February 17, 2017 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review

FEBRUARY 17, 2017 VOLUME 145, NUMBER 15

Local News Bulletin News briefs from the past week Oberlin Heritage Center Offers Tour Guide Training Workshop The Oberlin Heritage Center is offering a training workshop for volunteers interested in becoming tour guides for its historic sites tours. The session will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the OHC’s Monroe House Saturday, March 11. Volunteers will receive an overview of Oberlin’s history since both the city and College’s founding, including information on the people who once lived and worked in the historic buildings featured in the OHC tour. To preregister for the training, contact OHC by March 3. Oberlin Rotary Club Hosting Annual Pancake Breakfast The Oberlin Rotary Club is holding its 25th Annual Pancake Breakfast Sunday, March 5 at the Oberlin High School Cafeteria from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The all-you-can-eat event will fund a variety of local and international causes, including polio eradication, student-exchange programs and the provision of medical supplies abroad. Tickets are $6 per person and children under five are free. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance from any Rotary Club member. College Debate Team Dominates Tournament The Oberlin College Debate Team claimed first- and second-place victories at Bowling Green State University’s debate tournament last weekend. Six of the 20 members competed in a set of two teams at the competition, with underclassmen leading the winning team. Teams debated topics about both domestic and international affairs. This was the second tournament that the College’s debate team has competed in this year.

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Krislov Named President of Pace University Alexis Dill Melissa Harris, News editor Oberlin College’s top administrative spots are up for grabs as searches ensue to replace President Marvin Krislov and Vice President of Finance and Administration Mike Frandsen. Krislov, who announced his impending departure in September, will leave for a new post as president of Pace University in New York City beginning Aug. 1. His decade of service as the College’s 14th president leaves a legacy of, alongside notable controversies that gained traction in national media, capital-planning projects like the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center’s creation and a record-breaking fundraising effort. Although Krislov said that he had limited knowledge about Pace before the opportunity came across his desk, he grew increasingly interested in the institution. Many students at Pace are working-class, immigrant and first-generation college students, underscoring one of Krislov’s primary passions when it comes to higher education: accessibility. “I didn’t know a lot about Pace, but the more I found out the more excited I was,” Krislov said. “I wanted to do something where I felt I could make a difference. I’ve been very interested in access, opportunity and diversity issues, and Pace is a campus that really puts that at the center.” Many have been quick to point out that Oberlin and Pace seem to share little in common, raising questions about the two distinctive student bodies and sharply differentiating campus environments. Still, Krislov said that the institutions, despite their surface-level differences, have some similar core

President Marvin Krislov announced Tuesday that he will become the eighth president of Pace University. After 10 years at Oberlin, he will begin at his new post on Aug. 1. Photo by Rick Yu, Photo editor

values. “Traditional college-age students today have a different set of demands and concerns, and I think technology has really changed the way people think and work,” Krislov said. “There’s also, for at least some students and families, a lot of anxiety about what the future looks like. But some of the things that Oberlin does so well [includes] creating community and bringing people together in meaningful ways. … At Pace, it’s a different type of community in that not everyone lives within five minutes walking

See Finance, page 4

Cleveland State Report Reveals Housing Deficiencies Olive Sherman A recent study of Oberlin’s housing shows that the city has

an aging housing stock and lacks affordable housing for seniors and low-income residents. City Council will reference the study, conducted between May and De-

This graph shows the percentage of households in different cities receiving cash public assistance, supplemental security income and food stamps, in blue, red and green, respectively. Image courtesy of Kirby Date, Cleveland State University

cember 2016 by Cleveland State University, when considering future policies on housing as well as when the city creates its new comprehensive plan this year, a plan that is revised every 10 years and sets the priorities for city government. Even though the report wasn’t expected to provide immediate ideas for policy improvement, City Councilmember Linda Slocum was pleased with the result and the direction it provides. “They told us from the beginning that [the study] wasn’t a solution; that it wouldn’t tell us what to do,” Slocum said. “But it gave us more direction than I had thought, and I’m grateful for that.” One of the main issues — aging houses — was identified through exorbitant city spending on repair and maintenance. CSU’s report indicates that 36 percent of the city’s houses were built before 1939 and 64.8 percent built before 1969, making Oberlin’s housing stock substantially older than the average in Ohio. In Lorain County,

Cutting-Edge Chromatograph The College invested $430,000 in new equipment for the Chemistry and Biochemistry departments to help advance on-campus research.

to campus, and even on the different campuses and there are also multiple campuses.” As Krislov will soon depart from Oberlin, College junior and Student Senator Thobeka Mnisi said that he has reached out to her hospitably. “On a personal level, I felt nothing but fondness toward him,” Mnisi said. “He had extended gracious hospitality to me my first semester, constantly making time to meet with me and listen to me rant

Leading the Pack Track and field sweeps NCAC Athlete of the Week awards.

Good Talk, Bad Talk Biweekly variety show kicks off at the 'Sco.

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INDEX:

Opinions 5

This Week in Oberlin 8

Arts 10

Sports 16

the percent of houses built before 1939 and 1969 were 15.7 percent and 51.2 percent respectively. This has led to a significant amount of wasted money because of faulty heating, cooling and old appliances, according to Councilmember Sharon Soucy. “When I ran for council, I put flyers on people’s doors, and that was when it really struck me that our housing stock is aging,” Slocum said. “It is my number one concern for Oberlin housing, currently.” The report also found a lack of adequate housing for middleincome seniors, low-income families and young families seeking starter homes. High tax rates are also a problem. According to one PowerPoint, 48 percent of Oberlin is not taxable because it’s owned by either the College, churches, parks or municipal institutions. According to the report, Oberlin’s African-American population has dropped from 18 to 15 percent See City, page 2

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The Oberlin Review, February 17, 2017

College Embraces New Technology, Research Karen Weiner The College’s Chemistry and Biochemistry departments have added two new pieces of equipment to allow students and professors to separate compounds down to extremely small sizes to study their makeup. These large and expensive devices, known as chromatographspectrometers, will help the two

departments in conducting research. Seeing as the previous models were 16 years old and have been broken since last year, professors and students using the machines were excited to get replacements. According to Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Robert Thompson, the improvement between the old and new machines is “like thinking about what your

phone was like 15 years ago — a huge difference.” Thompson said that the main improvement is in sensitivity, as the new chromatograph-spectrometers can detect particles 500 times better than the old models, meaning it can identify much smaller substances. In basic terms, the chromatograph first takes a substance and separates the compounds

Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Robert Thompson poses with one of the College’s new chromatograph-spectrometers. The equipment replaced 16-year-old machines. Photo by Rick Yu, Photo editor

by polarity so that they can each be categorized and easily recognized. Then, it further separates the compounds by using lasers to blast them apart. Thompson explained that the process is a gradual shrinking in scale from one larger compound. “A chromatograph takes a mixture and separates all the individual compounds and dilutes those one by one out of the chromatograph, and one by one those compounds get identified and quantified from the master compound,” he said. The instruments cost $430,000. According to Thompson, the cost was covered primarily by a fund started 30 years ago specifically intended for the purchase of instruments for the Chemistry department, along with contributions from alumni and from the College. Thompson was additionally able to get a 40 percent discount on the purchase. He explained that normally the department would have tried to get a grant before purchasing such expensive instruments, but the old instrument failed last summer. Given that it is used widely in teaching and research, the department wanted to replace it as soon as possible. One of the instruments is known as a liquid chromato-

graph-spectrometer, needed mostly for identifying waterbased substances, while the other is a gas chromatograph-spectrometer, useful for compounds with lower boiling points that evaporate more easily. Andy Abely, a post-doctoral student working with Chemistry Professor Jason Belitsky, has been using the new gas spectrometer to study certain substances and noticed the improvements. “Anecdotally, it has about a 100 percent better detection limit, so we can detect things at much lower concentrations,” Abely said. Thompson has also seen benefits in his study of fruit pesticides. With the old instruments, Thompson had to add additional pesticides to the fruit in order for the machine to work properly. Now he can use the fruits in their original condition. Scientists are also excited for the replacements because of their versatility. Chemistry Professor Rebecca Whelan, for instance, is using the liquid spectrometer to identify compounds in the secretions birds have on their wings. These instruments will not only be useful to professors conducting research; according to Professor Thompson, eventually every Chemistry major will use these instruments at some point in their college career.

City Council to Address Affordable Housing in Oberlin Continued from page 1 since 2000, partly due to a lack of smaller, affordable family housing in good condition. “One of the things that deeply concerns me is that in the last census we lost 200–300 members of the African-American community,” Soucy said. “[Oberlin is] defined by [its] diversity, so this is really concerning for the future.” Oberlin's Director of Planning Carrie Handy and councilmembers stressed that while the report was not intended to prompt immediate decisions on future housing policies, it was necessary to back up claims that overall renovations need to be made. “Honestly, I wasn’t surprised [by the results],” Handy said. “I work a lot with housing code enforcement, and I knew we hadn’t had new housing stock in the last 10 years at least, so we’ve needed to give some attention to it.” According to Handy, the need for the housing report came about after the city was unable to agree on development of the Green Acres property a year ago. “There were a lot of comments made during the Green Acres planning process that we didn’t need affordable housing or we needed some other type of housing,” Han-

dy said. “We really wanted to know what the demand was. You look at demographic trends with certain people aging while you’ve also got millennials and need to cater for everyone.” Green Acres was a proposed mixed-income housing development that was going to be located on a large open property on the east side of town. According to Soucy, one solution for the affordable housing problem for seniors and low-income families could be the creation of a new plan for Green Acres. “We thought the Green Acres housing project was something everyone could agree on, but when it got so contentious, the project stopped,” Soucy said. “Instead of basing it on speculation, we’re basing it now on the need demonstrated in the study. According to Ben Franklin owner Crista Long, a working group of Oberlin residents separate from city government is advocating for the establishment for a community land trust, which would allow a nonprofit corporation to develop affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community assets on behalf of the Oberlin community. One townsperson worried about the future of housing for elderly residents is Ginko

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Gallery owner Liz Burgess, who wishes there were more options for those who can’t afford to live in retirement communities like Kendal at Oberlin. “My selfish interest is for those of us who are aging in Oberlin and, there’s Kendal retirement community, and there’s Section 8 apartments, but those of us in the middle who can’t afford a continuing care community but have just enough assets that we don’t qualify for some of the subsidized housing,” Burgess said. “We’re worrying for our futures.” As liaison to the city’s housing committee, Slocum is working on a plan for residents to acquire low interest loans so they can move into better housing situations. Since aging housing is also a risk to sustainability, she also hopes residents become more aware of programs to better conserve power, such as the EnergySmart program. On the positive side, the report found Oberlin to have market strengths in its inclusive, small-town lifestyle and culturally diverse amenities and attractions, including the College. Improving local schools and overall affordability in line with most of Lorain County were also listed as strengths to help the city attract new residents. Although CSU urban planners Kirby

Editors-in-Chief Editors-in-chief Tyler Liv Combe Sloan Allegra Oliver Kirkland Bok Managing editor Samantha Kiley Petersen Link News editors Rosemary Melissa Boeglin Harris Alex LouisHoward Krauss Opinions editor WillSami Rubenstein Mericle This Week Weekeditor editor Izzy ZoëRosenstein Strassman Arts editors Daniel KaraMarkus Brooks Victoria Georgia Garber Horn Sports editors Jackie McDermott Quinn Hull Madeleine Darren O’Meara Zazlau Layout editors Abigail Tiffany Carlstad Fung Amanda Ben Garfinkel Tennant Alanna TaliaSandoval Rodwin Photo editors Parker OliviaShatkin Gericke Photo editors Brannon Rockwell-Charland Bryan Rubin Online editor Rick Alanna Bennett Yu

Date and Kathryn Hexter mostly carried out the project, the organizers received some input from the city as well as a Housing Study Steering Committee of community stakeholders, a Community Open House and interviews with residents and business owners. CSU also analyzed data taken from the U.S. Census and looked at other communities in northeast Ohio and several college towns along the East Coast to make comparisons. The project cost the city $22,566, according to Handy. Handy, who managed the study along with the CSU workers, said there weren’t any specific geographic areas that accounted for the aging houses and lack of elderly or low-income housing. “We did a property conditions survey a couple years ago, and it was really scattered all over,” Handy said. “There wasn’t a pattern where you could say, ‘This neighborhood was the worst.’” Handy said that the results were first reported in late December, but since then the study managers have released several PowerPoints analyzing the data. She added that a final document assembling all the reports would be released in late February.

