April 27, 2018 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review April 27, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 22

GFC, President Announce Final AAPR Steering Committee Members Roman Broszkowski News Editor

Oberlin High School and College students protested gun violence by walking out of school last Friday. Photo by Devin Cowan, Staff Photographer

High Schoolers Hold Gun Violence Walkout

Hannah Robinson Layout Editor Local students walked out of Oberlin High School last Friday to honor the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. The walkout — one of thousands across the U.S. — was also part of a continued effort to protest gun violence as a part of the national, youth-led movement that began after the February mass shooting in Parkland, FL. The students left school at 1 p.m. and congregated in Tappan Square, where community members and college students joined in solidarity. The walkout featured speeches by students and a moment of silence. “Your presence today sends a message,” said Oberlin High School senior Madeline Hennessey in her opening remarks to the crowd. “A message that we as students, as Americans, and as humans will no longer tolerate the inaction towards gun violence that is plaguing our society.” Hennessey, along with two other seniors from the school, Eva Phillips and Lucy Cipinko, took the lead in organizing the event. Janet Garrett, a Democrat running for Ohio’s Fourth Congressional District and a former educator in Oberlin, also spoke at the event. “I want to apologize for my generation for leaving this problem in your hands,” she told the crowd of students. “But I know that you will be the ones to make the difference. You are an inspiration to the nation.”

Garrett called on Congress to ban bump stocks, reinstate a ban on assaultstyle weapons, and eliminate the sale of weapons with high-capacity magazines. In the wake of the Parkland shooting, high school students in Connecticut planned a walkout for April 20, and the movement soon spread nationwide. According to the National School Walkout website, which offers a planning toolkit for student organizers, there were over 2,600 walkouts planned. The three Oberlin student organizers, who were already close friends, had been planning the walkout since February — soon after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which sparked a new mass movement for gun control. However, while planning the walkout, the organizers faced significant pushback from the school administration. “They did everything in their power to make sure it didn’t happen,” Phillips said. School administrators originally wanted the event to happen on school grounds. Eventually, the organizers and administrators came to a compromise which required students to have permission slips signed by their parents in order to participate in the walkout. “A lot of the conflict stemmed from safety concerns,” Phillips said. “But at the same time, them being concerned for our safety is kind of the reason why we’re protesting. So we found it kind of ironic.” The organizers wanted the event to be inclusive to the greater Oberlin

community. They worked with Lili Sandler — who heads the community organization Lorain County Rising — in the planning process. “The community definitely showed up,” Sandler said. “Overall I was just really impressed by how well-organized and how well-prepared the students were. And very proud as a community member how they took this event and made it work for Oberlin students and what those students need.” The students are part of a generation that has grown up amidst mass public shootings, many of which have happened in schools. Cipinko recalled the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT, as the first time her parents had to explain to her what mass shootings were. The New York Times reported that since Sandy Hook, there have been at least 239 school shootings, in which a total of 138 people have been killed. “It’s kind of a reality that gun violence is something our high school deals with,” Cipinko said. In February, less than 10 days after the Parkland shooting, Oberlin city schools were on lockdown after an altercation the night before when an Oberlin High School student claimed he was shot at. “Our high school building is, like, one floor and there are a lot of windows, and our safety officer literally told us just jump out the window,” Hennessey said. “He said, ‘Don’t wait for the adults to tell you what to do, get out.’ It’s something that’s ingrained in our heads.” “We’re desensitized,” Cipinko added.

The General Faculty Council and Office of the President announced the final 32 members of the Academic and Administrative Program Review Steering Committee — which will handle the external review process with the consulting firm Stevens Strategy — by email Wednesday. The committee includes Student Senate Chair and College junior Kameron Dunbar, who was appointed in spite of an informal agreement among student senators to not nominate any sitting senators. The selection process also faced opposition from some faculty members who wanted half of faculty representatives to be elected rather than appointed by the administration. The GFC, the group responsible for selecting the AAPR Steering Committee appointments, received a list of five student nominees, none of whom were senators. Senate had hoped to have two to three students sit on the AAPR committee and decided that not nominating senators would allow more students to become involved in the review process. Dunbar was the one to initially introduce this idea in Student Senate. “[By only putting] forward people who weren’t senators or people who weren’t already involved in governance, then we’d be able to just open up more opportunity for students to engage in our work,” Dunbar said. After receiving Senate’s list of student nominees, the GFC decided that the proposed group of students lacked an institutional perspective, according to Vice President, General Counsel Donica Varner. Dunbar’s name came up during a discussion of potential additional nominees, and he was made aware of his selection April 17. Dunbar accepted, despite Senate’s agreement, and said that prior to his nomination, he had not been approached by either the Office of the President or the GFC about serving on the AAPR. Although it is unclear whether the GFC was aware of Senate’s position on senator nominations, President Carmen Ambar sent an email to Senate explaining the decision to appoint Dunbar, which implied that GFC was aware that his appointment would need See Proposal, page 3

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

THIS WEEK

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

02 Democratic Candidate for Secretary of State Visits Oberlin

05 Drag Ball Attendees Must Prioritize Trans, Queer Identities

08–09 Oberlin College Drag Ball Presents: Opulence

10 POC Student Groups Host Culture-Rich Banquets

15 Men’s Tennis Splits Heading Going Into NCAC Tournament

04 OTC:Ilja Luciak, Professor and Author

07 Reid Exhibits Misunderstanding of Campus Assault

12 Bollywood Film Gets Ugly at Apollo

16 Arsenal FC Loses Wenger, Manager of 22 Years

The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

oberlinreview.org facebook.com/oberlinreview TWITTER @oberlinreview INSTAGRAM @ocreview

Ne w s

New Dis/Ability Group Forms, Aims to Make Oberlin More Accessible other forms of campus accessibility. “An alarming number of people don’t realize

Kade House, one of the 13 dorms on campus that doesn’t have an elevator and isn’t compliant with the American’s With Disabilities Act code. Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor

Roman Broszkowski News Editor Duncan Reid Staff Writer A group of students concerned with a lack of resources for and advocacy around dis/ability at Oberlin have announced the formation of Obility, a new dis/ability rights student activist group. Having held their first meeting yesterday in Wilder Hall, the group seeks to organize to address the array of challenges the disabled community at Oberlin faces. While obstacles concerning students with disabilities have always existed at Oberlin, these issues came into the spotlight last fall, when the turbulent departure of the interim Director of the Office of Disability Resources, Isabella Moreno, OC ’94, left the ODR with no remaining fulltime personnel. The Dean of Students Office’s failure to promptly hire a full-time staff sparked criticism from students, who felt that the administration did not do enough to support those students who depend on the ODR for accommodations and other services essential to academic, residential, and

how inaccessible a lot of campus is,” College senior Rita PérezPadilla, one of the founding members of the group, wrote in an email to Review. “Given last semester’s crises with the [ODR], we saw an immediate need for students to organize [and] support each other as much as possible since we weren’t being supported by the College.” Obility emerged from small groups of students who became frustrated with the slow pace of change and lack of resources concerning dis/ability. College junior EmmaLia Mariner wrote a five page document to highlight the ways the College fails dis/abled students. “I realized that people didn’t know what the problems were in dis/ability resources and I kept having people ask me, ‘What are they doing that they’re not meeting? What are they not doing that they need to be doing to support the students?’” Mariner said. “There’s literally five pages of issues.” By no means exhaustive, the document draws on multiple experiences dis/abled students have had at Oberlin — some indicating that a lack of resources have forced them to leave the College altogether. “I’ve had friends who’ve been stuck on the stairs for long amounts of time because they cannot get to their room without using those stairs,” Mariner said. “That makes me so angry that the school will not support our students in that way.” Students point to the many buildings on campus that are not in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. These buildings, like the Safety and Security Office and Baldwin Cottage, unfairly penalize students who can’t access older buildings. “If a person who cannot use stairs wants to live in Baldwin, the Women & Trans Collective dorm, they ... just can’t,” Pérez-Padilla said. “All the rooms are on the second or third floor.” According to Pérez-Padilla, the accessibility problems exist beyond simply a lack of ramp access. “Very few dorms have elevator access or doors that open via push of a button; bathrooms in dorms usually have generic bathroom signs in braille but RAs don’t have a way to put braille indicating gendered bathrooms or door

name tags,” she wrote in an email to the Review. “A lot of places on campus have stairs in random places, like Wilder has several bathrooms with stairs in them — which, apart from inaccessibility, is just kind of odd.” At least 13 dorms — not including co-ops or village housing — do not have elevators. However, since many were built before the ADA was passed in 1990, they remain exempt from the law’s accessibility requirements. To address accessibility obstacles around campus, last semester students circulated a flyer asking “Were your needs met last semester?” The poster, included directions on how to notify the Ohio Civil Rights Commission if the College failed to provide accommodations. The flyers concluded by stating, “Oberlin must not deny students their rights any longer.” Additionally, an unidentified person, nicknamed the Braille Vigilante, has been applying braille to college signs since many were installed without it. Obility aims to consolidate the individual actions students have made to increase accessibility and to facilitate community for students with disabilities who may feel isolated. “The point of Obility is to bring these students together because not only are we stronger when we can support each other, but also it’s very difficult to [spread information] across campus and make sure that people have information,” Mariner said. Two of the group’s current priorities are helping to select a permanent ODR Director and increasing the visibility of the dis/abled community on campus. Organizers were also encouraged by the potential return of the Student Accessibility Advocate Program, which was cut for the 2017–2018 academic year. The SAA program, which was previously run through the ODR, paired upperclassmen registered with the office with incoming first-years, helping them navigate the challenges that come with being a disabled student at Oberlin. Obility also expressed interest in collaborating with other advocacy groups on campus, including the Third World House, the Senate Working Group for Health and Wellness, and Substance-Free Housing. The group will also seek to become a chartered organization by next year.

Democratic Candidate for Secretary of State Visits Oberlin Gabby Greene Staff Writer Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State Kathleen Clyde visited campus Monday afternoon to present her platform and answer student questions in Wilder Hall. Clyde spoke on her commitment to voters’ rights and reform, as well as women’s and workers’ rights. The question and answer session, hosted by the Oberlin College Democrats, allowed students to ask Clyde questions about her campaign — such as how Clyde has promoted her campaign, what are her goals for Ohio as a Democratic candidate, and what she has planned for Congress. “We’ve been trying to have a lot of candidates come up at the state level because I think there’s a lot of opportunities to take some of these Republican seats, so we did have candidates for governor come earlier,” Kathleen Clyde, a candidate for Ohio Secretary said College sophomore and co-chair of of State, visited Oberlin to give a speech Monday. OC Democrats Abigail Kopp. Photo courtesy of Advance Ohio College sophomore and co-chair of

The Oberlin R eview April 27, 2018 Volume 146, Number 22 (ISSN 297–256) 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 secondclass 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

Editors-in-Chief

Melissa Harris Christian Bolles Managing Editor Daniel Markus News Editors Sydney Allen Roman Broszkowski Opinions Editors Jackie Brant El Wilson This Week Editor Lucy Martin Arts & Culture Editor Ananya Gupta Sports Editors Alex McNicoll Alexis Dill Layout Editors Hannah Robinson Parker Shatkin Elena Hartley Photo Editors Bryan Rubin Hugh Newcomb Business Manager Monique Newton Ads Manager Jabree Hason

OC Democrats Monica Dix asked Clyde about how she would use her position to promote social justice and equity. Clyde responded by noting the importance of voting reform in enacting social change and detailing the legislation she proposed on automatic voting. The legislation, according to Clyde’s campaign website, “will ensure Ohioans are added to the rolls when they do everyday things like get a driver’s license, seek disability services, or simply turn eighteen.” “I think it’s really important, as [Clyde] mentioned — and I tried to get her to talk about it more — how there’s a lot of inequity when it comes to voting, and the Secretary of State’s Office is a great way to oppress marginalized people in the state,” Dix said. “It’s really important to elect a Secretary of State who is aware of that lack of equity.” As Clyde mentioned, Ohio has had some of the longest voting lines in past elections. Waiting times varied based on a number of factors, one of the most prevalent being race — Black voters

Online Editor

Mikaela Fishman

Production Manager Victoria Albacete Production Staff

Giselle Glaspie Eliza Guinn Lior Krancer Kaitlyn Lucey Kendall Mahavier Devyn Malouf Madi Mettenburg

Distributors

Yonce Hitt Kristen Mayhew Leo Hochberg

waited longer on average in line to vote than white voters. College students have also faced obstacles in voting. The final vote for the 2004 general election was notoriously cast by a Kenyon College student around 4 a.m., after waiting in line for approximately 10 hours. As the College Coordinator for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, Clyde motivated students to stay in line despite long wait times, a role which she discussed at the question and answer session. “There was an effort in the presidential primary to keep 17-year-olds from voting in the primary, even though they have the right to vote as long as they’re 18 by November,” Clyde said. “These attacks all add up, and I think they’re sending the exact wrong message to our young people in Ohio about their importance.” The Ohio State Legislature has yet to adopt methods of making voting more accessible. Ohio was one of the last states to approve online voting for residents, See OC, page 4

Corrections: In “Sign: A Silent Film Speaks to Experiences of Deaf Community” (April 13, 2018), a quote was mistakenly attributed to Maria Zoraida Maclay. To submit a corrrection, email managingeditor@ oberlinreview.org.

