November 11, 2016 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review

NOVEMBER 11, 2016 VOLUME 145, NUMBER 9

Local News Bulletin News briefs from the past week Final Search Committee Members The Board of Trustees announced its final Presidential Search Committee selections yesterday. The representatives, who will join six trustee members on the committee, are: Adrian Bautista, Administrative and Professional Staff; Jennifer Bryan, Arts and Sciences Faculty; Carol Levine, OC '84; Jan Miyake, Conservatory Faculty; and double-degree senior Jeremy Poe. The committee also included several questions in its announcement email to survey what community members want in the next president for the College. Upside-Down Flags The flags outside Oberlin High School, Eastwood and Prospect elementary schools were found upside down Wednesday morning. Superintendent David Hall described the incident as a “prank” to the Chronicle-Telegram, but also stated that he will look at the security footage and talk to police to try to identify the culprit. Upside down flags generally signal distress, such as on a sinking ship. Pay Hike for City Workers Oberin City Council will consider raising the minimum wage for municipal employees from $8.10 to $12.50 on Nov. 21. The move would affect roughly 35 employees and cost the city $25,000. Council last considered hiking the minimum wage for city workers in 2014, but ultimately rejected the move. The minimum wage hike would not affect private employees, only workers employed by city government.

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Students Call for Gibson's Bakery Boycott Tyler Sloan, Editor-in-Chief Oliver Bok, News Editor Chants of “No justice, no peace” reverberated across campus from early morning into late last night as hundreds of protesters lined West College Street, calling for a boycott of Gibson’s Bakery.

An altercation between Gibson’s employee Allyn Gibson and College sophomore Elijah Aladin Wednesday evening led to the Oberlin Police Department arresting Aladin and classmates Endia Lawrence and Cecelia Whettstone, all of who are Black, in what many students are saying is a case of racial profiling.

Students chant across the street from Gibson’s Bakery in Tappan Square Thursday evening. Protests ran from around 11 a.m. until Gibson's closed at 11 p.m. Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo editor

See Gibson's, page 4

Election Day Rattles Oberlin with Trump Election Louis Krauss News Editor Waves of fear and shock spread across campus Tuesday night as an unlikely reality set in: Donald Trump is going to be America’s next president. More than 300 students attended the ‘Sco’s election watch party, many of whom sat in tearful silence with head in hands as Trump won every crucial battleground state. Crowds in the ’Sco and Azariah’s mustered occasional cheers when Hillary Clinton took brief leads, but the events eventually ended with students returning home distraught, some loudly commenting, “The world is going to end tomorrow.” “I couldn’t sleep, and then woke up wondering, ‘Was it all a dream? What will happen to my family?’” College senior Ashley Suarez said Wednesday. “I’m still wondering how so many people, and even people I know, could vote for someone with those sorts of beliefs and language. I have family who are undocumented, friends and Muslim friends who are undocumented, so I worry what this means for them.” Throughout Ohio, Democrats had

College juniors Jasper Sims (left) and Jesse Docter react to Donald Trump winning the U.S. Presidency at the ‘Sco’s election viewing party Tuesday. Many returned home before the event ended. Photo by Pearse Anderson, Staff Photographer

little to celebrate, as almost every county voted for Trump outside of urban areas, resulting in a final 52 percent going to Trump and 44 to Clinton. Lorain was very close, with Trump beating Clinton by a total of 388 votes. In addition, 6,350 Lorain residents

voted for third-party nominees, 4,414 of which went to Libertarian Gary Johnson. Tensions were just as high Wednesday afternoon, as hundreds of students and a panel consisting of six faculty members and administrators

Rehab Revenue

Senior Setter

Lorain County voted against a tax levy that would aid opioid addicts. See page 2

The police booked Lawrence and Whettstone for assault before they were released on $1,000 bail, but Aladin was transferred to Lorain County Jail prior to his arraignment hearing at Oberlin Municipal Court this morning for one count of robbery. Discrepancies between eyewitness and police reports have led to conflicting versions of the incident, but what remains abundantly clear is that the scuffle between Aladin, 19, and Gibson, the white son of store owner David Gibson, escalated quickly and had moved outside of the store to across the street when officers arrived at the scene. According to the incident report filed by the Oberlin Police Department, Gibson thought Aladin was attempting to shoplift two bottles of wine by concealing them under his jacket when he confronted him. The report almost entirely consists of information from interviews with David and Allyn Gibson. “Allyn stated Aladin attempted to leave the store, so Allyn took out his phone and attempted to take a picture of Aladin and that's when Aladin slapped Allyn's hand and phone and caused it to strike Allyn in the face,” the report reads. However, College junior Andy Goelzer called that account “completely false” and said that “there was no conversation before Allyn attacked him.” Instead, Goelzer said that Gibson used force immediately on Aladin, who they say was standing in line to pay instead of attempting to leave.

Leung highlights Yeowomen's 2016 season by breaking school records. See page 15

Facing the Music Conservatory students reckon with the election. See page 13

INDEX:

Opinions 5

This Week in Oberlin 8

Arts 10

Sports 16

met in Dye Lecture Hall to discuss the implications of Trump's victory. Prior to Tuesday, panelists had thought the forum would follow an easy victory for Clinton and consist of fielding ongoSee Faculty, page 2

on the

WEB

All of the content you see here is also available on our website. Check back for the latest stories and interactive polls. Visit oberlinreview.org and facebook. com/oberlinreview and follow us on Twitter @oberlinreview and Instagram @ocreview.

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The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

County Rejects Tax Levy for Rehab Facilities Sydney Allen Production Editor Widespread opioid abuse has plagued Lorain County in recent years, but voters still rejected a measure to fund a single rehabilitation facility in a county that has zero on Tuesday. Issue 35, the proposed tax levy, would have designated money for the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County. The levy would also have increased resources for addicts in Lorain County, as there are currently very few options for those who want to detox or need support remaining clean. Lorain County currently has no rehabilitation locations for recovering heroin addicts. “[The levy was intended to] increase much-needed detox, residential and other treatment for individuals, provide expanded education and support to families struggling with addiction of their loved ones, add age-appropriate prevention, early identification and referral service to youth in grades K-12 throughout Lorain County,” said Elaine Georgas, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County. Since 2012, Lorain County has had over 60 overdose deaths annually, but this year the county is on track to have approximately 140 deaths related to heroin, opioids and other drugs, according to Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans. Ohio is ranked second nationally in overdose deaths with 2,744 deaths in 2014, falling only behind California, which had 4,521 overdose deaths in 2014. Oberlin City Council approved a unanimous endorsement of Issue 35 the day before the election. “I and my colleagues agreed that Issue 35 addressed quality of life and safety issues for our county,” said Councilmember Sharon Soucy. Had the levy passed, it would have been in effect for five years and raised approximately $7.8 million annually, costing the owner of a $100,000 house about $42 per year — less than 12 cents per day. Fifty-five percent of people voted against it by a margin of 10,000. The city of Oberlin was largely in favor of the levy, with 3,413 people voting for it and only 1,001 people against it. These margins starkly contrasted with tallies from other municipalities that voted overwhelmingly against the issue. Out of the 10 cities and districts that compose Lorain County, only Oberlin and Avon Lake voted to approve the levy. Avon Lake is the wealthiest city in Lorain County with an an-

Community members check in with staff members at the polling center in Philips gym. The other polling centers in Oberlin included the Zion Community Development building and Kendal at Oberlin. Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo editor

nual per capita income of $32,336 and an average household income of $65,988 according to the 2010 U.S. Census. The rest of the cities have a per capita income of around $22,000 per year. Although Oberlin has a per capita income of $20,704 with approximately a quarter of its residents at or below the poverty line, the city overwhelmingly voted for the issue. For some voters, the decision to vote against the levy had nothing to do with the levy itself but with the election in general. Oberlin resident Eugenia Bobo said she chose not to vote for the levy due to the divisiveness and negativity associated with this election cycle. “I usually vote in favor of all the tax levies,” Bobo said. “I voted against it this year. I was very unhappy with the election, and I was angry. If [Donald Trump’s] not going to pay his taxes, I’m not going to pay more. He can pay it himself.”

The heroin and opioid epidemic is currently costing the U.S. $76 billion each year in societal costs. According to Georgas every $1 spent on prevention would create $10 in savings. “Every city has been impacted by the epidemic,” Georgas said. “Drug-related crime continues, emergency room costs are high due to overdose survivors accessing the ER … and employers cannot find qualified drug-free candidates to hire and maintain productivity.” City Councilmember Kelley Singleton emphasized that the drug crisis extends far beyond Lorain County. “It’s a really big issue all across the country, but particularly in our area, it’s pretty bad,” Singleton said. “And I think it’s going to need more than Lorain County’s help to fix this problem. It’s a federal issue, it’s a state issue to fix this problem, as well as a local issue.”

Faculty Panel Unpacks Election Day Implications Continued from page 1 ing issues of police brutality and drone attacks. Instead, students came out in droves, fearful of some of Trump's most incendiary campaign vows, including the deportation of undocumented people and the banning of all Muslims. Several students from Obies for Undocumented Inclusion held up banners in the front rows with slogans that read “#Here to stay,” and “Undocumented and Unafraid.” The group has been holding teach-ins and symposiums recently as part of its first annual Undocumented Students Week. Africana Studies faculty-in-residence RaShelle Peck ended the forum on a somber note as she wrapped up her thoughts on how she would reassure her kids after the election. “I just hope my kid is not the next Tamir Rice," she said. Across national media on Wednesday, many pointed to the divide between urban and rural America as a contributor to Trump’s win. Given that Oberlin is a liberal bubble in a sea of Ohio's

rural, conservative voters, some students at the panel wondered how they could start interacting with Republican voters who evidently felt more strongly about Trump and the election than the polls showed. “Part of the Super Bowl quality of the election is, I don’t know a Trump voter personally, and I can’t imagine someone voting for Trump,” College senior Ariel Miller said. “I’ve tried to think about the issue of uniting our country, like Donald Trump said in his seech last night. But I don’t know how to do it. I don’t know how to reach across that line. I don’t even know who they are.” Politics Professor and panelist Jennifer Garcia didn’t have an answer, but said it’s important for Democrats to engage in conversations with Trump supporters because they rarely happen and could reveal why they felt the need to vote for him. In terms of geographical location, students wouldn’t have to travel far to interact with nearby Trump supporters. The three counties bordering southern Lorain voted for Trump either double or triple the number of those for Clinton.

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One of Trump’s supporters is Bobby Deskins, a 19-year-old Lorain County Community College student who lives with his parents five miles north of Oberlin. Deskins was not surprised that Trump won, as he was one of the few who listened to the concerns of middle-class white Americans. “The media was surprised, but the common people understood what he was trying to say that something in America needs to change,” Deskins said while talking to the Review on his porch Thursday afternoon. Although he cited personal issues with Obamacare as a reason for voting for Trump, Deskins said Trump’s main appeal is his promise of a drastic change in politics from what has come before. “It’s just a way to shake everything up, and he’s finally saying what the rest of Americans are scared to say,” Deskins said. “ISIS is a big problem, and you look at the Democratic side, and they don’t want to say anything about it. They say Trump is a racist, but right now the biggest chaos in Black communities is going on, and with a

Editors-in-Chief Editors-in-chief Tyler Liv Combe Sloan Allegra Vida Weisblum Kirkland Managing editor Samantha Kiley Petersen Link News editors Rosemary Oliver Boeglin Bok Alex LouisHoward Krauss Opinions editor WillSami Rubenstein Mericle This Week Weekeditor editor Zoë Andrea Strassman Wang Arts editors Christian Kara Brooks Bolles Victoria Georgia Garber Horn Sports editors Jackie McDermott Quinn Hull Madeleine Darren O’Meara Zazlau Layout editors Abby Tiffany Carlstad Fung Amanda Ben Garfinkel Tennant Alanna TaliaSandoval Rodwin Photo editors Anya OliviaSpector Gericke Photo editors Brannon Rockwell-Charland Bryan Rubin Online editor Rick Alanna Bennett Yu

Black president, so it can’t get much worse.” Deskins was concerned by some of the racist and sexist comments has Trump made throughout his campaign, and hopes that he quickly learns how to act in a politician’s role, something he’s never done before. “He needs to learn that he’s not a businessman anymore, he’s a politician,” Deskins said. “So obviously he needs to start watching what he says more closely.” In the student body, Trump supporters are few and far between, but they do exist, and hope that students wait before denouncing Trump as president. Conservatory senior Albert Bellefeuille, who voted for Trump, said he hopes students just wait until Trump actually makes some changes. “I’m sorry so many students feel so alarmed, but I urge them not to,” Bellefeuille said. “Frankly, he hasn’t done anything yet. He’s said things you might not like, but the reaction seems so violent. It’s counterproductive to having a peaceful transition, and I hope people wait until January to come to their conclusions.”

Business manager Maureen CurtisCoffey Cook Business manager Savi Sedlacek Ads manager Caley Watnick Ads manager Reshard el-Shair Online editor Hazel Galloway Production manager Sophia Bamert Production Ryanne Berry Production manager staff Stephanie Bonner Auden Granger Production staff Emma Eisenberg Taylor Field Julia Peterson Katherine Hamilton Giselle Glaspie Julia Hubay Sydney Allen Tracey Knott Anna Rubenstein Noah Morris Anna Peckham Courtney Loeb Silvia Sheffield Melissa Harris Drew Wise Kendall Mahavier Distributors Joe Camper Distributors Bryan Rubin Joseph Dilworth James Ben Steger Kuntz

Corrections The Review is not aware of Corrections: any corrections this week. The Review is not aware of any corrections Review strivesato print all email at thisThe time. To submit correction, information as accurately as possible. managingeditor@oberlinreview.org. If you feel the Review has made an error, please send an e-mail to managingeditor@oberlinreview.org.