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

Corrections The Review is not aware of Corrections: any corrections this week. The Review is not aware of any corrections The Review strives to print all at this time. To submt a correction, email 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, February 17, 2017

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Off the Cuff: Zoé Samudzi, Medical Sociology Ph.D. Candidate Zoé Samudzi is a Medical Sociology Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Francisco, where she specializes in issues related to transgender people’s impediments to receiving adequate health care. Aside from policies and oppression related to transgender people, Samudzi has also conducted research related to race, sex workers and communities that suffer from HIV. Her talk is titled, “Conceptualizing Oppression: Umbrellas and Webs,” during which she will discuss how political systems affect transgender peoples’ access to health care. The talk today will be held at 5 p.m. at Wilder Hall, Room 101. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What is your lecture going to be on tomorrow? At first I was going to talk about trans health, because it’s my focus, but I think it would be more useful to contextualize trans health in these larger systems of oppression, and in doing that, help people understand the ways in which our identities as oppressed people and as oppressors can be fluid in ways that make us complicit in oppression and ignore that oppression. I wanted to set the stage for that and talk about how these things impact trans communities. Your talk is about racial capitalism. What does that term mean? People often talk about capitalism and class structures, but they don’t talk about the ways poverty is racialized. Or the ways the American political system was built on the genocide of indigenous people and the enslavement of African people. Racism is intrinsic to this system we have, and I want to make sure that’s very clear in my talk. What did you mean about fluidity and

Security Advisory A resident of Huron, Ohio, David K. Schindley, has been arrested on suspicion of spying on and recording cell-phone video of Oberlin College residential buildings as well as other residencies in the area from January and early February. According to the Clery Timely Warning Notice issued on Feb. 16, “Law enforcement has taken custody of known recordings and has or will contact affected individuals of the spaces that were identified.”

Thursday, Feb. 9 11:55 a.m. Safety and Security officers assisted a staff member who fell on a West Lorain Street sidewalk and injured their hand. They declined medical treatment. 6:29 p.m. Officers responded to assist a staff member who fell on ice in the parking lot between King Building and Dascomb Hall, injuring their hand, lower back and knee. No medical treatment was given on the scene.

complicity in oppression? For example, I’m talking about trans folks and health. I’m a Black queer woman, I’m oppressed on the basis of my queerness, my Blackness and my womanhood, but I’m a cis woman. So my body and identity are privileged within that kind of structure of knowing gender and identity that places my body as normal and trans bodies as abnormal. As an academic, it means I have tremendous power to define how I understand trans people to live in the world and exist in the world. I have access to these dominant discourses, and I can perpetuate the structural oppressions to trans people in the work that I do. What are the ways you think you can reduce that oppression? What I’m interested in doing is working around discourses in the academy, and looking at the ethics and ways we do research as cis folks. For me, that means making research design that is really participatory and highlights the ways communities articulate their needs, as opposed to satisfying my own questions and biases. How did you get interested in the field and studying health care for trans people? I was trying to figure out the fieldwork for my master’s degree, and I was doing a program in South Africa [with] a sexworker education and advocacy group. I was interested in working with the transwomen sex workers who were there, and the more I talked to them, the more I became keenly aware of my own obligations to help the community as a cis person. Do you think in recent years there’s been enough increased awareness about rights for trans folk to make you confident in things getting better down the line? No, and I wish I could be more confident in saying I did. I think it’s amazing we

9:15 p.m. Officers responded to a report of an odor of burnt marijuana on the first floor of Noah Hall. Contact was made with the occupants of the room, who admitted to smoking marijuana. Several ashtrays were confiscated.

Saturday, Feb. 11 1:23 a.m. Officers assisted a student ill under the influence of marijuana in Dascomb Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 2:30 a.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption in South Hall. The student declined transportation to the hospital and was able to walk on their own. The student was transported to their dorm. 7:28 a.m. Officers assisted an ill student in the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The student said they had not eaten, was given Gatorade and transported to their room at their request. 11:12 a.m. Science Center faculty reported graffiti inside and outside of the Science Center. The graffiti, written in chalk, was found on doors and walls inside the building, the brick wall outside and on sandstone. Facilities Operations staff responded for clean up.

What are the main issues you’d like to fix about health care for transgender people? One of the big problems when it comes to health care is that there are only a handful of medical schools that are explicit about teaching doctors how to give care to trans folks. One issue that drives community health disparities is that people will anticipate transphobia and then just won’t go to the doctor. So it’s not about ‘let’s have gender-sensitivity training,’ it’s about having a whole medical understanding of what do people mean when they say ‘I am a trans person,’ and then how do you ask questions to further what their needs are.

Zoé Samudzi is a Medical Sociology Ph.D. student who focuses her work on transgender peoples’ ability to access health care.

have fantastic folks like Laverne Cox and Janet Mock being Black women, trans and out in public while being unapologetic. But at the same time, as with any group that’s gaining visibility in the civil rights space, there’s a tremendous amount of pushback. Now you have Donald Trump saying he has every intention to roll back whatever little access to civil rights that trans folks have. I was recently at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and they invited Kenneth Zucker to present there, a guy who is a proponent of reparative therapy. His main clients are the parents of trans kids who want their kids to not be trans. Even though his work has been discredited, WPATH still gave him space to legitimize what is ostensibly child abuse. So maybe we do have more visibility for trans people, but visibility doesn’t mean much if it’s not being supported by material systems. I want to say things are getting better, but I know way too many girls in prison who are just getting beaten up on a regular basis to feel any confidence to say that.

5:05 p.m. A visitor to campus reported the theft of their wallet from the Heisman Club Field House lounge. The wallet contained cash, miscellaneous cards and an ID. At 10:37 p.m., the visitor called and said the wallet was recovered, with all items were intact. 10:59 p.m. A student reported an unknown person who threw a bottle at a Goldsmith apartment window, breaking it. Officers responded to the area, and a facilities technician responded to repair and clean up.