College Goes All In For Oberlin

Security Notebook Friday, April 20, 2018 3:28 p.m. A student reported the odor of marijuana coming from a room on the first floor of Barnard House. An officer attempted to contact the residents, but no one answered the door. The officer entered the room for a safety check and the odor was stronger but nothing was observed in plain view. 3:32 p.m. Safety and Security officers were requested to assist a student who cut their finger during class in the Science Center. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Saturday, April 21, 2018 8:51 p.m. A student reported a suspicious envelope in the Bent Corridor of the Science Center. Officers responded and the large manila envelope was found to be empty. No further investigation is underway at this time. President Carmen Ambar and Associate Vice President for Athletics Advancement and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos pose on a golf cart for yesterday’s All In For Oberlin fundraiser. Ambar and Winkelfoos cruised around campus yesterday asking students and community members to go “All In” for Oberlin and donate toward the fundraising challenge. Organizers sought 1,500 donors, and every dollar donated up to that point was matched with a $100 contribution by Board of Trustees Chair Chris Canavan, OC ’84. To promote the event, there were doughnuts, pizza, ice cream, snacks, and prizes available in the ’Sco for those who participated. Text by Sydney Allen, News Editor Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo Editor

GFC Unexpectedly Nominates Dunbar to Serve on Steering Committee Continued from page 1

an explanation. “The GFC is pleased to appoint [College sophomore] Janet Wu and [College junior] Sadie Keller and looks forward to their important contributions,” Ambar wrote. “In addition, the GFC felt that it would be helpful to have representation from Student Senate on the committee and thus appointed Kameron Dunbar in his role as Senate Chair.” Varner also said that Dunbar was a valuable addition to the AAPR committee and voiced that it had not been the intent of the GFC to make any move that could undermine or delegitimize Student Senate decisions. Both Varner and Dunbar maintained that the administration was in favor of the work Senate had accomplished in recent semesters and that Dunbar’s appointment was part of a push to make Senate the primary body of student representation on campus. “I think [the appointment] speaks volumes of the good work that Senate has done thus far,” Dunbar said. “... Senate is working to make itself the sort of premier centralized governance organization on campus. And so [President Ambar’s] rationale was that if we were to go through such an important process like AAPR and start to understand what works at Oberlin, what does not work at Oberlin, and how we can make it a resilient institution for the future, that she wanted some

The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

representation from Student Senate to be at the table.” Both Wu and Keller expressed gratitude in their selection and said they want to be a voice for the rest of the student body through the review process. “I applied because I feel well suited to represent a variety of student interests, think about big issues from outside the campus, and connect the students and administration as we go through difficult conversations,” Keller said. Wu concured, adding, “I applied for this position because I want to be involved in this all-encompassing review process,” Wu said. “If I end up as a committee member, I hope to be able to bring not only my experiences to the discussion table but also those of different facets of our student body. All [student experiences] are important considerations that should be taken when doing an extensive review of Oberlin as an institution.” The administration made it very clear that it wanted a large degree of control over the final composition of the AAPR committee. This meant soliciting nominations for both students and faculty but being free to make appointments outside of those constraints. As far as faculty committee members are concerned, several professors — including James Monroe Professor of Politics and East Asian Studies and Chair of the Politics Department Marc Blecher and Politics Professor Steven

Crowley — hoped that faculty would have a larger say in who was chosen to represent them. Blecher and Crowley submitted a proposal to have half of faculty Steering Committee representatives elected while the rest would be appointed by the GFC. “We took the view that if the faculty are going to manage this, then it is up to the faculty to decide who [among them] is involved,” Blecher said. Blecher added that supporters of the proposal believed that such an idea was in line with the intention of the Finney Compact, the agreement which grants faculty the right of governance at Oberlin. The Compact separates Oberlin from many similar peer institutions, and according to Blecher has convinced staff on multiple occasions to accept positions at the College over more lucrative offers elsewhere. Ambar opposed the proposal at the GFC meeting however, when it was brought up for a vote. At that meeting, GFC members overspent their discussion time on the proposal, and in Blecher’s view, talk about the full impacts of the proposal was incidentally curtailed by a need to end the meeting. The proposal failed to pass on a narrow margin. The AAPR will be the first review of its kind for the College and could take up to two years to complete.

Sunday, April 22, 2018 1:20 a.m. Officers responded to a loud noise complaint at an Elmwood Place Village House. An unauthorized party with approximately 100 students was shut down. A second unauthorized party was observed at a Village House across the street with between 80 and 100 students in attendance. The secondary party was also shut down. 10:57 p.m. A student reported a suspicious person, possibly intoxicated, lying on the ground near Forest Street. As the student was reporting the person, they got up and ran between the buildings. Officers checked the area but the person was not located.

Monday, April 23, 2018 9:10 a.m. A staff member reported a student cut their finger while using a table saw in an art studio in the Art Building. Officers responded and a staff member administered firstaid treatment. The student declined additional medical treatment. 12:30 p.m. A staff member at the Wright Laboratory of Physics reported the theft of a set of keys from a first-floor office. The theft is under investigation. 3:10 p.m. Theater department staff reported the theft of money from a cash box in the ticket office. The theft is under investigation.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 2:00 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from a porch on West College Street sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon. The bike is gray and black and was not registered at the time of the theft.

Ne w s

OC Dems Host Candidate for Secretary of State Continued from page 2

and early voting polling stations are limited to only one location per county, meaning that big city residents face a significantly longer wait time than those from small towns. Clyde encouraged college students to continue working to help fight the provisions making it harder for students and marginalized people to vote. In 2015, the Ohio State Legislature attempted to add a last-minute addition to the state transportation budget, requiring non-Ohio residents who register to vote in the state to re-register their vehicle within 30 days of voting registration, or else have their out-of-state license suspended. Clyde argued that the provision would make voting difficult for college students, who would have to pay a fee for re-registering their vehicles. Thanks in part to student activism on Ohio campuses, the provision did not pass. College senior Eli Hovland attended the question and answer session, and appreciated Clyde’s nod to local student activism. “It’s great that she brought up what the Republicans did with the transportation bill,” Hovland said. “It’s good that she recognized the situation, where college students had real political power, so that’s heartening.” Clyde encouraged students to vote on May 8, outlining the importance of Issue One on the ballot. This state issue addresses the current system of congressional district mapping: The current law states that every 10 years, the party that controls the General Assembly redraws the congressional district map. State Issue One proposes that the 10-year map should be approved if a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate agrees, and the governor signs his approval. Despite Ohio’s reputation as a swing state, 12 of the 16 state delegates are Republicans. “It introduces a more opendoor bipartisan distribution process,” Dix said, “This process is something that is super crucial to students and to support Kathleen’s role … in facilitating a much easier process for people to interact with redistricting.” Ohio will hold an election for Secretary of State Nov. 6.

OFF THE CUFF

Ilja Luciak, Professor and Author Professor Ilja Luciak is chair of the Political Science department at Virginia Tech University. He is the author of After the Revolution: Gender and Democracy in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala and The Sandinista Legacy: Lessons from a Political Economy in Transition. His work been published in several academic journals throughout Europe, North America, and Central America, and he has served as an invited election observer in El Salvador and Nicaragua. His research currently focuses on gender and security politics in El Salvador. Ilja Luciak. Photo Courtesy of Ilja Luciak

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Interview by Devyn Malouf Production Editor Can you speak a little about your research and how you got involved in the field? Well, early on, I had been interested in revolutionary movements, and in 1979 there happened to be a revolution. So I decided to write my dissertation about Nicaragua, and was there in the mid-1980s working on my dissertation. What do you think students should know — or understand — about women’s movements in Central America? What is important to recognize is that women played an important role in the military struggles that started in the 1960s and went — in the case of Guatemala — up until 1996. Women created counter-traditional roles for themselves and that explains, to some degree, why the women’s movement became rather effective after the peace accords were signed in the 1990s. So it is important to understand that the roots of the women’s movement are in the military struggle, which also explains, to some degree, the infighting that you see within the women’s movement because the women’s movement also is still beholden to these different groups that joined together to form the Sandinistas or to form the [Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional].

such as reproductive rights. They have been effective in terms of integrating women into the workforce and substituting for the state, but they have not been effective at all in combating the state in terms of restricting abortion laws, for example. Can you speak to the evolution of women’s movements in Central America and what roles they’ve played in politics? Well, again, the women’s movement started in these women secretariats that existed within the political parties that emerged even before in the guerrilla movements themselves. At the time, these women’s groups were subordinated to the interests of what was in the best interest of the party as defined by an exclusively male leadership.

And, in the early years of the women’s movement, the struggle for autonomy meant that women would leave these new political parties, would not militate in these political parties and for that reason, there was little gender equality in these parties that emerged. But, there was a strong women’s movement – that was particularly the case in Nicaragua, where women’s interests during the revolutionary decade had been subordinated to the interests of the revolution. After the revolution was defeated at the ballot box, these women then concentrated their efforts in strengthening the women’s movement. Therefore, in Nicaragua, there is a strong women’s movement, and in El Salvador, women stayed within the FMLN and transformed the FMLN in a gender-friendly po-

How do you think these movements will play out in the immediate present and in the future? What steps should be taken in governments in Central America towards gender equality? I see a lot of challenges ahead because in Nicaragua, you have an authoritarian government that represses women’s rights. In El Salvador, the political struggle is such that women’s rights are often not given the attention that they deserve. And in Guatemala, the women’s movement is — of the three countries — the weakest, so I don’t have a lot of optimism that the women’s movement will make a lot of progress, particularly in defending strategic gender interests.

Can you talk about the structure of these movements, and what mobilization and organization looks like within these movements? What are the specific goals? What different groups are involved? Well, I would say, unfortunately, because we have neoliberal governments in the region, the women’s movement is being used as a substitute for the state, and most of what they do is serve in the areas of healthcare, education, employment, and are very limited in their struggle for really strategic gender interests,

Oberlin Community News Bulletin Kendal at Oberlin Celebrates Arbor Day The city of Oberlin and Kendal at Oberlin will host an Arbor Day lecture to celebrate the holiday and educate visitors about Kendal’s impressive John Bartram arboretum May 3. In addition to the lecture and festivities, there will be a walk through the Plum Creek Greenway. The lecture will start at 10 a.m. in Kendal’s Heiser Auditorium, with a lunch break at 12:30 p.m. and the walk at 1:30 p.m.

litical movement.

First Church Becomes Sanctuary Site First Church unanimously voted to officially become one of 1,100 sacred sites around the nation to provide sanctuary for those seeking refuge from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The church will begin preparing for its new status this summer and will be ready to open its doors to undocumented people beginning in September.

Student Organizations Celebrate With POC Community Block Party La Alianza Latinx, ABUSUA, Asian American Alliance, and Students of Caribbean Ancestry will hold the second annual POC Block Party in Wilder Bowl from 1–4 p.m. Sunday. The event will include bouncy houses, face painting, piñatas, music, performances, and $3 food plates. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Undocumented Student Scholarship fund.

OPINIONS April 27, 2018

established 1874

All Roads Weed to Oberlin Madisyn Mettenburg Production Editor As we spend more time at this institution, the memory of why we chose Oberlin in the first place can fade. Our collective apathy, resentment toward authority, and a weaponized sense of selfdeprecation make it easy to forget that perhaps there was a time when we would have sworn by the lanyards hanging around our young necks that this was the place for us. Because of this memory, I was heartened to see the Oberlin administration recognize and celebrate one of our school’s greatest strengths: choosing April 20 — more commonly known as 4/20 — as one of the days for its admissions event “All Roads Lead to Oberlin.” This kind of event comes at a time when reaching admissions goals is no less than vital. The under-enrollment of this year has been well-lamented, saddling the College with a $3 million deficit from which there is no easy way to escape. Dascomb Dining Hall was among the first martyrs in the holy war of budget cuts, and it isn’t clear what — or who — will be the next to go. Making Oberlin appear attractive to prospective students then becomes not a superficial matter of planting daffodils, breaking out the tablecloths in Stevie, or dazzling tour groups with Burton Hall’s one extremely misleading model room — from the moment prospies step on campus to the moment they leave, every action must be calculated to please. Every complimentary hummus spread, Insta-worthy plywood frame, and opportunistically placed attractive couple tossing a Frisbee must be equal in marketing capacity. Because of this urgency, it seems only reasonable that the administration deliberately chose 4/20 to host hundreds of high school students. They must know, above all others, the strengths of this place, and what better strength can Oberlin boast than

the camaraderie so visible on our nation’s most famous drug holiday? It’s a well-documented fact that an essential part of the Oberlin experience is arriving as a completely different person than the one that leaves in four years’ time. This is perhaps best appreciated in aesthetic changes — the addition of nose rings, the subtraction of hair, turning off auto-capitalization in iPhone settings — but most notably, in attitudes. I recall a time in my straight-laced past when I disowned my entire middle school friend group at a sleepover after hearing they had smoked the devil’s lettuce. I also recall another time, only a few years later, when a well-meaning friend gave the warning that Oberlin was a “drug school,” and did I know that before committing to go there? I did not. But the Catholic guilt of my past aside, anyone who attended the All Roads event of last Friday would have seen the pinnacle of Oberlin not only as a drug school, but as a place for collaboration, cooperation, and friendship. Does it matter if this is the reality of the situation at any other time than April 20 at 4:20 p.m.? There is a certain kind of immortality to last Friday’s display in Wilder Bowl. It is clear that this mass exodus of students to swap joints in the grass has happened before and will happen again, long after we have graduated and our bones come to mingle with the dust — as long as the deficit doesn’t swallow us whole. 4/20 is a day in which people across the country engage in civil disobedience by smoking weed openly. It’s only natural that this kind of protest and counterculture become integral to the Oberlin experience — this, and sustaining a contact high while walking through Wilder Bowl. So welcome to Oberlin, Class of 2022. On behalf of the administration and stoners everywhere, please enroll in our institution.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and op-ed 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 that week’s issue. Letters may not exceed 600 words and op-eds may not exceed 800 words, except with consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names and any relevant titles, for all signers. All writers must individually confirm authorship on electronic submissions. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length, grammar, accuracy, strength of argument and in consultation with Review style. Editors will work with 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. Headlines are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in editorials, letters, op-eds, columns, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review. 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 a contributor. The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