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The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

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Off the Cuff: Professors Shelly Lee and Gina Pérez Professors of Comparative American Studies Shelley Lee and Gina Pérez held a teach-in on immigration, education policy and the rights and opportunities afforded to undocumented students Monday. The event took place as part of UndocuWeek 2016, a series of events sponsored by Obies for Undocumented Inclusion to raise awareness of the struggles that undocumented students go through. Pérez specializes in Latinx studies. Lee, a history professor who authored A New History of Asian America, focuses on Asian-American history and has written op-eds for Salon, Truthout and Inside Higher Ed. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did the teach-in go? Shelley Lee: We thought it went well, it was well attended. We tried to bring different historical and contemporary perspectives and knowledge on the issue of undocumented immigrants, and we had a pretty lively Q and A afterwards. I think students are very eager. They want to be better informed; they have a lot of questions. Gina Pérez: I think so, too. It built on an event that the same students had organized last spring that was more broadly on legislation. This one was about undocumented immigrants in education and social policy more broadly, which I really appreciated. One of the things that Shelley and I have been talking about is how not only are students eager for this knowledge, but it also is an opportunity for us to learn even more and do research that keeps us going so we’re drawing on our own expertise. These are real opportunities for us, as well. What was your reaction to the election results? SL: My thought in participating in the teach-in, that was the day before the election, was just to share some knowledge and have a conversation about undocumented immigrants with the idea that we might have a chance to reform the law, that we might have a chance to push the new administration to enact comprehensive immigration reform, which no one’s been able to do. We’re facing a totally different scenario now. GP: Shelley and I have been working on an op-ed piece, and we were working from the assumption it was going to be about putting

Thursday, Nov. 3 8:45 a.m. Staff reported graffiti in black marker in a restroom on the first floor of Wilder Hall. A work order was filed for removal.

Friday, Nov. 4 12:04 p.m. Safety and Security officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the second floor of Old Barrows. Steam from a shower triggered the alarm, which was reset. 2:31 p.m. Officers responded to a report

pressure on presumably the democratic candidate to enact meaningful immigration reform that would build on some of the things that President Obama did, but would also move away from some of the other kinds of policies that happened under his administration, like mass deportation. I feel like since that time it’s just been a whole shift and retooling of our thinking — both for this op-ed piece, but also about what to say to students and how to teach our classes. Actually, as a result of Shelley’s suggestion, I looked at the Trump campaign website yesterday to see what the actual immigration platform is. It actually kind of strikes me as sort of a parody. It doesn’t even seem like a real platform around immigration. It’s really sobering. Things that I was nervous about before, I just feel totally scared now. SL: Our thinking was focused on federal legislation and now it’s: What do we even push for since no one is going to listen to us anyways? Our focus has gone from what’s going to be possible at the federal level to what do we need to do here, now, to protect our undocumented students. GP: And not even just undocumented students. One of the things we talked about at the teach-in was that even students who are the children of immigrants, a lot of them come from mixed-status families. There are plenty of families where you have members who might be undocumented, some might be legal permanent residents and some who might be U.S. citizens. So the uncertainty and the fears around immigration, even if they don’t affect the students themselves, affects them because it affects their family members, it affects their households, it affects their community. There’s an urgency that we’re taking to the administration now more than ever because there’s this incredible uncertainty. Even around things like DACA, Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival, it’s one way for young people to remain in the United States in a protected, temporary category. All of that is up for grabs. It’s very clear based on Trump’s platform that that’s one of things he wants to rescind as soon as he can. Although he said he wants to build the wall first, so we might have some time. What is the College doing to protect undocumented students? Can more be done? GP: The organization that supported UndocuWeek is Obies for Undocumented Inclusion, a student organization that I think has worked actively to develop an undocumented student scholarship fund. SL: Julio [Reyes] at the MRC has been very

of damaged merchandise at the Oberlin College Bookstore. Several items of clothing and tote bags were marked with a black marker. The value of the damaged items was estimated at $210. Members of the Oberlin Police Department also responded.

will respond, but I’m worried that without any checks and balances in place what that might mean at the federal level as well as at the level of states and municipalities.

Comparativve American Studies Professor Gina Pérez, participates in a teach-in Monday.

instrumental in supporting those efforts. GP: Exactly, he’s actually the liaison for undocumented students on campus. There’s a lot of efforts to clarify what else the administration can do. That’s where we are now. SL: The most meaningful work has actually been taking place on the ground with students, with staff like Julio, and I think now we need to push administrators — the president, general counsel. In terms of what, specifically? SL: Legal support for undocumented students. GP: At this point there really has to be a commitment on the part of the administration to match the kinds of work that has been going on at the ground level. And that’s what we’ve been working on, to make sure that there’s free legal council for all students who have questions about immigration. And it’s not just Latino students, it’s not just undocumented students, it’s a whole range of students who are affected by these things. What are you most worried about from a Trump administration? GP: I’m worried about more punitive measures, I’m worried about rescinding executive orders; I’m worried about not having any checks and balances on any of the draconian legislation that has been enacted at the state level that could suddenly become part of federal platforms again. We’ve seen that with the Sensenbrenner Act in 2005 and 2006. That’s what led to these mobilizations in Chicago and Los Angeles. I’m very confident that people

1:54 a.m. Officers were requested to assist a student ill from alcohol consumption on the third floor of East Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Housing Unit on Lorain Street. The party, which had approximately 150 people in attendance, most of whom were holding alcohol, was closed down. 1:16 a.m. Officers on routine patrol found the southwest entrance door to Finney Chapel ajar. It appeared the door had been forced open. They found nothing out of the ordinary inside the building, and filed a work order for repairs on the door. 1 a.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption. The student declined medical treatment. The facilities manager on call was contacted for clean up.

Sunday, Nov. 6

Monday, Nov. 7

12:10 a.m. Officers on routine patrol observed an unauthorized party at a Village

2:56 p.m. Officers assisted a staff member who fell, possibly injuring their knee, in

Saturday, Nov. 5

President Obama had kind of a mixed record on these issues, right? He signed executive orders, but he also authorized a lot of deportations. SL: That’s actually characterized the thrust of most immigration policy from the 1980s onwards, where there would be a combination of amnesty with a ramping up of enforcement. Obama’s not unusual in that regard. Since the ’80s, that was the only acceptable form for immigration reform: little bit of amnesty, but enforcement gets stiffer. It was very much in keeping with the thrust of immigration policies for several decades. But there was still some hope for the possibility of reforming immigration to be more flexible and compassionate because immigration history in the U.S. on the whole has been very spotty and problematic. But I think there has been a general direction toward — this may be really hard to generalize — but there have been patterns toward greater openness, a policy rooted in compassion. And I think that’s going away. GP: I think that Clinton and Trump agreed on a couple of things regarding immigration, and border security was one of them. You ask either one of the candidates about their platform, it actually came up in the third debate, and they both started from border security. What Shelley is saying is absolutely true. There’s been this long history of having a preoccupation about the border, fortifying the border, pouring lots of money into border enforcement and border security, even while trying to provide different pathways for legal residency. It’s a really mixed bag of things, but the one thing that has been consistent since the 1980s is the focus on the border, which intensified after 9/11 in the amount of money, technology and new equipment to fortify the border. In that sense, Democrats and Republicans unfortunately both concur. SL: But there’d always be a kind of humane element in those policies. But now that’s all going to be wiped away, and I think we’re just going to have a very punitive security-obsessed immigration state. Interview by Oliver Bok, News editor Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo editor

Stevenson Dining Hall. The staff member was transported by ambulance to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 11:15 p.m. An officer on routine patrol detected an odor of burnt marijuana coming from a group of students on the patio of Kahn Hall. The students stated they were only smoking cigarettes. Students were advised of College policy of smoking on campus.

Tuesday, Nov. 8 10:33 a.m. Officers assisted an injured staff person in Dascomb Dining Hall. The individual had re-injured a cut/burn and become lightheaded. Transport to the emergency room was declined at the time and the injury was re-bandaged.

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Gibson's Altercation Leads to Student Arrests Continued from page 1 “He was literally just standing there, and Allyn Gibson comes running from the back of the store screaming, ‘Shoplifter!’ and grabs him,” Goelzer said. “The kid is like, ‘Get off me, I’m not doing anything.' At this point, people in the store are starting to yell, 'Get off him', 'What are you doing?'" Both the police report and the eyewitnesses agree that Gibson then pursued Aladin to the back of the store when an altercation ensued as Gibson attempted to physically detain Aladin and two bottles of wine ended up on the floor. The police report details that Aladin allegedly threw the bottles of wine on the floor, but eyewitnesses said that the bottles could have fallen from shelving that was knocked over during the struggle. “They could’ve been in his shirt,” College junior Andres Gonzalez said. “They could’ve just as easily been from the aisle. A lot of the merchandise was knocked over in him pushing this guy into the aisle.” The police report and the eyewitnesses sharply disagreed about who the aggressor was. “Allyn stated he never threw a punch at Aladin and just kept attempting to grab him to keep him from hitting him and leaving the store,” the report reads. In contrast, Goelzer stated that they called the police out of concern for Aladin’s safety. “At this point, a few people in the store start running over to try to pull him off, and there’s like four people trying to pull him off and no one can manage to break him free, and he’s hitting this kid and putting him in a chokehold,” Goelzer said. Aladin allegedly managed to break free and ran out to the side-

walk, where Goelzer stated that they saw Gibson tackle Aladin again. At this point, witnesses say Whettstone and Lawrence physically tried to free Aladin by hitting Gibson. “They kind of rolled together — you couldn’t tell who was who,” College first-year Yue Yu said. “I [saw] the two girls start to kick onto — I couldn’t see who.” Aladin, allegedly pursued by Gibson, then ran across the street to Tappan Square, where the struggle resumed, with Whettstone and Lawrence joining again, according to witnesses. College junior Angie Vaaler described the fight as a “ball of people,” and College junior Jake Berstein said that it seemed like there were punches coming from both sides. At that point, police arrived at the scene and broke up the scuffle. “As officers approached the area, Sergeant [Victor] Ortiz, and Officer [Raymond] Feuerstein both stated they observed Allyn Gibson lying on his back with several individuals kneeling over him punching and kicking him with several other individuals in the immediate area,” the report reads. But according to Goelzer, Whettstone and Lawrence were trying to free Aladin, not injure Gibson. “They were trying to pull him off of the kid, so they might’ve had his arms, but they were trying to pull him off the kid,” Goelzer said. The police quickly detained Whettstone and Lawrence and placed them in separate police cars. The officers then arrested Aladin and interviewed David and Allyn Gibson. According to Oberlin Police Lieutenant Michael McCloskey, store employees have a legal right to detain shoplifters, although he noted that the department does not recommend that employees do so because

it often leads to situations escalating. “The Ohio Revised Code does allow store proprietors or employees of those stores to detain and arrest shoplifters,” McCloskey said. “If they have probable cause to believe that someone is trying to take items from the store, they can legally, in a reasonable manner, detain them for a length of time until police get there to arrest the suspect.” McCloskey also said that Aladin was charged with robbery, a felony, instead of shoplifting, a misdemeanor, because of the physical altercation. Robbery in the third degree, which is how the incident will likely be categozied, can carry a sentence of one to five years in prison. Gonzalez said Gibson was in the wrong, regardless of whether Aladin was shoplifting. This echoed the sentiment of many students, who said that the situation was rife with ra-

cially fueled undertones. “If he had been shoplifting, that’s not a reason to chase him and throw him into the ground and beat him up,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez worried President-elect Donald Trump’s victory would embolden racist behavior. “People are afraid that this is how it’s going to be,” Gonzalez said. “For me, I’m Puerto Rican. As a person of color, it’s f---ing scary.” However, to long-time Gibson’s employee Trey James, who is Black, race had nothing to do with it. “If you’re caught shoplifting, you’re going to end up getting arrested," James said. "When you steal from the store, it doesn’t matter what color you are. You can be purple, blue, green, if you steal, you get caught, you get arrested." According to a flyer distributed by protesters, this incident was far from

Gibson's first instance of alleged racial bias. "This is a racist establishment with a long account of racial profiling and discrimination. Today we urge you to shop elsewhere," the statement read. Student Senate also passed a resolution yesterday stating, "the Students of Oberlin College immediately cease all support, financial and otherwise, of Gibson's Food Market and Bakery." The group also called for President Marvin Krislov, Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, other administrators and general faculty to publicly condemn Gibson's. Allyn Gibson could not be reached for comment. This morning at Dascomb Hall, a sign replaced the bagels and donuts from Gibson's that are usually served at breakfast, reading, "Our apologies for the inconvenience."

Allyn Gibson sits with his back against a painted rock in Tappan Square as four eyewitnesses fill out forms describing the altercation that led to three College students' arrests late Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Rick Yu, Photo editor

Republicans Dominate Down the Ticket in Ohio Jack Brewster Staff Writer Donald Trump overwhelmingly won Ohio and edged out Hillary Clinton in Lorain County, but he was not the only Republican candidate in the state and county to claim victory on Tuesday. Senator Rob Portman and Representative Jim Jordan, both Republicans, were re-elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives for Ohio’s fourth district, respectively. Dan Ramos, a Democrat, was re-elected as state representative to Ohio’s 56th district, which includes Oberlin. Portman declared victory early Tuesday night and finished more than one million votes ahead of his opponent, Democrat Ted Strickland. In Lorain County, Portman defeated Strickland by more than 17,000 votes, garnering 53.8 percent of the vote compared to Strickland’s 40.5. “All that continues after the dust settles tomorrow morning is the cause of America,” Portman said in his victory speech. “This political season has been one that we’re probably all happy to let go, and we probably won’t miss it. It will be time to turn to the serious business ahead for our country, and we’ve got lots to do, don’t we?” Portman will serve his second term as Ohio Senator. His re-election was vital to Republicans looking to maintain their majority in the Senate. With Portman’s win and other Republican Senate victories around the country, the GOP preserves its Senate majority 51–49.