Sunday, Feb. 12 12:24 a.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption on the first floor of Noah Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 1:26 a.m. Officers responded to a noise complaint at a Pleasant Street Village Housing Unit and observed an unauthorized party. The residents were contacted, and the party was closed down. 2:30 a.m. Members of the Oberlin Police Department made contact with an intoxicated student wandering around their parking lot. The student was transported to their room in

Are you pretty sure Trump will roll back the rights for transgender people? What kind of policies could he take away? With public health and health insurance, people can get gender-reconstructive surgeries covered by medical insurance. If that insurance gets chipped away, what is people’s access to hormones and to surgeries going to look like? Because they’re really expensive, and if they don’t have private insurance what will they do? What’s the main theme you hope to get across in your talk? The main message I want to get across is that Trump is a problem, but he’s not the only problem. We always talk about impeachment and that stuff, but we’re not properly recognizing what would happen. Trump gets impeached, then we get Mike Pence, who is appalling, then you have Paul Ryan, and everyone in the government is appalling. We shouldn’t be focusing on a single figurehead of a larger problem even though we’re focused on him being very monstrous. Interview by Louis Krauss, News editor Photo courtesy of Zoé Samudzi

South Hall. 12:40 p.m. A resident of Barrows Hall reported occupants of a room on the second floor smoking contraband. Contact was made with the occupants of the room in question and both admitted to smoking marijuana. Officers observed that the smoke detector was bagged, and the bag was removed. 2:24 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at a Goldsmith apartment. The alarm was triggered by smoke from cooking. The area was cleared, and the alarm reset.

Tuesday, Feb. 14 6:37 p.m. Officers assisted a staff member who fell down steps, injuring their ankle at a house on South Professor Street. The staff member was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 9:44 p.m. Officers responded to a report of the odor of burnt marijuana on the first floor of Barrows Hall. Contact was made with the occupants of the room in question, who admitted to smoking marijuana. A jar, containing a small amount of marijuana, was confiscated.

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The Oberlin Review, February 17, 2017

Student Senate Pivots in Favor of Activism Sydney Allen Production editor

As a group of newly elected representatives settle in, Student Senate is increasingly embracing its institutional influence and activist sentiments — a shift from just a few years ago when student interest and participation in Senate was at a low. Last week’s Senate election brought 25 students to the spotlight as they jockeyed and campaigned for one of the eight open seats on the 15-person Senate. Engaging in student activism was a common theme across the board. At Sunday evening's plenary session, some new priorities included working with Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees in the face of budget cuts, protecting those that will be affected by the Trump administra-

tion’s new initiatives and continuing to push for a student representative on the Board of Trustees. Student Senate Liaison and College junior Thobeka Mnisi, who was re-elected this cycle and received more votes than any senator in recorded Senate history, spoke to how the group is asserting itself as student body representatives. “At this point, it really would be to the detriment of the student body if we didn’t at all consider ourselves as a political body, because we don’t have the option to be apolitical because of the direction the country is going,” said Mnisi. “And also because of the significant number of students who are directly affected by the decisions that the administration has already made, but also has expressed intention of making in the future.”

Student Senate met for the first time since elections in Wilder Hall Sunday evening. The new group is introducing a focus on student activism. Photo by Rick Yu, Photo editor

Last semester, Senate took strong stances on controversial topics, publishing a resolution to boycott Gibson’s Bakery and campaigning for a student-representative position on the Board of Trustees. Senators also wrote a statement to the student body condemning the actions of Oberlin Alums for Campus Fairness. Newly elected College sophomore Kai Joy said she believes that Student Senate must be outspoken. Last week, Joy was a co-writer of a list of demands requesting greater transparency from administrators. “Recently, Student Senate has been seen as this group that’s supposed to be representative of the student body, but at the same time isn’t supposed to take any political stances,” Joy said. “At this point in time, with regard to what’s happening in the nation, with regard to what’s been happening on campus in the last few years, … I don’t think we can afford to be apolitical any more.” In her campaign statement, College sophomore Cecilia Wallace, also new to Senate this semester, discussed the body's potential for uniting activist organizations around campus. “How do we help people doing overlapping activist work find each other, so they can team up?” Wallace said. “Senate can play a huge role here as friendly info gatherer [or] repository — I want this to happen and want to help.” However, some students are still skeptical of Senate's ability to enact change. “My view on Senate is that essentially no progress has been made to politicize it as an institution since [Defending Oberlin Financial Accessibility] a few years ago,” College senior and former Senator Jordan Ecker wrote in an email to the Review. “I view Senate’s apoliticism as conservative, and their status as a fundamentally administrative body as a deliberate strategy on the part of the administra-

tion to dilute and blunt student’s political efforts. … The largest change Senate could enact would be to become properly political, that is viewed by the student body as a political organization spearheading confrontation with the administration.” Despite the criticism, others who have been involved with Senate feel optimistic about the group's future. “There is no question that Senate is a more legitimate and more powerful institution then when I came onto it in the fall of 2015,” said Jesse Docter, College junior and Senate's Strategic Planning Liaison. “At this point we have much more access and channels of communication with the Board of Trustees and the administration. I think that our relationship with activists is a lot better. I think we’ve come a long distance from our reputation as the body that passed the cigarette ban for instance.” A number of student groups echoed Docter's positive outlook on the new Senate group and are hopeful about its potential support in their activist endeavors. “I believe that this new push by Student Senate to get more involved in activism on campus is crucial, and I hope it does not fizzle away,” said College sophomore Juan Contreras, co-chair of La Alianza Latinx. “La Alianza Latinx recently signed the Students Building Community Power petition and has distributed [its] lists of demands. We hope that Senate follows in this direction and reaches out to student activist organizations in shaping their goals moving forward into this semester and the future years.” Senate welcomes new members, including Wallace and Joy, College sophomores Samuel Waranch, Elie Small, Hanne Williams-Baron and Dani Miriti Pacheco. College first-year Duncan Reid was re-elected and named treasurer.

