February 6, 2015

The Oberlin Review

FEBRUARY 6, 2015 VOLUME 143, NUMBER 12

Local News Bulletin News briefs from the past week City Council Increases Pay The Oberlin City Council has voted to raise its own pay, a move that will go into effect when the next City Council is sworn in and that will cost the city $34,723. Three City Council members opposed the increase on the grounds that the Council had recently rejected raising the minimum wage for city employees, a measure that would have cost $25,000.

The higher salaries will allow City Council members to qualify for health care and pensions after recent changes to Ohio’s public employee pension law.

Cleveland Police Get Body Cameras At least 200 Cleveland police officers have begun wearing body cameras as part of a pilot program that will eventually include the entire department. The cameras are intended to provide accountability and reduce the use of excessive force by officers. The move comes after the shooting of Tamir Rice, an unarmed Black 12-year-old, by Timothy Loehmann, a Cleveland police officer. In December, a Justice Department study criticized the department for consistently using excessive force over a three-year period.

Pipeline Meeting Held Last Tuesday at Lorain County Community College, Spectra Energy, a natural gas company, held a community meeting. Representatives from Spectra and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission discussed plans for the 250-mile NEXUS pipeline. Officials shifted the proposed pipeline route, which will pass through southern Oberlin, slightly further south this January. Outside the meeting, a group of activists protested the pipeline, which they say violates local law and threatens the health of the community.

Council Clashes over City Manager Elizabeth Dobbins News Editor After requesting the resignation of City Manager Eric Norenberg last month, the Oberlin City Council plans to air its concerns and discuss the low yearly evaluation scores Norenberg received in an executive session this Monday.

“I’m looking forward to working through this process in a way that’s satisfactory to everyone, so we can get back to doing the real work and not be so distracted by divisions in the community,” said City Council member Sharon Pearson.

The Council presented Norenberg with a letter requesting his resignation on Jan. 8 with the signatures of four out of seven Council members.

According to Bryan Burgess, a member of Council for the past five years, the Council is divided in its opinion of Norenberg’s performance.

Burgess, Pearson and fellow Council members Elizabeth Meadows and Kristen Peterson signed the letter, and all gave Norenberg low yearly scores, with the exception of Pearson, who did not participate in the numerical portion of the evaluations.

City Council member Ron Rimbert also presented Norenberg with low scores but did not sign the letter.

Rick McDaniel, an Oberlin resident and former head of Safety and Security, complains about the lack of transparency regarding the City Council’s request for the city manager’s resignation. Eric Norenberg, the city manager, has refused to resign.

Simeon Deutsch

However, the president of the City Council, Scott Broadwell, and Vice President Sharon Fairchild-Soucy both gave Norenberg’s yearly performance a high rating.

The city charter requires a 5–2 supermajority and the opportunity for a public hearing to officially dismiss a city manager. The vote to request his resignation

was 4–3.

Norenberg declined the request, stating in a letter to the Council that he is “committed to the city of Oberlin” and “stand[s] by [his] record of leadership, management and decisions.”

The request for his resignation was delivered months after the start of the evaluation process in Oct. 2014. Norenberg said

he was aware the evaluation process took longer than it had in past years, but was surprised by the Council’s decision.

“I had been looking forward to meeting with the Council to sit down and discuss my evaluation and was not anticipating that there was anything significant See Yearly, page 4

Steering Committee Adds 6 Student Positions Louis Krauss Staff Writer Student Senate announced the introduction of six new student positions on the College Strategic Planning Steering Committee this Thursday — a change which the administration and Senate hope will provide better representation for the student body during the Committee’s long-term planning process, which determines the trajectory of the College for the next several years.

After demonstrators last semester challenged the administration’s lack of transparency, Student Senate began working with President Marvin Krislov, Diane Yu and the other trustees to add six spots for current students to the Committee.

Student Senate pushed for this change at the end of last semester when it realized students needed more of a voice on the Steering Committee, according to Student Senator and College sophomore Jordan Ecker.

“It’s a 37-member committee, and prior to this they only had three students, but it’s pretty

clear to me that the decisions they’re making are going to be affecting the students more than any other group,” said Ecker. “So because of this I think you need to involve students’ voices as much as possible.”

Before the additions, the Steering Committee was a group of 37, consisting of select administrators, faculty, trustees and students. Roughly every 10 years, a new Steering Committee is convened to design a Strategic Plan, which contains all of the College’s long-term decisions about admissions, diversity and strategies to increase revenue.

Previously, there were only three students on this panel, who were selected by the trustees after being reviewed by Senate.

Students applying for the new positions will undergo a different selection process, according to Ecker. Three of the six new students will be chosen by a vote that all students can participate in, while the other three will be chosen by Student Senate.

These additional student spots are an attempt to provide a way for students unhappy

Rookie Sensations

Jesse Rowsell The community remembers a beloved Chemistry professor.

ESTABLISHED 1874 oberlinreview.org

ONLINE & IN PRINT

Sounding Off Christine Sun Kim pushes the boundaries of sound.

See page 2

See page 14

See page 11

INDEX:

Opinions 5

The Review sat down with a pair of firstyear track and field stars.

This Week in Oberlin 8

Arts 10

Sports 16

with the Steering Committee’s decisions to air their concerns. Student Senator and College fourth-year Megs Bautista said if the College wants to improve diversity, it doesn’t make sense to simultaneously plan to raise tuition.

“As an institution moving towards prioritizing financial accessibility, how does it make sense that their goal is also to increase revenue in the next 10 years?” said Bautista.

“In the Student Senate, all our sirens went off, because one of our main priorities is to increase accessibility to low-income students and people of color.”

However, while having more students on the panel could improve relations between the student body and administrators, it may not affect the lack of student interest in applying for Oberlin’s long-term planning groups, such as the Student Senate and now the Steering Committee.

Bautista said many people of color are See Senate, page 4

on the

WEB

All of the content you see here is also available on our website. Check back for the latest stories and interactive polls.

Visit oberlinreview.org and facebook. com/oberlinreview and follow us on Twitter @oberlinreview and Instagram @ocreview.

News

Page 2

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Competitors Pitch Business Ideas at LaunchU Oliver Bok News Editor Twenty teams of aspiring student and alumni entrepreneurs competed for $50,000 in investment money at the third annual LaunchU Pitch Competition held last Saturday. The competition was the culmination of the 2015 LaunchU Winter Term program, during which the teams honed their business plans, perfected their pitches and listened to speakers brought in by LaunchU. “It was pretty rigorous — nineto-five every day, including Saturdays — so it was like a job,” said Minh-Jeffrey Lê, a third-year College student whose business Subtletees, a venture that produces American-made pocket T-shirts, won the Local Venture Prize. “But we learned a lot about building a brand, being authentic. We spent a lot of time on public speaking and presentation skills, marketing, advertising, building a good product. It was very useful,” he said.

According to John Knific, CEO of Decision Desk and Oberlin’s entrepreneur-in-residence, the pitch competition was not the most essential part of the LaunchU program.

“Pitch day is important because, just like a recital for the Conservatory, it’s important to

Jake Hochendoner describes his venture, Aerial Agents, at the LaunchU Pitch Competition on Saturday. The Competition gave aspiring Oberlin entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their ideas to alumni judges.

Courtesy of Yevgen Gulenko

have a showcase for the hard work you put in,” Knific said. “The pitch itself is not what we’re about.

What we’re about is developing business models with the student, and that’s not an easy process. … When you actually sit down and work on something for three weeks straight, it ends up morph-

ing a lot. The pitches we see at the end are usually not a polished version of the pitch we see coming in; they’re usually a bit of a pivot away from the original idea.”

“One good thing about LaunchU is that they help you rationalize your goals,” said Hassan Bin Fahim, a College first-year and

LaunchU participant whose fledgling nonprofit company, base. pk, helps people create websites in Pakistan. “Our goal is that by the end of 2015 we’ll have at least 150,000 users in Pakistan and hopefully will have started growing in India as well. LaunchU helped me to set that goal, and the

$2,500 I got in grant money will help a lot,” he said.

The judges for the pitch competition were mostly Oberlin alumni, many of whom had started successful businesses themselves. After the LaunchU participants gave their pitches, the judges peppered the budding entrepreneurs with questions about their plans.

“A lot of the alumni who came here were very useful in the feedback they gave,” said Bin Fahim.

“They have so much experience in the practical world that they were really useful at pinpointing problems that you might face and strengths that you didn’t even recognize you had.”

“The grant money is exciting, but if these businesses are going to be successful, that’s not enough capital. The more important thing is bringing people together,” Knific said.

Lê agreed, and stated that he found getting to know the LaunchU judges even more valuable than the money he won at the Pitch Competition.

“Through LaunchU, the biggest thing was the connections. Oberlin alumni are looking out for you; they want you to succeed, and people really forget that,” Lê said.

During the pitch competition, President Krislov briefly got See Oberlin, page 4

Chemistry Professor Jesse Rowsell Remembered Elizabeth Dobbins News Editor Grieving students, faculty and staff filled bulletin boards in Love Lounge with stories and drawings in memory of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jesse Rowsell this week.

“I am convinced, along with all of my Chem 101 friends, that he was completely brilliant, but he was so much more than that,” read one anonymous note. “Vibrant, funny, inspiring and wise, he treated us as people first, then as students, and never as numbers on a page.”

Rowsell passed away at age 37 on Jan. 30, leaving behind his wife, Associate Professor of Chemistry Rebecca Whelan, his sister, Rima Rowsell, and his parents, Shelley Rollins and Murray Rowsell. He will be remembered for his passion for research, his classroom antics and his contributions to both his students and the Chemistry department.

“Jesse’s pairing of high academic standards with a caring persona inspired his students to achieve things they might not have thought possible,” said Biggs Professor of Natural Science Matt Elrod in an email to the Review. “His passing is all the more difficult because of the sheer number of

students he touched as an instructor, advisor and research mentor. He will be greatly missed.”

Rowsell came to Oberlin in 2005 when Whelan was appointed to a position in the Chemistry department. He began teaching as a visiting assistant professor in 2009 and became a tenure-track assistant professor in 2012.

While at Oberlin, as well as during his education in the undergraduate program at the University of Waterloo and Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan, Rowsell studied materials chemistry with application in energy and the environment. His Ph.D. thesis won the Kasimir Fajans Award for best dissertation in chemistry at the University of Michigan, and he was awarded both the Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher and Student Instructor Awards.

Over the course of his career, he published 22 articles in peer-reviewed publications, including six first-author papers as an undergraduate. Rowsell continued his research as a faculty member at Oberlin, collaborating with students and Professor of Physics Stephen FitzGerald.

“We each, in turn, taught the other a wealth of chemistry and physics,” said FitzGerald in an email to the Review. “We brainstormed ideas for future projects,

The Oberlin Review — Established 1874 —

Volume 143, 140, Number 12 2

(ISSN 297–256)

February 6, 2015

Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods.

Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio.

Entered as second-class matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911.

POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081.

Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074.

Phone: (440) 775-8123 Fax: (440) 775-6733 On theOn web: thehttp://www.oberlinreview.org web: oberlinreview.org

analyzed our results and spent countless hours side by side working on the latest paper. Jesse was meticulous in this work.”

Rowsell studied supramolecular chemistry, crystallography, porous materials and the environmental aspects of gas adsorption.

“He was a specialist in metal organic frameworks, which are exquisitely structured molecular entities,” said Elrod. “Most of us thought it was no accident that Jesse was attracted to beautiful molecules, as he clearly had other artistic interests as well.”

Outside of teaching and research, Rowsell worked on many artistic projects, such as designing the neon sign for the Chemistry department, participating in the Oberlin Chalk Walk, taking pictures of science objects, making music and hosting two shows on WOBC, Blue Light Scintillations and Patio Season. He also enjoyed having long, open conversations with friends.

College President Marvin Krislov said that Rowsell’s passing is a great loss to both the College and the Oberlin community.

“Jesse Rowsell was a wonderful teacher, scholar, friend and colleague, and we will miss him,” said Krislov in an email to the Review. “Our community mourns his loss.”

Rowsell’s family will announce memorial services at a later date.

Julia Liv Combe Herbst Allegra RoseKirkland Stoloff Managing editor Samantha Taylor Field Link News editors Rosemary Oliver Boeglin Bok Elizabeth AlexDobbins Howard Opinions editors editor Will Kiley Rubenstein Petersen This Week editor Zoë Sam Strassman White Arts Week This editorseditor Hazel Kara Galloway Brooks Arts editors Georgia Danny Evans Horn Sports editors VidaQuinn Weisblum Hull Sports editors Madeleine Nate Levinson O’Meara Layout editors Tiffany Tyler Sloan Fung Layout manager Ben Sarah Garfinkel Snider Layout editors Alanna Josh Blankfield Sandoval Photo editors Abigail OliviaCarlstad Gericke Brannon Rockwell-Charland Talia Rodwin Online editor Cyrus Alanna Eosphoros Bennett Editors-in-chief Editors-in-Chief

Jesse Rowsell, an assistant professor of Chemistry, passed away on Jan. 30.

Courtesy of John Seyfried

Photo editors Curtis Mike Cook Plotz Business manager Effie Savi Kline-Salamon Sedlacek Ads manager Business manager Reshard Ian Campbell el-Shair Production Ads managermanager Sophia SaraBamert Vaadia Production manager staff Stephanie Alice Bonner Fine Production staff Emma Abbey Eisenberg Bisesi Taylor Julia Davis Field Katherine Lya Hamilton Finston Annelise Julia Giseburt Hubay Joseph Tracey Kenshur Knott Noah Anna Menta Morris Anna OliviaPeckham Pandolfi Silvia Kiley Sheffield Petersen Michael Drew Swantek Wise Distributors Antonia JoeChandler Camper Edmund Joseph Dilworth Metzold Talia Krehbiel-Boutis James Kuntz

Corrections: Corrections

In “Dominguez, Keeney Interpret Dark Solos with Arts Sciences Orchestra” Theand Review is not aware of (Dec. 12, 2014), any Meryl Dominguez mistakenly corrections thiswas week. listed at a junior. At the time, she was a The double-degree Review strivesfifth-year. to print all information as accurately as possible.

TheIfReview strives to printhas all information you feel the Review made an as accurately as possible.

If you feel error, please send an e-mailthe toReview has made an error, please send an email to managingeditor@oberlinreview.org. managingeditor@oberlinreview.org.

News

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Page 3

Neuroscience Professor to Study Senses Using Omni, Oculus Rift Dyani Sabin Though Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Leslie Kwakye may research virtual reality, the implications of her work are very real.

Kwakye is interested in studying multisensory integration by combining information from different sensory modalities through the use of the Virtuix Omni and Oculus Rift, two new virtual reality devices.

Sensory modalities are commonly known as things like sight,

smell, touch, sound, taste and “self motion,” or the feeling of how you are moving. By looking at how people combine these different sensory systems, Kwakye is trying to discover how the brain combines diverse information into the seamless experience of perception.

The classic study of this question is simple: Occassionally a circle will flash on a screen and the participant will hear a burst of white noise. Researchers ask participants to press a button as

fast as they can when they notice either stimulus.

“When [the stimuli are] together, you’re much faster [to respond] than when they’re presented separately, so there’s a benefit in terms of how quickly you would detect a stimulus when it’s presented in more than one modality,” Kwakye said.

However, a test on a computer screen is nothing like the complicated real world. Kwakye and her lab, including College fourth-year Hudson Bailey and College third-

year Luke Burrows, plan to simulate this complexity using virtual reality and the Omni.