Strickland, the former governor of Ohio and a strong Clinton supporter, was expected to defeat Portman. He led in most polls until this fall and raised over $20 million, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Strickland’s lead dissipated after pro-Portman PACs launched a series of attack ads. The Democratic Party quickly pulled its funding, believing that the race was a lost cause, which further reduced his standing in the polls. Come November, experts predicted Portman would win. “Thank you to all who supported our campaign,” Strickland tweeted. “I am proud to have fought for working families during this campaign and will continue to do so.” Jordan was re-elected as Ohio’s 4th Congressional district representative, which includes Oberlin, by an even greater margin than Portman. Jordan defeated his opponent Janet Garrett by more than 100,000 votes, with 68 percent of the vote compared to Garrett’s 32. “It’s a great honor to serve as the 4th district’s voice in Congress, and I am humbled by the voters’ support to represent them for another term,” Jordan said in The ChronicleTelegram. “I am committed to working hard and ending ‘business as usual’ in Washington so we can begin tackling the big issues facing our country.” Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom caucus, has been Congressman for the fourth district since his first election in 2006. He is known as a strong proponent of conserva-

tive values. According to his website, he was awarded the Pro-Life Legislator of the Year award from the United Conservatives of Ohio. This is the second time Garrett has challenged Jordan. He also defeated Garrett in a race for the House in 2014. Garrett, a former school teacher in Oberlin, lost every precinct except Lorain County, where she won by more than 5,000 votes. “This district has been gerrymandered so severely that running was kind of an act of resistance," Garrett told the Review. “Ohio is a 50 –50 split between the two parties which is why we’re a bellwether state in the election. And we have 16 congressional seats. If democracy were served we would have eight Republicans and eight Democrats, right? Well we have four Democrats and 12 Republicans and it’s because of the gerrymandering. … They tried to take away our voice because there’s so many Democrats in this county.” Garrett said she is undecided at this point whether she will run in 2018, but will keep her mind open. Dan Ramos was the lone Democrat to win a prominent political office on the Oberlin ballot. He was re-elected as state representative for Ohio’s 56th district, defeating Republican Jessie Mae Tower with 30,038 votes compared to Tower’s 17,165. “I’m feeling very good,” Ramos said after his win on Election Day to the Morning Journal. “I’ve worked very hard for six years to put

the needs of our community at the forefront in Columbus, and it’s always very gratifying that basically, the folks want me to keep doing what I’m doing for our community.” Tower could not be reached for comment. While some Oberlin voters did their research and cared about races besides the presidential election, others headed to the voting booths either uninterested or uninformed. “I cared about the tax levies because I’m a teacher,” said Elizabeth York, a teacher at the Quest Community School in Parma, Ohio. “As far as who’s judge and who’s this and that, no I don’t care. Presidential election and the tax levies are the only things I cared about.” As a student who is residing in Oberlin temporarily, College senior Michael Masella felt uncomfortable voting for more taxes. “No, I didn’t really care about the other elections,” Masella said. “But I voted all Democrat, and I didn’t vote for the taxes, because I don’t live here and I didn’t think it would be right.” Hector Orama, a retired autoworker who voted for Trump, said he only voted in the elections for which he felt he had enough information. “I voted for Ramos because I know the family and I voted for Portman,” Orama said. “I didn’t vote for either [Jordan or Garrett] because I didn’t really feel confident I have enough knowledge of them. I’ll be glad when the whole thing is over with.”

Opinions The Oberlin Review

November 11, 2016

Public Protest Can Uphold Democracy Russell Jaffe Columnist The U.S. was simultaneously shocked and horrified by Donald Trump’s win late on election night. In an equally alarming turn of events, Democrats failed to win back control of either the Senate or the House of Representatives. With the Supreme Court likely to soon fall into the hands of conservatives as well, many of the checks and balances that were meant to keep our government stable are no longer effective. For all intents and purposes, the fate of our nation rests in the hands of an egotist who has no experience in politics and is currently facing more than 75 pending lawsuits. It’s now time for us, as the American people, to figure out what we are going to do about it. It must be acknowledged that a sizable portion of the public is unlikely to see any need to take action at all, content to cast its votes and watch from the sidelines. Putting aside voter intimidation against Democrats, and despite losing the popular vote by more than 200,000 votes, Trump was elected fair and square. However, for those of you who feel that your voice was not represented in this election or that Trump’s actions — including publicly mocking disabled people, denying scientifically proven facts like cli-

mate change and encouraging foreign hackers to spy on Clinton — should disqualify him as a presidential candidate, I would encourage you to take a stand. Doing so may be the only option we have left. The first and most obvious way to protest the Trump presidency is to simply make your objections heard. Through demonstrations, op-eds and petitions, even ordinary citizens can raise their voices all the way to the capitol. Organizing demonstrations, while risking police brutality or counter protests, can show solidarity with people most affected by a Trump presidency. In other cases, it may be more effective and physically safer to publish a petition that embodies the voice of the people instead. Phone banking can also be used to catch the attention of congresspeople and senators. For example, activists recently gathered at Oberlin College to flood government offices with warnings about the serious human rights violations and environmental costs of the Dakota Access Pipeline — a plan that Trump will likely support. The voice of the people may be the last of the checks and balances that still remains viable. It is no exaggeration to say that American democracy will likely not survive a Trump presidency without it.

On a more extreme note, impeachment remains a possibility. All cases for impeachment require an elected official to violate one of three standards: exceeding the bounds of the Constitution, grossly inappropriate behavior for the office or using the powers of the presidential office for personal gain. If Trump openly bragging about sexual assault is any indication, it is highly likely that he will be guilty of all three during his time in office. Beyond attacking the Trump presidency, an even more important task is caring for those who rightfully fear the future that a Trump presidency will bring. Immigrants, people of color, low-income families, the LGBTQ community and more are almost certain to experience the horrifying effects of Trump’s agenda first hand. This is a time at which Americans must stand together more than ever before. I highly encourage all readers to reach out to their families, their friends and even strangers. At this moment in history, everyone must know that they are loved, they are not alone, and above all, we will endure together. The following years will be a dark time, but we can still do the best we can with what we have. As long as we do, I truly believe that eventually, the world will begin to move in the right direction once again. For now, stay determined.

Misogyny Played Pivotal Role in Election Chloe Vassot Contributing Writer I did not expect this election to make me cry. I expected my cynicism to protect me in a jaded, painless bubble that denied the horrifying reality of a non-Clinton outcome. This election has made clear a variety of truths about the previously unspoken, but nevertheless present, assumptions and prejudices that exist in the U.S.: the racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and any and all phobias of those who are not white, straight or middle-class. I want to focus on misogyny, and particularly how it applies to white women — not because it is the most vital aspect of this election, but because this is my group, my demographic. My county in Pennsylvania went red. I live with and have grown up with white women who became Trump voters. They are like me, and this proximity means that I

have some sort of responsibility to try to change what I can in my community. According to The Washington Post exit polls, 62 percent of white women without a college degree voted for Donald Trump; 45 percent of white women with a college degree also voted for Trump. In comparison, 95 percent of Black women with no college degree voted for Hillary Clinton, and of those with a college degree, 91 percent voted for Clinton. As a white woman, I am ashamed of my demographic and furious that I have a just cause to feel this shame. The above numbers show that it wasn’t “women” as a monolithic whole who largely supported Trump, but white women. In that respect, the interest of white people in maintaining white supremacy largely decided this election. But another important aspect is the internalization of misogyny among white women that See White, page 7

Submissions Policy The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and column submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in the following Friday’s Review. Letters may not exceed 600 words and columns may not exceed 800 words, except with the consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names, for all signers. All electronic submissions from multiple writers should be carbon-copied to all signers to confirm authorship. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for content, space, spelling, grammar and libel. Editors will work with columnists and contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. In no case will editors change the opinions expressed in any submission. The Opinions section strives to serve as a forum for debate. Review staff will occasionally engage in this debate within the pages of the Review. In these cases, the Review will either seek to create dialogue between the columnist and staff member prior to publication or will wait until the next issue to publish the staff member’s response. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to the author of a letter to the editors. Opinions expressed in letters, columns, essays, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review.

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

Editors-in-Chief Tyler Sloan Vida Weisblum Managing Editor Kiley Petersen Opinions Editor Sami Mericle

Oberlin Must Not Settle for Silence in Wake of Election Despite a commendable effort by Hillary Clinton supporters, Lorain County went red on Tuesday by fewer than 400 votes. Though many Oberlin students are devastated by the result, for many in nearby residences, President-elect Donald Trump was the clear choice. Now more than ever, we must take advantage of our own voices and campus resources to take a stand both on campus and in surrounding communities. Just because the election is over does not mean students should stop mobilizing against injustice, especially as hateful acts surge. No progress will be made by sitting back and hoping things will work out; the fear and hatred that has pervaded our country cannot be normalized or ignored. It is our responsibility to peacefully demonstrate and resist these anti-progressive and discriminatory policies — complacency is not an option when human rights are at risk. The sadness and fear in Oberlin was palpable Wednesday. President Barack Obama’s impending retirement from office undoubtedly stirs fear in many students whose personal safety is threatened by Trump’s hateful rhetoric. His action plan for his first 100 days in office includes the deportation of undocumented immigrants, decreased funding to sanctuary cities and the continued destruction of sovereign land by pipeline construction, among other regressive policies. While a Republican-controlled legislature will not necessarily back all of Trump’s brash ideas, members of the GOP will certainly consider some, making it easier to dismantle much of the progress that has been made in the last eight years under Obama. Day one in Trump’s America brought a drastic increase in racist, xenophobic and sexist hate crimes, but at the same time protests against the President-elect erupted in cities like NYC, Chicago, D.C. and Los Angeles and on college campuses. As the popular vote went to Clinton, many struggle to acknowledge Trump as their rightful president, sparking the hashtag #NotMyPresident. In his speech Wednesday, President Obama urged the nation to accept the election results. “The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy,” he said. “And over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world.” And while a peaceful transition of power is necessary to maintain our system of democracy, it does not negate the actions we can take at a local level to protect our most vulnerable communities. The most effective course of action for now is to work with our own Ohio community. Those who are able should become involved in organizations like the Ninde Scholars program, Oberlin Community Services emergency assistance, America Counts tutoring, the Bridge or Zion CDC to support Black and Brown community members. The student body should urge the Dean of Students office to allocate funds to emergency unhealth concerns or legal fees, especially to support undocumented students. Finally, for those who are able to do so safely, we should engage in conversations across the aisle without resorting to elitist language or bringing in a superiority complex that led many to disregard the real possibility of a Trump presidency in the first place. The collective work of organizing against Trump — and the systems of prejudice that his election condones — will require mobilizing on grassroots levels and reckoning with the state of our nation. Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing editor and Opinions editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

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Opinions

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

Election Results Challenge Language of Politics CJ Blair Columist In the three years that I have been writing this column, I’ve rarely discussed politics. I always found political op-eds to be pretentious and impersonal, as though the writer spent so long digging for facts that they never considered the emotional significance of their story. But now, in the wake of the most disturbing election in recent history, I find myself scrambling to make sense of what happened. This is a rare moment when words feel totally useless, when no amount of eloquence can explain what we’re seeing, much less its significance. It’s impossible to catalog the effects this will have on our future, but at a fundamental level, the election of Donald Trump has called into question our understanding of language. His candidacy has spawned a profusion of hateful rhetoric, and if we are to promote positive change in lieu of these results, we will have to learn anew how to speak to the people we disagree with. While I’m trying to write this, I’m still speechless. As an environmental activist who has spent hundreds of hours campaigning for climate justice, I feel like I’ve been erased. The change I thought I could enact now seems like a farce, like the work I wanted to spend my life doing has no place in this world. Maybe I’m catastrophizing, but seeing as Trump has already chosen climate change denier Myron Ebell to lead his planned Environmental Protection Agency reform, it’s hard not to fear the worst for the planet’s future and my own. And I say all this as a cis white man, someone who won’t even feel the brunt of Trump’s promised attacks like my friends who are women, LGBTQ and people of color. No aphorism works here. No witty quote from Benjamin Franklin or Mark Twain can explain how we got here or what to do next. If we are to articulate what happened, we need a broader lexicon. This challenge to language is not unprecedented, and it’s almost always seen in history’s most trying moments. War often catalyzes the expansion of language, with the phrases “no man’s land” and “pushing up daisies” stemming from the First World War, “bloodbath” from the second, and “light at the end of the tunnel” from the Vietnam War. These new expressions came in tandem with radical artistic and activist movements, from Modern art attempting to reconcile a fractured world to folk songs broadcasting civil rights and social movements in the ’60s. Trump’s presidency could incite a comparable shuffling of language. From “Grab ’em by the pussy” to “They’re murderers, they’re rapists,” Trump has demolished the expectation of ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As an environmental activist who has spent hundreds of hours campaigning for climate justice, I feel like I’ve been erased. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– formality and decent conduct in our president’s speech, and with half the country on his side, many people are asking how such language can be acceptable. It can’t be. Yet if we’re to cope with whatever trials the next four years will hold, we can’t deny that our neighbors either championed this language or voted for him in spite of it. However the left — or anyone repulsed by his speech — plans to act in the days to come, we have to stop pretending we can make change without acknowledging the positions of those who elected him. I can’t think of a greater challenge than this, and I have no idea if it will lead to positive change. But the alternative is to do nothing, to effectively transform our words into silence by speaking only to each other, refusing to have discussions with half our country. An idea often discussed in activism is that you don’t need to get everyone on your side, just the minority that truly care. This election has me doubting that belief, because if the party I oppose controls every branch of government, nothing will change if I can’t reach the people with whom I disagree. Maybe they don’t deserve my diplomacy, but if it could help the planet and the people I care about, I’m more than willing to try. Trump’s victory is already testing our strength and patience. There’s too much reason to feel hopeless, and no one should have to pretend they see a silver lining if they don’t. But if nothing else, this election confirmed that how we’ve been talking doesn’t work, and it has led a majority of voters to seek leadership in a demagogue. So much is now stacked against progressivism, but if we decide it’s worth it to keep fighting, we’ll have to transform our rhetoric to protect ourselves and promote goodness in this world. Our principles, though, can stay intact. Thankfully, those don’t ever have to change.