Finance Director Leaves for Wittenberg Presidency Continued from page 1 about the injustices of the world and ways that Oberlin harbored those, inviting me to is house for Rosh Hashanah despite my being outwardly Christian and consistently making an effort to understand my interests so he could connect me with people who could help me realize my goals. I've also taken a class with him, in which he was very accommodating of my unique experiences as an international student even though it was an American Politics class and am currently taking an Education Policy class with him where he's being just as accommodating on my non-traditional background.” However, she was also critical of Krislov’s handling of certain conflicts on campus. “With regards to responding to controversies, I felt like he always tried to remain impartial even on situations where I think partiality would have been more judicious,” Mnisi added. “I was frustrated with the lack of response in 2014 when students were protesting and mourning the deaths of unarmed Black men across the country. I felt like a public address of some kind was in order, but it never came. … I think the president has the responsibility to set the tone about how such contentious issues are discussed, and that's something that could've been better handled.” After a very public application for the presidency of the University of Iowa last fall and 10 years at the College, preparations have long been underway to find Krislov’s successor. Conversely, Frandsen’s exit for

the presidency at Wittenberg University after just three years at the College comes as a surprise. He will take over at the Springfield, Ohio, campus starting July 1. Frandsen’s predecessor, Ron Watts, filled the role for 37 years. Frandsen said he did not initially plan on the quick turnaround at Oberlin but said that becoming president of a university has long been a career goal. “I came to Oberlin knowing that the next step in my career would be to a presidency,” Frandsen said. “Wittenberg has given me a tremendous opportunity to do that at a place I really connected with and believe in. It came sooner than I expected.” He landed the position over nearly 90 other applicants as the result of a six-month national search. Wittenberg has been without a permanent president since Laurie Joyner left for Saint Xavier University in Chicago in November 2015. Wittenberg’s Interim President Dick Helton has held the post since January 2016. Frandsen described Wittenberg’s presidential search as similar to Oberlin’s ongoing hunt for Krislov’s replacement. He said he had phone calls with staff members, faculty and students of the 15-member search committee, which was led by Tom Courtice of TBC Search Consulting, LLC. Although an exciting milestone for Frandsen, his wife and two daughters, he said the decision has also been bittersweet. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren expressed how Frandsen will be missed at the College. “Mike has had a strong impact in a short period of time,” Elgren said.

“Mike has helped Oberlin College. Its board, administration, faculty, students, staff [and] alumni face some hard financial realities. His has been a steady voice working to develop broad understanding of the necessity to bring our institutional spending practices in line with our resources. Wittenberg is fortunate to have [attracted] a leader with his integrity, vision, passion and compassion.” Frandsen said he hopes to leave a lasting impact on other people on campus as well. “I have great colleagues among the faculty, staff and board, and I have had the chance to work with great students, though only a few,” Frandsen said. Of the many ways Frandsen has participated at the College, he said his favorite time spent with students was when he took the Steel Drum ExCo and performed alongside students of the College and Conservatory. “I hope people will say I had a positive impact and that I conducted myself with honesty and integrity,” Frandsen added. “I hope I improved communication on campus and in my division, not only about finances, but also between people.” As Frandsen departs from the College, Presidential Search Committee Student Representative and doubledegree senior Jeremy Poe said he appreciated Frandsen’s effort to make financial information accessible to students, but maintained some criticisms of the way Frandsen handled the precarious financial situation he inherited. “When Frandsen came to Oberlin a few years ago, he soon began giving

presentations to campus constituencies, something he has continued to do until the present,” Poe wrote in an email to the Review. “Those presentations, and his availability for questions, have for students been very useful for understanding the finances of this school and how administrators and the board are thinking about them.” Still, Poe added that he disagreed with some of the philosophies that Frandsen seemingly perpetuated in his role at the College. “[Frandsen] was a proponent of the analogy ‘students are customers,’ a position I strongly disagree with,” Poe said. “He went along with a strategic planning process that diminished the institution's ability to adjust to a challenging financial situation. He certainly didn’t cause many of the problems at Oberlin. The present financial situation may not be his fault, but he was

responsible for the school’s finances. It is unfortunate that he is leaving at a time of mounting questions and concerns in the community.” Zachary Crowell, a former senator, OC ’16, also believes that Krislov was committed to addressing student concerns and that Frandsen also worked towards making financial information more transparent. However, as an organizer for Defending Oberlin Financial Accessibility, he also expressed how the two could have performed better. “I believe one area of improvement would be less reluctance to improve upon the status quo, especially with marginal issues,” Crowell said. “However, even on smaller and virtually cost-less issues, like which [Campus Dining Service] workers were allowed to eat meals on breaks, it took student demonstrations to get any change to the policy.”

Opinions The Oberlin Review

February 17, 2017

Letters to the Editors

Immigration Ban Undermines Urban Values To the Editors:

My grandfather, Albert Joseph Bialek, came to the United States from Poland in 1910. According to the Ellis Island website, he boarded the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in Bremen, Germany. He had just completed his service in the Austrian Army. Poland, at that time, was divided into three spheres of influence by Austria, Prussia and Russia. Upon being discharged, he returned to his father’s farm. Officers from the Austrian Army made an attempt to re-enlist him, but tradition dictated that he could remain at home so long as he was sorely needed on the farm. Immediately after the officers departed, Albert’s father gave him his brother’s travel documents and instructed him to immigrate to the United States. His father knew that war was coming and he didn’t want to lose his son to it. It took me awhile to locate my grandfather on the passenger list because I had forgotten he was traveling under the name Jan and not Albert. Given that Albert entered the United States under the name Jan Bialek and later burned his immigration papers, it is evident he was by defini-

tion an “illegal immigrant.” He went on to become a very hard-working brick mason and law-abiding citizen, raising 12 children with the help of his Polish wife, Mary Bialek née Mazan, and the rest, as they say, is history. Just as Cleveland is a city of neighborhoods, so is the United States a country of immigrants. In fact, all of the major cities of the U.S. at one time served as incubators for immigrants to not only become accustomed to the ways of this country but also to intermingle with each other, which was often prohibited in their native homelands. It’s a shame that the inner cities were handed over to the absentee landlords following World War ll. Just imagine how much stronger and united our country might have been had this unofficial tradition continued. Gentrification is not the answer. Preventing immigration is not the solution. Intense vetting is acceptable during these challenging times, but to unfairly deny one person access to the United States makes us all orphans again. As a popular song by Graham Nash goes, “Let me in, immigration man.” – Joe Bialek Cleveland resident