The Omni, roughly 5 feet in diameter with a strut and harness system about 4 feet tall, is an “omnidirectional” treadmill created for virtual reality gaming.

The user can move in any direction while standing on the Omni. Its surface is concave, which allows for a more naturalfeeling stride in all directions.

As the user walks, their feet will slide back to the center — a func-

tion made possible in part by the low-friction shoes users wear.

For the gamer, the Omni is an expensive system, running at $699 for pre-order on the Virtuix website. However, for a piece of research equipment, the roughly $1000 Kwakye spent for the system, a variety of shoes and harnesses is relatively inexpensive.

The Omni will be used in combination with a code created by Bailey which will bring See Kwakye, page 4

Off the Cuff: Eugene D. Schmiel, Civil War historian and author Eugene D. Schmiel first came to Oberlin in 1969 as a graduate student at the Ohio State University writing his dissertation about Jacob Dolson Cox, OC 1850, a Civil War general who left his papers to the College archives. Cox later became governor of Ohio and secretary of the interior. Schmeil worked in the Foreign Service for 24 years. He served in five different countries during his career before retiring five years ago. He has spent the last four years writing Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era, which came out last year from Ohio University Press and is available at Mudd Library and online for purchase.

What first sparked your interest about Cox? My major at Ohio State was 19thcentury American history. I did some research; I was very interested in writing a biography, and Cox lived from 1828–1900, so his life spanned most of the 19th century. He had a very interesting career in politics and the military, so he seemed like the perfect subject. The fact that he left all of his papers to Oberlin, he had good handwriting and he kept copies of all of his letters helped.

Who was Jacob Dolson Cox, for those who don’t know anything about him?

There was a professor that I met from England who had been doing some research on Cox. He said Jacob Cox might be the most intriguing character from the Civil War era that most Americans have never heard of. For Oberlin he was very important because he married the daughter of Charles Finney, one of the key characters in Oberlin’s early history.

Cox was on the Board of Directors at Oberlin and retired at Oberlin for his last few years. He was a pivotal figure who had so many careers. He was also one of the best, if not the best, political generals in the Civil War. When the Civil War began, the U.S. army had 16,000 men. When it ended they had almost 3,000,000. So by definition they had to have thousands of generals.

Very few people had gone to West Point.

West Point had maybe 100 students.

It was tiny. Cox was one of those who proved that you could become a good general without having studied there. He was also a historian of the war. He was a very meticulous historian, which is difficult when you’re a participant yourself, and he’s still a respected historian today.

How did Cox come to Oberlin?

Charles Finney went on evangelical tours, and he was in New York giving a speech and calling on people to come to God. Cox was overcome; he came to the

Historian Eugene D. Schmiel, author of Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era

front and said, “I want to come to Oberlin and be a divinity student.” He came to Oberlin as an undergraduate and was on his way to becoming a professor of Theology. He had a religious commitment to the school. He got there in 1846 and left in 1851; he left because he had a quarrel with Finney over religion. He became very active in the Republican Party. He was one of the founders of the party in Ohio and became very active in local politics.

Why did Cox decide to join the army when the Civil War began?

In 1859 he was elected to the Ohio Senate. He decided to run after the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, an incident in which men came to the Oberlin area looking for an escaped slave from the South. They couldn’t find him, so they just captured a couple of Blacks who were living there, and the local people attacked [the slavers] and wouldn’t let them get out. There was a huge court case about it. Cox made some public speeches and said, “We can’t deal with this through violence; we can only deal

with this through the law and the legislature.” So he decided to run. He was in the Ohio Senate of 1860–1861 when the war started.

The year before the war, Cox had been studying military topics. He could read Greek, Latin and French. He was one of the strongest anti-slavery proponents in the Ohio Senate. So he thought that if there was going to be a war, it’s people like him — people who are calling for not letting the South secede and calling for stopping the spread of slavery — who would have to fight. So he said, “I’m going to have to become a soldier.”

He studied for it, he lobbied for it, and he received a commission as a brigadier general when the war started.

What was the war like for Cox? What were his major successes and failures?

In the beginning his job was to train new soldiers. He was sent to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, where he served under George McClellan. They began the war [as] very good friends. McClellan assigned him to train the troops for a few months, and then in July of 1861 he gave

Cox an autonomous command in what is now West Virginia. McClellan thought it was a good idea to send troops into northern Virginia because he thought that would serve as a good base for Union attacks into the rest of Virginia.

He sent Cox on a mission with 2,500 men down the Kanawha River towards Charleston, which is now the capital of West Virginia. Within about a month, they had pushed forward, [taken] control and pushed the Confederates out.

Cox had a very successful first month as a general. Cox was in command by himself with no military experience. He played a key role in helping the creation of West Virginia, which eventually broke off from the rest of Virginia because of the Civil War. In August 1862 he was called to Washington for a new campaign that eventually led to the Battle of Antietam.

At the Battle of Antietam, Cox, along with Ambrose Burnside, was one of the two commanders of the left wing of the Union army. So that was a relative success. The most important part was that Lee retreated back to Virginia, and Lincoln, because of the relative success, issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

In 1864 Cox was in the Atlantic campaign with Sherman, pushing to take Atlanta, which they did. Then he was sent to the West in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Then he was sent to North Carolina in 1865 and he was there when Johnson surrendered to Sherman.

What kind of general was Cox? What did his soldiers think about him?

He was very stoic. He was an intellectual. In all my research I found that he was emotional once in his life, and that was during the Battle of Franklin, when things were about to go very, very bad for the Union, and he got emotional and started screaming and yelling at his men to hold the line.

His troops didn’t love him because he was not that kind of guy, but they all respected him and they knew that if he told you to do something it was the right thing to do.

Do you think Cox has been overlooked by historians and/or the general public? If so, why?

He didn’t self-promote. He didn’t try to make more of himself than he was.

In many ways he was shy, which sounds very strange, but he always said that what he’d like to do was go into a library, be with his family and read books by the fireside.

Interview by Oliver Bok, News editor Photo courtesy of Kathryn Schmiel

News

Page 4

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Yearly Evalutions Reveal Divide in City Council Continued from page 1 enough to generate a request like this,” he said.

Norenberg received an average of 1.7 out of 3 possible points across seven evaluation categories, including leadership, planning and organization, communication, problem-solving and community, employee and intergovernmental relations. The average scores were low across all categories.

Burgess said the request for Norenberg’s resignation stemmed from multiple problems: “It’s been a culmination of things over the past year. Not any one issue.”

In the evaluation, the Council raised a variety of concerns, including questions about the city’s decision to cooperate with the county on Oberlin’s storm water plan, a request for better support of Climate Action Plan projects and issues surrounding Norenberg’s communication with the Council, such as the decision to purchase the Green Acres property.

The request for resignation stated that the “sense of trust” between the Council and the city manager has been strained due to the free reign of department heads, “reactive rather than proactive” management and the failure to consult the Council on certain staff-level decisions.

Norenberg defended his management decisions, stating that his job required guiding employees without always first

consulting the Council and balancing many different projects.

“I think that I have done an excellent job of being city manager, and some of the responsibilities as city manager involve making administrative decisions that don’t necessarily require Council authorization ahead of time,” he said. “I try to manage the department heads that report to me without micromanaging. … It’s a balancing act as a manager in any kind of situation where you’re supervising a complex operation.”

This is the first time Norenberg has received a low score on his yearly evaluation since he took the position in 2007. In both 2012 and 2013, Norenberg received an average score of 2.7.

According to Broadwell, Norenberg’s performance of his duties in 2014 is consistent with his performance in past years.

“There really hasn’t been a change,” said Broadwell, “Certainly not to this degree, which is why it was really kind of shocking the way this came out.”

Pearson said the request for resignation was not meant to be an attack on the city manager. Instead, she views the Council members’ dissatisfaction with Norenberg as a challenge to the status quo and a way to begin fixing ineffective processes in the city government.

“I think we set ourselves up to be more progressive in a lot of areas, and I think there are a lot of people who want to move into a progressive mode of operation and

not necessarily just [maintain] the status quo.”

The reaction to the request for Norenberg’s dismissal has been mixed both in the Council and among community members.

“Even though there are a lot of residents that have had good experiences with the city manager, there are a whole lot of other comments I know I have personally received that are not as positive,” said Pearson.

According to Norenberg, city employees have also expressed concern about the request for dismissal and view it as a critique of their own performance.

“Some of the criticisms leveled at me have been worded in such a way that implied that not only is Council dissatisfied with me but with many of the employees involved in this organization,” said Norenberg. “I think it’s unfortunate that we’ve had very hard-working and dedicated employees very stressed out over this situation.”

The city charter grants the Council the power to appoint or dismiss the city manager, law director, clerk and finance director. However, only the city manager, not the Council, can hire or remove department heads or other employees.

Pearson says community members have had problems with the services of some departments, and she is dissatisfied with Norenberg’s management of the department heads. For Pearson, requesting the dismissal of the city manager is one

way to address these issues.

“I know there are a lot of citizens that come to me and say they don’t like the way that this service is done by this department head or that device is done by that department head, but according to the Oberlin city charter, the only [people] we can hold responsible is the Oberlin city manager … and other appointees,” Pearson said. “That’s our only responsibility.”

These concerns and the results of the evaluation will be fully discussed with Norenberg for the first time during the executive session on Monday. The Council’s contended 4–3 decision to make this meeting private is an attempt to candidly discuss issues during a situation which has been otherwise public and messy, according to Pearson.

Broadwell, one of the Council members who supported the move to make the meeting open to the public, expressed concern about the Council’s communication of these issues with the community.

“We’ve made some motions to have this discussion during a public work session to get things out in the open, which is not normally done,” Broadwell said. “We need to get out there and discuss it in public and really see what’s going on so we can see what the issues are here.”

Pearson, Broadwell and Norenberg say they don’t know how the executive session will proceed, but they hope to move forward soon and tackle city business instead of internal issues.

Senate Tries to Spark Interest in College Planning Continued from page 1 more concerned with running community-based organizations than participating in College-wide planning resulting in low participation rates.

“I think if folks realize that more can be done by working through administrative channels, they’d be more inclined to do it,” Bautista said. “Last semester I felt like my energy was better spent working for my group for Latina students than something that tries to mix all students, like Senate.”

College junior and Senate liaison Machmud Makhmudov, one of the three students already on the Steering Committee, says that with these new positions Senate will do more to

improve student voter turnout.

“We’re going to be working very hard to make sure people understand the importance of having students working to create a plan for Oberlin’s future,” said Makhmudov. “In some ways Oberlin is a very segregated place. It’s hard because different student groups don’t always feel the effects of Senate’s decisions, so we’re going to try to increase outreach and make more people aware of how important this is.”

According to Makhmudov, first-years tend to vote in student elections, while upperclassmen are less concerned with student government.

According to Student Senator and College third-year Ty Wagner, the increased number of students on the committee

Oberlin Entrepreneurs Compete for $50,000 in Investment Money Continued from page 2 on stage and spoke about how excited he was about LaunchU. He also said that the Strategic Planning Steering Committee was thinking about ways to “make it even bigger.”

“I think making it bigger would mean expanding it to not just Oberlin’s campus,” Knific said, when asked about what Krislov’s comments would look like in practice. “We’re starting to see alumni teams from all over, from the coasts and even internationally. We had a participant from Belgium and a team from Mexico this year. I think it means developing entrepreneur communities, with Oberlin helping them in their own communities and then using the LaunchU pitch day as sort of a hub to bring people back. We’ll start to see more and more interesting teams that way, and also maybe the opportunity to run incubators in different regions,” he said.

“I think the culture at Oberlin is changing a bit,” Knific added. “You don’t think business school and you don’t think engineering and technology school when you think about Oberlin. But the students, so many of them, are very gifted in those areas.”

According to Bin Fahim, LaunchU was critical in attracting him to Oberlin in the first place.

“I was really into entrepreneurship at the end of my time in high school; I knew it was something I really wanted to do. But I also liked the concept of a liberal arts education. So I looked up liberal arts schools that also had an entrepreneurship program and found Oberlin,” Bin Fahim said.

“I think there [were] already a lot of students who wanted to launch companies who didn’t know how, and there are a lot of alumni who leave, start ventures and don’t have an affiliation with that company being an Oberlin company,” Knific said. “We want to pull them back and connect them back to Oberlin, and if we’re doing our job we’ll be creating more of them as well.”

will allow students to both speak and feel more comfortable during meetings.

“It’s great, because now you’ll have nine students in a room with all of the committee. Imagine being in a room with dozens of very serious and important people and trustees — it would be a little uncomfortable to say something the students want if there are only three of you,” said Wagner. “Now, with a bigger representation, it will definitely help us get our message across and value the students’ opinions more.”

Student applications for the Steering Committee are due Thursday, Feb. 12, and elections will be held at the same time as those for Student Senate.

Kwakye Plans to Use Virtual Reality to Examine Sensory Modalities Continued from page 3 these virtual realities to life.

“I don’t really think of what I’m doing as creating virtual realities, though,” Bailey said. “I think of it more as creating physical realities.”

Unlike the games the Omni was created for, Bailey’s world will provide information about physical reality, and the complex experience the machine provides will add a physical dimension to the program Bailey creates.

The lab has done work varying the complexity of the environment to see how that changes the multisensory integration. By using a more complex virtual reality, they can add a new layer of complexity to their experiments.

“There are some virtual reality theorists who write about something called ‘presence theory,’ and how experiencing ‘feeling there’ in an environment requires some sort of way of interacting with that environment, which the Omni would definitely do better than just a headset,” he said. “As it is a sensory lab, we might code something where there would be some sort of discrepancy between how it feels and looks or sounds like you’re moving. I think having it in our lab would get people pretty psyched.”

By combining an Oculus Rift, a virtual real-

ity headset and the walking sensation on the Omni, the lab will be able to examine the relationship between vision and proprioception, the physical sense of moving.

For example, the Oculus Rift can manipulate the virtual world to move faster or slower as the user walks around. By watching the world go by, users are able to recognize the distance they have traveled.

The Omni also provides a second set of sensations: the physical stride of the user. Participants will have to estimate the distance they travel, and the lab will be able to analyze the results to see if subjects relied more on their vision or on their “leg-sense” to determine the measurement.

Through these experiments, Kwakye hopes to see how the realism of an environment affects the sensation one feels within it. “[We hope] to see if what we know about multisensory integration breaks down with varying degrees of realism,” Kwakye said.

However, these experiments have been delayed by the late delivery of the Omni, which was originally scheduled to be released in August 2014. Although Kwakye and her lab expected it this February, Virtuix told them this week that delivery will be delayed for at least another month.

“The Omni has yet to arrive, and I have a feeling it won’t be here for a while,” Burrows said.

Opinions The Oberlin Review

February 6, 2015

Letters to the Editors

Oberlin, Be That Safe Haven Again for Black Students To the Editors:

This year represents 180 years of black students at Oberlin.

As African-American alumni, we carry that distinction in our hearts and minds every day. We are proud “descendants,” for example, of George B. Vashon, OC 1844, Oberlin’s first black graduate. We are also descendants of our shero Mary Jane Patterson, the first black woman to receive a B.A. degree when she graduated from Oberlin in 1862. However, after reading a recent article in The Chronicle for Higher Education by Professor of History Steven Volk, we found ourselves asking the question, “Do we need to remind Oberlin of its historic commitment to black students and the struggle for social justice?”

In his Jan. 8 article, “A Season of Anger,” Professor Volk chastised Oberlin’s current student activists for their “unrecognized entitlement” and “bullying behaviors.”