Brian Tom

Students Reject Dissenting Opinions Melissa Harris Production Editor Obies and their family members congregated in the Carnegie Building’s Root Room to hear NPR Radiolab host Robert Krulwich, OC ’69, give a talk titled “Oberlin Itches, So I Scratch: A Private 50 Year Fight With My College” at The Friends of the Library’s annual dinner Saturday night. While Krulwich may have graduated nearly 50 years ago, his speech made me recognize a timeless quality about Oberlin: the lovehate relationship that so many Obies foster with this college. I’ve experienced wave after wave of immense admiration and disdain for this institution, and Krulwich’s speech finally articulated those feelings for me. He stressed how, when he was at Oberlin, he was conflicted because his views — namely regarding commitment to the draft of the Vietnam War — were not perfectly in line with those of most students on campus. He felt that Oberlin was unkind to perspectives outside of the Oberlin status quo. Although he agreed that Oberlin is a brilliant place for its progressivism, its rigidity and quickness to reject opinions that do not conform to those progressive ideals creates a paradox. This moment brought out all of that unconscious inner conflict I’ve been experiencing throughout my time at this college. Oberlin, while progressive, only allows for the progressive. But does that really make it progressive, then? I may agree with most of Oberlin’s leftist views, but there have been plenty of times when I have felt overwhelmed, even suffocated, by the unmoving perspectives and uncompromisingly firm ideologies. In April 2015, for instance, Oberlin College Republicans and Libertarians hosted a lecture by Christina Hoff Sommers, an author and former Philosophy professor who came to persuade students that feminism has become too radicalized. Before she even arrived at Dye Lecture Hall to give her speech, protesters with tape covering their mouths blocked

the entrance to the hall. While I did not agree with Sommers’ ideas and her position as a rape apologist, I am critical of Obies like those protestors who rejected more conservative views without listening to Sommers first. We preach our progressivism and open-mindedness, but how open is Oberlin in actuality when it refuses to engage with all views? Krulwich’s reflected on a modern theology class he took while he was a student here. He remembered his professor lecturing about the dangers of being too certain about your views and how “when we are most unsure is when we are doubly sure.” This idea is one that Oberlin can –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

But does that really make it progressive, then? I may agree with most of Oberlin’s leftist views, but there have been plenty of times when I have felt overwhelmed, even suffocated by the unmoving perspectives and uncompromisingly firm ideologies. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– benefit from. So many students on campus feel so sure of their ideologies and political and cultural views that I am terrified of voicing anything that might be out of line. I am terrified of the rejection, of being shut down because so many people here refuse to engage with beliefs that are not in line with their own. This may not apply to all Obies, but the fact that students — both of Krulwich’s generation and our own — are still like this is a problem. President Barack Obama spoke in a town hall in Iowa in September 2015 where he criticized liberal arts colleges. “Sometimes there are folks on college campuses who are liberal and maybe even agree with me on a bunch of issues who sometimes aren’t listening to the other side .

… I’ve heard of some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative. Or they don’t want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African Americans or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women,” he said. Obama’s words critique ideologically rigid institutions like Oberlin. If we refuse to reach across and engage with people with differing ideas, we only hurt ourselves. We become quick to judge and generalize outsiders. We start to see the world in those bipartisan terms of “Trump supporters” and “Hillary supporters” that have kindled so much hatred and created a massive gap between the parties. In rejecting the other side without open discussion, that partisanship will continue to grow and more narrow-mindedness will arise. We criticize our government for not getting anything done because they relentlessly reject the other side’s viewpoints, but if you take that to the local, communal level, the same thing can happen. The world is not made of only Oberlin students. There are people out there with other ideas — certainly ones that are not as liberal or leftist as ours. With Trump claiming the presidency Wednesday morning, it is imperative to keep this in mind moving forward. If we want to make the change and progress we all strive for, we need to learn to engage with ideas beyond our own, to foster a dialogue and learn to understand and move forward with all perspectives in mind. You may disagree with Trump’s policies and the bigotry he has kindled, but in order to push for social justice and positive change you cannot reject the reality of who is in power — not only in the Oval Office, but in the Senate and House as well, now that they’ve both gone Republican. Working across the political gap between left and right can be difficult, but we can only be progressive if we stand together and engage with all ideologies and thoughts on the table.

Opinions

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

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Cynical Politics Must Not Overwhelm Hope Anjali Kolachalam Contributing Writer Like many of you on campus today, I am still coming to terms with what happened Tuesday. What happened being, of course, that the U.S. elected Donald Trump as our next president. Even writing out that sentence makes me sick. To cope, I rewatched several of President Barack Obama’s speeches, including the one he gave at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. That was the first time we heard him say “the audacity of hope.” Hope certainly requires audacity, now more than ever. It will take more bravery, courage in our convictions and love in our hearts to survive and thrive under a man who does not care about us. A man who, in his first 100 days of office, threatened to cancel every executive action President

Obama signed, including protections for queer and trans youth. A man who plans to cancel “sanctuary cities,” cities with protections in place for undocumented immigrants. A man who is not remotely concerned with the safety of Black and Brown bodies in America. When I was driving to Chipotle about a week ago, a man with a Trump sign in his car tailgated me for several miles, honked at me and forced me to pull over. I didn’t have a Hillary Clinton sign on my car; I don’t have any bumper stickers. Just a Brown driver. Moments like these make me wonder if the U.S. was ever my country. Watching Tuesday’s results filled me with a profound sense of failure on behalf of the American people. I cried and I mourned for my community. I felt hopeless. I felt so silly for believing President Obama when he said, in that same 2004 speech,

that the U.S. was a place for everyone, even a “skinny kid with a funny name.” In case there are other people on this campus feeling the way I do, empty and betrayed by a ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Hope certainly requires audacity, now more than ever. It will take more bravery, courage in our convictions and love in our hearts to survive and thrive under a man who does not care about us. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– country that you love, I’m here to say that now more than ever we must have the audacity to keep hoping. To keep putting our

hearts, heads and hopes on the chopping block because that is the way the wheel of progress works. We can not give into a country and politics of cynicism. There are moments when I realize that the first Black president will be succeeded by the man who started the Birther movement. The sick irony makes me want to give up. Then I remember that I have been blessed by this country in a lot of ways. I’m going to a great college surrounded by bright, curious minds who won’t take “no” for an answer. I look around this campus, which has come together these last few days to form a community of protection and love. This is not the time to discuss the ideas of hope and change and think they are ideals of a forgone era. So with all the love in my heart, all I have to say to this campus and our generation is, let’s get to work.

Activism Necessary to Resist Trump Presidency Maureen Coffey Business Manager I never really considered the implications of a Donald Trump presidency until Tuesday. I knew he was running. I watched his speeches, rallies and debates. All of the signs were there, and yet until early Wednesday morning, I had not truly considered a Trump presidency. We can — and I’m sure many will — spend the next several years debating what went wrong: Sexism? A whiter electorate than expected? FBI Director James Comey’s late reopening of Clinton’s email case? But no answer will change the outcome. Our government is a democracy. For better or for worse, our president is chosen neither by their

résumé nor their objectively calculated costs and benefits. They are elected by the American people. On Tuesday, the people spoke, and many want Donald Trump. So what now? The Canadian immigration website crashed –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

For better or for worse, our president is chosen neither by their resume nor their objectively calculated costs and benefits. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Wednesday morning as it was stormed with traffic. For some, leaving the country is certainly an

option. As I reflect, I keep coming back to the words of First Lady Michelle Obama as she addressed Oberlin’s Class of 2015: “I want to urge you to actively seek out the most contentious, polarized, gridlocked places you can find. Because so often, throughout our history, those have been the places where progress really happens — the places where minds are changed, lives transformed, where our great American story unfolds.” We have an opportunity before us. We must engage with our fellow Americans, and we must bridge the gaps. If we run from this, we concede not only this election, we concede our country and our values. If we leave, we say that we will allow Trump’s hatefulness to define our nation. If we stay, if we fight, we tell the world that Trump does not rep-

resent all Americans. The U.S. has had bad presidents, bad years and bad decades. Those do not define us. Our legacy is 240 years of political discourse and continual improvement. Two hundred and forty years of believing that We The People can determine the path of our nation. Over the next four years, we must be the people who determine whether we will continue to uphold these values. We must be the people who go into struggling communities and find solutions together. We must be the people who protect our friends from every race, religion, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. We must continue to use our Constitutional rights to enact fundamental change in American society. If we truly believe that liberal,

democratic ideals are best for our country, then we must help others to see that. We are in the midst of an ideological war. Our battles are fought not with weapons but with words. We are led not by generals but by civic leaders. Our aim should not be to beat the other side into submission but to unite both sides in mutual understanding and respect. There are now fewer than 730 days until the midterm elections and there is much to be done before then. There is no way to change Tuesday’s outcome, but how we respond is in our hands. What we must do is not easy. It will be hard, and it may even be dangerous. But for the love of my country and all those in it, I will not run away. I will stay and fight.

White Women’s Support of Trump Essential to Victory Continued from page 5 enabled them to completely ignore or even validate the rhetoric and threats to women that Trump consistently demonstrated. BuzzFeed reporter Anne Helen Petersen interviewed women Trump supporters who attended his rallies, and their reasons for supporting Trump came from many places: anger at the elite class, at the Washington establishment, at the state of the economy. These women also denied the validity of the women accusing Trump of sexual assault through the usual routes of victim-blaming and calling them liars, but also through their belief in how normal Trump’s words were. One woman said that if her husband did not engage in the Trump-style “locker room talk,” she would “think there was something wrong with him.” While watching the election coverage Tuesday night, I saw a journalist ask a woman Trump supporter why she voted for him in light of all the sexual abuse al-

legations. She said it was because “he tells it like it is” — meaning that, to her, “locker room talk” is normal, that it is just how men are, that this is just how the world is. Trump’s blunt rhetoric of rape culture and sexism and judgement is not understood to be a problem because that really is how it is; it feels like truth to hear someone say ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

One woman said that if her husband did not engage in the Trump-style “locker room talk,” she would “think there was something wrong with him.” –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– out loud that which is implicitly insinuated in our general discourse regarding both sexual assault and the measure of women’s value. These white women don’t see his words as morally wrong because, for many women, Trump’s view of the world is their

world; it’s the natural way of things. We talk about misogyny as if it only comes from entitled men like Trump who can verbally and physically assault women with impunity because they are not women, as if abuse toward a specific group can only come from outside that group. But this acceptance of the way men in power talk about women is an extremely powerful form of internalized misogyny that heavily contributed to the outcome of this election. If women did not accept this reality, could Trump have won? If this same system of misogynistic politics — the one that works to punish women for being ambitious and seeking power, which is not deemed ‘correct’ behavior for a woman — was not so salient, would we have reached this nightmarish situation of a Trump presidency? I’m focusing on white women here because white women had the power to change the outcome of this election, and while much of their support for Trump can logically be traced to racism and oth-

er deep prejudices, it can also be traced to a type of internalized misogyny that contributed to Trump’s victory. As a Pennsylvania voter, I was furious at my state’s place in deciding the final call of this election, and I was just filled with rage. I only cried when I watched Clinton’s concession speech, and she said, “and to all the little girls watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” In our misogynistic culture, somewhere along the line in a girl’s upbringing she will be told that her value can be decided by a man who does or does not approve of how she looks; she will be told it is wrong to seek power. For all the imperfections with Hillary Clinton’s campaign and platform, the fact that she is a woman fighting for power, fighting against the misogyny that operates despite her race and privilege, was vitally important. And continuing this fight has just gained new urgency.

2016

Summer 2016: Two bikes were reported missing from Burton bike storage — forgetfulness or burglary?

Bike

Thefts

April 10, 2016: Scooter theft reported outside the Science Center — the only one of the year

This map plots all the bike thefts and related incidents reported to Oberlin College Safety and Security in the 2016 calendar year. Data covers bike thefts reported from from December 2015 to November 2016. Data is courtesy of Oberlin College Safety and Security. July 21, 2016: Theft of a bike outside Severance Hall was reported — turns out the owner just

forgot that it was locked in a different place

• Over a period of 283 days, there were 114 reported bike thefts. This averages to one every two days, or one per every 26 students. • Of the bikes reported stolen, 10 were reported to be recovered. • 29% of the incidents occured during the summer. According to Director of Safety and Security Marjorie Burton, “This summer was very unusual in the high amount of bike thefts.” Most of the incidents could be traced back to a single group of high school students.

Key

• The 114 reported incidents included: »

Two attempted thefts

» Two bike “burglaries,” or bikes that went missing from Burton basement bike storage

» One person who reported a theft, but just forgot where their bike was locked »

One scooter theft

Bike theft reported to have occured during the academic year

Remember to lock your bike in order to prevent theft. Invest in a sold metal U-lock for your bicycle — unlike cable locks, they are not easily cut.