Volume 146, Number 22

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief

Melissa Harris

Christian Bolles

Managing Editor Daniel Markus

Opinions Editors

El Wilson

Jackie Brant

Drag Ball Attendees Must Prioritize Trans, Queer Identities Hundreds of students will flood Wilder Hall Saturday night dressed in gender non-conforming clothing and ready to have the time of their lives. Drag Ball is one of the highlights of the school year for many students. It is a time when both LGBTQ and non-queer students can come together, celebrate queer culture, and enjoy an abundance of glitter. When Drag Ball goes well, it gives LGBTQ students — especially transgender and gender-nonconforming students — a chance to celebrate their identities without fear of judgement. The evening should also serve as a way for non-queer students to respectfully explore gender nonconformity and express appreciation for their queer friends. The workshops individuals are required to attend to gain entry to Drag Ball can also serve to educate non-queer students about LGBTQ issues and teach LGBTQ students about queer identities different from their own. However, Drag Ball does not currently function this way, and instead can create discomfort for some transgender students and reinforce non-queer privilege. Many transgender students feel uncomfortable about the choice between being a drag king or a drag queen. Drag performance is often centered around performing as the opposite gender. For transgender students, this can mean either having to pick between two genders with which they don’t identify or dressing as a gender they feel uncomfortable presenting. Rather than allowing queer students to embrace their identities, Drag Ball can invoke feelings of discomfort and dysphoria. To buy a ticket to attend Drag Ball, students must go to at least one event designated as a Drag Ball Workshop. Although the workshops are supposed to make Drag Ball a safer space for LGBTQ students by teaching valuable lessons about privilege and oppression, many of them do not actually educate students about queer issues. For example, students could attend Colors of Rhythm in order to purchase a ticket for Drag Ball. Colors of Rhythm is an amazing event that emphasizes the accomplishments of POC students, and can definitely serve as a way to initiate dialogue about racism and intersectionality of marginalized identities at Oberlin. However, although some of the performances did feature queer students, none of the performances intended to celebrate queerness in a primary way. Attending Colors of Rhythm does nothing to prepare non-queer students to be respectful at Drag Ball. Yes, Colors of Rhythm does address issues pertaining to marginalized groups. But educating people about one type of oppression does very little to teach them about other kinds of oppression. Counting Colors of Rhythm as a Drag Ball event unintentionally equates racism with queerphobia, which undermines the real harm caused by each. Because many people who attend Drag Ball do not learn about queer culture from the required events, some students end up appropriating drag culture. For example, one nonqueer student posted a survey in the Facebook group Oberlin 2020 asking for a makeup artist to do his makeup for Drag Ball without a clear indication that he would compensate them for their labor. Asking a member of a marginalized group to which you don’t belong to help you engage in their cultural practice — without compensating them for their time and labor — is a clear example of cultural appropriation. Rather than celebrating drag culture, this practice takes advantage of queer people’s skills and knowledge without giving them the credit and compensation they deserve. Appropriation of queer culture is far more likely when folks attend workshops that do not actually educate them on queer issues and drag etiquette. Problematic behavior that emerges before Drag Ball even begins sets the stage for LGBTQ students to feel unsafe, and undermines a climate meant to celebrate queer students and culture. It is not a bad thing that non-queer students are encouraged to attend Drag Ball. In fact, Drag Ball can be a way for those students to engage with gender and expose them to what queer students bring to Oberlin. However, non-queer students need to be extra vigilant about checking their privilege at Drag Ball. If students were required to attend multiple workshops before buying a Drag Ball ticket — and if at least one of those workshops directly pertained to transgender issues, gender non-conformity, or drag culture — then non-queer students would be better prepared to respect queer folks at Drag Ball. Furthermore, Drag Ball Committee could publicize some of the non-drag aspects of the event, such as the music and dancing, so that transgender students would feel less pressure to choose between being a drag queen or a drag king. Ever since the late 1800s in the U.S., drag has served as a way for queer folks to express themselves and provided a space for LGBTQ folks to have fun without fear of persecution. If LGBTQ students feel uncomfortable at Drag Ball, then the event isn’t serving its purpose. It ends up benefiting non-queer students more than the queer community and reinforces the idea that non-queer people can appropriate queer culture without respecting LGBTQ folks. Drag Ball should be a place where all students can feel safe and have a great time, no matter what they wear. But non-queer students need to remember that Drag Ball is a time for LGBTQ students to feel like royalty.

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.

Opi n ions

Cosby Cases Represent Problems With Justice System

Jackie Brant Opinions Editor

Editor’s Note: This article contains discussion of sexual assault. Allegations against Bill Cosby first emerged in 2005 after Andrea Constand filed a lawsuit against him. Thirteen years later, on April 26, 2018, Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault. The time gap between these events is simply unacceptable. Since the first report, there are now over 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, including accusations of drugging, raping, and offering to pay women for sex acts. This misconduct allegedly began in the 1960s and has continued into the present. Yesterday, Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated, indecent assault against Andrea Constand that occured 14 years ago — one of the only cases within the statute of limitations — in a courtroom filled with countless other victims of his actions. The maximum sentence for his convictions is 30 years. However, it seems more likely that he will serve much less. Cosby is now 80 years old. He has lived his entire life up to this point as a free man, having escaped any repercussions for egregious actions spanning a period of 50 years. His ability to escape any punishment

is not due to a lack of reports. Police reports and lawsuits accusing Cosby of sexual misconduct have been accumulating for years, though they have only recently made national news. Last summer, Cosby’s trial resulted in a hung jury, yet he continued to get away with accustions even within the past year. We have to ask ourselves why he was able to get away with so many accusations against him — ones that clearly indicate a pattern in his behavior — for such a long time. This is a prime reason why a statute of limitations should not exist for sexual assault cases. The statute of limitations exists for many crimes to ensure that there are physical and eyewitness accounts that have not deteriorated over time, and these laws vary by state. While I understand that sometimes evidence can become questionable after a long period of time, the cost of having a statute of limitations for sexual assault is simply not worth the damage it can do to survivors. Sexual assault is different from so many other types of crime by nature. Survivors of these crimes typically feel immense amounts of shame, denial, and fear; this is a natural reaction to being violated or abused. Furthermore, if the case makes it to trial, it is almost guaranteed that survivors will be required to take

the stand and publicly tell and relive what happened to them, while opening themselves up to cross-examination designed to invalidate and sometimes personally attack the credibility of their story. Finally, because this country has a long history of victim-blaming, it is completely understandable why survivors would be hesitant to put themselves in a position to be harassed or not believed in such serious circumstances. All these factors frequently delay or altogether prevent survivors from reporting sexual assault, which is why it is one of the most under-reported crimes in the U.S. It seems that most other serious crimes — such as kidnapping, major theft, and murder — do not have a statute of limitations. As a society, we need to ask ourselves why sexual assault is not included in this group. Does sexual assault not steal from the survivors? Does it not take away months, if not years, of victims’ lives? Why are we letting survivors of sexual assault watch their abusers escape punishment on technicalities, while they have suffered such atrocities? Finally, it’s no secret that the rich and famous are heavily privileged in the American justice system. While the legal system in the U.S. is underfunded and lawyers can be so expensive that even individuals in the

middle class struggle to afford them, there are billionaires who can afford all the high-powered lawyers and private investigators that they desire. Bill Cosby is just one example — others include Robert Blake, Kobe Bryant, Robert Richards IV, Vince Neil, Justin Bieber, Charlie Sheen, Harvey Weinstein, and — who could forget — Brock Turner. All these individuals either served a few weeks in jail with extreme preferential treatment or escaped jail altogether in exchange for a fine or for rehabilitation. We see a clear continuation of this pattern in Bill Cosby’s case. Fortunately, the #MeToo movement has begun to address these crucial issues facing justice for sexual assault survivors, especially within Hollywood. Cosby was the first celebrity to stand trial for a sexual assault case since the #MeToo movement gained real momentum, and it undoubtedly played a role in Cosby’s conviction, especially considering that Cosby’s initial trial — which ended in a hung jury — occured before the #MeToo movement. While the defense team sought to delegitimize the women who testified against Cosby — and arguably the entire #MeToo movement — by claiming that Cosby could not be convicted based solely on emotional testimony and “mob rule,” the conviction symbolizes

that the #MeToo movement has indeed affected the way individuals view sexual assault and has proven that survivors who stand together and speak out against injustice have and will continue to make a difference. It is unacceptable that individuals who have committed sexual assault continue to escape justice on technicalities such as the statute of limitations, and that they are further able to dodge responsibility because of their wealth and privilege. It is unacceptable that Bill Cosby was not tried for his crimes when they were initially reported, and it is tragic that only one victim out of over 60 women was able to bring her accusations against him to the courtroom. Although he is certainly not the only one, Cosby serves as a prime and very modern example of the shortcomings of our legal system. The sheer amount of women who have come forward with accusations against him clearly displays the system’s bias against survivors of sexual assault and our bias in favor of their perpetrators. Additionally, the amount of years he was able to avoid prosecution and conviction is indicative of his privilege as a rich and prominent celebrity. Our system must do better. The United States cannot continue to fail sexual assault victims while protecting their abusers.

AccessCo Position Must Have More Job Transparency Carson Li Contributing Writer Even an organization like the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, where students handle most of the management and regulation, still reflects many of our social and societal problems. One of them is about challenging authority. OSCA has at least one Accessibility Coordinator per coop. Although AccessCos are all students, they establish their authority in a way that is completely mysterious to most OSCA members. Most people have no idea what specific work they are doing, and I found it extremely complicated and burdensome to challenge their authority because of this. Last fall, I was one of the Keep Cottage Dining Loose End Coordinators — someone who facilitates discussions and answers questions involving elections, accessibility, and policy. At the beginning, the other DLEC and I needed to facilitate the discussion to elect two Accessibility Coordinators. There was something about this process that baffled me: The job description says we need to elect two people, but each person gets full credit. For those of you who might not be familiar with the co-op system, as long as you live in a co-op like Keep, you need to do four hours of cooking shifts and a one-hour crew shift; getting a full credit means that the people who receive full credit from their elected positions do not have to work the four-hour shift. To me, having two people working eight hours in total each week to deal with accessibility concerns is a complete overestimation of the workload. So I asked the previous two AccessCos to tell us more about what they typically do each week. They claimed that AccessCo is a very important position, and they think that full-credit is legitimate. The answer was so opaque that I still had no idea what they really did besides merely speaking

about accessibility. I looked at everyone else, and they all seemed OK with that ambiguous answer, except my friend, who later told me “That answer was bulls**t.” Eventually, we elected two AccessCos at Keep who both received full credit. At the beginning of the spring semester, Keep needed to elect AccessCos again. This time I did not say anything or raise any doubts, because just like last semester, nobody would agree with my claim. To my surprise, someone else asked the question about whether we should really give them full credit, and the previous AccessCos again stated that the position required a lot of work — still a vague answer with no detailed explanation. Now we have two AccessCos, and one of them is last semester’s. The day after the election, the AccessCos posted their contact information and weekly office hours schedule and sent an email reminding people to create a more accessible space. That was the only email we have received. Today, when I tried to go to the office hours that were supposed to happen at the corner of the lounge at Keep, no one was there. It is true that AccessCos might do some work behind the scenes, but again, Keep has two AccessCos. This means that two people are working a total of eight hours just for accessibility issues, and nobody feels weird about it? A friend of mine told me that as a former Housing Loose Ends Coordinator who was trained to provide support to co-op members, including accessibility support, he held office hours every week; however, nobody ever came to talk to him. Furthermore, the HLEC is a paid position because their workload is heavier than the non-paid positions, such as the AccessCos. With this in mind, it seems even less likely that AccessCos actually work a full eight hours every week.

I could not tolerate this anymore, so the day before I wrote this article, I sent an anonymous note to our AccessCos requesting that they write a report that is similar to OSCA’s stipend report — a kind of report that is purposefully vague and only cites the amount of hours spent doing specific tasks. Hours later, I was told that they could not do this because of confidentiality concerns, and they needed to contact all-OSCA AccessCo for advice. When I again restated that I just wanted them to follow the format of the stipend report, they still refused to do it. Ironically, all-OSCA AccessCo — a paid position in OSCA — never refused to write a stipend report for confidentiality reasons, and now Keep AccessCos use the word “confidentiality” as an excuse to refuse to give any more information about their job — refusing even to write an opaque report which wouldn’t use any specific names. It is almost impossible to raise concerns about some co-op positions, especially positions like AccessCo that hold the moral high ground of “accessibility.” As an individual who wants to challenge that authority, you must be prepared to spend a lot of your time, effort, and even emotional labor to voice your concerns. Challenging the legitimacy of AccessCo could be easily interpreted by other people as challenging the idea of accessibility, which makes people think that you don’t care about it. Eventually, this structural repression may prevent people from further expressing opinions in the co-op. OSCA publicly states that it cares about accessibility, but it only applies the idea to particular aspects. It is unmistakable that OSCA provides a good place for people who have dietary restrictions, but this creates an illusion that OSCA cares about all parts of accessibility. When it comes to other more intangible accessibility concerns, OSCA has not done much work. I still could not

believe how hard it is to just tell people that I think AccessCos at Keep shouldn’t get full credit, and I am also very shocked to see how the AccessCos have used those vague claims about confidentiality as justification to not give me information about the number of hours they work. There is a huge power imbalance between the co-op AccessCos as an authority and me as an individual who does not hold an elected position. When I applied to serve as an HLEC for Keep several weeks ago, my former-HLEC friend told me that the secret of getting the job is to talk about accessibility all the time during the interview. I did, and I got the job. Some people have already realized how to use the discourse of accessibility to win the game in OSCA, and OSCA completely buys it. OSCA still understands accessibility in a very superficial way. OSCA members think that having an Accessibility Committee and AccessCos in each co-op is enough, but in fact, it only makes the space sound accessible. When I challenged the two previous AccessCos about the credit they get, there were also other people supporting the AccessCos’ assertions. People thought I was giving the AccessCos a hard time. But when I asked those people if they knew what AccessCos actually did, they also had no idea, but that the position must be absolutely crucial to the co-op because they deal with issues of accessibility. It is so ridiculous to me that people blindly believe the discourse of accessibility given by the previous AccessCos. There are only a few people at Keep who have figured out what’s going on and want to challenge the authorities in the co-op. We all eventually choose to be silent because we don’t want to spend more time, effort, and emotional labor to ask people to open their eyes and see the truth.