Administration Neglects Mental Health Needs Marissa Maxfield Contributing writer Psychiatric and counseling services on college campuses typically receive inadequate attention compared to other areas of health care, and Oberlin is no exception. While past disparities can be attributed to the invisibility of mental conditions and suppressive social influence, ignorance is not a viable excuse. It’s time for the institution to stop putting mental health on the backburner. In a Feb. 6 article published by STAT News, Megan Thielking reported a lack of mental health resources on campuses nationwide. From small colleges to major universities, “Students often have to wait weeks just for an initial intake exam to review their symptoms,” Thielking wrote. “The wait to see a psychiatrist who can prescribe or adjust medication — often a part-time employee — may be longer still.” Many students have had similar experiences at Oberlin, with many giving up on the Counseling Center altogether. Long wait times, ambiguous walk-in and break hours and lapses in communication on behalf of

staff make it difficult for students to connect with medical professionals. The Counseling Center is located on the western edge of campus, a trek for students without cars, particularly during the winter. When I was a first-year, I was reluctant to run into anyone I knew on my way to therapy, and the conspicuously distant location discouraged me further. Were it more central to campus, I wouldn’t have had to worry about being late to class after an appointment or getting there in rain or snow. I have known I needed treatment since before orientation, but it wasn’t until February 2014 that I finally made the dreaded hike. In my initial assessment, I met with a therapist who recommended I try medication along with cognitive-behavioral therapy. After suffering from an anxiety disorder for years, I was relieved to receive a treatment plan and eager to begin. Frustratingly, I had to wait a month before I saw a psychiatrist who could set me up with a prescription. Oberlin had only two psychiatrists at that time, and the standard wait time for a new patient was several weeks. But I was lucky to be seen by a

psychiatrist at all, since according to the results of a survey by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, only six in 10 college counseling centers have even a part-time psychiatrist available. Within two weeks of beginning Zoloft for my anxiety, I felt 50 percent normal and 100 percent hopeful. For the first time, a future seemed possible. I could speak in class without breaking a sweat or losing my train of thought. I could eat in the dining halls with friends without my throat closing up and wanting to vomit. I spent less time hiding because I could sit in public spaces without worrying about how I looked or who was judging me. I was so grateful for the Counseling Center and my newfound ability to engage in life as a college student. However, many students have experiences that are not as successful as mine. College is extremely stressful for any dedicated student, and even more so for Oberlin students. No matter the strength of our resolve or capabilities, we need resources and we need fidelity from those providing See Counseling, page 6

Submissions Policy The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and op-ed submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in that week’s issue. Letters may not exceed 600 words and op-eds may not exceed 800 words, except with consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names and any relevant titles, for all signers. All writers must individually confirm authorship on electronic submissions. Op-eds may not have more than two authors. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length, grammar, accuracy, strength of argument and in consultation with Review style. Editors will work with contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. Headlines are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in editorials, letters, op-eds, columns, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to a contributor.

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The Oberlin Review Publication of Record for Oberlin College

Editors-in-Chief Tyler Sloan Oliver Bok Managing Editor Kiley Petersen Opinions Editor Sami Mericle

New President Should Prioritize Communication Oberlin is undergoing an administrative makeover with President Marvin Krislov and Vice President for Finance and Administration Mike Frandsen both departing this spring. With these two major transitions, the College is approaching a decisive opportunity to address students’ major concerns with administrative shortcomings. The primary concern with the current administration is the opaque ways in which significant decisions are made. The College’s top-down decision-making process leaves students mostly out of the loop until it’s too late to voice dissent or offer valuable insight into how actions might impact day-to-day student life. One of the most viable ways this can improve is by opening up more channels of communication between students and administrators. In a new president, we hope to see a good communicator, as well as someone who can engage the community at this critical moment in the College’s history. By good communicator, we don’t mean that the new president should be adept at deflecting criticism or saying as little as possible in the most words — rather, the opposite. The next president will have to articulate a clear strategy for how the College will navigate its financial difficulties. More importantly, the next president will also have to lead open conversations about that strategy and be willing to adapt it to fit the community’s needs. While it can be tempting for leaders to not publicly articulate lofty goals for fear of failure, falling short is far preferable to offering no direction at all. Additionally, the next leader must be prepared to deal with students as equals and stakeholders, not as powerless customers. As one of the groups most directly affected by changes in College policy, students deserve a voice in decision making — which is why the Editorial Board has repeatedly called for student representation on the Board of Trustees. In this vein, the next president must treat students’ opinions with respect and an open mind, even when they contradict what administrators or trustees believe. In multiple meetings, trustees have cited their own experiences protesting — board members fondly recall how in 1986, students slept in a “shantytown” they constructed around the Cox Administration Building to protest apartheid and demand divestment from corporations associated with South Africa — and we urge them to consider the frustrations they felt and the ways in which they used to draw attention to important issues. We reject the narrative of acting like coddled millennials who simply do not know better, and to put us in that category undermines the education we are receiving at Oberlin. The next president should also have a clear sense of the community’s most deeply felt priorities and publicy commit to pursuing them. At the top of the list, reflected in both the Strategic Plan and student interest, is the College’s commitment to increasing compositional diversity. Though combating the evolving and increasingly inaccessible landscape of higher education, Oberlin cannot become a school that only the wealthy and white attend. The institution should build on its progressive legacy by playing a leading role in alleviating institutional racism and structural inequality. These challenges will not be easy to surmount concurrently. Still, Krislov’s successor must also understand that we cannot afford to slide down the list of peer schools in terms of faculty compensation. Exceptional faculty is absolutely central to the school’s mission, and attracting distinguished professors is much harder when the College’s offers are not competitive. In contrast to all the other dubious lists of “best” schools, quality of faculty is a ranking that actually bears significance. If this means more budget cuts down the line, we ask that students be consulted in a meaningful way. 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, February 17, 2017