Bike theft reported to have occured during the summer

Calendar

Spread by Andrea Wang

Graveyard of the Clerics: Islamism in Saudi Suburbia Friday, Nov. 11, 12–1:30 p.m. Wilder 101

Bike Co-op Fall Fest Saturday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Oberlin Community Services 285 South Professor St

Presented by Brandeis University Anthropology professor Pascal Menoret, this talk discusses the prominence of Islam in Saudi Arabia — specifically, what attracts Saudi activists to Islam, and how they mobilize and organize followers in such a repressive environment. Through these topics, he explores the broader trajectory of the politicization of suburbia and of Arab youth. Menoret’s most recent book is Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt.

Join students and community members at Oberlin Community Services for an afternoon of fun events! OCS is a community organization that provides outreach services to Oberlin and its surrounding areas. Fall Fest is held in conjunction with OCS and the Resource Conservation Team, and will feature live music, jewelry making and T-shirt printing. In addition to the festivities, dedicated Bike Co-op mechanics will be available to help you fix your bike.

Kuumba Week: Film Screening of “13th” Sunday, Nov. 13, 7–9 p.m. Lord-Saunders Lounge

Adventuring Into Antiquity: Cuneiform Cookies Sunday, Nov. 13, 2–4 p.m. Kahn Hall, 1st Floor Kitchen

Panel: What does the Data Say? Wednesday, Nov. 16, 4:30–6 p.m. King 106

What are the political contexts and implicit connotations of the word “criminal,” and how did those emerge? Director Ava DuVernay examines these inquiries in the documentary 13th, focusing on the 13th Amendment and how it led to a surge of mass incarceration — disproportionately of African Americans — in the United States. This event is part of “Kuumba Week”, sponsored by the Africana Studies department.

Oberlin Thanksgiving Potluck Feast & Interfaith Gathering Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6–8 p.m. Root Room, Carnegie Building

Join the Oberlin Archaeology Society for their first event of the year — baking cuneiform cookies! The now archaic cuneiform script was invented by the Sumerians and is identified by its wedge-shaped marks impressed in clay tablets. Whether your interests lie more in baked goods or early written language, there is sure to be something for you at this Ancient Near East-themed event.

Those eager to commence Thanksgiving festivities are welcome at next Wednesday’s celebration. All Oberlin students, staff, faculty and area residents are invited to partake in this community gathering. Faculty, staff and area residents are asked to bring a dish to share; for students, no dish is necessary. The event features music performed by conservatory students and honorary hosts Religion professor A.G. Miller and Associate Dean Brenda Grier-Miller.

“What does the Data Say? A Post-Election Analysis of Who Voted and How the U.S. Congress has Changed” is a panel discussion that explores the decisive demographic forces that prevailed this election cycle. Politics faculty David Forrest, Jennifer Garcia and Eve Sandberg reflect on the roles of race, gender and class in the 2016 election.

2016

Summer 2016: Two bikes were reported missing from Burton bike storage — forgetfulness or burglary?

Bike

Thefts

April 10, 2016: Scooter theft reported outside the Science Center — the only one of the year

forgot that it was locked in a different place

Key

• The 114 reported incidents included: »

Two attempted thefts

» Two bike “burglaries,” or bikes that went missing from Burton basement bike storage

» One person who reported a theft, but just forgot where their bike was locked »

One scooter theft

Bike theft reported to have occured during the academic year

Remember to lock your bike in order to prevent theft. Invest in a sold metal U-lock for your bicycle — unlike cable locks, they are not easily cut.

Bike theft reported to have occured during the summer

Calendar

Spread by Andrea Wang

Graveyard of the Clerics: Islamism in Saudi Suburbia Friday, Nov. 11, 12–1:30 p.m. Wilder 101

Bike Co-op Fall Fest Saturday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Oberlin Community Services 285 South Professor St

Kuumba Week: Film Screening of “13th” Sunday, Nov. 13, 7–9 p.m. Lord-Saunders Lounge

Adventuring Into Antiquity: Cuneiform Cookies Sunday, Nov. 13, 2–4 p.m. Kahn Hall, 1st Floor Kitchen

Panel: What does the Data Say? Wednesday, Nov. 16, 4:30–6 p.m. King 106

Oberlin Thanksgiving Potluck Feast & Interfaith Gathering Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6–8 p.m. Root Room, Carnegie Building

Arts The Oberlin Review

Page 10

November 11, 2016

Oberlin Student Releases Major Label-Backed EP Slop Daniel Markus Staff Writer Forth Wanderers is a band with an improbable history: a high school crush turned songwriting partnership, a brilliant band name taken from a random Wikipedia article and a Twitter shoutout from Lorde while all the band’s members were still in their teens. The band’s success, including — but not nearly limited to — praise from NPR Music, VICE, and Pitchfork, a nod from SPIN as one of the 50 best rock bands in 2015 ahead of Grammy winners Alabama Shakes and a selection to play SXSW 2017, could be described as similarly improbable. And nobody in the band has even graduated from college yet. The story of Forth Wanderers started when College junior Ben Guterl, Studio Art major and the band’s principal songwriter, and Ava Trilling, the band’s lead singer and lyricist, attended high school together in Montclair, NJ. “I think I was trying to find a way to talk to Ava because I had a crush on her,” Guterl said. That led to an offer via Facebook mes-

sage for Trilling to record vocals over one of Guterl’s demos. “I didn’t really have much of an intention to start a band,” he added. “But she sent [the song] back to me and … [it was] sick.” The crush didn’t end up amounting to much, but Trilling’s collaboration on the demo quickly became Forth Wanderers, a name that comes from Forth Wanderers F.C., a Scottish junior soccer team Guterl found while clicking through random articles on Wikipedia. Not long after, a self-released debut album titled Tough Love hit in November of Guterl’s first year of college, while Trilling was beginning her junior year in high school. Along with Lorde’s tweet, the album gained traction with Portals and Gold Flake Paint, two staple blogs in the indie music world. This recognition led to notice from Jessi Frick, cofounder of Father/Daughter Records, which, as the label’s name suggests, Frick started with her father, Ken Hector. “[Forth Wanderers was] always a band that I was keeping my eye on. … I came across Tough Love and I just thought it was such an

amazing record, and it was on my [list of ] favorite records of that year,” Frick said. With that, Forth Wanderers signed to Father/Daughter for its label debut EP Slop, which comes out today. The record will be the second Father/Daughter has released to feature a current Oberlin student, the other being TRextasy’s Jurassic Punk. It is one

of numerous indie label releases by Oberlin musicians in recent memory, following albums like Swings’ Sugarwater, put out by Exploding In Sound, and Shya’s trying, signed by DZ Tapes. Looking back on it all, Guterl seemed at a loss for words. “We sort of expected this a little bit, but...” he said, his voice trailing off and giving way to an excited

grin. Talking about it in the moment, even he seemed surprised at what his band has accomplished. “It’s great … and kind of overwhelming and a little nervewracking,” he said. This amount of success for a band this young is surprising, or seems that way until you hear See Success, page 13

Indie rock band Forth Wanderers released its new EP Slop today, the latest in a body of work defined by a unique rise to recognition. Photo Courtesy of Jessi Frick

Pan’s Labyrinth Takes Viewers Through Haunting Looking-Glass Christian Bolles Arts Editor Nowhere is oppression more boldly confronted than in our attempts to escape it. The worlds we build on the page and before the camera serve as intrinsically subversive pathways, telling stories that lift us from the grasp of dark forces while lending perspective to their machinations. Few periods of history are better acquainted with these forces than the nearly threeyear Spanish Civil War (1936-39), which culminated in the crushing defeat of a leftwing movement at the hands of a ruthless fascist counterrevolution under the iron grip of General Francisco Franco. In the aftermath of the atrocity-ridden conflict, the remaining leftist rebels who could still muster the will to fight resorted to guerilla warfare, staging their meager rebellion by moonlight under the cover of thick forest. In such an atmosphere of hopelessness, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro found a haunting muse. A modern classic that none have attempted to replicate, 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth stands as a testament to the virtues of cinematic escapism, and remains a powerful argument for the immortality of film as a medium. With a midnight showing tonight at the Apollo Theatre, audiences have the perfect excuse to revisit a terrifying and gorgeous world — one that will seem achingly familiar as history once again comes full circle. Del Toro wrote the entirety of his Pan’s Labyrinth script while listening to the tranquil melody of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s “Spiegel im spiegel,” translating to “mirror in the mirror,” a poignant summation of the telescopic narrative that defines del Toro’s masterpiece. The film tells the tale of a little girl named Ofelia who is forced to travel to a remote countryside military estate when her pregnant, ailing mother, Carmen, marries a Francoist captain named Vidal out of concern for the

wellbeing of her daughter and future son. But Vidal’s rule over his isolated forest kingdom — reminiscent of Franco’s larger control over Spain — proves to be a violent one, and Ofelia finds solace in strange fantasies inspired by an ancient maze nestled at the edge of the estate’s grounds. More than just flights of fancy, the power of the labyrinth becomes all too real when a nameless faun tempts the young girl with the promise of royalty in another world. Told mostly from Ofelia’s perspective, Pan’s Labyrinth is a film of narrative layers, transitioning beautifully from the protagonist’s fantastical escapades to scenes of brutal violence. As with most of his filmography, del Toro’s fantasy world in Pan’s Labyrinth is less a departure from reality than a dark mirror of human vice. In a powerful statement on the effects of atrocity on children, the horrors that surround the film’s central character seep into the fantasy world she longs to escape to; visions of fairies eventually give way to the decapitation of those same sprites. In an unforgettable scene — familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of del Toro’s work — Ofelia finds herself stranded in the domain of a terrifying creature referred to canonically as the Pale Man. With a set designed to evoke a creepily synthetic, medieval-esque temple and a Gregorian soundscape undercutting sweeping shots of murals depicting the Pale Man’s preferred diet — children — as well as a telling pile of small shoes, one gets the sense of a realm that exists for the sole purpose of fostering evil. Pan’s Labyrinth finds its moments of comfort not in fantasy, but in kindness. Carmen’s motherly love is supplemented by the painstaking compassion of Mercedes, Vidal’s witty and secretive housekeeper. The film places itself squarely on the side of the rebel guerillas scattered throughout the forest surrounding the captain’s estate, and many of its most hopeful mo-

ments come from portrayals of their heroics. Yet it is the staying power of solidarity between Ofelia, Carmen and Mercedes in the face of Vidal’s toxic, overbearing masculinity that drives the emotional core of Pan’s Labyrinth, and the contrast between the two forces pays narrative dividends. Occasionally departing from Ofelia’s point of view to follow Vidal on myriad ventures, from assaults on the rebels to quiet moments shaving alone, del Toro uses these intense portraits to highlight the chaotic, anger-propelled egoism at the captain’s ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As with most of his filmography, del Toro’s fantasy world in Pan’s Labyrinth is less a departure from reality than a dark mirror of human vice. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– heart. He paints Ofelia and Vidal as moral opposites, paving the way to an outcome alluded to in the first frame of the movie. Mercedes receives the same narrative treatment, holding her own vital subplot for the film’s duration. Her ability to undercut authority for the sake of doing good is juxtaposed with the captain’s haughty self-assurance that her gender disqualifies her from outwitting him, words that — it shouldn’t be too much of a spoiler to say — will later be served to him on a platter. The film’s most emotional moments come from the interactions between Mercedes and Ofelia, the former seeing the displaced young girl as a bird in need of a wing. The theme of the soundtrack is most raw when delivered in the housekeeper’s own soft voice, epitomizing the tender safety of her relationship with our trapped heroine. Though it is impossible to talk about Pan’s Labyrinth without addressing its gruesome violence, credit must be given

to the brilliance of its visual direction for the film’s unique palatability. Del Toro’s signature color scale — soft blues, muted beiges, deep reds — lends each frame a unique, polished texture that keeps viewers immersed while constantly reminding that they are, in fact, watching a fantasy within a fantasy. The distinction in art direction between our world and what little we see of the faun’s is a study in contrast; the former is clean and morally bankrupt — the sharp-heeled footprint of fascism — while the latter deals in alluring, dreamlike chaos, characterized by flawed spiral designs and cracked, overgrown stone. The stylization of the film’s violence robs it of no emotional impact and manages to avoid breaking the eggshell-thin lens of intoxicating beauty that del Toro so carefully crafted. The miracle of the existence of Pan’s Labyrinth is a rare thing in the world of cinema. Filmed on a relatively low budget of $19 million, much taken out of del Toro’s own pocket and from the donations of good friend and fellow director Alejandro González Iñárritu, it’s a Spanish-language film with Hollywood sensibilities. Indeed, it was del Toro’s choice to sign on with a Spanish production company rather than one based in Los Angeles — despite offers for double the budget from the latter — as Pan’s Labyrinth is, first and foremost, a story about an agonizing time in Spain’s history. Since Franco’s rule continued after the events of the film until his death in 1975, del Toro’s film acts as a reclamation of leftist identity in a time when it had nearly been stomped out. Pan’s Labyrinth tells us that even in the darkest years of a country, there is untold power in the dreams of every little girl looking for a way ahead. Oberlin community members looking to escape to del Toro’s twisted world can go to the Apollo Theatre tonight at midnight, where Pan’s Labyrinth will make a rare appearance on the big screen.