ODR Reform, Obility Strengthes Dis/Ability Justice at Oberlin Paige Reinstein Contributing Writer

When talking about disability justice on this campus, it is so easy to focus on everything that is not working. It is so easy to focus on the classmates who will not join us next year due to the institution’s failure to accommodate them. Yet for the first time, I also feel an overwhelming amount of support and optimism for disability justice at Oberlin College. I am thankful for all of the students for organizing. While there is still much more work to do on the administrative end, I am grateful for all of the support that is emerging. Also, I am thankful for the administration, the Office of Disability Resources, and these students for all working toward making Oberlin accessible — or at least closer to it. Everyone is working hard, even though many of these important activists have to balance their everyday roles as students — frequently with a limited amount of spoons. I feel supported by the administration because of their willingness to support programming. One example of their support is the upcoming revival of the Student Accessibility Advocate program. The SAA program was founded in 2012 and pays upperclassmen with disabilities to mentor underclassmen who were figuring out how to navigate Oberlin with a disability. It dissolved at the beginning of September, after the Office of Disability Services became the Office of Disability Resources. Not only

does the Student Health and Wellness working group — a committee under the umbrella of Student Senate focusing on accessibility initiatives at Oberlin — want to bring back this program, but it also wants to improve it to reach a greater number of students. The committee was excited to hear that it would be given monetary resources by Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo to potentially use for both SAA as well as to pay students for potential activism projects on campus. In addition, the Office of Disability Resources has provided much support for this project as well as others. María Zoraida Maclay has been meeting with many of the student activists and helping them with their projects of interest. In addition, the Oberlin Mental Health Alliance revamping has been facilitated by Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Health Promotion for Students Edward Gisemba. OMHA has been a student organization since 2009. However, it has not been active in the past two academic years. Gisemba has been working with student leaders to bring back a space for students with mental health conditions to come together, support each other, and teach other community members about mental health. They are currently focusing on throwing a de-stressing event with other student organizations during finals week. Most of all, I feel optimistic due to all of the more experienced students on this campus who are helping everyone organize and make disability justice visible. This organizing manifests in

CARTOON OF THE WEEK Amanda Asofsky

many ways and is at various planning stages for each group. One such initiative is the Obility newsletter. This newsletter will help people who feel compelled to work on accessibility-related projects connect with one another as well as stay updated on disability-related news. A couple of student organizations relating to disability are also in the process of being chartered. Obility, for one, will be a space for all people to take action and build community. It will also provide leadership opportunities to disabled students. In addition, there is going to be a theme hall for Dis/ability Solidarity next year in Burton Hall. This is one of the first-ever themed halls of its nature. The energy and time being put into all of these projects is exciting. Students with all different levels of experience working on disability justice activism are able to use their strengths to help get these programs off the ground. A great example of disability justice that has been happening this semester is the Deaf Culture ExCo, which holds regular American Sign Language lunches and organizes relevant events. While I am more optimistic about the support given, there is still so much work to do to eradicate institutional ableism at Oberlin. The Dis/ability Solidarity hall was originally placed in

a hall with no one-person rooms. How can a hall centered around disability justice exist without access to such a necessary accommodation? Members of the disabled community frequently raise concerns about the inaccessibility of receiving proper documentation and the lack of prospects for a director of Office of Disability Resources. All of these problems exist, but with all the new faces, energy, and support, I feel a little bit optimistic about these issues rather than just overwhelmed. Oberlin is headed in the right direction, but there is certainly more work to be done and many ways people can get involved. To start, you could take the SAA survey that is linked on the online version of this story to add your opinions to the conversation. You could also come to Obility, OMHA, or Student Health and Wellness meetings. These organizations all care greatly about the issues mentioned above and more. Finally, keep asking questions and pushing others to make spaces in Oberlin more accessible. There are so many things left to do, but it is a nice change of pace to have so much talent and positive energy working toward increasing disability justice at Oberlin.

Reid Exhibits Misunderstanding of Campus Assault Lior Krancer Production Editor

Editor’s Note: This article contains discussions of violence, sexual harrassment, and sexual assault. April is Consent Month at Oberlin. The College puts in effort year-round to provide workshops and other opportunities to create healthy conversations about sexual assault, sexual harassment, and consent. However, this month is special and receives much more attention and tireless work from the Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct staff and the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The Review’s April 13 issue included a troubling op-ed by Duncan Reid that criticized the “Orwellian underbelly” of Title IX sexual misconduct investigation and trial procedures (“Current Title IX Regulations Deny Accused Students Fundamental Rights,” The Oberlin Review, April 13, 2018). Having read that piece, I worry that it may be necessary to remind our contributors and readers why April is special. April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month in the United States. This month is not Oberlinspecific. It’s not by chance that this month boasts PRSM workshops and free frisbees at TGIF. Sexual assault is an unspeakable disgrace of human behavior, and it is widespread. The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

The only greater tragedy than its prevalence in reported incidents is that the unreported incidents of sexual assault far outnumber reported ones. The Department of Justice conducted a study on college campus sexual assault over the course of almost 20 years, and between 1995 and 2013 it found that for every five incidents of sexual assault against college students, only one is reported to police. It takes bravery and a great deal of resilience to actually go through with the proceedings. Title IX acts to protect gender equality in higher education by providing an avenue to challenge gender discrimination. The operative text reads that no person “be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination” in an educational environment that receives federal aid. I certainly hope it goes without saying that survivors of sexual violence may struggle to reap the full benefits of a robust education. In fact, the Department of Veterans Affairs states that 94 percent of female rape survivors experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in the weeks following their attack, and about a third reported that symptoms remained even nine months later. According to the National Comorbidity Survey, 9.7 percent of female North Americans experience lifelong PTSD, but it develops in over 30 percent of sexual assault survivors. This disparity proves beyond a reasonable doubt that sexual assault is profoundly impactful on the lives of survivors, who

deserve to be taken seriously. The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network — the most prominent anti-sexual violence organization in the country — reports that compared to all women, women in college are three times more likely to suffer sexual violence. If you’re tempted to clutch your pearls and point to the “bias of the source,” I recommend you ask yourself exactly what bias RAINN has that is so offensive. College can clearly be a hotbed of sexual misconduct, which the offices of Title IX can address. Unfortunately, colleges have demonstrated untrustworthiness when it comes to giving accusers the enshrined privilege of taking reports of misconduct seriously. The law agrees. In 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Arizona State University was liable under Title IX when it chose to readmit a student whom they had expelled for multiple instances of severe sexual misconduct. In a truly surprising turn of events that shocked no one, he sexually assaulted another student within months of readmission. ESPN reported that university administration officials had deleted emails relevant to the case with knowledge that the plaintiff was filing a lawsuit. Expressions of callousness and ignorance about rape and sexual assault are a dime-adozen in our society. There is nothing new about bending over backward to find arguments that

college rape investigations are too stringent or that administrations too harsh with accused offenders. However, I have heard few things so outlandishly insensitive and illinformed as the suggestion that, in cases of sexual violence, the accused should cross-examine their accuser. The April 13 Review issue published that suggestion, because that’s what the Review does; it publishes submissions of all viewpoints, even ones whose substantive value have a half-life of how long it took to imagine them. I believe that the right to a fair and speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment intends to protect the accused from indefinite incarceration and the accuser from indefinitely-postponed justice. I think it’s a crucial piece of our justice system that is too often neglected, especially in immigration law. That said, in cases of campus sexual misconduct, if a speedy trial puts a recently-assaulted person on the stand under duress from the accused, it can severely inflame trauma. Sexual assault cases do indeed have an “enforcement” problem, though it isn’t necessarily in Title IX’s realm. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2015 National Incident-Based Reporting System disclosed that only 310 of every 1,000 rapes get reported to police. Of those, only 11 rape cases get referred to prosecutors, and only six will result in incarceration — that’s six incarcerations for every thousand rapes. In the same report, the FBI states that there

is an average of 321,500 victims every year. As Reid wrote in his March 9 op-ed: “That doesn’t add up.” There are plenty of problems with college responses to sexual assault. Title IX can be difficult to navigate, bureaucratic minutiae can extend timeframes, and many survivors simply don’t feel comfortable with the system. Title IX offices also do not have the investigative tools or resources at their disposal that police authorities have, and the closed-door style of their procedures can be unsettling, even for the victims. Schools are often unwilling or unable to provide appropriate accommodations for survivors who don’t pursue disciplinary action but want to minimize interaction with their attacker. Title IX and college responses can resemble less of an iron fist and more of a soggy cotton glove. Suspension of civil liberties is always a concern. Due process is a critical part of our criminal justice system. And the suggestion that an alleged rapist should be able to question their accuser illuminates the misplaced priorities and fundamental misunderstanding Reid has of the problem at hand. Title IX offices are not courts. They are vehicle for academic disciplinary action. At the end of the day, the numbers don’t lie. Campus sexual assault is rampant. Perhaps it may be more worthwhile to focus on preventing sexual assault than coddling the accused.

History of Drag Ball Culture The theme “Opulence” is derived from the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. This film examines the “Ball culture” of new York City and the queer people of color — latinx and Black communities — involved with it. Ball culture is an underground queer subculture in the United States where people go to “balls” to compete and earn prizes. There are many possible events to compete in such as “executive realness,” “body.” and “Opulence: You Own Everything” — which is what inspired this year’s theme. Participants are part of “houses” — which are rival groups of voguers and “ball walkers,” in other words performers, that consider each other family. The most powerful member of the family is the “mother,” who acts as a guide and support system to the competing “ball children.”

Drag Ball Etiquette

Don’t

have expectations based on people’s gender presentation and compensate those whose services you’re utilizing. Don’t use culture as a costume unless it’s your own. Don’t bring your own alcohol. Don’t take or post photos of people without their permission. Do come early! Do tip the performers! bring lots of $1 and $5 bills (and a wallet to hold them in) to show your appreciation of their labor. The best way to tip is to hold out the cash as touching people without their permission is unacceptable. Do be conscious of how much space you are taking up. Do be mindful of the language you are using when applauding the performers and whether or not it is appropriative of queer or POC culture — especially because all of the performers this year identify as POC.

Oberlin College Drag

Ball Presents:Opulence

Costume Contest

Oberlin Drag Ball has been creating a safe, restriction-free space for gender presentation since the late 1980s. It strives to honor the queer, cultural history of Drag while simultaneously celebrating Oberlin’s queer community. Every year, established Drag stars, up-and-coming queens, and Cleveland-based performers are invited to join Oberlin in its celebration. When: Saturday April 28 10 p.m. Where: Wilder Hall

11 p.m. The ’Sco

11:30 p.m. The ’Sco

TT the Artist

12:10 A.m. The ’Sco

Akashia, Shari Turner, and AJA

1 A.m. The ’Sco

Sunday, April 29 Support your nationally ranked track and field team at the North coast athletic conference Decathlon / heptathlon championships. athletic complex 12 p.m.–3 p.m.

Monday, April 30 Oberlin students use movement and dance to mentor children from the community through the afterschool program, girls in motion. The performance will feature dances Girls in motion have been working on as well as a performance by a capella group pitch please. There will be cake and fruit punch provided as refreshments. Cat in the Cream 7 p.m.–9 p.m.

Thursday, May 3

10 p.m. Wilder Lobby

Shari Turner, Santana Romers, and AJA

Experience a fantastical, magical, and surreal adventure at Oc Aerialists: Circus of dreams. Hales Gymnasium 8 p.m.–9 p.m.

Layout and text by Lucy Martin, This Week Editor

Featured Events

AJA Meet and greet

Saturday, April 28

The ’Sco will feature DJs and performances The Rathskeller and Wilder Lobby will feature djs and a Dance space Wilder 115 will be a space for merchandise and chilling Wilder 112 will have a Photobooth and crafts

Come out to Wilder Night! there will be a raffle, a sex toy sale, YeoPress, and sexual information center merchandise for sale. also, Free Gonorrhea and Chlamydia testing will be provided by Planned Parenthood, free HIV testing will be provided by HIV peer testers, PRSM trainers will be available to talk about consent, and a pop-up free store will be at the RCT. There will also be Rooms with essential oils, tarot readings, and political action campaigns. You must visit four rooms to enter the raffle. Wilder Hall 7 p.m.–11 p.m.

Drag Ball Etiquette

Don’t

Oberlin College Drag

Ball Presents:Opulence

Costume Contest

11 p.m. The ’Sco

11:30 p.m. The ’Sco

TT the Artist

12:10 A.m. The ’Sco

Akashia, Shari Turner, and AJA

1 A.m. The ’Sco

Sunday, April 29 Support your nationally ranked track and field team at the North coast athletic conference Decathlon / heptathlon championships. athletic complex 12 p.m.–3 p.m.

Thursday, May 3

10 p.m. Wilder Lobby

Shari Turner, Santana Romers, and AJA

Experience a fantastical, magical, and surreal adventure at Oc Aerialists: Circus of dreams. Hales Gymnasium 8 p.m.–9 p.m.