In the article, he also made metaphorical comparisons to his student activist days, when he and other “college-educated white boys” marched to end the Vietnam War. However, we are not sure that Professor Volk truly understands the war that is going on in this country right now — against black and brown people. And any current black or brown Oberlin student could easily be a casualty of this war, at any time and in any place. To borrow from a popular post on Twitter last year, young black people — even college-educated ones — know that they are just “one bullet away from being a hashtag.”

It is crucial that we not demonize this generation’s young freedom fighters. Let us not forget that, if not for young people across this country taking a stand and literally putting their lives in jeopardy — long before it became popular to do so among older folks — we would not even be talking about Ferguson, Staten Island, etc. as a nation. Therefore, the “bullying behaviors,” as Professor Volk calls them, have been absolutely necessary to bring the current life-

and-death issues of racial injustice to our collective attention.

We also feel compelled to note that Professor Volk’s piece is ahistorical in that it presumes that students’ recent behaviors are solely related to recent events on the national scene. They are not.

Since 2009, we have seen with our own eyes (and unfortunately via national media outlets) the disintegration of Oberlin College as a safe haven for students of color, particularly black students. And given Oberlin’s history and commitment to freedom and social justice — which drew so many of us to Oberlin when we were applying to college — it has been particularly painful to know that so many current black students feel helpless and unprotected.

Black people around this country are under siege. Many of us are traumatized. Many of the current black students at Oberlin feel traumatized. So, instead of demonizing or chastising them, let us love, support, empower and create a safe haven for them. Oberlin, please be that safe haven again for black students.

–Carolyn (Cunningham) Ash, OC ’91, and Cornelius Graves, OC ’14

College Must Uphold Academic Excellence To the Editors: At Oberlin, we learn and we labor. I graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in May 1993.

I was a double major in Neuroscience and Human Bio-Psychology, and I was a member of the Oberlin Yeomen soccer team from 1991– 1993 and played for the first team.

I was the chairman of the Coalition against Apartheid and White Supremacy with Moshe Thomas, OC ’93, Nducu Wa Ngugi, OC ’94, and Julie Chambers, OC ’93. I was an active member of ABUSUA, a black student movement on campus. I became an editor of the ABUSUA newsletter for two years with Amanda Beth Zola-Mosola, OC ’92. I was involved in the annual Kuumba Celebrations, ably put together by our leader, Sister

Athena Moore, OC ’93. While there, I introduced the Africa Week, where we would celebrate our African heritage while we teach fellow students about our history, cultures and traditions. This would culminate in a feast at the end of the week, featuring different foods from different parts of the African continent.

When I arrived at Oberlin, the Oberlin Four were on trial; Dan Kiss, OC ’92, was one of them.

These were four Oberlin students who were arrested while protesting in front of then-President Starr’s house by Oberlin police.

The trial lasted for three to four weeks! I was in that court the entire trial; we protested outside the Oberlin court for four weeks. Sadly, we lost the case; those students had to do community service.

They have a record that continues to haunt them today. We stood by them; they were ours, true and principled Obies. And it was for the right cause. Here is the thing: At the end of that semester we all wrote our exams and passed. Because at Oberlin, we learn and we labor. We always understood that.

We understood that Oberlin is a university first; it’s about learning.

We understood that the rich culture of Oberlin helped us to grow and to be fully rounded students who believe in social justice and who are prepared to defend it, if need be. Which is why we needed to study and learn, so that we can labor.

At the end of last semester, a petition gathered signatures calling for academic leniency in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests. These students must fail. A rich culture of academic excellence must be protected, and these students must be taught the true values of our university. Thank you, Oberlin College, for denying this crazy request.

This is Oberlin College — we are fearless — for we learn and we labor.

N.B. For me as a South African, Oberlin is important because the first president of the African National Congress, Reverend John Langalibalele Dube, attended Oberlin College Graduate School of Theology.

Oberlin College was the first 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.

The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to the author of a letter to the editors.

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

Page 5

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

Editors-in-Chief Julia Herbst Rose Stoloff Managing Editor Taylor Field Opinions Editors Kiley Peterson Sam White

Bryn Mawr Debacle Highlights Weight-Centric Approach to “Health” Trigger Warning: This editorial contains discussion of eating disorders and body image.

A troubling Health Center email sent to students with “elevated” BMIs, encouraging them to “Give a HOOT” about their body size, generated protests and unfavorable press at Bryn Mawr College in late January. “We want YOU to be in the Fitness OWLS (Onward to Weight Loss Success) Program,” read the message, noting that the program was a partnership between the Bryn Mawr health center and the school’s athletic department and dining services. Health Center Director Kay C. Kerr issued a written apology for the message last Saturday, but not before the incident drew renewed attention to discussions of health and wellness on college campuses.

Bryn Mawr’s “fitness” campaign raises numerous concerns, not least of which is its flawed targeting criterion: the BMI, or body mass index, a simplistic height- and weight-based figure that remains widely used, although it is frequently criticized as an inadequate indicator of problems with weight or general health. While Bryn Mawr is not alone in its use of the outdated figure — which was initially designed only for men and for use only in large-scale population research — the college’s mass email scheme was uniquely invasive.

Making matters worse, the students’ BMIs were apparently calculated from vitals recorded during often unrelated Health Center visits. Many recipients had never expressed interest in weight loss programs; some had even visited the Health Center while recovering from eating disorders and found the personalized, unsolicited message triggering.

According to some students, the message is just the latest in a saga of misguided “health” initiatives the college has implemented, including reductions in plate and cup sizes in dining halls. Kerr’s apology, which noted the Health Center’s commitment to respecting student privacy and creating a “culture of health, balance and wellness” on campus, fell short of acknowledging the stigmatizing and sometimes triggering nature of its weight loss-centered approach to student wellness.

The timing of Bryn Mawr’s missteps is both ironic and revealing. The last week of February marks National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and incidents like this highlight the continued reinforcement of toxic standards for body size and beauty, which have been found to contribute to eating disorders.

In addition to their pervasive subliminal presence in media images and advertising, ideals of slenderness and low weight are too often explicitly packaged under the guise of “health” or “fitness.”

Recent benchmarks, however, offer hope that progress is being made. Last month, another story also made internet headlines: Tess Holliday, who stands at 5 feet 5 inches and wears a size 22, broke boundaries as the first woman of her size to be signed by a high-profile modeling agency.

Despite the historic contract, Holliday has seen her share of criticism. “I wish that more people were talking about the success and the fact that this is really hopefully changing my industry — and it already has changed my industry — instead of turning it around about a discussion about how healthy I am,” she said. “I mean, yes, people can talk about health, and I do work out because I enjoy it, but I feel like what we really need to be talking about is the fact that women of all ages and sizes and shapes are feeling the need to live up to unrealistic expectations.”

Like Holliday, the affected Bryn Mawr students have found the privacy of their bodies violated, subjected to unreliable standards of “health” and open to unsolicited feedback. Colleges and universities should treat health as a key factor in student success, but outreach efforts like those at Bryn Mawr, while administrators claim good intentions, are paternalistic and disempowering.

Colleges face genuine challenges when attempting to match health and wellness programs to student needs, but a college’s good intentions must neither invade the personal nature of health decisions nor impose beauty standards poorly disguised as wellness initiatives.

Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, managing editor and Opinions editors — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Opinions

Page 6

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Jeb Bush Nomination Will Foster GOP Inclusivity Machmud Makhmudov Columnist In 2012, the year that I turned 18, I proudly cast my first official vote for President Obama.

Last summer, I supported and worked for Michelle Nunn, the Georgia Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. And as I consider all of the potential candidates for next year’s presidential election, I can’t imagine voting for anybody but a Democrat. That being said, I truly believe that there are few things more important to ensuring the future vibrancy of America’s social and political institutions than Jeb Bush ending up the Republican nominee for president in 2016.

Of course, I don’t hope that Bush — who had a very conservative tenure during his two terms as the governor of Florida — actually ends up as the commander-in-chief. From domestic energy expansion to economic trade to taxation and nearly every other policy issue, I disagree with his views. But on the issue of immigration reform, Bush is a breath of fresh air in a Republican Party that at times doesn’t even pretend to be inclusive of minority voters and citizens. By becoming the nominee, he could be a transfor-

mative leader within the GOP and shift the Party’s line on immigrants and minorities towards a more humane and compassionate dialogue.

Bush supports reforming America’s immigration system so that a sizable portion of undocumented immigrants would be provided the legal status to allow them to remain in the country. This is a strong contrast to the far right-wing voices of the Republican Party that call for the swift, indiscriminate deportation of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Due to the outsized influence of the Tea Party, several Republican presidential candidates vying for conservative voters will likely adopt this aggressive approach.

In the eyes of the voters, the biggest difference between Bush and his GOP competitors, however, doesn’t have to do with the gritty details of policy proposals. The biggest difference is in tone. Bush correctly recognizes and argues that many undocumented immigrants cross the border “not [as] a felony” but as “an act of love.” He’s taken on some of the more racist factions of his party by saying that “it shouldn’t rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families.”

Contrast this with the message of GOP Congressman Steve King of Iowa, a prominent power broker in the presidential nomination process. King recently caught criticism for referring to First Lady Michelle Obama’s invited guest at the State of the Union address, an undocumented immigrant, as a “deportable” on Twitter. Donald Trump, a GOP booster and everybody’s favorite reality show talking wig, responded to Bush’s comments by saying, “Half of [undocumented immigrants] are criminals; they’re coming for love?”

Needless to say, this kind of rhetoric isn’t garnering much support for the GOP in minority communities where individuals have recently immigrated, have family or friends who may be undocumented, or see the implicitly racist undertones that afflict some factions of the Party. Racial stratification along party lines is clear. In 2012, nine out of ten voters for Mitt Romney were white. The 2014 midterm elections saw African American and Latino voters prefer Democrats to Republicans by 90 percent to 9 percent and 64 percent to 34 percent margins, respectively. Given the outspokenness of figures like King, Trump and Sarah Palin, these trends will likely continue in the short term.

It’s twisted for one political party to be structurally incapable of seriously competing for a majority of minority voters, especially since America will be seeing a radical transformation across political, social and economic fronts over the next few decades due to demographic changes. Even as a proud Democrat, I’ll readily admit that there are and will continue to be Republican policy ideas that at the very least merit consideration and debate. As former President Bill Clinton said at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, “Nobody’s right all of the time, and even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

But it’s hard to have a meaningful debate between two political parties when one doesn’t even pretend to like you.

That’s why Jeb Bush needs to wrest control of the Republican Party away from the racist factions that currently dictate the tone of the immigration debate. In the long run, it could push his party to pursue more humane policies on immigration. If he’s successful in doing so, Bush should be proud; he’ll have strengthened democracy in America and made our social institutions more inclusive for our next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton.

Tabloids Promote Harmful View of Transgender Identity Kiley Petersen Opinions Editor Recent headlines in gossip magazines like InTouch, People and Us Weekly proclaim the news that former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner is transitioning to live openly as a woman.

While I tend to regard tabloid news with as much respect and credibility as Jenny McCarthy’s anti-vaccine movement, the story has created enough controversy for major news outlets like The New York Times to cover the story.

Jenner’s changes in appearance have been widely publicized. There are countless slideshows and photos depicting the more feminine aspects of their look: Jenner’s increasingly longer hair and painted nails along with signs of a shaved-down Adam’s apple have been used as evidence that they are in the process of transitioning.

While Jenner has not released a statement about the allegations of their transition, the Associated Press spoke to their 88-year-old mother, Esther, who spoke in ambiguous terms concerning her support of her child. “[Our conversation] was brief, and I said I

was proud of him and that I’ll always love him. I never thought I could be more proud of Bruce when he reached his goal in 1976, but I’m more proud of him now. It takes a lot of courage to do what he’s doing,” she said.

This uncertainty surrounding Jenner’s gender, combined with the sensationalized attention surrounding the Kardashian-Jenner family, has sparked an intense public curiosity to find out the truth. Americans are already accustomed to viewing every aspect of the Kardashian family’s lives on TV, so why shouldn’t we know these details about Jenner’s personal life as well?

The organization GLAAD spoke out against this sort of gossiping in a January statement. “Speculating about a person’s gender identity only inflames the invasive and gross scrutiny that transgender people face every day at school, at work, or even when just walking down the street. It’s long past time that media outlets stop gossiping about Bruce Jenner’s gender,” GLAAD stated.

The Jenner controversy comes right on the heels of news about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s oldest bio-

Website Poll:

logical child, 8-year-old John Jolie-Pitt, sporting a suit at a premiere like their brothers and requesting to be referred to as John. Media and public responses have been mixed; some praise the Jolie-Pitts for their acceptance of their child’s wishes, while others claim Brad and Angelina are harming their child by allowing John to push the boundaries of gender expression.

Amber Rose, a hip-hop artist, actress, model and fashion designer, posted an Instagram photo of John Jolie-Pitt in a suit, which has now been deleted. The caption read, “How gorgeous is this John Jolie Pitt?! Born into the perfect family for him. #TransKid #LoveurKidsNoMatterWhat #Support.” Rose has received backlash from all sides, both for supporting the JoliePitt family and for imposing a gender identity on John that they have not publicly expressed. It’s quite possible that John doesn’t even know their own gender identity yet. Regardless of gender identity as an adult, a child’s exploration of gender roles is healthy and normal, despite social expectations to the contrary.

In an article titled “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Support Their Oldest

Promoting financial accessibility and socioeconomic diversity

What is the most important factor for the Strategic Planning Steering Committee to take into account when considering the financial future of Oberlin College?

Kid Wearing Suits,” Advocate contributor Sunnivie Brydum writes, “Whether the young Jolie-Pitt will grow up to identify anywhere along a gendernonconforming or LGBT spectrum is impossible to tell, but one thing is certain — having parents that embrace a child’s curiosity, independence and self-direction is sure to make that young person’s life easier as they go through the fundamentally human process of discovering who they truly are.”

While some might point to these high-profile cases as examples of celebrities coming out, furthering recognition and acceptance of trans people, it is important to remember that coming out as trans or nonbinary is up to that individual and only that individual. Outsiders can speculate on gender identity and sexual orientation, but ultimately every individual has the right to reveal their identity and their pronouns or to keep these facts private if they so wish. These tabloids participate in a crude form of outing that is sometimes inappropriately veiled as support for the trans community.

It is true that representation is important. Laverne Cox’s Time maga-

zine cover in late May, the success of Transparent at the Golden Globes and Janet Mock’s book Redefining Realness all point to greater public approval of trans people in 2014. More famous faces would only aid in this acceptance.

But there is an obvious difference between someone publicly coming out as trans and others labeling gender-nonconforming behavior or appearance as automatic signs of a transgender identity. This completely erases the existence of nonbinary gender identities, as well as falsely equating someone’s fashion and beauty choices with their sexual or gender orientation.

Inevitably, the tabloids are going to continue printing harmful gossip about Jenner and Jolie-Pitt. There’s not a whole lot we can do to dismantle the culture that People and Us Weekly reinforce. As individuals, we can stick to gender-neutral or previously used pronouns until an individual announces differently. We can celebrate trans children like Jazz Jennings and trans people like Cox and Mock and still respect the nonconformity to gender norms that Jenner and Jolie-Pitt present.

Maintaining and expanding the College’s endowment Preserving Oberlin College’s image in the higher education landscape

Hiring highly qualified professors across a variety of disciplines

Increased enrollment of students of color

*Number of responses.