Student Senate Strives to Centralize Activism Meg Parker Contributing writer This op-ed is part of the Review’s Student Senate column. In an effort to increase communication and transparency, Student Senators provide personal perspectives on recent events on campus and in the community. Student Senate is an inherently political body. Former Student Senator and College sophomore Kameron Dunbar wrote an op-ed for the Review last December about Senate’s role as a political actor, including its freedom to take preemptive action and stances on contentious issues on and off campus (“Senate Activism Vital to Political Resistance,” Dec. 2, 2016). Now, almost three months later, it has become obvious that Student Senate has embraced that role and will continue moving forward as a political body. Our capacity to act as a political body is dependent on your involvement. So far this spring, you have been involved. In past elections, we have barely met quorum of 20 percent of the student body and have needed to encourage students to run for Senate. That was far from the case this semester. I thank the 25 candidates who ran for Senate and more than 800 students who voted in our most recent election. You are aiding us in our goal of being a representative and impactful political actor on campus. Additionally, of the senators who ran, 10 publicly named making Senate a nucleus of student activism as a goal. This means making Senate, and individual senators, a central organizing platform and a place for students to work through in their efforts to make reforms on campus. I personally want to march with you as you protest the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. I want to stand with you as you support organized labor on campus. I want to work with Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, Interim Title IX Coordinator Rebecca Mosely and the rest of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee as we explore capital planning to add more genderneutral bathrooms in campus buildings. Every action Senate takes is a political action. Whether it’s demonstrating in the streets for sanctuary campuses, condemning racialized violence or meeting with faculty, staff and administrators to evaluate departments and the role of the liberal arts in educational philosophy, our goal is to improve students’ lives. Fundamentally, Senate’s role is to advocate for and protect the needs and wants of the student body. Our desire is to do that through building meaningful relationships with our constituents and the adults who have entered the field of higher education with the desire to illuminate future generations. A unique aspect of Student Senate is that there is one Senator for roughly every 200 students. We have the capacity to build meaningful relationships with our constituents so that we can best serve students as we all engage in the College’s and the nation’s political system. Senate is distinctive in its position as both a bureaucratic body and a conduit for activist agencies aspiring for change. Many of you have taken the first and easiest step toward involvement by voting in our most recent election. Now I ask for something a little harder. I am extending an invitation to every member of the student body to come to Azariah’s Café from 9 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday every week to voice concerns and aid us in our efforts to utilize student power. Oberlin is unique in the ways students have a voice in the room where it happens, to steal a phrase from writer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. While we lack representatives on the Board of Trustees, much to the chagrin of Student Senate, we can be in many of the rooms where decisions are made on campus. New sophomore Senators Kai Joy and Cecilia Wallace have taken on the role of committee liaisons and want to put you in those rooms. Joy and Wallace have the privilege of appointing students to the committees that make decisions around Winter Term; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Dining. Through a short application and interview process, you could be in the room shaping decisions on campus. Let your voice be heard and help us participate in activism and resistance over the next four years. Let this serve as the call to action that inspired you to join the Green EDGE Fund, Student Honor Committee, the Community-Based Learning Committee or the Financial Aid and Admissions Advisory Committee, to name a few opportunities.

Brian Tom

Kasich’s Opioid Regulations Backfire Jackie Brant Contributing writer Every five hours, someone overdoses on heroin in Ohio. One in every nine deaths from heroin overdoses in the U.S. occurs in Ohio, leading the nation. In Lorain County, approximately 140 people died from heroin overdoses in 2016, according to The Chronicle-Telegram. On the other hand, according to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio has lower rates of oxycodone and hydrocodone overdoses than many other states. Oxycodone and hydrocodone are prescription opioids, usually distributed in pill form. These painkillers are closely linked to heroin and can have similar effects on users when abused. While the relatively low rates of oxycodone and hydrocodone overdoses in Ohio are seemingly positive statistics, these low rates could be related to the high heroin-overdose rate. Four of five heroin users began their addiction through abusing oxycodone or hydrocodone. In 2011, Ohio Governor John Kasich attempted to combat the prescription opioid epidemic by busting “pill mills” — rings of corrupt doctors who illegally prescribe prescription opioids — and limiting the prescription of opioids to a three-day supply, among other policies. These initiatives make it difficult for patients who need painkillers to

get their medicine, and caused the price of opioids on the black market to skyrocket. While Kasich succeeded in reducing the overdose rate for prescription opioids, many individuals have switched from using prescription opioids to heroin due to the increased difficulty of purchasing prescription drugs and price hike. Heroin is much cheaper than prescription drugs; according to Novus Detox Center, one dose of oxycodone typically costs around $80, while 20 doses of heroin typically cost $100. Unfortunately, while the effects of prescription opioids and heroin are comparable in many ways, users are more likely to overdose on heroin than on prescriptions, according to Novus Detox Center. Because they are pharmaceuticals, prescription opioids are laboratory pure and measured. Heroin is often cut or laced with other dangerous substances, causing inconsistencies in strength. This inconsistency is what makes heroin so dangerous, especially for inexperienced users. Furthermore, according to Medical Daily, heroin has a 1 to 5 ratio, meaning that it only takes five times a single dose of heroin to cause an overdose. In comparison, cocaine has a rate of 1 to 10 and marijuana has a ratio of 1 to 1,000. While it is no doubt a positive that prescription opioid abuse is down in Ohio, the increase in heroin abuse now must be addressed. Heroin is one of

the most addictive drugs, with one in four people becoming addicted after just one hit. The withdrawal symptoms are also some of the most brutal of all drugs, making it excruciatingly difficult for users to recover. Although recovery is different for everyone, a solution for many people is extensive rehabilitation. Often, rehab centers only require one or two months of stay. While many rehab centers would argue that the drugs are completely out of users’ bodies after a month or two, a couple of months is not enough to ensure individuals a foundation for rebuilding their lives without substance abuse. Another option to rehab is medication-assisted treatment. MAT is a hybrid of mental health therapy and medication-assisted detox. Certain medicines like methadone can be instrumental in decreasing withdrawal symptoms and dependency on heroin and prescription opioids. Making MAT readily accessible to addicts would help many fully recover. While rehab works for many users, recovery options should be individualized, especially when these cases are brought to a courtroom. From my experience working with courtrooms in Houston over Winter Term, court-ordered rehab is typically one-size-fits-all; this is unrealistic for the complicated nature of these addictions. The more personalized treatment individuals can get, the better their chances at recovery are both physically and emotionally.

Counseling Center Failings Threaten Student Health Continued from page 5 them. While Oberlin has made a nice show of awareness and destigmatization of mental illness, the Counseling Center has remained inadequate despite high demand and an increasingly concerned student body. In order to truly be the place of inclusion, fruition and progressive action that we pride ourselves on being, Oberlin needs to make institutional improvements when it comes to mental health. A petition to relocate both the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center surfaced last year, but has since died. Our silence as a student body and greater community enables the administration to

kick it under the rug. We cannot accept inaction and allow it to become the norm. We must speak up and tell our stories, if not for ourselves, then for future generations of Oberlin students. In an era in which the perpetuation of many stigmas is diminishing, the window of opportunity is waiting to be opened. Whether or not real change will occur depends greatly on the actions of institutions such as Oberlin. As a leading academic institution with a history of pushing social boundaries, we have the authority to make our voices heard and the potential to reach campuses and audiences throughout the country. We students have not been and will not be silent. It is time the administration answers our pleas.