Layout and text by Lucy Martin, This Week Editor

Featured Events

AJA Meet and greet

Saturday, April 28

A r t s & C u lt u r e

ARTS & CULTURE April 27, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 22

POC Student Groups Host Culture-Rich Banquets

College first-year Keerthi Sridharan performs at SASA banquet. Photo by Chloe Isaacs

Students enjoy food and conversation at the OKSA banquet. Photo by Daniel Firebanks, Staff Photographer

College first-years Blessing Dzikamai Bwititi and Kopano Muhammad. Photo courtesy of Kopano Muhammad

Yuxin Wang Jude Fernandes Birsa Chatterjee Victoria Albacete Production Manager

to our daily lives in Seoul.” Simultaneously, the African Student Association held its annual banquet in the Carnegie Building Root Room and fundraised for the Yakubu Saaka Fund. The fund was established in honor of longtime Oberlin professor Yakubu Saaka, architect of the Africana Studies Department, to provide financial aid to African students. ASA titled its event “Revival Banquet.” College senior Thobeka Mnisi said that the banquet signified the revival of the dreams of African students at Oberlin, as well as the dream of people like Yakubu Saaka, who “carved the space for African students on this campus and have paved the way for [African students] to be here.” Mnisi asked of the guests, “Why are you here today?” She noted that many people may not have heard much about Saaka, and that although the great food being served was a good enough reason to show up, she stressed that African students were also there to celebrate Black achievements. “I want to invite you into the reason why we are here, and we as in the African Students Association,” Mnisi said. “We — as in African people, who can gather together to celebrate our achievements, to celebrate our dreams, to celebrate our lives — we are here because people like Professor Yakubu Saaka saw a need and began advocating for that change.” Mnisi acknowledged the significance of the Africana Studies department to all African students. “The Africana Studies department is the reason why a lot of the Black faces that you see around you are here, even if you’re not majors or minors in the Africana Studies department like me,” she said. “The professors in that department keep us here — they keep us whole. They nurture us. They make us who we are.” The banquet featured several student performers who incorporated elements from different areas of Black art. One of the performers blended hip hop with jazz, spitting several bars over a beat and then effortlessly switching to the tenor saxophone and played a hook along with a heartfelt solo. Seeing the fusion of two very notable art forms and watching them perform at such a high level was exhilarating. There were also several talented singers who gave phenomenal performances of covers and original pieces. Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Dance Talise Campbell’s Djapo group gave a jaw-dropping performance for a second time this semester — the other being at the Sankofa Remix’d: “Reclaiming My Fly” fashion show during Black History Month — of African dance and drumming. There was not a single person in the audience who did not feel the beat. Mnisi’s stated purpose of celebration was achieved through the wonderful performances that followed her speech. The South Asian Students Association closed out the weekend of banquets by hosting their annual dinner last Sunday, also in the Root Room. Filling the space with delicious food, an appreciative audience, and standout performances, this was not

a banquet to miss. College junior Priyanka Sen and seniors Deborah Johnson and Hassan Bin Fahim recited poems, each vastly different in content, style, and language. Sen performed in Bengali and translated to English, and Johnson presented an original, poignant, Tamil-English poem about heritage and loss. Bin Fahim spoke another original poem in Urdu and translated into English, to much acclaim. A musical group that included College sophomore Jude Fernandes on the tabla, doubledegree senior Mohit Dubey on guitar and vocals, and Conservatory junior Birsa Chatterjee on saxophone composed the second performance of the evening. Playing a medley loosely based on Hindustani classical ragas and Bollywood melodies, the trio entranced the audience with their beautifully haunting music. The piece set up some playful back and forth between the guitar and saxophone, both played with incredible skill, and the tabla provided consistently rhythmic tone changes. Later in the evening, Fernandes and College sophomore Ananya Gupta played and sang a song from the Indian comedy-drama film 3 Idiots. The Hindi-English song, featuring the duo’s enthusiastic vocals, provoked smiles and singing along from SASA members in the audience, many of them wearing colorful and gorgeous diverse traditional dresses. The final performance of the banquet came from College first-year Keerthi Sridharan, who stunned with deep, soulful vocals on an original piece as well as several covers, including a song from artist Japanese Breakfast. Sridharan has previously been featured on WOBC’s Live from Studio B under the pseudonym copper king. “I think [the banquet] is important because it’s a way for us South Asians to celebrate ourselves — the performance aspect is particularly significant to me in that regard, that we get to have our members show off a little just to show off,” College sophomore Indrani Kharbanda, who joined SASA during her first semester at Oberlin, wrote in an email to the Review. College senior Samir Husain, who has also been an active member of SASA since his first semester at Oberlin, agreed. “For me, the banquet that we have every year is about celebrating our culture, celebrating the end of the year, and doing so in a way that is traditional to South Asia — that emphasizes our culture, our music, our food,” Husain said. “Being able to share that culture with the rest of Oberlin is really important to us. … It’s also a way for us to make our presence known on campus, since we’re such a small community relative to other schools and universities.”

Editor’s Note: The OKSA Banquet was covered by Yuxin Wang, ASA by Birsa Chatterjee and Jude Fernandes, and SASA by Victoria Albacete. Diverse cultures shared the spotlight last weekend as the Oberlin Korean Student Association, African Students Association, and South Asian Students Association all held banquets, either simultaneously or in succession. OKSA organized a banquet called “A Night Out in Seoul” in Asia House’s Shipherd Lounge on Saturday. Featuring a variety of traditional Korean foods and games, the banquet was well-received by students and faculty who attended. As an essential part of the Asian student population on Oberlin’s campus, OKSA is known for hosting activities such as K-pop radio with WOBC, as well as K-pop nights at the ’Sco. Saturday’s street food banquet was a continuation of the high-quality events that OKSA presents in celebration of Asian culture and in contribution to cultural diversity in Oberlin. The event drew the attention of many non-Korean students and served as a way to learn about Korean food and culture. Dishes included kimbap — or Korean sushi rolls — and the lounge was decorated with lights to simulate the look of a real “night street” in Seoul. Many students outside of OKSA volunteered to help, and the hard work resulted in the great experience one might expect. “There’s not any good Asian food available at Oberlin normally, and I used to have a lot of Korean food at home,” said College sophomore Shana Li. “Banquets are important because they give students a specific culture space to express themselves and enjoy their culture with other people.” This connection to street food inspired the banquet’s theme. Hoping to host an informal and cozy yet exciting evening, OKSA put together a virtual night out in Seoul filled with everything its members love about Seoul beside it’s famous street foods — movies, K-dramas, cup noodles, and music — spread across the second floor of Asia House. “I think that street food is something inseparable from our lives in Seoul,” said College junior and OKSA Chair Soomin Kim. “It might not be as fancy as what we would have in restaurants, but they are as special, if not more, to me and everyone in Seoul. When I walk down the streets of Seoul, I see all kinds of street food just laid out in front of me, and they all bring me back to some of my most heartwarming memories — how I used to hold a cup of hot and steamy fish cake soup in my hands and sip it to warm myself in a cold snowy winter night, and how I used to share a hotteok with my mom on the way back home from downtown. Street foods are something that we all have very personal memories about and just something that is essential

ON THE RECORD

Ruby Ibarra, Rapper

Ruby Ibarra is a rapper based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in the Philippines, Ibarra immigrated to the United States when she was 4 years old in the 1990s. Growing up, she was introduced to hip hop by listening to rappers like Tupac, Eminem, and Wu Tang Clan. Ibarra started rapping as a teenager, and is known for her sharp lyricism and rhythmic flows. In 2010, she started releasing YouTube videos, which have since been featured in XXL Magazine and Worldstar Hip Hop. Her debut mixtape, Lost in Translation, was released in December 2012. Her latest album, Circa91, came out last fall. Last Saturday, Ibarra returned to campus for the first time since 2013, performing at the Cat in the Cream as part of the 20th biannual Midwest Asian American Student Conference. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Interview by Melissa Harris Editor-in-Chief How did you get into rap? Many years ago, I was a little kid. It was the time my family and I moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in the ’90s, and the only thing my mom had packed in her suitcase was this cassette tape, and it was by an artist named Francis Magalona, who’s pretty much the pioneer of hip hop in the Philippines. Since that was pretty much the only music my mom brought over, we would listen to that every day. That’d be what my mom would play. I just remember being a little kid, and I would listen to it so much, and I was able to recite the lyrics verbatim. I just naturally gravitated toward it because of the rhythmic nature — you know, the flows and the way that the structure of the lyrics are set up. It just caught my ear, and I was just in awe of how an artist could basically use their voice as an instrument in music. I think looking back at it now and realizing that [they were] the first artists that introduced me to the genre, I feel like I’ve come full circle with it, in the sense that that artist talked about sociopolitical issues that were going on in the Philippines at the time. That’s something I feel like is reflected in my work now and that I like to bring to light in a lot of my lyrics. How are rap and hip hop similar or different in the Philippines than in the U.S.? I’ve fortunately been able to go back once or twice a year since 2012. I’ve been fortunate enough to share those spaces with the hip hop community there, and it’s kind of funny because back in 2014, I feel like they were still kind of in their golden era of hip hop at the moment. It was very boom-bop and underground — what people would consider really an old-school style of rap. I went back again last December, and I feel like they’ve caught up to what is popular here in the U.S. now. A lot of them are listening to trap and other popular artists out [there,] so I think it’s reflective of what’s popular out here. Battle rap is definitely, I think, what introduces a lot of people to hip hop who don’t know about it yet, but I also notice that the genre itself is less stigmatized now. I know back then it was sort of associated with drug use, or it’s kind of looked down upon — the genre — but now it’s finally, thankfully, becoming more of a respected work there. What’s your creative process like when you write your music? Very random. Most of the time, I think that I write my lyrics when The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

I’m in the shower. I don’t know if that’s very artist-like to say. I’ll just randomly come up with a line in my head when I’m in the shower, and I’ll keep saying it over and over, then write it down on my phone so I don’t forget. Or I could be driving to work, and a line or two will pop up in my head. But with [my] album, specifically, that was something I felt like I really needed to sit down and focus on it — not approach it randomly, but really more focused with the intent to create a project that read like a book from start to finish. Your music is simultaneously personal to your life, from what I’ve been able to tell, and it’s also really relevant to the bigger societal problems that Filipinos and other people of color face. Do you consider your music more personal or political? I consider it both. To be honest, when I was writing the album, I just wanted to introduce people to the person [who’s] behind the microphone. I thought that if I make an album that is personal and honest, that’s going to be something that people resonate with. That’s why growing up, I fell in love with albums like Miseducation of Lauryn Hill or even more contemporary ones like Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Those are the albums that I gravitate toward, because you kind of get a glimpse of their life and what their upbringing is like and what’s going on in their minds. That’s what I wanted to reflect in my lyrics, and the response has just been incredible — I didn’t realize that so many people would resonate with it. Even in skits alone, I’ve had people, even outside of the FilipinoAmerican community — Mexican Americans, Indian Americans — say that it’s very similar to their first-generation immigrant experience. I think that often, there’s kind of a stigma that goes with political hip hop, and people are kind of afraid to label their music as such, but I think we’re at a time now — especially with the current social-political climate — where we need music that is honest, and we need music that is political so that we can have these conversations that people don’t bring to mainstream or stories that are silenced or untold. Your music also combines English and Tagalog, which I really appreciate. Do you consider diasporic themes or inspiration while you rap? Every time I insert a Tagalog line or Visayan — that’s my family’s dialect — it’s always been 100 percent my intent to incorporate it. First of all, just the sound of Ta-

galog — a lot of it has a lot of consonants, and it’s very percussive. I don’t know if I’ll do it later on tonight [at the show], but if you hear Tagalog even in a rap form, it almost sounds like someone is beat boxing. That nature of it and the technical aspect of it — I definitely wanted to include that in the album. But I think it also added to the whole immigration story — the underlying immigration story of the project as well. I think just being Filipino American, growing up, I often recall wondering why a lot of my Filipino-American friends didn’t know how to speak the language, whereas a lot of my Chinese-American or Mexican-American friends knew how to speak their parents’ native tongue. Then I remember questioning and asking my mom, how come — even my sister, we’re first-generation immigrants, but my sister is just three years younger than me — she doesn’t know how to speak or understand it at all. Those are conversations and questions that I’ve had with my family or my friends and wondering why there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to language for Filipino Americans specifically. I definitely wanted to incorporate that aspect. I think language, for any culture, is a large part of the culture, a large part of identity. I think, overall, me incorporating Tagalog into the lyrics is reflective of me keeping that part of my identity. Do you face any challenges as a Filipina in the hip hop community? I wouldn’t call it a challenge, because I acknowledge the fact that me, not looking like the typical rapper — you know, me, I’m female, I’m Filipina — it instantly grabs people’s attention. It allows me, I think, to have a platform that other artists don’t have, speaking to Black artists in hip hop that people wouldn’t instantly find out-of-the-box, I guess, for lack of a better word. I acknowledge that it’s given me a platform, which is a sense of privilege too, but as a Filipina right now, as an artist, I would like to expand my audience, and I would like to be able to hopefully join spaces and shows that don’t necessarily have a core Asian-American, Filipino-American audience. But hopefully with my future projects and songs, I’d be able to create music that have more universal themes that more people can resonate with. Your rap also touches upon your family a lot. How does your family inspire your work? My family greatly inspires my work. [In] the album itself, I talk a lot about my mom. It’s her voice

Ruby Ibarra, rapper.