The Oberlin Review invites its readers to weigh in on recent campus issues using the online poll on our homepage. This month’s graphic represents the 88 responses received between Nov. 14, 2014 and Feb. 6, 2015. You can respond to this month’s question at oberlinreview.org.

Hazel Galloway

Opinions

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Wolf Tracking Gives Practice in Intuition CJ Blair Columnist Some of the first comments I heard about Winter Term at Oberlin were all the places you can go to get away from the deplorable January cold. I’ll admit I was tempted to follow that advice, but all bets were off when I found a wolf-tracking program in northern Minnesota. The course examined predators of the North Woods, and we were able to spend the whole time looking for tracks outside, locating wolves with radio telemetry and observing their behavior in captivity. While the class provided extensive education in conservation biology, the act of tracking itself is an activity that provides practice in deductive reasoning and intuition that is applicable far beyond the scope of biology.

The first step in tracking also serves as what is perhaps its ultimate goal: to make a person open to the natural world so they are more aware of subtle changes in the surroundings. In his famous environmental book, Walden, Henry David Thoreau proposed that humans are “asleep” and have become callous to the language of nature. To combat this tendency, the instructors of my course armed the students with a broad range of knowledge about signs we might see.

We learned the gaits of common animals, the shape of their feces and what their prints look like. When we were tracking all day in the minus 30-degree cold, that bit of knowledge gave us something concrete to look for.

I believe this intellectual fascination is the biggest advancement in making a person become a capable tracker. Aimless wandering might be enjoyable, but without a firm grasp on what you’re seeing, it’s difficult to appreciate the full extent of the diversity around you. Becoming open to your surroundings is less about seeing things for the first time than it is about isolating things you already know and understanding how they interact with the world at that time. A patch of melted snow in a forest means nothing to the average person, but a well-read tracker could identify this as a night bed for a deer and be able to tell which way it sat and how long it stayed there.

While this simple identification can be satisfying, it fails to place the identified object in the larger context of the ecosystem, which is a major objective of tracking. Consider the night bed I just mentioned.

Say you’ve found the melted patch of snow. The logical next step is to ask what this deer did next. If you walk around the site for a minute, you might find a spot of blood in the snow, alongside a bit of urine.

Dig around a bit, and maybe there’s some fur there as well. If there are any ovular canine tracks nearby, you can say with reasonable certainty that a grey wolf killed the deer and then performed a raised-leg urination on the kill to prevent other wolves from taking it.

That may seem like a fairly large intuitive jump, but such conclusions are warranted when there’s plentiful and varied evidence pointing to it. It’s impossible to know for sure what happened, but being able to assess the surroundings and piece together a plausible story is the best way to speculate what might’ve happened.

Douglas Adams once said that in order to solve a crime, you must solve the society in which it occurred. He was writing a comedic novel, but a similar technique applies in tracking. By understanding the larger context in which an event in nature takes place, you can deduce a stronger explanation of how it happened.

In this vein, the mentality of a wolf tracker transcends ecology. While it’s easy to get bogged down in the specifics of a vexing task, the solution might only be obtainable by seeing the bigger picture. To know the implications, the causes and the results of an event or problem may seem daunting, but an appreciation of the complex interactions of everything that happens with everything surrounding it is a sure way to ensure any proposed solution is considerate and effective. It is said that a shortsighted person can’t see the forest for the trees. If you start with the forest before you home in on the trees, you’ll be less likely to miss something you won’t forget.

Page 7

In Wake of Charlie Hebdo, Free Speech for Some Chloe Vassot Contributing Writer For obvious and grim reasons, January was a difficult month for France. Thinking about the massacre at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Jan. 7, and the complex and heated reactions that followed, has made my mind run in confused circles.

The recent attacks revealed many contentious problems France has faced as a country. But perhaps no issue is as delicate as what many perceive as the hypocrisy in France’s laws regarding freedom of speech and expression.

France is not America.

There is no First Amendment that guarantees a near-absolute right to verbal liberty.

French laws draw complicated lines around what types of speech are permissible, and hate speech directed against individuals or groups based on ethnicity, religion or race is left out of those laws.

The charge against France’s laws is that they are discriminatory and biased, punishing certain types of

offensive speech more than others. Comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala has battled French law multiple times over charges of anti-Semitism in his work, and he is about to go to court again over a Facebook post that allegedly sympathized with the ––––––––––––––––––––––

The charge against France’s laws is that they are discriminatory and biased, punishing certain types of offensive speech more than others.

–––––––––––––––––––––– terrorist attack at a kosher market following the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

Meanwhile, the French government has wholeheartedly supported the right of Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons that some French citizens viewed as extremely offensive. Criticizing the Prophet Muhammad is legal in the eyes of the law, despite outrage from the Muslim community.

France, which has the largest population of Muslims of any European country and has also recently seen the rise of a powerful antiimmigration political party, has an undoubtedly contentious atmosphere when it comes to Islam. But are its laws actually biased?

The crux of the debate is whether the Charlie Hebdo cartoons can be viewed or perceived as intended to promote hatred towards the Muslim population. Lampooning the Prophet Muhammad is deeply offensive, but the cartoons ostensibly targeted the religious institution of Islam and not Islam’s followers — this is a crucial distinction. While the cartoons have been protected as free expression, anti-Semitism — on the rise in France — is punishable speech because it attacks a group on the basis of its religion. Similarly, Holocaust denial is also illegal and punishable by law.

There may also be antiMuslim biases in other components of French laws aimed at limiting freedom of religious expression in favor

of a secular society. Yarmulkes, large crosses and headscarves are not permitted in France’s public schools because of the government’s insistence on secularism as the solution to religious conflicts in French society. (Whether this approach works is certainly questionable.) Does the law discriminate against Muslims because of the disproportionate impact of a headscarf ban, or is it simply to be expected and understood that lifestyles dictated by strict religious observances will be affected the most by a push for a publicly secular society?

The Charlie Hebdo tragedy has highlighted the widening rift between the ideals of the French government and those of its Muslim population. Laws that force Muslims to alter the practice of their religion will not end this conflict — yet a society that has reaffirmed the right to satirize all faiths will not easily bend to compromise.

The current test in France is whether conservative religions and irreverent ridicule can coexist, and I fervently hope they can.

Letters to the Editors, Cont.

Continued from page 5 university to accept women in higher education.

Oberlin College was one of the underground stations for slaves who were seeking freedom from the Deep South of the U.S. –Moeketsi Mosola, OC ’91

SFP Expresses Solidarity with Dismissed UIUC Professor Salaita To the Editors: On Aug. 1, 2014, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise revoked the tenured position of Professor Steven Salaita, citing the latter’s Twitter posts that searingly criticized the Zionist state of Israel as evidence that he could not engage in “civilized” political discussion on campus. On Sept. 11, the University’s Board of Trustees voted to support Chancellor Wise’s decision not to reinstate Professor Salaita, a widely renowned Palestinian-American professor of American Indian Studies who had left a tenured position at Virginia Tech to accept his new post at UIUC. His tweets specifically condemned Operation Protective Edge, a ground offensive carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza this past summer, in which over 2,100 Palestinians were murdered, including over 500 children.

Myriad universities in the past year alone — from UIUC to Northeastern University to Loyola University — have actively worked to inhibit a serious dialogue on the conflict by condemning student organizations or firing professors who speak out against Israel’s war crimes and viola-

tions of international law. Often these punishments are coded in a discourse that holds the whitewashed concepts of “civility” and “respectability” as the respective benchmarks for legitimate conversation.

A number of issues arise here. The American Association of University Professors, for example, states that it “has long objected to using the criteria of civility and collegiality in faculty elevation because we view this as a threat to academic freedom.” Yet even Oberlin College’s administration has used the notion of “uncivil discourse” to dismiss student demands for institutional change and to discount anger through the guise of respectability.

Under AAUP guidelines, moreover, the decision to dismiss a tenured or tenure-track professor must allow the accused professor a hearing in front of all bodies involved in the decisionmaking process. This guideline was ignored when Professor Salaita was dismissed. Such unchecked unilateralism sets a precedent in which an administration and Board of Trustees may freely act in accordance with politically-motivated biases without being held accountable for their actions.

The erasure of dissenting opinions from an academic institution is not just morally reprehensible, nor is it only dangerous to those engaged in active struggle in solidarity with oppressed people; in fact, it entirely restructures the parameters under which freedom of expression may occur. In doing so, it remolds the very structure of academic freedom itself. If this violent censorship is not spoken out against, it is unreasonable to believe such an incident could not occur at Oberlin.

Students for a Free Palestine believes that the firing of Professor Salaita is an injustice to academic freedom worldwide. We are reaching out to you, as members of the Oberlin com-

munity, to support Professor Salaita and to stand for academic freedom that allows professors and students alike to challenge the dominant Israeli narrative without fearing for their livelihood. Though the particular case of Steven Salaita may represent a heinous abuse of power within the realm of higher education, the implications of this circumstance go beyond the life of one individual. The case of Professor Salaita represents an attack on freedom of information and of expression. It demonstrates the power of Zionist hegemony in silencing dissenting opinions, especially when they are voiced by members of aggrieved communities in ways that expressly reject the normative codes of white liberal discourse.

The Oberlin College administration has remained silent regarding Professor Salaita’s dismissal. This is wholly inconsistent with previous positions Oberlin administrators have taken in defense of academic freedom. Academic freedom cannot be applied to situations only when politically expedient. This selective interpretation by our administration makes Oberlin College complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine in its refusal to speak out against the repression of Professor Salaita.

A version of this letter will soon be circulated in the form of a petition in which signees will demonstrate their support for the right of faculty to voice publicly their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and to criticize the Zionist state of Israel without fear of political persecution.

We would like to invite all Oberlin students, faculty and community to attend Professor Salaita’s speech on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Dye Lecture Hall.

We look forward to seeing you there.

In Solidarity, –Students for a Free Palestine

BEAT THE CHILL:

A Casual User’s Guide to the Central Heating Plant 1967 – A pipe carrying steam beneath Lorain Street burst, shutting down heat in a number of College buildings for two days while repairs were made. It was the first time any steam pipe had failed since they were installed in 1948.

Greg Pyke

1971 – A new natural gas-burning boiler was added to the existing two coal-burning boilers, prompting the Review to prophesy that “the heating plant extension will allow a shift from the present coal burning boilers to gas and oil facilities which will be virtually pollution-free.�

Facts &Figures On the New Natural Gas Plant

2.4 million cubic feet of natural gas every day

Before the switch to natural gas, the central heating plant burned between 25 and 100 tons of coal every day, sourced from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Over the course of five weeks during the winter, the coal plant would burn enough coal to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

t

5IF OFX QMBOU CVSOT SPVHIMZ NJMMJPO DVCJD GFFU PG OBUVSBM HBT EBJMZ B WPMVNF FRVJWBMFOU UP NPSF UIBO IPU BJS CBMMPPOT

t

$PTUT PG QMBOU PQFSBUJPO DVSSFOUMZ SVO BU EBJMZ SPVHIMZ UJNFT UIF PQFSBUJOH DPTUT PG UIF PME DPBM QMBOU

t

5IF OFX OBUVSBM HBT QMBOU FNJUT BCPVU o QFSDFOU GFXFS DBSCPO EJPYJEF FNJTTJPOT UIBO UIF DPBM CVSOJOH QMBOU t 5IF UXP OFX OBUVSBM HBT CPJMFST FBDI QSPEVDF

QPVOET PG TUFBN QFS IPVS B E F D SF B T F PG QFSDFOU GSPN UIF PME DPBM CPJMFST

Above: From 1913 to 1956. the heating plant was located in Wilder Bowl. The height of the stack is recorded as 195 feet. After it was decomissioned as a heating plant in 1949, the smokestack was taken down and the building was converted to a rifle range. However, it was torn down just seven years later.

Mudd Archives

1,248,00 pounds of steam daily to radiators all over campus

March 2014 marked the last time trucks filled with coal pulled up behind the Service Building, where they would deliver up to 100 tons of coal daily used to fuel the boilers and heat the campus throughout the winter. This October, however, when the central heating plant fired up, it was running not on coal but on natural gas burning in two new boilers installed over the summer.

According to College Sustainability Coordinator Bridget Flynn, the original idea was to shift the College’s heating system over to renewable energy sources, in keeping with the College’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. However, an obvious renewable alternative to the heating plant never materialized, and the existing coal-powered plant would have required an upgrade to meet new EPA standards. “People had been interested in getting away from coal for a long time,� said Flynn. “So finally, they thought with natural gas prices being low and natural gas being half the emissions of coal, it made sense to do the switch now. So that’s when there was enough momentum to just go ahead and do it.�

Compared to the old coal-powered plant, the new natural gas plant emits 50 to 60 percent less carbon dioxide and only a tiny fraction of the particulate matter produced by burning coal.

However, this upgrade has come at a price. The natural gas-powered central heating plant costs $12,890 every day to operate, up from about $6,000 daily needed to run the coal-powered plant.

Despite the environmental benefits, some remain unsure about the real benefits of replacing the old heating plant. “The coal plant was built very well,â€? said Dave Pastorius, manager of the central heating plant. “That plant would have lasted the life expectancy of the current plant we have right now. ‌ That was a work of art. This [new plant] is just something that is there and has to run.â€?

Students and others concerned about the environmental impacts of fracking join the skepticism toward the College’s investment in natural gas. According to Flynn, however, this natural gas plant was never intended to be a long-term solution for the College’s heating needs. “We would be a complete failure if we did nothing else but switch out from coal to natural gas. The plan moving forward is to develop energy zones that could be powered by renewable technology on campus,� she said. “So we would still have the central heating plant for a backup, because we don’t want students to freeze in the wintertime if anything were to bust or go wrong, or we have an absurdly cold day, or something like that.�

Flynn expects electrical power to play a large role in future sustainable heating efforts. “I think right now, we’re in the 80 percent renewable range with our electricity,â€? said Flynn. “So it would make a lot of sense to move away from fossil fuel to electricity that’s powered by green energy. ‌ We were going to move towards energy zones powered by electric compressor technology, so the ground-source heat pumps, or variable refrigerant flow, or something like that.â€?

A row of new windows allowing a peek into the central heating plant reflects ongoing efforts toward transparent public access to the reasoning behind the College’s sustainability-related decisions. A new website under development will provide up-to-date information about progress toward the College’s goal of carbon neutrality within the next decade.

Right: New, natural gas-powered boilers were installed in the Service Building addition this past winter. Each boiler has a slightly smaller capacity than the capacity of the coal-powered boiler that it replaced.

Hazel Galloway

This Week Editor: Hazel Galloway Contributing Writer: Lydia Moran

Far right: A delivery of coal arrived at the modernday Service Building in 2001.

Steve Freed

CALENDAR

Dessa Rose Friday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Hall Auditorium

The Oberlin Review Open House Sunday, Feb. 8, 3:30–5 p.m.

Review Office, east side of Burton Basement

Helado Negro Saturday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Cat in the Cream

Set in the Deep South during the early 1800s, this musical follows the young, pregnant fugitive slave Dessa Rose as she forges an unlikely bond with a white woman, each woman struggling for freedom and independence in her own way. The show will also take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8.

The Review will open its office to welcome students interested in getting involved with the newspaper.

Editors are seeking writers, columnists, cartoonists and photographers with an interest in journalism. The informal event is open to all; snacks will be provided.

Electronic musician Helado Negro is billed as one of the biggest names performing at the Cat in the Cream this semester. His music is influenced by the sounds of his childhood in southern Florida and his Ecuadorian heritage. His latest album, Double Youth, reflects a critically well-received shift away from his ambient beginnings towards synthetic and rhythmic sounds.