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

Arts

Page 11

On the Record with Ben Sinclair of High Maintenance Ben Sinclair, OC ’06, co-created the hit web and television series High Maintenance with spouse Katja Blichfeld. The show revolves around the experiences of New Yorkers connected only by their shared transactions with a pot dealer known as The Guy. Meant to tell subtle truths about the human experience while de-stigmatizing marijuana use, the series focuses on different characters and stories with each episode. After two seasons of mini-episodes on Vimeo, HBO picked up the show. Comprised of six 30-minute episodes that each contain multiple intertwining narratives, the new season has garnered widespread critical acclaim and has been renewed for a second season. Sinclair joined the Review for a phone interview to talk about his time at Oberlin and his creative process.

house, and I just walked in and really got into it. Got pretty far into it. I spent almost all of my Winter Terms doing a play at Oberlin. ... It was just friggin’ awesome to feel so supported. ... College is so incredibly catering to this comfortable bubble after high school that it’s just incredible when you look back, like, “Oh my god, that was really easy.” But it was definitely customized for me. … I went back to the 10-year reunion, and it was really interesting, because there were some fans of the show there, and there was a lot of fear about what happens [after college]. ... It was interesting to see Oberlin as a place with cell phones now that didn’t just have a bunch of acts happening on campus. Instead the acts were reverberated out into the world and then came back to them.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Oberlin is definitely an echo chamber, but it is also very loud, and heard by many. Definitely. You know, before phones, that loudness, you could just do [things] safely on campus, and you could go way to the left as far as you could, and you could maybe do some things that seemed maybe kind of silly but experimental at the time. It’s just like, a safe space for just pursuing who you were, and it’s interesting now that … when the rest of the world hears about that information, it doesn’t feel like it’s such a safe space anymore. It feels more loaded.

I’m a big fan. Oberlin was so instrumental in my success in so many ways that I am so happy to do whatever we need to do for the school short of spending all of my money again on that. I know you returned at one point for a festival? About four years after I graduated, they started the Oberlin Theater Festival, and I came out for their initial year of that and played Caliban in a production of The Tempest … But I did kind of realize when I came back there that year that Oberlin was very special, but it was also the time and not the place. … A lot of people get out of college, and there’s this little bit of an identity crisis, and it was interesting to go back to college after four years — the time I had been in college — thinking that college was the best time of my life, and realizing, “No, life just began.” It takes a second for the suffering of not being supported 24 hours around-theclock to wear off, but it’s cool, man. It’s good to be an adult. Were you involved with theater at Oberlin? Yes, I was. I was a Theater and Dance major. I went thinking that I was gonna be an international relations major or something like that, that I felt was more important socially than theater and dance. But there was so much reading in the entry-level courses, and then that classroom was across the street from the theater and dance building where they were having an open

What was your relationship with pot at Oberlin? I didn’t really start smoking pot in a pothead sort of way until my senior year, and I was also training for a marathon, so I would get real stoned and run around Oberlin. ... During that time, there was a lot of uncertainty about what to do after college, and ... I think I was just more contemplative. I think more than pot culture. What affected me artistically was the interest in [Anton] Chekhov that [Associate Professor of Theater] Matthew Wright instilled in us my junior year. And what I learned with being interested in Chekhov … was that people don’t say often exactly what they’re thinking. People largely aren’t emotionally intelligent enough to do that. So you would have to decode these Chekhov scripts with these characters who were just saying very banal, dayto-day items, but then you would have to kind of be curious about what they were actually thinking. And then in that, it was the discov-

ery that the little moments are way louder than the big plot explosions — that the little moments, and the little choices that people make every day, are what makes them what they are. So I think I [developed] a huge attention to human behavior, while also being an anxious person who wasn’t very good at feeling his feelings, so I would smoke pot to kind of quell the bad feelings. And only now am I learning at 32 that you can’t selectively numb feelings, that you’re also numbing joy when you numb pain. ... So, it’s an interesting balance that we all have to get. … A lot of that growth started there. And that critical thinking started at that school. I see a lot of Chekhov in the way you and Katja write your characters. I think it’s interesting you say that, because I feel like as creators, we’re dropping hints about these characters. And very rarely do we have them say exactly what they feel, or exactly what they mean. So, I think you as a viewer are doing a lot of the work of instilling the world of these characters, but we are giving you hints that may align with your experience as a human being and may guide you to make judgments about this person, why they’re acting the way they are. But in the end, we’re just putting pictures and sounds together and dropping clues. You have such a wide variety of people in these episodes. When you approach writing a character that might have had experiences that don’t align with your own, how do you cross that bridge? I mean, whose experience doesn’t align with our experience? I know that people are given different circumstances, but all people deal with hunger and pain and joy and all sorts of complications, wanting one thing but being presented with another thing ... extends across all socioeconomic backgrounds. We do like to acknowledge the reality that class and race are largely not as integrated as many of us would wish in this country, so we have definitely made it our goal to be more inclusive in the lives that we are portraying, but the underlying feelings of all these characters … are feelings that we feel, and we just kind of put them under other people’s skin. … It’s all coming from a collective human experience that we hope we are expressing in a way that feels relatable.

Ben Sinclair, OC ‘06, stars in HBO’s High Maintenance, which he also co-writes with spouse Katja Blichfeld. Photo courtesy of HBO

How does that translate to the way that you direct your actors? Our original purpose [in the miniseries] was to create a community of artists who we could work with and not ask too much of. When an actor came on set, we’d make sure that they knew that this part was for them, so we didn’t ask them to audition, we just called them or emailed them and said, “Hey, we wrote this part, we were thinking of you, do you wanna do it?” And then when they got on the set, we’d say, “Hey, it’s you. Just bring [yourself] to this. And if the line doesn’t feel right in your mouth, then change the syntax; then find another way to say this that makes sense coming out of your mouth. But we trust your inner life to come out, and we’ve got you. We won’t make you look bad. That’s not what we want.” And I think just giving that kind of trust to an actor was really helpful in letting them feel safe to lend us their personality and their vulnerability. Do you bring yourself to The Guy in that way? Yeah, I think The Guy is how I would like to be. But … a lot of people put this shaman-esque kind of judgment of him, like he’s this great guy who’s always willing to help anyone and that stuff, and that is part of him, but he’s really just a guy. And we’re purposely not letting people know everything about him because we’re aware that you as a viewer are gonna make him whatever you want him to be, and in some ways that’s more interesting than finding out a name or a past. We want people to feel good about him, but also people want to feel good about him, too. So we are using that to our advantage by revealing less.

Do you ever wish that you got to play some of the more out-there, bombastic characters in the show, or is there more catharsis in just watching your stories unfurl? Oh, god. Being an actor is really lacking in agency. You don’t have a lot of say over how you are represented in the end. You know, the editing makes the film, and you can manipulate a performance so crazy much in editing that it’s frustrating as an actor to be like, “I feel like I have good ideas.” And I spent, at the time, 40 grand a year at Oberlin to try to build up my mind. I didn’t say that, [it was] all [to] myself, but you develop this mind and critical thinking and you study Chekhov and think about all these things and it’s so much more gratifying to see your brain doing the work. And this show is a journal, you know? Many people have scrapbooks, I’ll have episodes. In theater you really do get to control the audience and control how they see you, but in film not so much. You know what’s great about doing both, though, is I get to use my brain and my heart. A lot of times, the temptation is to get very intellectual, and … not always, but there’s a lot of men out there who write scripts with these huge plots and all these twists and turns and whatever, and then you’re like, “Gosh, I don’t know this person because their heart isn’t there.” You can’t see their heart. So, you know, as an actor, and [with] all the training from acting, I think I’m a little more in touch with presenting my heart. Interview by Christian Bolles, Arts editor

Arts

Page 12

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

String Quartet Engages Unlikely Audiences Eilish Spear Staff Writer The members of the Saint Lawrence String Quartet, known for consistently pioneering the definition of contemporary music, will perform a program of Franz Joseph Haydn, John Adams and Beethoven at 8 p.m. tonight in Finney Chapel. Currently in residence at Stanford University, the SLSQ was established in Toronto in 1989, and since its formation has gained a reputation as a champion for new music and innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. The quartet’s commitment to new music is a direct result of its long-standing collaboration with world-renowned composer John Adams. The composer has written three pieces for the quartet so far, one of which they will perform at Oberlin this week. The quartet will perform Adams’s second string quartet, Haydn’s Quartet Op. 20, No. 5, and Beethoven’s string quartet, Op. 132 Friday night. The program is carefully designed to showcase a historic lineage in string quartet history. Haydn is well known for essentially inventing the string quartet, and later taught a young Beethoven. Both composers are recognized for their boundary-pushing innovation. “Particularly [Beethoven’s] Op. 132,

which we are playing at Oberlin this week, is really just nothing short of remarkable as a piece of music,” SLSQ cellist Christopher Costanza said. “It takes Haydn’s four movement structure and expands it and turns it into something bigger in terms of length and possibilities of the instruments.” In his second quartet, John Adams directly quotes another of Beethoven’s late works — his piano sonata Op. 110 — and is heavily influenced by Beethoven’s string quartets. “It’s an interesting sort of trajectory,” Costanza said. “I think the audience on Friday will understand this when they hear SLSQ’s distinctive perspective on Haydn and Beethoven … juxtaposed against American composer John Adams’ Second Quartet — a work directly inspired by both Beethoven and the SLSQ itself,” said Julia Lin, director of Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series. In another collaboration with Adams, the quartet recently recorded “Absolute Jest,” his concerto for string quartet and orchestra, with the San Francisco Symphony, and has since performed the work with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and for audiences in the UK, Germany, Romania and Switzerland. “When you’re a member of a quartet you hardly ever do [concerto playing]. There

are very few string quartet concertos … because it’s hard to feature a string quartet with an orchestra,” Costanza said. “It’s a lot of fun for us to collaborate with the musicians [and conductors] in these various orchestras who we would otherwise not have a chance to work with. … We’ve gotten great opportunities that we otherwise would not have had.” Perhaps the most unique aspect of the quartet is its deep commitment to bringing classical music to communities that wouldn’t otherwise seek it out. Particularly in the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, the quartet has avidly pursued community engagement with companies like Apple and Google. “It’s been really fantastic for us on a number of levels. … We have a lot of freedom to do things on campus that go beyond a traditional role,” Costanza said regarding the quartet’s experience in residence at Stanford. The university’s highly academic atmosphere has allowed the quartet to work with students from all disciplines, which has greatly increased interest in classical music across the campus and region. “We’ve been encouraged to go to other schools on campus and develop other programs. So we’ve done med school programs, we’ve played for engineering stu-

dents, we’ve played for the law school,” Costanza said. While the quartet gives its usual performances in these settings, it has also been able to collaborate and talk with experts in every field. “It’s definitely fertile ground for the development of ideas that one might not think of otherwise. … It’s a lot of fun to explore unlimited possibilities,” Costanza said. Prospects in the music industry are very different from when the quartet was formed, a fact that Costanza, whose daughter is currently an undergraduate at his alma mater New England Conservatory, is keenly aware of. “There are so many great players [right now], and it’s great to see that, but on the other hand, where will careers come from?” Costanza said. Despite the uncertainty of the job market, he thinks that there’s hope for young musicians. “The biggest piece of advice I have is to not limit yourself, and to be as innovative as possible, to find new ways to play for new audiences always,” he said. “There are opportunities to take advantage of, and if they come your way, great. … I’m not a naysayer on the future of classical music like some people. I don’t think it’s dying. I think we just have to reinvent it.”

Neighborhood 3 Probes Technological, Generational Disconnect Julia Peterson Production Editor The Oberlin Student Theater Association opened its three-day run of Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, a play set in a world where the line between a zombieinfested video game and real-life suburbia blurs in Wilder Main Space Thursday night. The play follows the in-game interactions between numerous characters, depicted by four main cast members, in a seemingly idyllic suburban neighborhood. The final level incorporates a game map based on their own subdivision and zombie adversaries that bear striking resemblance to the teens’ parents, resulting in a chilling convergence between gameplay and reality. Performances of Neighborhood 3 will continue tonight and Saturday 8–10 p.m. The narrative plays out mostly in vignette scenes, as different combinations of parents and children in the neighborhood interact with each other and come to grips with a world that is quickly becoming stranger and more disturbing. As each pair of characters interacts within the universe of this offkilter world, all the different facets of relationships, communication and disconnect come to light. OSTA’s sound and set design mimic video game aesthetic, with surreal lighting and an original score played live on a custombuilt instrument by double-degree sophomore Mobey Irizarry Lambright. “[It] is a pretty scary play, so I really wanted to make scary sounds,” Irizarry Lambright said. “ I think the goal of the sound designer is to elaborate where the actors and the director leave off. So I’m ... bowing the string on the instrument, and depending on the speed at which I bow, it sounds really rhythmic. I’m also using [digital] effects that, de-

pending on how they’re set, sound pretty jarring. I’m also bowing the cymbal, which is a really terrifying sound that just makes you cringe. The play also draws on the anonymity of being able to take on an image and username entirely divorced from a real-life identity. The characters in ple play are portrayed as avatars based on family archetypes — a father, mother, daughter, and son. The four principal cast members each play multiple different characters within each archetype. College first-year Emily Strand, who plays the daughter avatar, –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As each pair of characters interacts within the universe of this off-kilter world, all the different facets of relationships, communication and disconnet come to light. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– spoke about some of the challenges and opportunities that come from representing multiple characters, having to take on a different persona from scene to scene. “[We have to] understand the differences in the [real-life] family dynamics, the experiences and personalities of four different [characters that we are playing],” she said. “Everyone who is in [each] scene knows what the background is, so it helps to be able to come in with that and build on what the characters are experiencing together in that moment.” College sophomore and director Jackson Zinn-Rowthorn also emphasized how these archetypes tie into the play’s narrative. “A lot of the theme of the show is about the willingness to conform to a basic norm,” he said. “So while they are different char-