that’s in the skits. What I wanted to do with this album outside of me, speaking my story, is to speak my parents’ stories. I know that although my parents and I were both first-generation immigrants, ... the experience for them was completely different from mine. They came here to the U.S. as adults already, so they had to face not only cultural barriers, but language barriers as well. Even things like finding a job that correlated with the education that they received in the Philippines, I know for a lot of immigrants, you kind of have to downgrade and find jobs out here that doesn’t really put their degree to use. I wanted to share those experiences and those stories that I feel like — especially my parents, who don’t have that platform or that voice — I feel that in this country, I wanted to make sure that that was at the forefront of the music. My family’s been a large inspiration for me, and my mom has been completely supportive. She’s the type of mom [who] listens to my music without me even bringing it to her attention. Back when I first started doing music, when I was in high school, she would drop me off to school, and she’d turn on her car stereo, and it’s my song. I’m like, “How did you even know how to download my MP3? Who taught you this?” Even now, when I post videos online, and it’s posted on blogs, it’s my mom that sits there and reads through every single comment. She’s like a keyboard warrior; she responds to anything that she deems negative and defends me. I’ve been fortunate enough that my family’s been supportive, even though I haven’t taken the traditional or the common occupation route, in terms of my passion. How do you think colonialism plays into Filipino identity and also your music? Colonialism definitely plays a large part in Filipino identity. Even today in 2018, just when I went back home to the Philippines in December, I still see aisles and aisles of skin-whitening soaps and skin-whitening lotions. Even in the media, we have actors and actresses [who] don’t represent, physically, the core population in the Philippines, so I think colorism is still a very big thing in the Philippines and in Filipino Americans. I think it’s important that we continue to still have these conversations. Luckily, we have artists like Bambu and Rocky Rivera, and we’re starting to see more representation of

Photo courtesy of Ruby Ibarra

ourselves and in the mainstream media, which I think is helping decolonize and challenge these narratives. When Kendrick won the Pulitzer this past week, it was the first time a rapper has ever won the Pulitzer for music. What do you think that symbolizes for rappers like you or the hip hop community moving forward? It’s definitely ground-breaking and phenomenal — and well-deserved, I must add. As much as what we hear on the radio, is we have these constant discussions and constant debate about mumble rap, but there are still artists out there who are still putting stories and talking about important issues, like we have Kendrick, we have J. Cole, we have Joey Badass, who are talking about very relevant issues that are going on today. To see that early on this week, to see [Kendrick] win the Pulitzer, I think just reminds us that hip hop is still continuing to grow and is still a voice for marginalized people. What else do you do when you aren’t rapping? How do the different aspects of your life intersect or inspire you too? Let’s see. I eat. I actually work a full-time job right now. I went to school in the Bay Area, and I studied biochemistry, so I’m a scientist by day — completely different from music. As much as I want to be doing this full-time, I think having that still in my life, kind of having that push-and-pull feeling, makes me love what I do on these weekends even more. I grew up loving science too, so it’s a good balance in my life. You say you’ve been back to the Philippines a lot, and you rap a lot about the political sphere. Do you see new waves of hip hop’s role in activism in the Philippines? I definitely see that, especially with the current administration that’s there. Even in those rap battles that I mentioned, people insert that in those lines. There’s a label out there called Uprising that has a roster of artists [who] are very political in their lyrics and forward-thinking in their stories and really sheds some light on what’s going on in the Philippines right now — not just what’s going on with [President] Duterte but issues that have been going on in the Philippines for a long time, so I definitely see rap being a force and growing in the Philippines as well right now.

A r t s & C u lt u r e

Bollywood Film Gets Ugly at Apollo Ananya Gupta Arts & Culture Editor Editor’s Note: This film and article contain mentions and instances of violence, third-degree torture, police brutality, suicide, rape of a minor, sextrafficking, and molestation. This article contains spoilers for the film Ugly. Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly takes the audience past the veneer of Bollywood stereotypes, opening a window into the lives of lower middle-class India. Ugly is — what my mother says with a derisive snort — an “artsy” film. That is to say, the film is not the famed, mainstream Bollywood flick that most Indians, non-resident Indians, and non-Indians have come to love and celebrate. No characters bursting into song and dance; no colorful costumes or picturesque cinematography, and not an ounce of glamor. Ugly is indeed ugly, but it casts a necessary light on the safety of women, the Indian justice system, and the psyche of poor and unsuccessful individuals. Today, Ugly will become one of the first Bollywood movies screened in Oberlin at 7 p.m. at the Apollo Theatre. It is a free screening courtesy of guest speaker Ranjani Mazumdar, a Professor of Cinema Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Mazumdar arrived in Oberlin yesterday to give a talk titled “Public Talk: Cinematic Bombay — Contingency, Crisis, and Decay” about the contemporary transformation of the city of Bombay through three films: Ritesh Batra’s Lunchbox, Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped, and Ugly. Bombay is the previous name of the city, which has been called Mumbai since 1995. “It was really interesting to learn about the specific themes and technical approaches of films which aren’t really mainstream Bollywood, but aren’t exactly arthouse films meant for a niche audience,” College junior Priyanka Sen wrote to the Review. “I think the talk gave us a sense of an emerging, exciting type of Indian cinema which tell difficult stories in a unique way.” Ugly is set in Mumbai, and revolves around the kidnapping and subsequent search for 10-year-old Kali (Anshika Shrivastava). Parents and police, both with questionable morals, highlight issues of sex, money, crime, debauchery, and deceit. Overall,

the film showcases how ugly human beings truly are, as greed and self-interest preclude saving an innocent life. The director of Black Friday, Dev. D, and Gangs of Wasseypur, Kashyap is acclaimed for his ability to capture the common man, woman, and family of India. Ugly premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and was screened at the New York Indian Film Festival in 2014, the third Ladakh International Film Festival, and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. While on a considerably lower budget compared to masala films that year such as Rohit Shetty’s Singham Returns and Sabbir Khan’s Heropanti, Ugly has been critically acclaimed and a box office success. “When it comes to portraying ‘the dark’ in Bollywood, writers and directors have to find a way of humanizing the ‘dark’ genre without romanticizing it,” College sophomore Lyala Naomi Khan wrote in an email to the Review. “Anurag Kashyap’s work, in my experience, has been hit-ormiss in this regard — succeeding, with Black Friday and Masaan, but failing to strike the right balance in Bombay Velvet, for example.” One of the most appalling concepts in the film is a reference to the sex-trafficking of young girls. One of the police personnel investigating the case, Inspector Jadhav (Girish Kulkarni) insinuates that Kali must have survived, citing the fact that she is pretty. What’s worse, however, is when ACP Upadhyay, a female Assistant Commissioner of Police (Madhavi Singh) attempts to deduce the ethnicity of the kidnapper or buyer by the “common preferences” of the Indian population. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“When it comes to portraying

‘the dark’ in Bollywood, writers and directors have to find a way of humanizing the ‘dark’ genre without romanticizing it.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– She says Indians target fair-skinned, beautiful children, whereas brown children are preferred by foreigners. It is one of the only allusions in the film, and one of the few in Hindi cinema, to the racism

perpetuated in Indian society — not just between foreigners and Indians, but amongst Indian people themselves. Rather than using sweeping shots of Mumbai skylines, Kashyap dives into the grime of suburban Mumbai, taking the audience into slum-dwelling, matchbox apartments and railway stations, often using hidden cameras to circumvent crowds, according to Entertainment Times. The Times of India also cites Kashyap as saying, “It is my most brutally honest film and I did it exactly the way I wanted to. It’s a dark, emotional roller coaster and there is no way it won’t work!” Ugly also presents a stunningly real visualisation of housewives in India through the character of Kali’s mother, Shalini (Tejaswini Kolhapure). Rather than a perky 20-something who wears designer clothes and is touched-up beyond recognition, the film showcases a lonely, helpless older woman. Shalini struggles to stay in touch with her youth, has an affair, is borderline alcoholic, and is trapped in a home with a paranoid second husband. Kashyap, however, doesn’t keep Shalini a powerless damsel. Shalini has an affair with her first husband’s best friend, shoots her second husband in the shoulder, and deceives her parents into giving her $1.8 million. Kashyap’s female characters desire sex, steal money, attempt suicide, and are unnervingly calm in the face of horrific violence. While disturbing, the film creates a dark power in the women it features. “Kashyap’s female characters are never just victims, but have their own agency,” Mazumdar wrote in an email to the Review. “The same is the case with Shalini’s character in the film. Yet, she is also trying craft her way out of her situation. She is neither just victim nor only a crafty woman. She remains a complex character.” It is likely that some Indians would criticize Ugly reaching theaters abroad, expecting it to reflect poorly on India. “I have no anxiety about this,” Mazumdar wrote. “No part of the world is without problems and India has its own share. We need to critically engage with what goes on in India, not defend it abroad. This is what diplomats and nationalists do. Our job should be to critically engage with the world we live in, not look for idealised images that can help us brush over the complex realities of the country.”

The Book of Jessica Showcases Refreshing Look at College Years Kate Fishman Staff Writer Early this semester, College senior Jessica Toltzis and sophomore Casey Labbate reached out to the Athletics department with a perfectly normal request: a working treadmill, for a one-woman show. “I don’t know of any other show in America where there’s a person running on a treadmill,” Toltzis said. Toltzis’ senior capstone show — The Book of Jessica — is not your typical Americana. The play was heavily influenced by her desire to fuse American theater with some of the more avant-garde drama she saw during a semester abroad in Russia. “[In] one show [I] saw, they had hundreds of matchboxes falling from the ceiling,” Toltzis said. “I was like, ‘Wow, we don’t do that.’ We do kitchen-sink dramas like [ones written by] Tennessee Williams, where the focus is the language as opposed to the image, and I feel like European theater is very much about the image and what the images have to do with the story you’re telling.” The story Toltzis tells is a familiar yet intriguing one — a chronicle of the

ups and downs of her past four years at Oberlin, her discovery of identity therein, and the self-realization she knows is still to come. “She was taking a class on the Book of Job, and she decided she wanted to write this play comparing her four years in college to the Book of Job,” Stage Manager Labbate said. Toltzis messaged Labbate last year asking if she’d be interested in stage managing the show. This past Winter Term, Toltzis wrote a full draft, and from there, the two began production. “[In the first few rehearsals] she would read it out loud, and then I would say something, and then she’d go, ‘oh, oh, oh,’ and then she would just shoo me and rewrite it,” Labbate said of the initial production process. Since Toltzis wrote, directed, and stars in The Book of Jessica, Labbate adopted the role of Toltzis’ “eyes and ears” when she was onstage. Given that they were both rehearsing this show while working in the mainstage production of Angels in America, Labbate added that it’s been a hectic semester for the two, but that it’s been a good experience. For Toltzis, taking on several roles within the process of

developing The Book of Jessica came with challenges of its own. “As a senior, I [wanted] my capstone to be something challenging and difficult,” Toltzis said. “I [wanted] to write, act in it, direct in it, and that also brought so many challenges that I had no idea would even occur.” Toltzis’ dedication and willingness to challenge herself allowed for a truly unique space to build a show. “It was super different from any rehearsal process I’ve ever had, [since] the cast is one person, so it’s been super intimate and cool,” said College first-year and the third member of their tiny team, Anna Aubry-Heubert. Aubry-Heubert appears sporadically onstage throughout the play to hand Toltzis props, clean up, and keep the action running. “I’m responsible for providing props and helping the storyline along by coming onstage at different moments,” Aubry-Heubert explained. “My role is kind of random. There are moments that I participate, but I’m not really there.” Aubry-Heubert met Toltzis in their improv group, where they realized

that having Aubry-Heubert help with the tech process for The Book of Jessica would aid in her theater major technical requirements while simultaneously participating in a friend’s project. “It’s been really interesting being a part of it on the technical side of the team, but also being her friend and seeing it come along through all its different stages of writing,” AubryHeubert said. It’s clear that Toltzis’ team members are happy to work with her. “Jess is a very charismatic and enjoyable person to be around, so I’ve always been telling her, ‘Even if the script is terrible, even if the show is pointless, just watching you hang out for 30 minutes is a joy,’” Labbate said. “Watching her in tech has been incredible. She’s like a puppy, running around like ‘Yes, that’s what I want.’” The show runs today and tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Wilder Main, with a running time of 25 minutes. Tickets are $5. “It’s a look into Jessica’s mind — and I think it’s a really lovely place to be,” Labbate said of the show.