Faculty/Guest Recital: Yolanda Kondonassis and Jason Vieaux Wednesday, Feb. 11, 8–10 p.m.

Warner Concert Hall Yolanda Kondonassis, head of the Harp department at both the Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music, will join guitarist Jason Vieaux, who has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music for over a decade. All selections that the duo will perform appear on their album Together.

Brown Bag Pedagogy Thursday, Feb. 12, 12:15–1:15 p.m.

Mudd Center, Room 052 This episode of the regularly scheduled brown bag pedagogy sessions will focus on helping students feel more comfortable taking risks in class. Professor of History Steve Volk, who convenes these sessions, has written extensively about general issues of pedagogy, including a reflective article on the protests of last semester published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Black Ballot Power: A Conversation on the 1965 Voting Rights Act Thursday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Hallock Auditorium, Adam Joseph Lewis Center Fifty years after the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, panelists including Rhodes College’s Charles McKinney and Oberlin’s own Professor of Comparative American Studies Pablo Mitchell will discuss the causes and impacts of that historical legislation.

Dialectic of Pity and Compassion in Doonesbury’s View of Combat Trauma Thursday, Feb. 12, 4:30–6 p.m.

Wilder 101 This lecture will examine questions of social and political theory through the lens of the popular and often political comic strip Doonesbury. Speaker John Louis Lucaites, a professor of communication and culture at Indiana University, conducts research that seeks to answer the question of what it means to see and be seen as a citizen.

BEAT THE CHILL:

A Casual User’s Guide to the Central Heating Plant 1967 – A pipe carrying steam beneath Lorain Street burst, shutting down heat in a number of College buildings for two days while repairs were made. It was the first time any steam pipe had failed since they were installed in 1948.

Greg Pyke

1971 – A new natural gas-burning boiler was added to the existing two coal-burning boilers, prompting the Review to prophesy that “the heating plant extension will allow a shift from the present coal burning boilers to gas and oil facilities which will be virtually pollution-free.�

Facts &Figures On the New Natural Gas Plant

2.4 million cubic feet of natural gas every day

Before the switch to natural gas, the central heating plant burned between 25 and 100 tons of coal every day, sourced from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Over the course of five weeks during the winter, the coal plant would burn enough coal to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

t

5IF OFX QMBOU CVSOT SPVHIMZ NJMMJPO DVCJD GFFU PG OBUVSBM HBT EBJMZ B WPMVNF FRVJWBMFOU UP NPSF UIBO IPU BJS CBMMPPOT

t

$PTUT PG QMBOU PQFSBUJPO DVSSFOUMZ SVO BU EBJMZ SPVHIMZ UJNFT UIF PQFSBUJOH DPTUT PG UIF PME DPBM QMBOU

t

5IF OFX OBUVSBM HBT QMBOU FNJUT BCPVU o QFSDFOU GFXFS DBSCPO EJPYJEF FNJTTJPOT UIBO UIF DPBM CVSOJOH QMBOU t 5IF UXP OFX OBUVSBM HBT CPJMFST FBDI QSPEVDF

QPVOET PG TUFBN QFS IPVS B E F D SF B T F PG QFSDFOU GSPN UIF PME DPBM CPJMFST

Above: From 1913 to 1956. the heating plant was located in Wilder Bowl. The height of the stack is recorded as 195 feet. After it was decomissioned as a heating plant in 1949, the smokestack was taken down and the building was converted to a rifle range. However, it was torn down just seven years later.

Mudd Archives

1,248,00 pounds of steam daily to radiators all over campus

March 2014 marked the last time trucks filled with coal pulled up behind the Service Building, where they would deliver up to 100 tons of coal daily used to fuel the boilers and heat the campus throughout the winter. This October, however, when the central heating plant fired up, it was running not on coal but on natural gas burning in two new boilers installed over the summer.

According to College Sustainability Coordinator Bridget Flynn, the original idea was to shift the College’s heating system over to renewable energy sources, in keeping with the College’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. However, an obvious renewable alternative to the heating plant never materialized, and the existing coal-powered plant would have required an upgrade to meet new EPA standards. “People had been interested in getting away from coal for a long time,� said Flynn. “So finally, they thought with natural gas prices being low and natural gas being half the emissions of coal, it made sense to do the switch now. So that’s when there was enough momentum to just go ahead and do it.�

Compared to the old coal-powered plant, the new natural gas plant emits 50 to 60 percent less carbon dioxide and only a tiny fraction of the particulate matter produced by burning coal.

However, this upgrade has come at a price. The natural gas-powered central heating plant costs $12,890 every day to operate, up from about $6,000 daily needed to run the coal-powered plant.

Despite the environmental benefits, some remain unsure about the real benefits of replacing the old heating plant. “The coal plant was built very well,â€? said Dave Pastorius, manager of the central heating plant. “That plant would have lasted the life expectancy of the current plant we have right now. ‌ That was a work of art. This [new plant] is just something that is there and has to run.â€?

Students and others concerned about the environmental impacts of fracking join the skepticism toward the College’s investment in natural gas. According to Flynn, however, this natural gas plant was never intended to be a long-term solution for the College’s heating needs. “We would be a complete failure if we did nothing else but switch out from coal to natural gas. The plan moving forward is to develop energy zones that could be powered by renewable technology on campus,� she said. “So we would still have the central heating plant for a backup, because we don’t want students to freeze in the wintertime if anything were to bust or go wrong, or we have an absurdly cold day, or something like that.�

Flynn expects electrical power to play a large role in future sustainable heating efforts. “I think right now, we’re in the 80 percent renewable range with our electricity,â€? said Flynn. “So it would make a lot of sense to move away from fossil fuel to electricity that’s powered by green energy. ‌ We were going to move towards energy zones powered by electric compressor technology, so the ground-source heat pumps, or variable refrigerant flow, or something like that.â€?

A row of new windows allowing a peek into the central heating plant reflects ongoing efforts toward transparent public access to the reasoning behind the College’s sustainability-related decisions. A new website under development will provide up-to-date information about progress toward the College’s goal of carbon neutrality within the next decade.

Right: New, natural gas-powered boilers were installed in the Service Building addition this past winter. Each boiler has a slightly smaller capacity than the capacity of the coal-powered boiler that it replaced.

Hazel Galloway

This Week Editor: Hazel Galloway Contributing Writer: Lydia Moran

Far right: A delivery of coal arrived at the modernday Service Building in 2001.

Steve Freed

CALENDAR

Dessa Rose Friday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Hall Auditorium

The Oberlin Review Open House Sunday, Feb. 8, 3:30–5 p.m.

Review Office, east side of Burton Basement

Helado Negro Saturday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Cat in the Cream

Set in the Deep South during the early 1800s, this musical follows the young, pregnant fugitive slave Dessa Rose as she forges an unlikely bond with a white woman, each woman struggling for freedom and independence in her own way. The show will also take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8.

The Review will open its office to welcome students interested in getting involved with the newspaper.

Editors are seeking writers, columnists, cartoonists and photographers with an interest in journalism. The informal event is open to all; snacks will be provided.

Electronic musician Helado Negro is billed as one of the biggest names performing at the Cat in the Cream this semester. His music is influenced by the sounds of his childhood in southern Florida and his Ecuadorian heritage. His latest album, Double Youth, reflects a critically well-received shift away from his ambient beginnings towards synthetic and rhythmic sounds.

Faculty/Guest Recital: Yolanda Kondonassis and Jason Vieaux Wednesday, Feb. 11, 8–10 p.m.

Warner Concert Hall Yolanda Kondonassis, head of the Harp department at both the Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music, will join guitarist Jason Vieaux, who has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music for over a decade. All selections that the duo will perform appear on their album Together.

Brown Bag Pedagogy Thursday, Feb. 12, 12:15–1:15 p.m.

Mudd Center, Room 052 This episode of the regularly scheduled brown bag pedagogy sessions will focus on helping students feel more comfortable taking risks in class. Professor of History Steve Volk, who convenes these sessions, has written extensively about general issues of pedagogy, including a reflective article on the protests of last semester published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Black Ballot Power: A Conversation on the 1965 Voting Rights Act Thursday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Hallock Auditorium, Adam Joseph Lewis Center Fifty years after the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, panelists including Rhodes College’s Charles McKinney and Oberlin’s own Professor of Comparative American Studies Pablo Mitchell will discuss the causes and impacts of that historical legislation.

Dialectic of Pity and Compassion in Doonesbury’s View of Combat Trauma Thursday, Feb. 12, 4:30–6 p.m.

Wilder 101 This lecture will examine questions of social and political theory through the lens of the popular and often political comic strip Doonesbury. Speaker John Louis Lucaites, a professor of communication and culture at Indiana University, conducts research that seeks to answer the question of what it means to see and be seen as a citizen.

Arts The Oberlin Review

Page 10

February 6, 2015

On the Record with Caroline Jackson-Smith Over Winter Term, Caroline Jackson-Smith, professor of Africana Studies and Theater, directed Dessa Rose, a musical about slavery in the antebellum South. Dessa Rose follows a long line of politically and socially conscious plays that Jackson-Smith has put on at and outside of Oberlin. The Review spoke with her about what to expect from the upcoming production.

Why did you choose to put on Dessa Rose? Is there a particular reason why this year felt like the “right” year for it?

Well, that’s kind of ironic, because we actually picked it several years ago.

The way we have to pick shows in the Theater department, we have to look over a few-year time pe-

riod. … Also, because this was a musical, we wanted to make sure that we did it at a time when there would be good musical talent who wanted to be in the musical. But, why I picked it: I saw the original 10 years ago, and before that, the novel had been one of my favorite novels. I had met Sherley Anne Williams in the ’80s before she wrote the novel, and she’s always been a favorite writer of mine. [Dessa Rose in particular] was very significant to me because it was really a new way of telling a story about slavery … because it focused on young women who had created a rebellion, [and] because it also looked at the partnership between a young Black woman and a young white woman.

Also, in the novel,

Professor Caroline Jackson-Smith has taught at Oberlin for almost three decades. Over Winter Term, she directed a staging of Dessa Rose, drawing influence from the novel of the same name and a 2005 musical adaptation.

Courtesy of oberlin.edu

there’s so much about love — sexy love, as a matter of fact! [Laughs.] The way that slavery’s been stereotyped has often involved making African Americans look like victims and … misunderstandings about how much rebellion activity took place. All of those things made me love the novel. So, when I saw the adaptation 10 years ago at Lincoln Center, I was really surprised that someone would’ve chosen it. And the music is beautiful. The adapters, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, are pretty famous musical theater writers; they wrote Once on This Island [and] Ragtime. I was really moved by the way they handled [Dessa Rose]. The music has always stayed with me, the story has always stayed with me, and I’m just so excited that we finally got to do it. It’s one of those projects that’s been on my mind for a long time.

With Dessa Rose being a musical based on a novel, did you find that the two sources came together to influence you, or was one more influential than the other? How did that situation affect your process?

Well, for one thing, I did insist that all the actors read the novel. It’s a rare opportunity to have a piece for stage that has other source material that gives you more information. … I would say that both the novel and the theater adaptation were hugely impactful for me.

What’s interesting is that, in the adaptation, there are some critical changes that were made to … cut [the story] down to size. [In the adapta-

tion,] there’s more of an emphasis on the partnership between the two women; that’s a little bit more weighty in the stage adaptation than in the novel. … The other thing that’s really interesting is that Stephen Flaherty, who composed the music, did a lot of research into traditional Black music. I appreciated that they were thoughtful in the adaptation to things that were important to me, like retaining the sense of what Africa meant to people, retaining the spirit of the unique African-American culture that was created.

The intention was [to create] traditional musical theater in a traditional format. So it’s a really interesting hybrid form. I think that [the adapters] succeeded in many ways for people that were outside that tradition.

I think that they impacted me in different ways. When I saw it at Lincoln, the lead, who played Dessa Rose, was a woman named LaChanze, who also won a Tony Award for The Color Purple, and she’s just a powerhouse performer. I just cry when I see this. I’ve joked, “I can’t cry through rehearsal all the time.” [Laughs.]

I guess this is the right musical for you to be putting on, then!

Going back to your first question, I guess I believe there’s a certain kind of universal “rightness,” a divine order, and I think that the students involved in this [and I] … kept asking ourselves all through the process, “What does this mean that we’re doing this now in this political climate?” In one of the pieces

Lily White, who’s the dramaturg, wrote, she incorporated the term “Black lives matter” because, when you see the story of slavery, you understand the roots of all of the kinds of inequality and violence that continue to happen — the forms of racist stratifications. I’ve been really wanting people to see it.

I think it really will frame the experience for people who don’t know this history in a very specific way.

I also think that this is a story of hope. It’s a story of allyship, which is a big question on campus. …

It’s very difficult, but [it] produces changes if people hang in there with it.

Such an important subject right now: forms of rebellion. I mean, the first half of this play has people killing other people, in a somewhat convincing way.

Some of it is about how violence against people does spark violent revolution, but it isn’t the only thing it sparks. The second half is really about the group of African Americans who are escaping slavery with this young woman, kind of working together to all get out of the South. I like that part of it, too. That was a unique angle.

What are the challenges associated with putting a play together during Winter Term? Are there any advantages?

It’s a total luxury. People aren’t divided in their attentions. What I was able to do was to establish a professional theater schedule. A professional theater schedule is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day for six days a week, and that’s what we did.

It’s a real treat around

here to focus on one thing for that long. And I must say that the ensemble who performed became so close. The performers commented on several things. One: it is a mixed–––––––––––––––––––––

‘I also think that this is a story of hope. It’s a story of allyship, which is a big question on campus.’

CAROLINE JACKSON-SMITH Director, Dessa Rose ––––––––––––––––––––– race ensemble, that’s the other reason I liked it for this environment — to give a lot of different actors opportunities. One of the actors actually said at some point that they were never taught this material in high school, and that their real education was beginning by doing this.

They kept commenting on the fact that, since other people weren’t here, they felt freer to build their ensemble. So, yeah, it’s actually a treat to do it [over Winter Term]. Usually you’re doing evenings and everyone’s tired and they have conflicts.

With Oberlin being such a musical school, how does that influence the process of putting on a musical? Do you feel like there’s a heavy emphasis on the music when you’re doing a musical?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that we’re Oberlin College and Conservatory. … We advertise See Professor, page 13

Still, Shannon Present Contemporary Venezuelan Duets Jeremy Reynolds Staff Writer Beatboxing while playing the flute has become a fairly common technique among flautists today. To sing while performing, however, is significantly less conventional. During a concert of 20th and 21st century music for flute and piano, Associate Professor of Flute Alexa Still used her voice to fill out the mellow timbre of her instrument’s lower register in two of the works on the idiosyncratic program.

Accompanied by Professor of Piano Robert Shannon, OC ’72, Still performed a recital on Tuesday evening in Stull Recital

Hall that featured the works of Venezuelan-born composer and conductor Efraín Amaya. Before beginning her performance, Still said that Amaya possesses a vast collection of flutes from around the world; the intriguing timbres of these instruments influenced each of the four works in Tuesday’s concert in different manners. The incorporation of these sounds was particularly apparent in the final piece, Archipiélagos; Still and Shannon’s recital marks the world premiere of this work.

Originally written for E flat clarinet and piano, Amaya transcribed Archipiélagos for flute in 2014. Each of the three movements represents different

archipelagos of his native country and features various Latin American rhythmic gestures.

These nuances propel the music forward in an exciting rush of harmonic patterns and solo lines.