acters, they are largely grounded in the same sort of ideas and the same worldviews. … That said, of course, we have worked on a lot of physical differentiation and vocal differentiation.” “There are a lot of suggestions of violence, but it’s really cartoonish and it’s never in your face.” Zinn-Rowthorn said. “Largely, I think [the play] uses violence as a warning — to say that this is the result when you don’t look at each other and you don’t listen to each other. Miscommunication turns to anger, which turns to fear, which turns to violence.” Playwright Jennifer Haley is well known in the theater world for scripts that engage with the impact of technology on relationships and human interactions. College sophomore and assistant director Jad Seligman spoke about how this particular production addresses and highlights those themes as they appear in the script. “The play uses [communication] as a tool to create moments between different characters by making the connections that they have rare, but making the few ones that they do have very special.” they said. “I’d say the climax of the play is predicated on when a connection works, when it misses; about trying and failing to create connections — especially between family.” The play does not stagger under the weight of these themes, but rather seeks to balance them with humor and levity. There are moments where characters are played poignantly and moments where they are played to comedic extremes. There are family troubles and the struggle of parents and children trying to bridge generational and technological divides. “It’s scary, it’s kind of creepy and weird, but it’s also funny in a kind of dark way, and that’s a cool combination of things,” said Col-

lege first-year Maddie Henke, who provided the recorded voice and face for the video game’s narrator. “I hope that people … realize that it’s a comedy, but also realize that there are going to be some serious parts and it does offer a commentary on … disconnects and how we don’t really communicate sometimes in our society.” “It’s kind of dark, but there are some comedic elements in there, too,” said College sophomore Yue Zhao, who plays the father archetype. “There’s a moral to the story and something you can gain from watching it.” For Zinn-Rowthorn, the comedic element was what drew him to the play in the first place. “Largely, the reason that I chose this play is because it’s really fun,” he said. “In the theater community here, there [are] a lot of very serious dramas about things going on in the world — activist-oriented plays. This is very much not that. It’s my favorite kind of theater, –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“It’s kind of dark, but there are some comedic elements in there, too.” Yue Zhao Actor in Neighborhood 3 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– and I just think that it is going to be a really fun viewing experience. Neighborhood 3 is nothing like people have ever seen, … but it’s filled with tropes that will be especially familiar to people who grew up in suburbia. We’re satirizing that.” The play illustrates a generational disconnect and lack of understanding that will also resonate with many in attendance. “[There are] a lot of young people here who maybe could relate to not being able to connect to their parents and relate to the video

game aspect of the show,” said College first-year Amanda Stavis, who plays the mother archetype. Zinn-Rowthorn also recognized that within this over-thetop, campy context, the play confronts some important themes. “We are telling a story with a message,” he said. “It’s largely about what happens when people don’t look at each other or communicate … and [are] too interested in upholding their own image and conforming to one standardized norm. All sorts of real, true things get lost under that wallpaper.” College first-year Quentin Nguyen-duy, who plays the son archetype, expanded on how technology exacerbates problems of communication and conformity in the world of Neighborhood 3 as well as our own. “The main message I want to resonate with the audience is the value of interpersonal relationships and community and how they help us grow and shape our experiences as humans, and not to devalue that in a world which is increasingly bifurcated and divided between digitalized reality and family,” he said. The cast and crew of Neighborhood 3 is primarily composed of first-years and sophomores, many of whom are fresh faces for OSTA. College sophomore Meg Parker, the production’s stage manager hopes that the show and others like it might encourage more Oberlin students to become involved with student theater. “We have a really strong department, but our student theater could use a little love in a lot of different capacities,” Parker said. “I think a lot of students come to Oberlin having done theater in the past and then they pass it up when they get here, and I believe that it should be an accessible resource for students to pursue that passion in a variety of capacities.”

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

Arts

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Conservatory Students Plan Post-Election Support

Conservatory students met Wednesday night to discuss the results of the election, what it means for Oberlin student musicians and the many emotions that are spreading through the community. The discussion was unfacilitated and covered everything from ideas for fundraising concerts to the role of music in promoting societal change. The students present agreed to work toward leading a countrywide network of conservatories committed to promoting the music of minorities and to spearhead informed, sensitive community-engagement projects. But “we are people first, and musicians second,” Conservatory junior Nic Vigilante said. “Classical music is not the universal language, and often there are far more efficient ways to reach people to promote political change.” Conservatory junior Emily Edelstein, who organized the event, said afterwards, “We will continue the hard work of examining ourselves and being the most loving and supportive Conservatory we can be.”

Text and photo by Eilish Spear, Staff writer

Success Abounds for Guterl’s Indie Band Forth Wanderers Continued from page 10 Slop. Then it all makes sense. The EP is incredibly good, clocking in at just under 12 minutes through four tracks. Trilling delivers note after note of beautiful melodies and harmonies with a candor that rivals Porches’ Aaron Maine, and overdriven guitar riffs and progressions by Guterl make for catchy tunes that will stay with you all day. Contributions by drummer Zach Lorelli, bassist Noah Schifrin and guitarist Duke Greene, though more subtle, round out the songs with perfect accents that shouldn’t be ignored. Slop is also totally effortless. Despite the tendency of genres to blend, blur and deform, there is little to question about Forth Wanderers’ music: unabashed, straight-up rock. Call it musical comfort food. There is something almost intangibly good about this band, something even Frick, who signed them and released their EP today, can’t put her finger on. Plenty of bands have good riffs and melodies, but Forth Wanderers delivers on something more with Slop, just as they did with Tough Love. The record is intensely relatable. Lines like, “I love too much / to hurt this bad,” and “Soak me up / ’til I can’t feel nothing at all / I don’t mind,” might sound cliché coming from someone other than Trilling. But they’re universal, and the sentiments contained within are palpable and deeply resonant. Guterl’s guitars, though simple, are wonderfully familiar. Listening to Slop reminds me of talking to an old friend from high school for the first time since coming to college. It reminds me of realizing that despite the time and distance, your friendship is more or less the same now as it was then, and that as much as you might have thought they were cooler or more experienced in life, they’ve had the same heartbreaks, joys and struggles. These are trying times. People a lot older and wiser than me have said that the way to get through is to be good to yourself and those around you: Call your family and hug your friends. Eat good food, and do the things you love to do, the things that you’ve always leaned on when times are hard. For me, listening to and playing music has always been the thing that makes me feel good like almost nothing else can. So this weekend, I’ll listen to Forth Wanderers’ music, and I’ll marvel at how good it is and how it makes me feel. Consider, at the very least, listening to support a great piece of art a fellow Obie has made, as supporting one another is what we all must do right now.

Sports

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The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

In the Locker Room

Club Tennis

This week, the Review sat down with club tennis team President junior Elayne Zhou and Captain Samir Husain to discuss the thrill of competition, how the club has grown over time and some of their favorite tennis memories. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you become involved with club tennis? Elayne Zhou: I actually joined the year it was created and was [one] of the founding members. I started off literally as someone with no role on the club tennis team. I’ve always played tennis throughout my life on and off, but never on a team, because I never had time during school. I really wanted to continue that again here because I didn’t really have time to be a part of the team, but still really cared about the sport. Samir Husain: I also started the year that the club tennis team started. I was a part of the actual founding members, as well. It started off with a Facebook group for people who were interested. Then we had a general interest meeting. I played for like 13 or 14 years before in Pakistan, so we didn’t have a team at our school. This is my first time playing competitively in any way. Describe the competitions the team participates in. EZ: We will practice competitively and then we will play around one or two home matches. Then we try to do one to two away matches and we

Samir Husain (left) and Elayne Zhou will go to whatever school is hosting a tournament. They’ll usually have two to three other colleges bring their club teams and we will all rotate playing. SH: We are part of this league called the [United States Tennis Association]. There is this special club tennis sector, which involves a bunch of schools in our area here in the Midwest. We sign up, register our teams and basically when people want to host a match, they let the representative at USTA know. We travel [up] to about two hours away, or if there is a big tournament we are willing to travel about six to eight hours away. What is the mission of the club? EZ: I definitely think that the club has players from tons of different levels. We’ll have competitive players indicate

that they are interested in playing competitively so you get matched up with players that are at a similar level. It is also very much focused on developing potential and working hard at things you want to improve on. And then there is also a social aspect to it. We always have club dinners and club parties outside, as well. It is a good community to be a part of. SH: The club initially started off for people who really wanted to play tennis on campus but … couldn’t join the varsity team due to time commitment or skill. It’s a space for people to play either competitively or noncompetitively, just have a good time, build a community, etc.

done a really good job recruiting, especially at the club sports fair. The first year that we joined, there were a large number of people at the meeting and then much fewer of us showed up as the year went on. We have a really healthy number of people this year constantly going to practices. SH: [Director of Recreation and Club Sports] Betsy Bruce has helped us get our name out there, like on the club sports website. She has updated that, so before people come to Oberlin they know that this actually exists. From the club sports fair, we recruit a bunch of people. People just seem more interested this year as well, so that’s definitely a plus.

How have you seen the club grow over time? EZ: There are tons more members this year. We have

What have been your most memorable experiences thus far? EZ: I’ve seen myself improve

tremendously, and when I get to play with people this year, I get to compare that with how I played last year. And I think there has been a huge improvement, and apparently our old captains said I really improved, so that made me feel really good. SH: Definitely social aspects, which we didn’t have during my first year here. Social aspects started later on. Away tournaments are also what make the club really fun to me. Going to other schools, playing against other schools and having that competitive element drives me to be really interested in this over casual play. How can people join club tennis or get involved? EZ: We have a Facebook page and we are also part of the club sports Facebook page, so as long as you email me you can be a part of the club. You can find my name on goyeo.com under “Liaison.” You can commit however much time you want, but it’s totally open for anyone who wants to join. SH: Anyone who wants to join, whenever they want to join, how many times they want to come to practice — we are not strict about that at all. The club sports fair really helps. Email Elayne and you’re in. There is no tryout or anything of that sort. It’s very open. Interview by Darren Zaslau, Sports editor Photo By Rick Yu Photo editor

Men’s Soccer Falls to Kenyon Lords in NCAC Championship Continued from page 16 conducive to our style of passing and possession. Kenyon plays more directly and so the field was an advantage for them.” The Lords capitalized on their home field advantage in the final minutes of the game when first-year forward Philippe Stengel received a long pass up the middle of the field, split the defense and fired a shot past Yeomen goalkeeper Koryn Kraemer. Senior midfielder Adam ChazinGray said Stengel’s clutch play was an example of soccer brilliance. “Both teams had opportunities to score in the final moments of the game and the difference was that one moment,” he said. “That’s what is so devastating about the loss. You can play amazingly for 105 minutes and then all that can be cancelled out in a single moment.” That goal cemented the Lords’ second overtime win over the Yeomen this season. Kenyon earned a 3–2 double overtime victory against Oberlin Oct. 11 at Fred Shults Field. Despite the end result, the Yeomen’s prowess did not go unrecognized, as three senior players were named to the NCAC All-Tournament team:

Wertman, Chazin-Gray and senior defender Galen Brennan. Wertman was an offensive frontrunner throughout the season, finishing with a team-high 16 goals to top off his career with 31 goals. He said he is proud of what he and his team accomplished this season. “We did things no other Oberlin team has, and personally I was able to achieve nearly all [of my goals] from the start of the season,” Wertman said. “We also were excited in the platform we’ve built for success going forward. The future is very bright for these guys.” Though the Yeomen did not receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, the 2016 season was one that will go down in school history. The squad set the single-season record with 15 wins. It also notched a record 41 assists and tied a school record of 48 goals. While the loss was painful, New said his squad will look on this season fondly. “For a couple of days it was disappointment and shock, but after that wore off, they are proud of what we accomplished,” New said. “We had a great season. We fell just short of our ultimate goal, but I am very proud of this group.”

Sports

The Oberlin Review, November 11, 2016

Page 15

—Volleyball—

Volleyball Takes Set from Top-Seeded Tigers

Sophomore Sara Chang (left) and senior Maggie Middleton jump for a block against the top-seeded Tigers in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Wittenberg University last Friday. Photo Courtesy of OC Athletics

Sydney Allen Production Editor Despite taking the third set from the topseeded Wittenberg University Tigers 25–22, the Yeowomen dropped the match 3–1 in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Putting up a valiant fight against the No. 7 Tigers was encouraging for the Yeowomen, who finished their season 7–20 overall and 1–7 in the NCAC. “We played some of the best volleyball we’ve played all year, and we ended up taking

a set off them, which I’ve never done in the six years I’ve been here,” said Head Coach Erica Rau. “It was definitely a big accomplishment, and everyone left feeling really good about that match even though we lost.” After the loss last Friday, Oberlin geared up to finish the tournament on a positive note against the fourth-seeded Hiram College Terriers and the College of Wooster Fighting Scots. The Yeowomen fought hard against the Terriers, but narrowly lost in three crushing sets 25–23, 25–20 and 26–24. In their season finale against the seventh-

seeded Fighting Scots, the Yeowomen fell in the first two sets, 25–16 and 25–18, before picking up steam in the third set for a 25–16 victory. Ultimately, they were unable to do any more damage, falling out of the tournament with a 25–16 loss in the final set to Wooster. Rau attributed Saturday’s performance to the difficulties in the style of play that the NCAC Volleyball Tournament presents. “Day two is always a hard day,” Rau said. “You still have to play out but you’re not really playing for anything. You’re playing to win, but you’re not really playing for a conference championship anymore or to even move up a place in conference.” The tournament capped off a fairly disappointing season for women’s volleyball, which ended on a 10-game losing streak. Despite their struggles, the players said they are proud of their bright moments throughout the course of the 2016 campaign. “A lot of us came into the season hoping to have more wins than losses as our primary goal,” said senior setter and captain Meredith Leung. “This didn’t happen, but we still had a lot of highlights and a lot of great things to take away from the season.” Those highlights include Leung setting a school record with 3,224 career assists. A native of Lomita, CA, Leung was named Honorable Mention All-NCAC in each of her first three seasons. This year, she led the team in assists with 453 while her 46 service aces rank second on the squad. The team also suffered numerous severe injuries early during the season, including

starting outside hitter junior Claudia Scott, who tore her ACL. “One of our biggest challenges was Claudia’s injury,” Leung said. “We definitely missed having both her skills and leadership out on the court, but we also got to see some other players really step up and work hard and do a great job in that position.” Now that the regular season has ended, the volleyball team intends to hone its skills and strategy in the offseason while working to replace the five seniors who will be graduating. With six of their seven wins this year coming in non-conference games, the Yeowomen will look to improve within NCAC play in 2017 as well. “I’m really excited about the offseason,” Rau said. “It’ll give us a lot of time to work on our individual skills and refine a lot of things that we didn’t have the time to do individually in the fall. The fall is a lot more about team strategy. And we will have a lot of time to work on our offense as well.” Setbacks aside, the team had high points to be proud of this season. The team had a solid stretch, winning three out of four games from Sept. 3 to Sept. 10, when they blanked La Roche College twice and defeated Hiram 3–2. Sophomore defensive specialist Emily Kelkar said that she believes that the team must improve its consistency next season. “Next year we hope to improve on not letting setbacks determine our successes and not letting one loss lead to another,” she said. “We hope to keep up and elevate our level of play … and are much looking forward to next season.”