Lord Huron Launches Sound Skyward in Vide Noir

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS: Big Problem

O M

KOREO Breaks It Down Once More

KOREO, a student hip-hop fusion dance group, performed April 20 and 21 in Warner Main Space. KOREO started off as an effort to bring K-pop music to the annual Oberlin Korean Student Association banquet. The organization has transformed over the years into an integral part of the Oberlin dance community. KOREO now hosts experienced dancers, workshops, and several performances every year. The troupe still performs at K-pop events like K-pop Night at the ’Sco. The event last weekend included guest performances from student a capella group Pitch Please and another hip-hop dance group, Kinetique. Text by Ananya Gupta, Arts & Culture Editor Photo by Emily Reeves

The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

Christian Bolles Editor-in-Chief Editor’s note: This review mentions death and suicide. Imagine an oversaturated ’60s television screen broadcasting a garbled advertisement for the services of a fortune teller. This approximates the feeling of listening to Lord Huron’s latest album, Vide Noir. This is not an analogy pulled from the void — the album’s first single, “Ancient Names (Part I)” literally stars a fortune teller, complete with crystal ball. Her domain is, however, just one stop on the nameless protagonist’s journey through time and space, which will take him from life to death and back again in this narrative-driven concept album. Whereas Lord Huron’s first two albums — Lonesome Dreams (featuring radio hit “Ends of the Earth”) and Strange Trails (culminating in “The Night We Met,” a tune claimed by the divisive Netflix series 13 Reasons Why) — told a variety of stories from the perspectives of multiple protagonists, Vide Noir presents a more conventional narrative. In summary, our hero, though he certainly never earns the title, wakes up one morning to find the love of his life gone and his bank account empty. Desperate for answers in a universe inspired by a nighttime Los Angeles — “Lost in a galaxy of cocktail bars / Blinded by the neon lights,” sings frontman Ben Schneider on the opening track, “Lost in Time and Space” — he foolishly decides to devote his life to finding her. Needless to say, his journey is doomed. Although thematically inspired by the writings of Raymond Chandler, Vide Noir has few illusions about the lone traveler stereotype. As its protagonist continually tries to assert control over his surroundings, he drowns in his obsession with finding his lost love — “The way I always look[ed] at that character was a kind of false masculinity,” Schneider elaborated in an interview with Stereogum. And in the waltzy mid-album “Wait by the River,” one of her reasons for leaving begins to crystallize: “I didn’t mean the things I said / I don’t honestly wish you were dead / I’m a fool, I’m just a man.” More can be revealed about her motivations by picking apart other songs; in “Secret of Life,” the singer recalls his lover’s experiments in the occult, in which she “summoned the Ender” — a reference to Strange Trails hit “The World Ender” — and told him she is “never gonna die.” These elements allude to his inconsequentiality in her life, a reality which he spends the entirety of the album trying to deny as he wanders that nocturnal cityscape until he’s forced to accept the crushing truth. As ever, those wanderings provide a well of creativity for both Schneider and his collaborators. While serving as Guest DJ for NPR, Schneider framed Vide Noir as a trip from club to club, each featuring a different style of music and attracting a different audience. This approach lends every song a unique flavor, from the garage-rock stylings of “Ancient Names (Part II)” to the eerie lo-fi twang of album capper “Emerald Star.” Even when the lyrics don’t flesh out the world quite as much as they could, the music itself rises to the occasion. The impressively precise vibe is helped by the band’s choice of industry veteran Dave Fridmann, best known for his work with The Flaming Lips, to mix the album. Fridmann’s inspired distortions are a joy to hear, whether he’s pulling Schneider’s voice through a tinny wormhole as he sings “far out past the astral plane” or underlying the title track with the kind of cosmic wobble once reserved for the silver-saucer UFOs of cheesy ’60s sci-fi. Schneider’s disarmingly dark lyrics beg for attention just as much as the music. Since Lord Huron’s inception, every song has told a story — take “Lullaby” from Lonesome Dreams, in which a partner-in-crime returns with blood on their hands, and the narrator sings them to sleep in anticipation of the inevitable reckoning. If anyone took the band’s upbeat sound at face value and assumed their themes would follow suit, Vide Noir should put that notion to rest, declaring within its first few minutes — with a temporary lull in the music, no less, just to make sure it’s heard loud and clear — “If I don’t find her, gonna tie that noose.” This is an album about the didactic pulls of life and death, with a title track that sings of “Tears of sorrow or tears of joy / Drops in my cup as my mind is destroyed / Staring into a pure black void.” Throughout Lord Huron’s discography, their narrators have variously wished to live forever, die, and rise from the grave. Vide Noir’s protagonist sounds like an amalgam of all those voices, someone who has lived and died more times than he can count and now errs on the side of the latter, in pursuit of someone who literally embodies eternal life. Vide Noir is escapist music at its most immersive. The album’s 12 tracks constitute a true sonic odyssey, perfect for listening to on a rainy night. Although few visuals have been attached to the album beyond a short trailer, the layered instrumentation and evocative lyrics make it easy to imagine vistas of blazing neon and twinkling star-scapes. But try not to get too lost: As the narrator laments on the title track before stepping through a window in the void, “‘Where can you go when it’s all in your head?’ / These are the last words that I ever said.”

Sp ort s IN THE LOCKER ROOM

John Sutherland and Jay Messina, Club Golf Founders

Just before College senior John Sutherland arrived at Oberlin College in fall 2014, the College dropped its golf program due to a lack of participation. However, when Sutherland was a sophomore, lacrosse teammate Jay Messina, then a first-year, joined him on the links. The two founded club golf and have recruited others to join in the years since. The team currently is made up of over 20 students, many of whom come from the varsity lacrosse and baseball teams — but the team is also made up of swimmers and students who do not play a varsity sport at all. Members of the team regularly golf in the fall and spring at Forest Hills Golf Course in Elyria. Club Golf Team

Photo courtesy of John Sutherland

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Interview by Alex McNicoll and Alexis Dill, Sports Editors

How did you two found the club golf team? John Sutherland: Two years ago, [Jay] was a [first-year] and I was a sophomore, and we were kind of going out on our own. There was no golf program, so we just decided to start it. We went and contacted the Office of Club Sports. Jay Messina: We had to write up a whole charter. When we got [to] campus, we both were on the lacrosse team, and golf is something that we both like to do. We went out a bunch and wanted to create something more than just us two going out. Now we’re up to about 20 members or so. Who joins the golf team? JM: At the beginning of the year, there’s an activities fair. Every year we go out there and recruit the general public, but a lot of it too is word-of-mouth with friends and teammates. A lot of teammates play. JS: Especially with kids who are younger than us and come in as golfers — they hear it from their friends or teammates. Then sometimes people will see us with the clubs or see us in the polo shirts and inquire about the program. We get them involved through that. JM: It’s on GoYeo on the Club Sports Report, too. There are pictures and some descriptions of our outings. We went to a tournament this past weekend, so we publicized that. What does a season look like for you? JM: We play in a tournament every season, but it’s really weather-dependent. We try to go out at least twice a week, sometimes three. A few months into the semester there’s usually a tournament, and then we’ll wind up and do a few rounds after that too where we kind of just compete on our own. Lacrosse and golf are two very different sports that require different skills. Are there any skills that are shared between both sports? How does playing

lacrosse make you a better golfer and vise-versa? JS: Golf is pretty mental I would say, and you have to maintain focus. I would say it’s very similar with lacrosse. Both are games with peaks and valleys. Sometimes in lacrosse, you’ll lose the ball or something early or make a bad play, and you have to stay focused and have a short memory and bounce back. In golf, sometimes you’ll drop a snowman on a hole — that’s an eight — and then you’ll have to bounce back on the next hole. I would say maintaining focus and positivity carries over [from lacrosse to golf ]. JM: I would even say teamwork, too. In lacrosse, you’re physically working with other guys, but in golf we’ll go out in foursomes and support each other and give each other tips — motivating each other. JS: Helping each other read putts and stuff like that. Golf is a nice change of pace from lacrosse, and because it’s a club sport, it’s a lot more laidback. What are your favorite parts of golf? What does it offer that lacrosse may not? JS: It’s less physically rigorous than lacrosse is. [Jay and I have both] dealt with injuries at some point in the season just because lacrosse is so physically demanding. It’s a contact sport. You don’t really have to worry about that as much in golf. You don’t have to worry about concussions, which is nice. It’s a little more relaxing. JM: It’s just like a different atmosphere too. They’re both competitive in some ways — we’re competing with each other — but it’s nice that at the end of the day for golf, it’s a lot more about personal growth in terms of just trying to do better each round. Sometimes we’ll keep score [and] sometimes we won’t, but it’s just about always improving, whereas in lacrosse, we’re always looking to get wins. In club golf, there’s no real win on the day except if we’re having fun and getting better. That’s what it’s all about for us.

JS: Definitely in lacrosse we’re competing directly against other teams, and in golf, it’s mostly just competing against yourself and pushing yourself to do the best you can while you’re out there. You were both key offensive weapons on the lacrosse team this year. How did the season go overall? JS: We started out really strong, and we got better throughout the entire season. We just played a few really tough opponents, but we played them close. We kind of put it together in the last three games — particularly the last game against DePauw [University]. I really thought that was a culmination of all the hard work we’ve put in throughout the season. That was a good way to end it. JM: We built that chemistry up and really like playing with each other, but consistency — especially in the middle of the season — got to be a bit of a problem with those peaks and valleys that we were talking about. We played a few close games in that span, but then we were able to really put it together towards the end. JS: There were definitely a few games that we could’ve won, and we struggled to close out, even though we put in strong performances. It was definitely nice in the end to close out a few games with wins. JM: Growth and comfort can’t really go together when you really want to get better. We got into that comfortable phase, so then we started experimenting with some more things and kind of changed up our offense. We got out of that comfort zone and really got a lot better, I think. We were able to grow those last few games. Many members of the team are spring sport athletes. Because of this, when did the season start? JM: One of the key members [of the team] is Jacques Forbes, who is on the swimming team. It’s nice that we have a lot of leaders who are able to play at different times of the year. He’ll take some people out earlier [in the spring].

JS: We basically start as soon as we get on campus. We do have the fall season for lacrosse, so we go out in the earlier months right when we get on campus. We have a lot of free time then, since we don’t have lacrosse as much. A lot of it is contingent on the weather, so we usually stop in October and pick back up at the end of the [lacrosse] season. This year was tough because the weather was so brutal. This past week was really the first time we’ve been able to get out during the spring. But like Jay was saying, we do have some guys who don’t play spring sports who go out. JM: Two weeks ago we had a 75-degree day, so Jacques took a few people out to the range, and they were able to play. In the fall, participation usually starts to die down once we get into midterms. When you compete in tournaments, who are you competing against? JM: We’re in the Atlantic Region and a part of the National Collegiate Club Golf Association, so we compete against Robert Morris [University], [The University of Pittsburgh], Dayton [University], and some other schools in the area. There was a total of like 10 different teams out at the [last] tournament. It was nice to be a part of that. How can interested students join? JS: If they hear about it, they can reach out to one of the club sports people and reach out to one of us. JM: When you go onto the club sports page on GoYeo, there’s a place to fill out a form. [Interested students] can contact us in person too. We would be happy to [talk]. If you ever see someone carrying around some clubs or in an OC golf polo, they’re probably a part of the team. JS: We try to be very approachable for anybody who is really interested in playing. JM: That’s probably one of our proudest moments — how many people we’ve had join the club and how it’s really grown every year, from starting with just two guys to double digits.

MLB Should Expand Influence in Latin America Alexis Dill Sports Editor One month into the 2018 Major League Baseball season, fans have had plenty to marvel at. Last week, they saw Oakland Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea no-hit the Boston Red Sox, the team that currently boasts the best record in the league at 19–5. They watched Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout lift his 10th home run of the season over the fence Tuesday, making him the first player this season to enter double digits in the category. However, nothing made fans cheer louder than when Cleveland’s shortstop, Francisco Lindor, hit a two-run bomb in an exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins in Puerto Rico last week. Lindor, who was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, is considered a hero there. As he walked past his old elementary school during a recent visit, students held signs, hung over the balcony of the building, and called Lindor’s name.

When Lindor sent a pitch over the right center fence to give his team a 2–0 lead in the first game of the series, Hiram Bithorn Stadium erupted. Fans chanted “Paquito” — Lindor’s nickname — as they gave him a standing ovation. After seeing how much it meant to Puerto Ricans to be able to attend an MLB game and cheer for their hometown hero, I can’t help but wonder how much the MLB would benefit if it expanded its Latin American presence by putting a franchise there. In the past couple of years, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that he is considering adding two franchises to the league, bringing the total to 32 teams. The National Football League has 32 franchises, and the National Hockey League has committed to having 32 franchises as well. One of the prospective locations Manfred has hinted at is Mexico City. Although there are some potential drawbacks to putting a franchise in Mexico City, its potential benefits outweigh the risks. “The reason I have been interested in talking about

Mexico is that maybe, of all the possible expansion sites, it has the greatest opportunities for synergies in the rest of our business,” Manfred said. “I think making a full-time commitment in Mexico would be very important. It would help us improve our relationship professionally. That would in turn help us improve the flow of Mexican players into Major League Baseball. The combination of those two factors — that is the media in Mexico and the flow of players — I believe would help us in the Hispanic market in the United States.” Although Mexico is known for its love of soccer, the baseball fan base would also be huge. In 2017, six games of the World Baseball Classic took place in Zapopan, Mexico. Estadio Charros de Jalisco, the stadium that hosted the games, has a capacity of 13,000, yet this limit was broken three times. In two of these instances, the home team was playing. On March 9, in the Mexico and Italy matchup, 14,296 fans showed up. Two days later, when Mexico See Baseball, page 15

Men’s Tennis Splits Heading into NCAC Tournament

The men’s tennis team, led by four seniors, will look to get revenge against the sixth-seeded DePauw University — who knocked them out of the NCAC Tournament last year — today at 9 a.m. in Indianapolis. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

Owen Mittenthal Staff Writer The No. 37 men’s tennis team finished the regular season with a pair of matches last weekend, easily dispatching the Allegheny College Gators 8–1 Saturday and dropping a close contest to the No. 28 Denison University Big Red 6–3 Sunday. The Yeomen enter the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament as the third seed behind Kenyon College and Denison with a record of 9–9. In the first matchup Saturday, the Yeomen dominated the Gators in singles play, winning all six pairings. Sophomore Camron Cohen and first-year Elliot Nuss were especially impressive, beating their oppo-

nents 6–0, 6–1 and 6–0, 6–0, respectively. The Yeomen also won two of the three doubles pairings, as the senior duos of Manickam Manickam and Michael Drougas, and Robert Gittings and Levi Kimmel took care of business right away. “We came out with a lot of intensity,” Kimmel said. “We played our way and didn’t let them lower our level of play. We’re just refocusing this week, trying to tune everything up for the tournament.” The team was unable to outlast Denison in the second match, but strong performances from several athletes kept the Yeomen competitive throughout. Sophomore Stephen Gruppuso was a particular standout, outlasting Mitchell Thai in three sets (3–6, 6–3, and 7–5). In doubles play,

Gruppuso and Cohen teamed up in the top set and won by an 8–2 margin. Gittings also added a victory, taking his matchup 6–4, 6–3. However, the Big Red swept the remaining pairings, despite spirited threeset efforts from Manickam and sophomore Zachary Vaughn. Even so, Head Coach Eric Ishida said that his team can hang with anyone and is ready for the tournament. “We’re not far off,” Ishida said. “A few points here and there, and that’s a very different match. There were a few points early on in doubles that we were on the wrong side of, and that helped Denison grab momentum. We have continued to raise our level throughout the year, and we didn’t feel that we were the underdog. We have a lot more experience than they do, and we prepared well, but we couldn’t quite close.” Gruppuso and Cohen, who took the sole doubles loss in the Allegheny match, said that the disappointment from that performance fueled their strong showing against Denison. “It was a wake-up call for us to start working more as one unit,” Gruppuso said. “For the majority of the season, we weren’t necessarily playing together. There was virtually no communication mid-point and [a] lack of synchronized movement up and back from the net. Sunday was a huge adjustment and a step in the right direction for the future of our doubles play together.” Gruppuso also credited Assistant Coach Ian Paik, OC ’17, for his singles victory. “I went down 3–5 in the third set, and Coach Paik approached me on the court and provided me with a point-by-point strategy in order to overcome one of the best freshmen in the NCAC,” Gruppuso said.