The first movement portrays the island chain Las Aves, which, according to the composer’s program notes, is “a sanctuary to sea and migrating birds.” A slow introduction transitions into a briskly cheerful piano solo representing the birds’ migration. Despite a comfortably relaxed posture, Shannon’s playing bubbled with enthusiasm as he drove the music towards the next section, a cadenza for flute that makes eloquent use of vari-

ous bird calls. Still delivered her solo with a fierce energy and grace, her technical mastery matched by her use of dynamic contrast to differentiate between aviary voices.

The second movement featured a simple but striking flute theme with sparse accompaniment. Still initially performed the melody delicately, caressing each phrase with a subtle vibrato that resonated with the austerity of the tune. After the debut of the theme, Still’s virtuosity shone through the complex rhythmic figurations and her quick leaps between the upper and lower registers of the flute.

The fluctuations gave the illusion that two flutes were sound-

ing rather than one. The finale showcased the flute’s piercing quality, but Still’s impeccable intonation allowed her final notes to ring strongly through the hall, finishing the premiere with a powerful ascending flourish.

Still explained that Amaya wrote the program opener, Jubilee, for a friend. Similarly to Archipiélagos, each of the three movements begins with a statement of the main motif and then features embellishments of the melody. Shannon played the cascading arpeggios of the first movement with a delicate touch, pleasantly coloring but never overpowering Still’s dreamy solo See Flute, page 13

Arts

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Page 11

TED Fellow Questions Sound Perception at AMAM Samuel Joseph Rueckert Multimedia artist Christine Sun Kim often shies away from communicating with the media. Signing to her interpreter, Denise Kahler, Kim explained the reasoning behind this. According to Kim, journalists often box her in as simply a “deaf artist.” Rather than being seen solely in this way, Kim should be seen as a deaf artist who has come to work with sound in a unique, unconventional manner.

Hours before her performance and talk in the Allen Memorial Art Museum on Monday night, Kim explained how she came to experiment with sound.

“Sound was a sort of taboo subject” among her deaf friends, but she began to realize that “sound is everywhere” and that “there [are] a lot of social norms and power associated with sound.” A self-described “failed painter,” Kim, who said she previously felt “confined to a piece of paper,” discovered that using sound might be “a good vehicle to communicate my ideas and a good medium to reach a larger audience, as opposed to just the deaf community.”

Kim’s earlier work bridged the gap between sight and sound by using speakers to cause objects, such as strings and groundup chalk, to move. She said that she “got bored quickly” and has moved on to making art she characterizes as notably different from her early work. Enthusiastically gesturing towards Kahler, she shared a realization that led to this sea change.

“I’ve got this huge world out there of sound and music and spoken language and linguistic authority,” she said. Her current work on “unlearning sound etiquette,” she explained, is a

paradigm shift for her. She elaborated by saying, “Structure and things are based off the hearing world. So we use things that already exist, that hearing people have created, and we use them to fit what I need them for.” This paradigm shift she mentioned could be felt in her talk later that night.

From outside the room where Kim was to give the talk, a mass of students waited to be let in. Inside the room, ambient sounds could be heard. These sounds were indistinct but hinted at what was to come.

When, at last, all of the attendees squeezed in, the room became quiet. She began to type to the audience with an iPad. The room remained silent for the whole introduction, except for the occasional laugh at Kim’s wit. She explained the collection of four sound files that she was to present, Fingertap Quartet, which employs her voice and another male voice.

The first sound file, she typed to the audience, was meant to be “a sound you like and think is good.” The following piece was the converse. The third sound file was meant to be “a sound you like, but suspect might not be good.” The crowd chuckled at that, and even more at the final caption, which was the converse of the third title. Before hitting play, Kim typed out a last couple of things, including that she insisted on using subwoofers for her and other deaf audience members and not to tell her if her sounds were distorted.

The sound files, whose textures Kim had produced with her voice and manipulated electronically, seemed to produce reactions in the audience that a conventional “hearing” person might produce; however, the

means of production were unique. “Like, Good” was a call-and-response of different ‘e’ syllables between her and her sonic partner, Jamie Stewart of California postpunk band Xiu Xiu. The audience, which seemed not to know what to expect, was clearly interested and listened intently.

Kim’s recorded voice went through a series of “ee”s and “eh”s that gradually became –––––––––––––––––––––

‘We use things that already exist, that hearing people have created, and we use them to fit what I need them for.’

CHRISTINE SUN KIM Multimedia Artist ––––––––––––––––––––– more affected as the sound progressed. “No Like, No Good” began with chromatic note shifts that created a more dissonant feel. Grating, tearing, desperate and droning, this sound file opposed the first file’s title and content. Kim produced all of these textures with her voice and manipulated them electronically. “Like, No Good” included heavy breathing, slow-motion sounds and bomb dropping noises, creating a sexually charged sound. “No Like, Good” was consistent with its title. It elicited bodily reactions from audience members, with several concertgoers breathing along to the recording by the end of the piece.

Kim didn’t follow typical musical conventions, but the result was musical. Her music had a definite pulse, accentuated by her subwoofers. Audience members could be seen swaying along.

Kim’s music was expressive in a visceral sense. After showing her music, she presented other sound projects and visual art. Kim’s visual art was just as unique as her music. She used four lines in her portrayals of musical staves instead of five because the sign language symbol for musical staff has only four lines. She also questioned the line between silence and sound with her drawing “The P Tree,” which shows a continuously subdividing pianissimo. Her talk was well-received by the students, almost all of whom stayed for the whole event despite a lack of seats and an oppressively hot room.

Conservatory senior Sivan Silver-Swartz was a key force in bringing Kim to Oberlin. The day following Kim’s talk and performance, Silver-Swartz explained why the Modern Music Guild decided to bring Kim to campus. “We often book … musicians, composers and artists who kind of fall through the cracks in terms of what the other official organizations bring [to campus],” he said. SilverSwartz mentioned that he saw the event as bringing together art communities.

“I thought it was kind of a nice opportunity to sort of bridge the gap between … the Studio Art world and the music world, which seem often to be very separated,” he said. “People don’t go to each other’s events, so it seemed like a cool opportunity to get both communities [together].”

In reaction to Kim’s performance, SilverSwartz recalled a moment when she flashed the word “empowerment” on the screen. “I think her art really is a lot about

Artist Christine Sun Kim explores conventions of sound at a live musical art exhibition during her visit to the Allen Memorial Art Museum Tuesday evening. A TED fellow whose work has been featured at the MoMA, Kim galvanized Studio Art and music majors alike during her refreshing performance.

Courtesy of oberlin.edu

empowerment,” said SilverSwartz, carefully adding that, although she said that her work was not overtly political in nature, “For many people, [Kim’s art] has political implications.”

One student who seemed particularly intrigued by the talk and performance was double-degree firstyear Mohit Dubey. Dubey, a Classical Guitar major in the Conservatory, plans on majoring in Physics in the College. Dubey’s love of music and science has led to his interest in computational neuroscience. He said he is working to “get a computer to hear like the human brain.” Dubey said that he found Kim to be particularly

interesting in terms of how “she’s kind of reinterpreting … what to think of as music and sound.” Some of the questions she raised resonated deeply with Dubey.

“What does a dynamic mean? Can you ever achieve a true silence?” he asked in reference to “The P Tree.”

Dubey briefly explained that through an experience called “Hebbian learning,” our neurons “become tuned” as we hear things. He continued to explain that his study of Hebbian learning pertains to Kim’s work because “she doesn’t have that experience. Her experience of sound is mostly a visual and sensory experience.”

Cast Lends Dramatic Punch to Whiplash Clark Sacktor Columnist Whiplash may not be a thriller, but the movie contains moments more terrifying than any horror film released this year. Despite the lack of buzz over Damien Chazelle’s dramatic jazz flick Whiplash, the movie is a standout in the 2014 Oscar lineup. Miles Teller plays Andrew, a first-year student at the fictional New York conservatory Shaffer, studying drums under Terence Fletcher, a cutthroat professor played by J.K. Simmons. The stirring chemistry between this duo adds a dramatic punch to an already solid production.

During Andrew’s first ensemble class, Fletcher publicly shames a student playing out of tune. This instance raises the stakes for the moment when Andrew plays for Fletcher for the first time. After interrupting Andrew’s solo with a calm yet snarky “not quite my tempo,” Fletcher delivers a response to the excerpt worth the price of admission alone.

Although Fletcher’s character may initially appear flat, his emotional hardness is eventually dispelled.

Simmons embodies the multifaceted role of Fletcher and fully deserves an Oscar for best supporting role.

Andrew’s struggle to meet Fletcher’s expectations serves as the driving force of the film. We see Andrew literally sweat and bleed for his professor’s approval and the opportunity to join the ranks of the legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich. Willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this dream, Andrew sacrifices any resemblance of a personal life. The audience witnesses his journey to become a successful musician in the hyper-competitive world of professional jazz. At 27 years old, Teller proves himself to be of the most capable actors of his generation. If this performance is any indication, Teller has the potential to become a major star. Few have been able to display desperation and drive as effortlessly as Teller does in this role.

Chazelle, himself a former jazz musician, uses rapidly moving cinematography that mimics the rigor of the music featured onscreen. Music is given priority within the film and the director’s passion for jazz is apparent. The lack of nominations awarded to Whiplash is an inaccurate representation of Chazelle’s passionate and impressive filmmaking. See this film not only for compelling characters but to experience the most satisfying onscreen drama of the season.

Arts

Page 12

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Greenwood Curates AMAM’s New Japanese Print Exhibition Nicholas Vigilante The Ainsworth collection of Japanese prints on display at the Allen Memorial Art Museum aims to challenge preconceived notions of Asian art. With the debut of his exhibition, recently appointed Joan L. Danforth Assistant Curator of Asian Art Kevin Greenwood encourages museumgoers to observe the similarities between Western and Eastern art.

Greenwood’s appointment has been a major turning point for the AMAM, as the museum had been in need of a curator of Asian art since 2003. “I’m just really excited to be here,” Greenwood said. “I’m looking forward to a long career

here.” According to AMAM Curator of Collections Andria Derstine, the new position was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the fall of 2012 and a generous donation from the wife of an Oberlin alumnus.

“We’re thrilled to have him with us,” Derstine said, adding that the new position involves not only curating exhibitions of Asian art but also conducting research on the collection, organizing outreach efforts and managing acquisitions.

Open to the public from Feb. 3 through June 7 of this year, A Life in Prints: Mary Ainsworth and the Floating World is the first exhibi-

Brooklyn Electronic Act Interrupts Busy Schedule for Intimate Performance Mohit Dubey The Latin American rhythms and ethereal electronics of Helado Negro will fill the Cat in the Cream this Saturday. Armed with a laptop, a keyboard and smooth vocals in both Spanish and English, Helado Negro, the stage name of Brooklyn-based musician Roberto Carlos Lange, will perform songs from his catalog and his most recent record, Double Youth. College sophomore Josh Goodman described the entrancing, bass-heavy act as “Beach House meets Flying Lotus.” Helado Negro’s set is sure to be one of the more laid-back concerts to take place at Oberlin this semester.

Helado Negro’s music is defined by a melding of cultures. Born in Florida to Ecuadorian parents, Lange began experimenting with a fusion of tropical beats, acoustic guitars and evocative lyrics at 18.

He mastered the pioneering technologies of Ableton and MAX-MSP in the early 2000s, developing ways to present his music in intimate, live settings.

Inspired by famed composer and producer Brian Eno’s notion that the studio itself could be an instrument, Lange also began exploring the ways in which music could act as a forum for broader concepts. His ongoing album series, titled The Island Universe Story, comes from an idea set forth by Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception, which states that all human experience is incommunicable and that “every human group is a society of island universes.” Lange has elaborated on this concept throughout three albums and has tried to convey his own multicultural experience with what he describes as “the vehicle of music.”

Double Youth, released this year on the Sufjan Stevens-led Asthmatic Kitty Records, focuses on the embodiment of personal experience. Some concepts for the album came from a photograph that also functions as its cover art, a black-and-white photo of two amused children with painted faces at a county fair. One of these children is a 10-year-old Lange, and the other is his cousin. The album is organized around the memories that this image evokes for Lange. To Lange, music is an extension of the thoughts he experiences when recalling memories. He describes this as “the process of finding out what is real and what is interpreted.” On Double Youth, Lange explores not only his personal memories but also the issue of how the mind elects to remember certain things and not others. This “choice memory” has a strong impact on his artistry, as so many of his lyrics are also sourced from his past personal experiences.

One feature of Helado Negro’s sound is a constant interplay between Spanish and English lyrics. When asked about this in a recent interview with the Review, Lange chuckled and responded, “Bilingual stuff is nothing new; people have been doing it for centuries,” citing Brazilian music and Tex-Mex all-star Freddy Fender. Lange uses his bilingual background as an access point to allow himself to explore his own voice and what is important to him. “For example, the word ‘the’ is so awful to sing,” he said. “Once you get past the two consonants, you’ve lost all the emotional quality of the vowel.”

Instead, Lange often employs the Spanish analogues “el” and “la,” which roll off the tongue more smoothly and specify meaning differently than the English “the.”

It’s a surprise that Lange will be in Oberlin this semester, as he’s busy working on many upcoming projects and collaborations. From performing The Island Universe Story with professional symphony orchestras to costumed performances in Miami, Helado Negro is emerging as an act that defies genre. Lange revealed that a new album is fully completed, but he is currently deciding when he wants to release it. Perhaps we’ll hear some new material on Saturday.

tion curated by Greenwood and is housed in the AMAM’s secondfloor Ripin Print Gallery. The exhibition includes selections from a collection of Japanese woodblock prints obtained by Mary A. Ainsworth, OC 1889, and donated to the College in 1950.

The exhibition displays several prints ranging from the late 17th century to 1920. This is the first exhibition in the AMAM to utilize QR codes, which can be scanned with smartphones and provide internet links to even more information and resources, including videos and photo albums.

Greenwood said he would involve technology even more directly in future projects, including one featuring contemporary filmmaker Lu Yang.

The Floating World referred to in the name of this exhibition is not an actual place at all, but a cultural phenomenon from 17thcentury Edo (modern-day Tokyo) that belonged to the class of merchants and artisans. Many of these craftspeople invested money in the entertainment business, spurring a close relationship between ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) and theater.

The curated display depicts the evolving relationship between medium and subject matter. Many prints, especially those from the 17th,

18th and early 19th centuries, include actors as primary subjects; some of them were even used to advertise for Edo theaters.

Prints have not always been considered a form of art in Japanese culture, despite their prevalence in museums around the world. “Some traditional Japanese art historians today don’t think of them as pure art, art with a capital ‘A’,” said Professor of Art and East Asian Studies Bonnie Cheng. According to Greenwood, the West first noticed Japanese prints when they were used as wrapping paper to ship more expensive goods to Europe. These prints, for much of their history, were the equivalent to modern day magazines, comic books and posters, according to Greenwood.

Their lack of value meant that they were not often preserved.

Nevertheless, AMAM has secured an abundance of rare early prints.

The exhibition highlights the cultural differences between European and Japanese perceptions of art with regard to prints. In the West, art is often associated with a single artist who conceives and creates the work; the prints on display are not necessarily associated with a sole author. According to Cheng, “a triumvirate of artisan, publisher and inker and carver” exists for each piece on display. The publisher would pick a topic, which the artisan would design. The carver would then

copy the design into the wood and ink the print. The publisher was in charge of sales of these prints. In some cases, publishers’ names would be as well-known as the artists’ names.

