fining players for wearing Beats headphones and not allowing players to talk about alcohol even though the NFL’s biggest sponsor is a beer company.

Asking players not to talk about about alcohol is one thing, but regulating what headphones they can wear? That’s ridiculous, especially since the rule only came about after the league made Bose its official headphones manufacturer.

Sherman’s rant didn’t end there, either; perhaps his most salient point about stunning hypocrisy in the NFL came with regard to player safety.

“They’ve been talking about player safety so much, and that it’s like, two games in five days doesn’t seem like you care about player safety. You know, it’s a little bit much for me,” he said.

Sherman is, of course, referring to having to play a game on both Sunday and the following See Editorial, page 14

Sophomore Nate Cohen drives to the hoop for a layup in a game against the Earlham College Quakers on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Yeomen are currently 3–2 overall and 1–1 in conference play.

Courtesy of Simeon Deutsch