Concussions Underscore Football’s Safety Issues Editorial: Keep Doping Consequences Heavy Jack Brewster Columnist

Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. receives the snap, drops back, scans left and right and is immediately under pressure. Two Ohio State University defensive linemen are closing in fast. Armstrong abandons the pocket and bolts for an opening in the throng of gargantuan bodies before him. He gets the first down and keeps running. But before he can safely run out of bounds, Ohio State safety Malik Hooker catapults himself into Armstrong’s legs, upending the quarterback. He flies through the air and crashes to the ground, his head taking the brunt of the force as his neck snaps backwards. Armstrong, a driving force in a struggling Nebraska offense just seconds before, lays motionless on the ground, unconscious. Moments later, he is carried off the field on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Armstrong was placed into concussion protocol and missed two practices, but then resumed training as usual. Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley said Armstrong “could be” cleared to play tomorrow in Nebraska’s game against the University of Minnesota. In college football and the NFL, severe injury-inflicting hits like the one Armstrong endured this past weekend are almost commonplace. Watch a few football games on television this weekend and you’re bound to see a player suffer an egregious injury. Last year, ThinkProgress found that after the first two games of the NFL season, nearly 15 percent of the league’s players had suffered injuries. Players endured 12 concussions, two neck injuries and 40 knee injuries in just the first two weeks of the season. More and more people now acknowledge that football has an injury problem, especially in terms of concussions. Thanks to improvements in research and medicine, we are now much more aware of the severity of injuries as they happen and their effects on players down the road. The long-term effects of injuries have soured some of the game’s most successful players. Bart Scott, Adrian Peterson, Drew Brees and Brett Favre have all come out and said that they will not encourage their kids play football because it is too dangerous. Even cinema has shed light on the issue. Concussion, a film released last year, tells the story of Bennet Omalu, a

doctor who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy by examining the corpses of former NFL players. CTE is a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head — a common occurrence in football. Since Omalu’s discovery, we know the cause of depression, extreme mood swings and death in many young football players. Just last week it was announced that Kevin Turner, a fullback for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles who died in March at the age of 46, succumbed to CTE. So why on earth do we continue to tune in and show up in droves to watch players severely injure themselves? Despite our understanding of the harmful effects of football, we continue to cheer as players bash their heads together on the grid iron. When a player gets seriously injured, like Armstrong was this past Saturday, the audience is usually jarred. They hold their breath as the player is carted off the field. They anxiously wait for news on the player and mutter something along the lines of, “Football sure is a violent game.” Then they go back to rooting for so-and-so to bash another guy’s head in. America’s attention span for remembering the dangerous moments in football is way too short. In college football, the passivity is especially concerning. Unlike the NFL, college players are not playing for money. The vast majority of them will not make it to the NFL to reap the rewards of their athletic talent. According to the NCAA, only 1.9 percent of college football players will play professionally. While some players benefit from scholarship and most will finish their degrees, it is incredibly difficult for them to get an adequate education due to their ridiculously busy athletic schedules. Most college players severely endanger their longterm health in exchange for a sub-par education and a few fond memories. While the skull-crushing plays of football are exciting to watch, the sport leaves players with health issues that are felt for decades and can even end their lives. It’s time to hold the NFL and the NCAA accountable for saving the sport from itself. Football needs to change. Institute more fines and restrictions for how players can tackle. Pour more money into research for safer helmets and equipment. And provide both college and NFL players with medical support after their athletic careers are over. Because, at the end of the day, football is just a game. CTE and brain damage are not.

Continued from page 16 the time of her press conference, was not yet well known to the public. Meldonium has since become synonymous with cheating by Russian athletes. In the summer leading up to the Rio Olympics, over 100 Russian athletes were suspended from the games for meldonium use. It began to increasingly look like Sharapova was one of those athletes as more and more details emerged about her case. Evidence from the ITF report shows that Sharapova knew meldonium would benefit her tennis. In a string of emails, Sharapova received instruction from her former doctor in Russia, Dr. Anatoly Skalny, who said to increase her melodium dosage during “games of special importance” to three to four pills one hour before her matches. She used meldonium six times in seven days at Wimbledon in 2015, when she made it to the semifinals before falling to Serena Williams. Sharapova’s medical excuses also began to appear flimsier as the case progressed. While there is some evidence that meldonium helps with diabetes, it is not known to regulate heartbeat or treat a magnesium deficiency. It does, however, improve blood flow to muscle tissue in a way that improves athletes’ exercise capacity. In addition to her past emails and lack of medical justification, the infeasibility of Sharapova’s ignorance argument also makes her seem guilty. Sharapova, the highest-paid female athlete from 2004–2015, is constantly surrounded by an entourage dedicated to ensuring her tennis success — trainers, a personal traveling coach, hitting partners, an agent. At least one member of her staff was bound to have read the email that included the updated substance list and informed her of the issue. Despite these many discrepancies in her story, the CAS bought into the image of Sharapova ashonest. Her assertion that she did not know that meldonium had become banned and her willingness to do a preemptive press conference and admit fault were enough for the CAS to trim her suspension. Sharapova will return to tennis in April virtually untouched by her suspension. The 15-month break barely puts a dent in her financial empire, which includes countless endorsements from the likes of Nike and Porsche and $37 million in career prize money. Although she has to start from scratch when it comes to her ranking, she will have no problem gaining a wild card into tournaments. Tennis can’t wait to have its hard-hitting, fist-pumping dynamo back. Sharapova’s trademark swinging blonde ponytail and scream-level grunt will announce her reappearance in the tennis world — one that now seems a little less clean. Let’s just hope her second chance doesn’t send the signal that players can dope without consequence.

Sports The Oberlin Review

Page 16

November 11, 2016

— Men’s Soccer —

Yeomen Take Second in Record Season Marissa Maxfield Appearing in its inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference Championship game, men’s soccer dropped a heartbreaker to the top-seeded Kenyon College Lords 2–1 in double overtime. “We expected to win. The guys were excited and confident and ready to prove that we belonged,” said Head Coach Blake New. “We thought we matched up well with them and we thought this was our time.” The Yeomen offense found a rhythm when senior winger Sam Weiss branded the scorecard less than four minutes into the game. In a clean progression of forward movement, junior midfielder Jonah Blume-Kemkes swung the ball to the far post as Weiss dodged past the Lords’ defensive line. Weiss found the back of the net to end his senior campaign with seven goals. After scoring in the first few minutes After besting Wabash College 2–1 to advance to its first North Coast Athletic Conference Championship against the Lords, the Yeomen had momen- game, Oberlin lost to Kenyon College 2–1 in double overtime last Saturday. Photo by Hugh Newcomb tum on their side. But Kenyon, who held a number nine national ranking at the time, came back strong. Thirty minutes after Weiss’ game to be a battle.” minutes of the second overtime as Nick Wertgoal, the Lords bombarded the Oberlin defense For the next 73 minutes, both teams re- man fired a shot off a volley into the hands of to tie the game 1–1 as Kenyon’s Billy O’Neill mained scoreless. Toward the end of the sec- Lords goalkeeper Sam Clougher. Missed atblasted a shot that flew just above sophomore ond half, sophomore midfielder Trenton Bulu- tempts like these demonstrated the imporgoalkeeper Koryn Kraemer’s reach into the far cea sent a corner kick into the box that found tance of home field advantage, according to top corner. the head of first-year forward Jack McMillin, New. “We were expecting it to be a dogfight,” se- but the attempt missed just wide of the goal. “The field played a big role in the game,” nior captain Nick Wertman said of the game’s After the first overtime, both teams re- New said. “It was bumpy and slick and not momentum changes. “We knew Kenyon was mained locked in a 1–1 tie. The Yeomen had yet going to play hard and we were ready for the another chance to pull ahead in the opening See Men’s, page 14

— Football —

Football Set to Battle Hiram in Season Finale Alex McNicoll The Yeomen suffered a Senior Day spoiler at the hands of the DePauw University Tigers last Saturday in their ninth consecutive loss of the year, falling 50–17. Still looking for its first win, Oberlin will travel to Hiram College tomorrow to face off against the Terriers for its last matchup of the season. “The main thing with [Hiram] is they have a lot of great athletes, and they definitely have some playmakers within their wide receiver group, so that’s going to be a challenge to defend for sure,” said sophomore defensive back Isaiah Rapp. Rapp added that he remains positive as the season comes to a close, citing the team defense’s growth. The Yeomen will need a strong defense in order to prevent a repeat of last year’s crushing 24–21 loss to Hiram last year, in which the Terriers were able to erase a 21–3 secondhalf deficit. Hiram holds eighth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference at 2–7 overall and 2–6 in the conference but they have shown offensive prowess, defeating Kenyon College 45–7 Sept. 17 before taking down Allegheny Col-

lege 42–14 Oct. 29. Hiram is also led by some of the premier playmakers in the NCAC, including senior wide receiver Joshua Philander, who ranks second in the conference with 103.1 yards per game. This season, the Yeomen have struggled on both sides of the ball, ranking last in the NCAC for points per game with 15.4 and second worst in points allowed per game with 40.0. While the scoring gaps may be large, junior tight end Chris Mueller said he believes that the team’s difficulties executing smaller details during games are far more important. “This year it’s really just the little things,” he said. “It’s not like anything too crazy, it’s just one little mistake by one person. One mistake can kill a drive.” Struggles aside, in order to finish the season on the right foot against Hiram, Mueller and the Yeomen have expressed commitment to keeping a positive outlook. “I think we can beat any team in our conference on any given day,” Mueller said. “I think we need to play well for that to happen. We need to play a winning brand of football.” The pursuit of a “winning

Senior wide receiver Justin Cruz sprints past DePauw University defenders in Oberlin’s 50– 17 loss last Saturday at the Knowlton Athletic Complex. Cruz ranks third in school history with 2,156 career receiving yards. Photo Courtesy of OC Athletics

brand” of football is something that Head Coach Jay Anderson has demanded from the Yeomen since week one. Concluding his third year at the helm, Anderson said he believes that the relatively young Yeomen must focus on minimizing mistakes, taking advantage of scoring opportunities and stopping explosive plays while on defense in order to win. “It’s been a season of

growth for our team,” Anderson said. “We have to continue taking it week by week. It’s about not trying to get too high or too low.” Coming off a 42–23 loss at The College of Wooster last week, the Terriers will be hungry to unleash their offense, which averages nearly 21 points per game and has performed far better than their overall record would suggest. Still, Hiram’s defense

is an Achilles heel that the Yeomen will look to capitalize on. Allowing 35 points per game, the Terriers’ struggles bode well for an improving Oberlin offense guided by first-year quarterback Zach Taylor, who is averaging 190.8 passing yards per game. Having recorded at least one win in every season since 2001, the Yeomen have their sights set on ending 2016 positively.

Sharapova Reprieve Ridiculous Jackie McDermott Sports Editor Maria Sharapova’s suspension for meldonium use was reduced from two years to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration of Sport Oct. 4 because the organization believes Sharapova didn’t intend to cheat. She claims she wasn’t aware that the drug she was taking had been banned. In trimming the tennis star’s suspension, CAS sent the message that if a player takes a drug with the intent of enhancing performance but claims they weren’t aware that it was banned, they can weasel their way out of their punishment. Further, CAS disrespected the International Tennis Federation by reversing its decision on Sharapova’s case. This opens the door for players to claim ignorance about doping violations and get away with them, threatening the clean reputation of tennis. The public first learned of the scandal in March when Sharapova called a press conference to reveal that she was caught using a drug she knew as “mildronate.” She tested positive for the drug during the Australian Open, just two weeks after its ban had gone into effect. Players were notified of the addition of the substance to the banned list via email, but Sharapova claims she did not read the message. She said she had been taking the drug for 10 years prior for prediabetes, magnesium deficiency and irregular EKGs, but never listed it on a used substance form. Tennis analysts and fans alike ran to Sharapova’s defense, offering a list of reasons why she was innocent. The drug was prescribed by her family doctor for a medical problem. She shouldn’t be expected to comb through long lists of banned substances with cryptic pharmaceutical names. She didn’t mean to cheat. Mildronate has a pseudonym, meldonium, which, at See Editorial, page 15