Greenwood’s next goal is to change the way that museumgoers think about Asian art. Recognizing that many patrons’ perceptions of Asian art as “exotic” inhibit their understanding and appreciation, he seeks to highlight the similarities between all art styles and integrate them into other sections of AMAM. The “exotic” lens through which American museumgoers view art may contribute to a Eurocentric bias toward Western art in museums, according to Professor Cheng. “Students who are coming into [my course ‘The Art of Japanese Prints’] at the beginning of the semester tell me, ‘I’m tired of European art,’” said Cheng. The AMAM’s Asian art collection is larger than one might expect, and according to Derstine, Asian art constitutes one-third of the Allen’s works. Greenwood believes that the trend of museum curators’ bias toward Western art is “something that’s changing,” though he admits that there is still work to be done.

More than anything else, Derstine wants the resurgence of Asian art at the AMAM to inspire even more collaboration between the College and the Museum.

Arts

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Page 13

Professor Brings Multifaceted Cast Together Continued from page 10 to the world that this is one of the most unique things about us, and yet sometimes, we exist in two different worlds. But, this time, I was really pleased, because I was able to talk with a lot of Voice teachers and get their support. … We have … wonderful cast [members] who are trained in every kind of way people can be trained on this campus. Africana Studies has an arts program that some people come from; there are

straight Theater majors, there are several doubledegree Theater and Conservatory Voice majors.

We have a lot of the Jazz Studies majors playing in the show. I think it’s a project that highlights everything we want Oberlin to be: the seriousness of the content, the fact that it’s also beautiful and entertaining at the same time, the fact that it’s a training opportunity for people to get a higher level of skill, also that we can take advantage of all these different talents and be

in one place with them. I think it’s the kind of thing that in some ways only can happen at Oberlin, [especially] at the professional level we’re doing it. It’s way beyond traditional student theater.

Speaking of putting productions on at Oberlin, do you feel like there’s a relationship between Dessa Rose and other plays or musicals you’ve put on?

Well, I’ve been directing for close to 30 years, and I’ve been here 26, 27

years. Because my job is a product of the Black Arts Movement that was here, it’s always been my challenge to find plays which originate in some way from a Black point of view but also enrich the community in lots of different ways and can include people. So, I have done a lot of different plays that are either set in slavery or are about the long shadow of slavery on our country. I do love musicals. The last big musical I did was The Wiz, which was very fun. … What I’ve also done in

Dessa Rose’s dynamic cast engages in a dress rehearsal. The show, which features performers with backgrounds in disciplines ranging from jazz to theater, premiered at Hall Auditorium Thursday evening.

Courtesy of John Seyfried

a lot of my shows is create original music, even [if the show is] not a musical, per se. So music is crucial to me in performances.

In the last few years, I’ve done some unusual things, [like] piece[s] that [have involved] a lot of different kinds of students telling their own stories. …

I think pieces that are deeply involved in the social fabric of our lives are really important to me.

How do you feel about the music in Dessa Rose?

This is a virtual singthrough. This is a play with very little dialogue … which is what I love about it. It’s very challenging. It’s important to have singers who can deliver that, and we certainly do. I think that is the thing that I liked about it the most — that the theatrical play exists within the music almost entirely. That’s very exciting to me. I’ve been saying that everyone on this project is doing something they’ve never done before; I’m doing a musical on a scale I haven’t done before.

We’re micing everybody, which we’ve never done before, and it’s fantastic.

The musical director is operating behind the set, which she’s never done before. A lot of the musicians have never done musicals before. The students are getting a chance to work at a level that they don’t always get to work on. The design work is beautiful. I

feel very lucky.

Sounds like a really exciting performance.

It really is. I don’t always pump up my work this much, but I honestly feel that people will regret it if they miss this show.

–––––––––––––––––––––

‘I think it’s a project that highlights everything we want Oberlin to be: the seriousness of the content, the fact that it’s also beautiful and entertaining at the same time, the fact that it’s a training opportunity for people to get a higher level of skill.’

CAROLINE JACKSON-SMITH Director, Dessa Rose ––––––––––––––––––––– It’s really special. I had a moment last night where I realized, “This is really the way I’ve been hearing it.” … These young people are amazing. It’s really been a privilege to work with them.

Interview by Danny Evans, Arts editor

Flute Singing, Chimes Add Excitement to Adaptation of Legend of Rinaldo Continued from page 10 line. The second movement featured Still’s voice in addition to her flute playing and Shannon’s instrumental versatility; beside him on another piano bench rested a small collection of percussion instruments. As Still sang in unison with her instrumentals, the pianist entered the soundscape with the gentle rustle of chimes.

The following piece, Malagigi the Sorcerer, was a musical representation of a mythical legend of Charlemagne. Amaya uses the timbres of the additional percussion and a piccolo to expand his tonal palate. From rain stick to triangle, Shannon signaled the progression of the plot through the extra instruments in addition to effortlessly performing the theatrical piano lines. Though the composer detailed the specific events of the tale of Rinaldo (Charlemagne’s nephew) in the program notes, the musicians’ calm detachment throughout the bulk of the work made it difficult to reconcile the narrative with the music. Shannon played with confidence and without mistakes, but his performance lacked the conviction necessary to effectively illuminate the legend.

Still, on the other hand, appeared extremely invested in the tale, her expressive body language combined with her

passionate playing to present a gripping drama only slightly undercut by the lack of support in the piano lines. Her performance of the birdcall cadenza in the second movement was particularly impressive; Still maintained her pitch and dramatic dynamic gestures despite a clear lack of any place to pause and catch her breath. During the final movement, which represents a confrontation between Rinaldo and an enchanted horse, Still nimbly wove the dancing flute melody around Shannon’s ominously bass piano counterpoint. After relaxing for a few moments, the performers clashed once more in a final blaze of melody that brought the music to a rousing close.

Despite how skillfully the performers played Amaya’s colorful and rhythmically engaging music, there was a tedious uniformity to Amaya’s work that was particularly apparent in the third work, Dúo Ami. Though the music lacked originality as compared to the other works on the program, the second movement, written for solo piano, allowed Shannon to display his technical skill. The pianist delivered the angular rhythms and reflective melodies with a polished ease that highlighted the Latin American influences present in Amaya’s music.

Lead actress Tiffany Ames and fellow cast member Khalid Taylor share an intimate moment. Dessa Rose’s run will continue at Hall Auditorium Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Courtesy of John Seyfried

Sports

Page 14

IN THE LOCKER ROOM

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Women’s Track and Field

This week, the Review sat down with women’s track and field rookies Ana Richardson and Monique Newton to discuss their early success, transitioning from West Coast to Ohio weather, preseason and more.

like basketball.

You’re both from the West Coast — how is the snow treating you?

MN: Man, that first week [of January] was brutal. I remember as soon as I walked outside the airport doors, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can do this.’ But I mean, you learn that you can’t really control it, so it is what it is, but I don’t like it.

AR: I’m from Eugene, OR, so it doesn’t snow, but it gets to be 24 degrees and clear. Or it’s 40 degrees and raining. So I’d rather have it be cold and snow everywhere. It’s pretty.

You are both first-years playing a varsity sport in college for the first time. Has this always been an aspiration of yours, or did you decide to join track after arriving at Oberlin?

Monique Newton: We were both recruited, so we were expecting to come to be on the track team. It’s weird meeting some people who weren’t recruited and just do it because they love it. I’ve always done track, so I can’t imagine not doing track.

Ana Richardson: I can’t imagine just having school — it’s crazy.

How does the commitment of Oberlin’s track and field team compare to your high school team?

MN: It’s a lot harder, a lot more time put in. Those first two weeks — I don’t know if they were trying to break us. I don’t know what they were trying to do, but I’ve never worked harder. I’ve never felt so tired in my life, but you get used to it, and you kind of get used to college in general.

AR: For me, my high school time commitment was the same, but that was only because I was the only thrower. Also, my coach was willing to put in time outside. So the time was the same, but the workouts were not the same. So I’ve definitely brought my athletic level up by a ton since I’ve been here.

Why were those first two weeks so bad? What did you have to do?

AR: We hit the ground running.

MN: We just did so many different things at so many different practices. Just a bunch of running, and then you’re not done and you have to

Ana Richardson (left) and Monique Newton do something else. Plus, the first two weeks we weren’t really in the best of shape. It was just bad.

AR: [Coach Hepp] gave us this packet to do over the summer. And I was like, ‘This is ridiculous, I’m not going to do this all.’ Then I got here, and basically he expected you to be able to do the stuff. The first day, we did sprint suicides, and we were out of shape and had just done plyometrics before that. Then he would teach us to throw weight after we ran, but we made it through.

Did you decide to go to Oberlin because of track and field or was it a combination of athletics and academics?

AR: It was really Coach Hepp. We were both recruited D-I. We could have gone D-I if we wanted to, but Coach Hepp really stressed our education and how important that was. So really, I don’t think I came to Oberlin for track. I was recruited and found out about Oberlin through track, so that was really cool, but I didn’t come here just to do track.

MN: Out of all the schools that were looking at me for track, aca-

demically, this was the best. And out of all the schools I got accepted to, academically, this was the best. So it was always like I was going to a really good school academically, and I get to do track.

You have already both been honored by the NCAC with Athlete of the Week recognition. Can you tell us what this success means to you so early in your collegiate career?

MN: It means I’m on a good track and starting off strong. Especially working as hard as we have, it means we are getting results and it’s worth it. It’s nice because if I was throwing the same as I had been in high school, I would have been like, ‘What the heck? I’m working so much harder now,’ so it’s nice to be getting better.

AR: We both [set personal records] the first time we threw, which was really nice.

Do you have any specific goals for the rest of the season?

MN: Well, I made it to nationals, so hopefully I do well at nationals.

AR: And she has the school re-

cord by like, four feet.

MN: That’s the goal. Just keep getting better. I really hope I PR again and that wasn’t the furthest I throw this year.

AR: Mine is the same. In weight throw, I’ve been getting better and better, but I was hoping to at least get second in conference. I think I’m ranked third right now, but I have to get to 15 meters, which is a couple more feet. I know I can do it. And hopefully, not this year, but next indoor season, I can make it to nationals in weight. I just want to do well in conference coming into the spring season.

How was Winter Term in Oberlin?

MN: I liked it. It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

There were a lot of people on the track team I didn’t know, so I really got to know them well. I feel even closer as a team now. It was way better than I thought it was going to be.

AR: Yeah, it was super cool. We all went to Dascomb together after practice and got to meet people. It was really fun, for sure. I feel like as a team, we got closer to other teams,

What have been your high and low points of the season so far?

MN: High point: first meet of the year, kicking it and doing great. Low point: A couple of weeks ago, I got hit with a weight and hurt my butt.

Deep, deep bruise. So I missed practice for a week and a half and didn’t get to go to any of the meets over Winter Term. Last week was the first week I started practicing again. I feel really good this week. I’ve never been injured and had to sit out for that long, so it’s weird.

AR: My low point was definitely the first week I was here. There was a point where I was like, ‘Do I really need to do track?’ Of course I was being petty, but I was way out of shape and had anxiety about going to practice because I was so tired all of the time. I didn’t do well on my first Biology test because I was just so tired and didn’t know how to study. Right now, I’m in a transitioning period in weight, and I feel like I’m going to be able to do a lot better. So my high point is just progressing and feeling more comfortable, working harder and doing better. I’ve just become a better athlete overall, so it’s not a specific high point.

Interview by Tyler Sloan, Sports editor Photo by Grace Barlow

— Men’s Basketball —

Key Injuries Derail Yeomen in Conference Play Bob Cornell The men’s basketball team saw mixed results over the December recess and Winter Term, finishing its 10-game stretch with a record of 3–7.

The squad traveled to California for three games at the end of December and the beginning of January, going 1–2. Though they struggled on the road against conference foes, the Yeomen picked up big wins against the Kenyon College Lords and the Wabash College Little Giants to salvage their record.

Although the California trip was business as usual with three games in three days, the Yeomen gained some needed downtime in the Golden State and over Winter Term.

“Winter Term was a great time for the team to get better as individuals as well as get a break from schoolwork and get some much-needed mental rest,” said junior center Randall Ollie.

“The trip to California was a great opportunity to play some different teams as well as enjoy warmer weather and visit places that I had never been before.”

While the team struggled during its first two games in Orange, CA, it handily beat the Caltech Beavers 67–44 in its third game. The victory was due in large part to the efforts of sophomore guard Jack Poyle, who scored a team-high 17

points, and to Ollie, who contributed 12 points, 9 rebounds and a block.

After returning to Ohio, the Yeomen were hit with a string of bad luck as senior guard Miles Gueno and Poyle were sidelined with lower leg injuries. Each missed four games, leaving the the Yeomen shorthanded. Poyle’s injury developed slowly as a result of the heavy minutes he’s logged this season.

“There wasn’t a specific time it happened,” he said. ”It just got progressively worse over the course of the preseason and season. I’m already back and playing.”

The Yeomen were undoubtedly disappointed to lose their leading scorer for any duration, but Ollie noted that other guards stepped up in Poyle’s absence.

“Jack’s injury just brought more out of some of the other guys,” said Ollie. “[Sophomore] Nate [Cohen] has stepped up as a true scorer, [sophomore] Zach Meyers has taken more of a leadership role and we’ve found more ways for more guys to contribute.”

The team won just one game with Poyle sidelined, but Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco is hopeful that the adversity the team faced in losing two key players will help the team in the long run.

“The last month has been tricky with the various injuries and the fluctuating availability

of players. I hope it’s made us stronger,” he said.

Looking to put the tough stretch behind them, the Yeomen relied on juniors Ollie and Matthew Walker to get the team out of its rut.

The big men did just that, leading Oberlin to triumphant wins against Wabash College and Kenyon College.

“Randy and Matt have played better and asserted themselves in the paint over the past few weeks,” said Cavaco. “We need them to stay out of foul trouble and continue to run the court to open things up for the entire team.”

Against Wabash, Walker had a career day, scoring 16 points on eight-of-ten shooting from the floor, pulling down six boards, dishing out three assists and notching two blocks. Thanks to his strong play, the Yeomen added to their onepoint halftime lead, ultimately winning 75–67.

“I realized how much more aggressive I should be in our offense,” Walker said of his success in the game.

The Yeomen tallied their second win in a row four days later thanks to a career game from Ollie, in which he scored 22 points on eight-of-eleven shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

“I just tried to help the team in the best ways possible, which just so happened to be scoring and rebounding,” Ollie said. “I’m lucky to have a great group of guards that found me the ball

when I was open, and the whole team did a great job on the defensive end.”

The Yeomen were unable to push their win streak to three, falling 51–50 on the road to the DePauw University Tigers last Saturday. Cohen led the team with 10 points, as the Yeomen struggled to put together a solid effort on the offensive end, shooting a paltry 35.4 percent from the field.

The loss pushed the team’s record to 8–11 with six regular season games left to play. Those remaining games are all against conference foes, and to have success, the team knows it will have to duplicate what it did against the Lords and the Little Giants.

“Kenyon and Wabash were good wins for us because there were not any forced moments and we let the game come to us,” said Walker. “It finally felt like we were playing the right way.”

Despite the return of Gueno to the court, the Yeomen fell 90–68 on the road Wednesday against the Denison University Big Red. Cohen again led the team with 17 points but couldn’t help the team overcome a slow start and a 29-point halftime deficit.

The Yeomen will take to the road again to face NCAC foe Wittenberg University this Saturday. The team will then return home next Wednesday to take on the Allegheny College Gators at 8 p.m.