The Yeomen enter the NCAC Tournament with significant momentum, winning four of their final six matches, with the only losses coming to Denison and topseeded Kenyon. The team will travel to Indianapolis today to take on the sixth-seeded DePauw University Tigers tomorrow, who eliminated Oberlin in the semifinals last year. The Tigers are weaker this year, finishing with a 5–16 overall record, but the Yeomen know they can’t overlook any opponent at this stage. “DePauw is definitely known for their doubles,” Ishida said. “Historically they’ve been very strong. They got up on us last year 3–0, so we’re hoping that we can take control of the match early, because I like how our singles guys are competing right now. I think that’s the secret: being prepared, being intense, and jumping on them in doubles.” Gruppuso said that he has the utmost confidence in his teammates and himself to get the job done against the Tigers and make it further into the tournament than last year. “We feel pretty confident about our matchups this weekend,” Gruppuso said. “Having another opportunity to play against DePauw this year after our loss to them in the semifinals last season [motivated] all of us to have a strong week of practice and mental preparation. Sunday proved to us that we are more than able to compete with the [top-ranked] competitors in the conference.” The tournament begins 9 a.m. at the Barbara S. Wynee Tennis Center in Indianapolis tomorrow. Should Oberlin outlast DePauw, they will likely earn a rematch with second-seeded Denison.

Softball Sweeps Terriers, Falls to Crusaders Baseball

First-year catcher and shortstop Maddison Paladino steps into the box in a game against Denison University April 7. Paladino started all 34 games of her first season, collecting 14 hits, eight RBIs, and 13 walks. Photo by Devin Cowan, Staff Photographer

Alex McNicoll Sports Editor The softball team closed their season against the Capital College Crusaders Thursday, dropping the first game 9–1 and the second game 2–1. Although they ended with an overall record of 8–26 and a 3–13 record in North Coast Athletic Conference play, they have some momentum to carry into next spring. Against the Hiram College Terriers, the Yeowomen earned their first conference sweep since 2014. Since eight of their 18 players are firstyears, they have plenty to look forward to. In their first matchup against the Crusaders, the Yeowomen couldn’t get things going offensively. First-year outfielder Emily Tucci managed to steal third base and home on an error in the top of the first inning, but it ended up being the only run for the Yeowomen that game. Senior pitcher Sandra Kibble, who is 1–7 on the season, let up six hits and three earned runs in just 2.0 innings pitched. Junior pitcher Hannah Rasmussen came in as relief in the third inning, but gave up six earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched. Rasmussen, however, did see significant improvement over the course of the season and was heavily replied upon in the circle. Tucci, who dominated on both sides of the ball in her rookie season, wasn’t displeased with her team’s season and is confident success is in the future, despite the team’s spot in the standings. The Oberlin Review | April 27, 2018

“Even though this season may not have turned out how we all wanted it to, our passion, aggressiveness, and dedication to the game will bring us to the conference championship as we continue to build this program,” Tucci said. “I think every single person on this team contributed to our successes, and I feel confident that if we continue to trust ourselves and play like we own the game, great things are going to happen for the seasons to come.” In the second game, and their final matchup of the year, the Yeowomen were on the heels of victory until the bottom of the final inning. Once again, the Yeowomen were the first to get on the scoreboard with the notorious double steal, as sophomore shortstop Alexis Dill took second and junior pinch runner Millie Cavicchio scored on the throw. Tucci was dominant on the mound, denying the Crusaders a run until the fourth inning, when they tied the game with a solo home run. It was not until the bottom of the seventh when Tucci gave up her second run, and the final run of the game, off a walk-off single. Throughout the Yeowomen’s short season, they were unable to coordinate their successes, having pitching excellence at the same time as scoring drought and vice versa. Junior outfielder Emma Downing, who was an offensive fixture with a team-leading .380 batting average, knows her team’s potential, and also understands how they can become a threat in the NCAC. “I think the biggest takeaway from this season is trusting that we are capable and good enough to put together pitching, defense, and offense to win games,” Downing said. “If we can continue to build on how the Hiram games went, we’ll be in a really good place for next year. Having so many freshmen gain experience this year and having returners continue to improve will also be helpful in contributing to more wins next year.” Against the Terriers, the Yeowomen showed some of the dominance that has come sporadically this season. In the first game, they batted in 11 runs behind Tucci’s impressive 3-for-4, three RBI performance. Downing and Dill also combined for another three RBIs in a 11–3 victory. In the second game, with Rasmussen on the mound, the Yeowomen scored another eight runs and let up just four. Tucci delivered another stellar performance by going 3-for4 again, as well as collecting another RBI. Moving forward, the Yeowomen will lose three seniors in Kibble and outfielders Dana Rae Goldstein and Maria Roussos. While all three provided valuable senior leadership, the young Yeowomen will undoubtedly benefit from another year of experience. With eight first-years and another three sophomores, the Yeowomen might finally be able to capitalize on their late season momentum and make a push for the conference playoffs in the coming years.

Should Expand Continued from page 14

played Puerto Rico, 15,647 fans came to the stadium to watch their team live. It is clear that when Latin Americans have their own team to root for, they show up. A Mexican team’s fan base would be huge, and its influence on the rest of Latin America might be even bigger. In 2016, MLB announced that MLB Mexico would be headquartered in Mexico City as the sixth MLB office outside of the United States. The league has also made an effort to set up more exhibition games in Latin American countries. In 2016, the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros played two games in Mexico City. This spring, the Cleveland baseball team and the Twins faced off in Puerto Rico twice. Travel shouldn’t be much of a concern, either. The MLB already has one international team — the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada. In addition, there is an independent league in Mexico called the Mexican Pacific League that plays during the wintertime. The league was founded in 1970 and features eight teams made up of several major league and minor league players looking to stay sharp during the offseason. Playing in Mexico isn’t new to many players, and playing back home in front of family and friends would motivate more players from Latin America. Likewise, it would give Latin American players already in the big leagues greater pride. In 2017, Latinos made up nearly 32 percent of the league’s players. Having a hometown MLB team to cheer for in person, rather than just watching on television, will give Latin Americans all the more reason to dream of making it to the major leagues, attracting more fans and bringing in more revenue. It’s time to expand MLB’s horizons.

SPORTS April 27, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 22

Arsenal FC Loses Wenger, Manager of 22 Years Jane Agler Staff Writer

Senior attack Ian McCague drives to the net against a Denison University defender April 7. McCague enjoyed a successful senior season, ending with 16 goals and five assists for a total of 21 points at the Yeomen’s final game last Saturday. Photo by Devin Cowan, Staff Photographer

Yeomen Lacrosse Defeat Tigers 14–13, Finish Season on 3 Game Streak Alex McNicoll Sports Editor The men’s lacrosse team ended their season with a 14–13 victory against the DePauw University Tigers last Saturday. The win capped off a three-game win streak that helped them finish on a high note after an overall disappointing season, hopefully building some positive momentum going in to next season. With an 8–7 record, 3–5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Yeomen will not compete in the playoffs but have enough reason to be optimistic about next spring. Senior attack John Sutherland, who scored the game-winning goal against the Tigers, was happy to end his career on a high note. “DePauw is a team that is playing right now in the conference tournament,” he said. “They’re a team that made the conference tournament by beating a couple teams that we dropped games to. We beat them my first year but lost the last two, so it was nice to close out on a win.” The Yeomen got off to a sluggish start against the Tigers. After letting up four unanswered goals in the first seven minutes, the Yeomen were lucky to finish the first quarter with a 5–5 tie behind the two-goal effort of first-year attack Tom Decker. In the second quarter, the Yeomen were much more explosive, scoring five more goals to give themselves a comfortable 10–6 lead going into halftime. The Tigers returned to shut the Yeomen out for 15 minutes, scoring four in the third quarter and allowing none. The two teams then traded goals for the remainder of the final quarter — including a late score by senior midfielder Reese Koburov — until Sutherland finally helped his team break away, scoring the game-winning goal with just 35 seconds left. In what was Sutherland’s best season of his career, he

netted 22 goals and dished out 11 assists. His performance against the Tigers also earned him his first career NCAC Player of the Week award in his final week of collegiate lacrosse. Sutherland felt humbled by the award, and was even more thankful to his teammates. “It was definitely an awesome feeling,” Sutherland said. “I’m obviously [happy] we won, but it was really nice to get recognized like that. If you look at the goals I scored, they were assisted. It wasn’t like I was going out there and doing it by myself. Every time I scored, there was someone who had to draw a slide or had the awareness to find me. I have the easy part; I just catch it and put it in the net.” With a 13-man first-year class, the Yeomen are poised to take a shot at the playoffs next year, which has eluded them for the past several seasons. Their win against the Tigers was their first against a playoff team in four years. With huge performances from rookies like firstyear midfielder Thomas Berle Carman, as well as returning sophomore goaltender Calvin Filson, the Yeomen will likely build on their three NCAC wins to make the tournament. Junior attack Jay Messina said it will be difficult to see his senior leaders go but is confident that what they helped create in their last season will carry on for a few years to come. “We have some really strong senior leaders [who will be tough to lose],” Messina said. “[However,] it’s a really good momentum swing going into next season. It’s really good for team morale — especially with such a large first-year class — having an above .500 season and win-type culture to push for next year. Our first-years are going to see the culture we’re trying to push and help continue that to make our seniors and alumni proud.”

After 22 years of managing Arsenal Football Club and providing the club with some of its most successful and memorable years to date, the sun is finally setting on Arsène Wenger’s career. Last week, Wenger announced to the public that he was leaving the club after the season finishes, marking the end of one of the most well-known managerial careers of all time. Regardless of the discourse revolving around his departure — much of which centered on whether his leave was overdue — it is necessary to sing the praises of a man who did so much for English and international soccer during one of the last tenured managerial careers seen today. When crunching the numbers, Wenger’s success is obvious. He managed 1,229 games for Arsenal, winning 705, drawing 279, and only losing 245. Under his leadership, the team scored 2,285 goals and conceded only 1,219. Wenger has also brought in trophies, winning three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, and five FA Community Shields. These feats are noteworthy, but actually fall short when compared to the profound changes Wenger has more broadly evoked in soccer. When Wenger was originally hired by Arsenal, British soccer players and managers predominantly composed the English Soccer League. Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager of Manchester United, once asked, “What does [Wenger] know about English football, coming from Japan?” in reference to Wenger’s previous coaching stint. Wenger, who is French himself, signed a handful of international players like Frenchmen Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Petit, and Patrick Vieira, and Dutchman Marc Overmars. The international influence subsequently shook up the league and later defied critics when Arsenal claimed the 1998 FA Cup and proved their worth. Nowadays, the League is one of the most diverse in the world — and of course this is in part due to Wenger. Even though he has seemed to favor enlisting international talent — at one point establishing a starting roster that did not have a single British player on the field — Wenger does not have a preference for international players. Rather, he has a commitment to signing good players in general; he has a keen eye without considering nationality a part of the criteria of a player, and ignoring English nationalist mentalities. In response to the critics of this school of thought, Wenger said, “We represent a football club which is about values, and not passports.” Wenger also changed the style of play that Arsenal implemented under his leadership. When he joined Arsenal in 1996, the football club was considered a boring team to watch. Their old-school tactic was to equally distribute attention all across the pitch, making both defense and offense stable in numbers and ensuring strength at all times throughout the match. Wenger forwent this idea and elected a style that implemented speedy attack at the expanse of a vulnerable defensive effort. By keeping possession in the opponent’s half and structuring themselves to dominate the effort by numbers, Wenger managed a team that not only won, but was entertaining. With that, it is understandable why Wenger was able to keep his position for so long, especially when managers are now just as disposable as used tissues. Some teams go through as many as three managers a season if their club is not meeting their ownership’s standards, but Wenger had the faith of his spectators and employers. Wenger’s legacy as a manager both on and off the field is why it is upsetting to know he is likely departing from the club to avoid being fired. After the past couple of seasons, Arsenal has struggled — struggling only by Arsenal’s standards, which is by no means struggling by general standards. But they do not look like the Arsenal the world of soccer has come to know so well under the controlling hand of Wenger. Even Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch — a collection of essays entirely devoted to the glory of Arsenal FC — believes the future of the club is in better hands with Wenger gone. But his attitude is surprisingly valid, and the attitude I think all admirers of Arsenal FC and Arsène Wenger should take on: Hornby explains in an article written for ESPN that “there will never be a better Arsenal manager and there will never be a smarter or more likeable one,” but Wenger’s legacy does not serve as reasoning for his staying at Arsenal or for the future of the club to be compromised without him. I began watching Arsenal in 2010, four years after the most successful season of Wenger’s career and well into the decline that has led to his departure. Even though I missed his heyday, I still grew to love the team and their distinctive style. I owe Wenger several years of the joy of waking up on Sunday mornings to watch Arsenal play some of the prettiest soccer I’ve ever seen. While I understand the reasoning for his decision to exit the club, I can’t imagine a future Arsenal team without Wenger on the sidelines.