Sports

The Oberlin Review, February 6, 2015

Editorial: Belichick Ultimate Difference-Maker for Patriots Continued from page 16 and dealing to pick up extra early-round picks and trading his lower-round picks for proven talent. Since 2009, the Patriots have made an amazing 14 second-round picks while still making five first-round picks, turning those selections into key contributors like stud tight end Rob Gronkowski, starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, star safety Devin McCourty, starting left tackle Nate Solder and up-and-coming linebacker Jamie Collins. For a team that picks in the bottom half of the first round every year, that’s an incredible number of bigtime players.

Belichick has a penchant for dealing later-round picks for proven talent as well. Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Aqib Talib, LeGarrette Blount and Akeem Ayers were all acquired for pennies on the dollar, and all have been major contributors for successful Patriots teams over the last eight years.

In a season where Belichick’s post-loss “We’re on to Cincinnati” response was replayed countless times, his team adopted the mantra and kept its eyes on the ultimate prize. That’s what makes Belichick’s teams so consistently great — they never let outside distractions bother them. From last week’s so-called Deflategate to taking chances on Moss, Talib and Blount despite their checkered pasts, Belichick has proven time and time again that his team’s effort

never wavers in the face of adversity.

Only adding to Belichick’s case for being the main reason for the Patriots’ success is his coordinators’ lack of success after leaving the team. Former offensive coordinators Charlie Weis and Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinators Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini have all struggled after leaving their former boss. All four are talented football minds, but it’s no surprise that their best work came under the guidance of Belichick.

As much credit as Belichick deserves, a lot also has to go to Brady and longtime Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft, by most accounts, is one of the best owners in the game and has had the wherewithal to both let Belichick assume complete control of the team and spend money to keep the team’s best players under contract. Brady, meanwhile, is easily one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Still, Belichick is the ultimate difference-maker for the Patriots. Rex Ryan, long a sworn enemy and rival coach of Belichick, put it best when he said, “The guy is an amazing coach. Best coach in football; it’s not even close. That’s a guy I will study.”

Bill Belichick possesses the iciest demeanor of any coach in the NFL and cares little about appearances or rubbing people the wrong way. Instead, he is the most calculating, rational and knowledgeable coach in the league and the most important part of the NFL’s longestrunning dynasty.

Yeowomen Sweep Winter Term Meets Continued from page 16 182.00 and the three-meter dive with scores of 240.70 and 190.45 respectively. The Yeomen also hung tough with fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the men’s 50-yard breaststroke by junior Aaron Frederick and Gudbranson respectively.

Looking ahead to the NCAC championships, Redell expressed his confidence in himself and his team.

“The NCAC championship is the biggest meet of our season,” he said. “Over the last few

weeks of the season, we’re able to rest our bodies so that we can perform at our absolute best at the final meet. This year, we’re expecting some huge time drops. A lot of swimmers have seen lifetime bests this season so far, so it’ll be really exciting to see what happens when we’re well-rested.”

Head Coach Andrew Brabson is confident that both the men’s and women’s teams are more than prepared for the conference competition this season and that, moving forward, the best preparation will consist of

working on minor details and getting minds and bodies ready for one final meet.

“At this point in the season, all of the hard work and tough training has already been completed,” he said. “The points of emphasis leading up to NCACs are fine-tuning the small things, getting rest and preparing mentally for peak performances.”

The Yeomen and Yeowomen will conclude their grueling season when they head to Denison University to compete in the NCAC championships on Feb. 11.

Page 15

Cool or Drool: NFL vs. Marshawn Lynch Dan Bisno and Henry Weissberg Columnists Injury update: Dan Bisno — sophomore, torn labrum. Henry Weissberg — sophomore, torn ACL. We are your sports-injured sports columnists. With only tender memories of fields and hard courts, we turn to pen and paper. Our focus is those off-thefield moments that balance playful antics and near-catastrophes. When does a publicity stunt turn into a potential lawsuit? More importantly, do we think these moments are cool or drool?

You might remember Marshawn Lynch, the 215-pound Seattle Seahawks running back, for the 2011 game that earned him the moniker “Beast Mode.”

In an upset victory over the New Orleans Saints, Lynch broke nine tackles en route to a 67-yard touchdown scamper; the vibrations from the fans’ reaction were so strong that an earthquake monitoring center recorded seismic activity 100 yards away.

More recently, the NFL fined Marshawn $100,000 (ouch) in November for violating an agreement to participate with the media during the 2014 season.

The hefty fine was a combination of two $50,000 fines: one for not attending interviews, which had been withheld since 2013 and another for repeating the offense in 2014.

For fear of additional fines, Marshawn attended his interviews since November, though he all but cooperated with reporters. Adding a comical but controversial flair to his interactions, he has responded by giving evasive comments and repeated irrelevant but awesome phrases. During the official media day leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, concealed behind his “Beast Mode” brand hat and sunglasses — garments not officially approved by the NFL — he repeated the phrase, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined,” bursting into fits of adorable laughter after each statement.

In each of his interviews, Marshawn smiles at the camera and gives a thumbs up. Gold flashes in his mouth with each grin. This scenario has played on repeat since the NFL fined Lynch, and with every successive interview, it’s fair to suspect the vein on commissioner Roger Goodell’s forehead pulses like a cauldron gyre.

At the NFC Championship Game, Marshawn was forced to remove his shiny gold-plated warm-up cleats and was threatened with ejection. Two weeks

later, Goodell warned the Seahawks that Marshawn’s signature touchdown move, a 180-degree crotch-grabbing dive, would earn his team a penalty in the Super Bowl.

Despite Goodell’s attempts to curb Lynch’s antics, fans can’t get enough of the Oakland, CA native. Some have even reached out with financial offerings.

MeUndies, a popular underwear brand, vowed to give $20,000 to Marshawn’s Fam 1st Family Foundation for every touchdown he scored in the Super Bowl.

Wendi Bromlie, a devoted Seahawks fan, circulated a petition calling for the NFL to stop forcing players into press conferences. The petition had 52,232 signatures as of Feb. 5.

The NFL media policy states that “star players, or other players with unusually heavy media demands, must be available to the media that regularly cover their teams at least once during the practice week in addition to their required postgame media availability.”

Bromlie’s proposal makes more sense than the NFL’s policy. NFL players are subjected to unfair, idealistic standards and should not be expected to be perfect.

They should not be punished by the NFL and slandered by sports media for every off-field blunder. No NFL contract should allow teams to exploit players’ personal lives. That’s something that should be left for their mothers.

Two days before the Super Bowl, Marshawn finally broke his silence. In front of hotshot sportscasters and flashing lights, Marshawn opened up. Addressing the possible angles in which reporters could slant his words if he were to speak up, he said, “I don’t know what story you all are trying to get out of me. I don’t know what image you all are trying to portray of me.”

Peek-a-boo, Marshawn’s media presence is cool, not drool. He makes you laugh and he makes a point. Marshawn’s silent protests will hopefully impact the league’s media policy, allowing other players to avoid stressful and time-consuming interviews. His offbeat responses managed to be simultaneously hysterical and political. That is cool.

In a statement released the day before the Super Bowl, MeUndies beautifully summed up the way we feel about Lynch’s stand against the NFL’s unfair policy.

“Marshawn is under scrutiny for a pain we’ve all felt,” the company said. “And we stepped in to help Beast Mode with great-fitting, non-riding underwear.”

Home Games This Week Friday, Feb. 6 5:30 p.m. – Track and Field in Crimson and Gold Invitational in John W. Heisman Field House

Saturday, Feb. 7

9 a.m. – Men’s Tennis vs. Wabash College in John W. Heisman Field House Time TBA – Men’s Tennis vs. Tiffin University (OH) in John W. Heisman Field House

Sunday, Feb. 8

12:30 p.m. – Women’s Tennis vs. University of Chicago in John W. Heisman Field House

Wednesday, Feb. 11 6 p.m. – Women’s Basketball vs. Allegheny College in Philips Gym 8 p.m. – Men’s Basketball vs. Allegheny College in Philips Gym

Sports The Oberlin Review

Page 16

— Women’s Basketball —

DePauw Puts Yeowomen in Their Place Harrison Wollman Staff Writer The women’s basketball team could not muster the momentum to push past the nationally ranked DePauw University Tigers last Saturday, falling by more than 20 points with a final score of 73–52.

The opening minutes appeared promising for the Yeowomen, as junior guard Lindsey Bernhardt sunk a three-point shot to pull ahead 15–12, but the Tigers quickly replied with a 20–2 run of their own. Oberlin would claw its way back to within nine points at halftime, but the Yeowomen’s hopes for a comeback were quashed after the break.

DePauw had no mercy on Oberlin as the second half commenced. The Tigers stepped on the gas and did not look back, using a 16–1 run to put the game out of the Yeowomen’s reach. Head Coach Kerry Jenkins blamed the loss on his team’s inability to match DePauw’s intensity.

“We turned the ball over two or three times in a row followed by a few defensive breakdowns of our own, and they just do an excellent job of capitalizing on mistakes,” he said. “The lead jumped from nine to eighteen in the course of four or five possessions. Those mistakes are just deadly when you play against [DePauw].”

Bernhardt led the Yeowomen with 13 points, while senior forward Christina Marquette added seven points of her own. DePauw’s tight defense limited the Yeowomen to just .356 in shooting and forced Oberlin to commit 17 turnovers in the contest.

Marquette, who has spearheaded the Yeowomen’s offense this year by averaging 17 points per game, echoed Jenkin’s praise for the Tigers’ powerful offensive momentum.

“They’re just a team that doesn’t make mistakes while capitalizing on your mistakes,” she said. “Once you’re down, they don’t mess up enough for you to come back.”

Despite Marquette’s single-digit contribution against DePauw, the lone Oberlin senior has been a big-time contributor throughout the regular season. In averaging 8.3 rebounds per game, Marquette has grabbed the attention of the North Coast Athletic Conference, nabbing two All-Conference Player of the Week mentions in just three weeks.

Marquette led the Yeowomen past the Kenyon College Ladies last Wednesday, Jan. 28, with 20 points and 18 rebounds. The stellar performance made Marquette the second women’s basketball player in Oberlin’s history to tally 1,600 career points and puts her in a position to

clinch the College’s all-time scoring record.

In reflecting on his team’s success so far, Jenkins commended the Yeowomen for their hard work and achievement.

“The season is going great,” he said. “Our chemistry is really good. We’re developing consistency and working a lot on discipline and enthusiasm. We are just continuing to work on those things, and we think we have a good model moving forward.”

On Wednesday, the Yeowomen took to the road to face the fourth-place Denison University Big Red. Prior to the game, Jenkins stressed the

importance of focusing on the team’s immediate tasks.

“When you win a couple of games, it’s easy to get distracted by thinking about the what ifs,” he said. “Right now, the only thing we are focused on is Denison. We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low.

If there is a problem, we fix it, and if we do something well, we keep doing it.”

With Marquette and Bernhardt leading the way, the Yeowomen pulled away with an overtime victory against the Big Red. The power duo was joined by six teammates for an all-around team effort that sent Oberlin home victorious with a score of 62–54.

The eighth NCAC win of the season for the Yeowomen ties the school record for conference wins, which was originally set by the 1998–1999 squad. Oberlin is currently 12–9 overall headed into next week’s home game against the Allegheny College Gators.

With the postseason on her mind, Bernhardt has set a high bar for both herself and her teammates.

“Our team goal is that we have a home conference game in the playoffs,” said Bernhardt. “With the talent this team has, I think that we have a good chance at winning our conference.”

Senior forward Christina Marquette drives toward the hoop during a home game against the Kenyon College Ladies on Jan. 28. Marquette has been a large part of the Yeowomen’s success this season, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

Courtesy of Brian Hogkin

— Swimming and Diving —

Swimming and Diving Gears Up for NCAC Meet Randy Ollie With the NCAC championships around the corner, the swimming and diving team has kicked off its preparation for the conference competition. The Yeowomen will look to extend the success they saw in January, while the Yeomen seek to improve their conference standing from last season.

The Yeowomen finished with a perfect 3–0 record in January, besting the Allegheny College Gators 217–79 and the John Carroll University Blue Streaks 165–69. Against the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops and the Notre Dame College Blue Falcons, the Yeowomen raked in a whopping 787 points for yet another victory.

The tri-meet win against Ohio Wesleyan and NCAA D-II Notre Dame was capped off with a win in the 800-yard freestyle by the relay team of first-year Oriene Shiel, sophomores Maddie Prangley and Nora Cooper and junior Samma Regan, which finished first with a time of 7 minutes, 59.80 seconds. Yeowomen swimmers also took second

and third place in the race.

Regan was one of several Yeowomen who excelled in January, recording three first-place finishes at John Carroll University and winning both the women’s 100-yard and 200yard individual medleys at the Ohio Wesleyan tri-meet. Regan attributed the team’s success to their vigorous work ethic, along with the luxury of less schoolwork during Winter Term.

“The month of January has been pretty exciting for us,” she said. “We were able to defeat teams that were pretty challenging. I attribute this to the fact that hard work pays off.

During the semester we worked really hard both inside and outside of the pool. The pressure of schoolwork is lessened during Winter Term, allowing us to focus on swimming fast.”

For the Yeomen, the month of January was highlighted by two firstplace finishes by sophomore Nils Gudbranson in the men’s 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and two firstplace finishes by sophomore Jeremy Cooper in the men’s 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle against the visit-

ing Blue Streaks. Senior Chris Ayoub also contributed in his last home meet, capping off his career in Oberlin by winning the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:29.85 and finishing with a win in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.21.

Senior co-captain Jack Redell also had a strong showing in his last home meet, finishing third in

the men’s 50-yard free with a time of 23.62 and placing second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:26.43.

At the Ohio Wesleyan tri-meet, senior Chris McLauchlan and junior Benjamin Miyamoto won the onemeter dive with scores of 268.90 and See Yeowomen, page 15

February 6, 2015

Belichick Seals Legacy Nate Levinson Sports Editor Tom Brady was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIX last Sunday, but he wasn’t the most valuable Patriot in the game. That honor goes to Bill Belichick.

During his 15-year reign as head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichick has compiled a 175–65 record in the regular season, 21 playoff wins, six Super Bowl appearances and four Super Bowl wins, with the latest coming in a thrilling 28–24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Though Belichick is the most revered coach in the NFL today, Brady often gets the majority of the credit for the Patriots’ success.

However, without Belichick’s guiding hand, there’s no way Brady would have had near the success he’s had.

There are a fair share of talented quarterbacks around the league, but what separates the Pats from those teams is a coach who is likely the best game planner and team builder in the game today.

No matter the measure, Belichick has been the NFL’s best coach since taking control of the team in 2000. The league’s longest tenured coach, Belichick has been incredibly consistent, failing to win over 10 games in a season just twice, with one of those seasons coming in his first year as the Pats’ head coach. Even in 2008, when Tom Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the season, Belichick still coached his team to 11 wins. That only two other coaches have even been with their current team for 10 years is a strong testament to Belichick’s staying power.

Making Belichick’s success even more impressive is the fact that he not only acts as the Patriots’ head coach, but also as the team’s general manager.

Though he has struggled to find outside receivers through the draft, the Pats’ headman has excelled just about everywhere else, routinely wheeling See Editorial, page 15

Senior co-captain Jack Redell swims the butterfly in a home meet against the John Carroll University Blue Streaks on Jan. 17. The swimming and diving team concludes its season with the NCAC Championship, which begins next Wednesday in Granville, OH. Courtesy of Kyle Youngblood