Opinions

The Oberlin Review, February 17, 2017

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Russian Connections Warrant Investigation Nathan Carpenter Columnist One of the most disturbing stories to come out of the brutal 2016 U.S. presidential election cycle was that Russian operatives, publically encouraged by then-candidate Donald Trump, had allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee in an attempt to tip the scales towards Trump, a much more pro-Russia candidate than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In the wake of the election, significant evidence has emerged of further inappropriate actions by Trump’s campaign team and Russia — actions that could easily be characterized as treasonous. On Tuesday, for example, The New York Times published a story revealing private contact between Russian intelligence officials and senior members of Trump’s team, including former Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, throughout the course of the election. Another troubling piece of evidence is the recent exposure and subsequent resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who announced Monday night that he would step down from his post after only 24 days. The resignation came quickly on the heels of news that Flynn had potentially misled members of the Trump administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the details of his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., that took place during the final weeks of the Obama administration.

The conversations between Flynn and Kislyak concerned how relations between the U.S. and Russia would change under the Trump administration, specifically regarding the lifting of sanctions implemented by the Obama administration after learning that Russia had been behind the hacking of the DNC. Flynn also discussed possible areas of cooperation between the two countries. At face value, potential collusion between Flynn and Russia is troubling. Russia interfered in November’s election after being egged on publically by Trump — for a member of the Trump team to privately discuss lifting the sanctions that were imposed in retaliation for those actions threatens the integrity of our democratic process. Therefore, in the wake of Flynn’s resignation, it is important to examine these questions: How much did Trump know about Flynn’s communications with Russia as they were happening? Is it truly possible that Trump was ignorant of conversations between Russia and his own national security adviser? The answers to those questions are inevitably damning. Either Trump actively encouraged one of his top advisers to place an inappropriate phone call with the Russian ambassador or he has lost control of his administration. Following Flynn’s resignation, California Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Com-

mittee, released the following statement: “The Trump administration has yet to be forthcoming about who was aware of Flynn’s conversations with the Ambassador and whether he was acting on the instructions of the President or any other officials.” In an interview Tuesday, Schiff doubled down on his statement, saying that it was “unlikely” that Flynn was “acting as a free agent.” It is worth noting that Flynn’s resignation is not the first of its kind among ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

How much did Trump know about Flynn’s communications with Russia as they were happening? Is it truly possible that Trump was ignorant of conversations between Russia and his own national security adviser? –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Trump’s inner circle — Manafort also resigned last August in the midst of a controversy over his own connections to Russia. The common thread? Both men had ties to the Kremlin and both had Trump’s ear. The possibility that Trump was fully aware of Flynn’s phone calls is not a baseless conspiracy theory, especially as reports are now surfacing that the Department of Justice notified the Trump administration a month ago that Flynn had participated in a

potentially troubling conversation with the Russian ambassador. In spite of the Justice Department’s warning, Flynn remained in the President’s highest confidence until the end, according to Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway hours before Flynn’s resignation. Given the copious evidence of suspicious activity between Russian officials and several senior members of Trump’s team, Flynn’s resignation must prompt a renewed commitment to investigating Trump’s ties to Russia. It is important that the American people know exactly how much Trump knew about Flynn’s communications with Russia and exactly when he knew it. At this point, the sum of the known evidence gives great cause for concern. If Trump is truly concerned with being tough on Russia, as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer claims, then it is difficult to understand why his administration ignored warnings from the Justice Department that Flynn was having troubling conversations with Russia that Trump claimed to be ignorant of. The pressure on Trump to be upfront and honest about his administration’s dealings with Russia must be a bipartisan effort. Democratic leaders have already affirmed their commitment to get to the bottom of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain have as well. Now is the time for Republicans to get tough not only on Russia but on Trump himself.

Oberlin Should Look to Universities as Financial Models Jordan Joseph Contributing writer It’s no secret that the College is facing a dire financial situation caused in part by an overreliance on tuition as revenue. This crunch was exacerbated due to the unusually high number of enrollment withdrawals over the summer. Unfortunately, administrators have decided to place the brunt of the cuts on academic departments, a decision which will ultimately do more damage than good to the school. As the Review reported last week, many jobs were left unfilled following the College’s Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (“Administrators, Unions at Odds on Cuts,” Feb. 10, 2017). Usually in a buyout, veteran workers who have seen years of raises are offered severance packages and replaced with employees willing to do the same work at a lower cost. Instead, many employees were not replaced at all, leaving their work to be redistributed to other staff members. One such department that recently suffered cuts — though not through the VSIP program — is Cinema Studies. As the Review reported in September, the department recently lost two staff members, including Facilities and Production Coordinator Sophie Harari. Her role was not insignificant. Her ability to manage the production aspects of the major gave professors the freedom to focus on enriching the major experience. Cuts like these, while seemingly inconsequential to those outside the major, diminish the quality of the department. This makes

students unhappy and degrades the school’s reputation, which eventually leads to less funding as potential applicants — particularly those who could pay full tuition — choose different schools. To help with the budget crisis, Oberlin should look toward universities as models. Public universities receive less of their revenue from tuition as they are more heavily state subsidized than liberal arts schools and also receive larger contributions from alumni on average. Research universities also have the luxury of profiting off of work completed in their master’s programs. By investing in research, these universities have a source of income that does not derive solely from tuition but instead is a product of various royalties and licensing agreements. Yes, Oberlin is a liberal arts college, so it can’t pursue as many research opportunities as larger universities, but it could take a play from their book. The College could conceivably start a master’s program and offer master’s students positions teaching entry-level college courses. In many departments at Oberlin, especially small departments like Cinema Studies, tenured professors are spread thin by teaching entry-level courses as well as more difficult gateway classes and private readings. With the recent loss of 32 of 190 administrative assistant positions, professors have been forced to take on a greater workload, and students will inevitably suffer. With the introduction of fellowship positions for master’s students, departments would be

better staffed for less cost and tenured professors would have the ability to focus on classes predominantly taken by majors. Some might argue that the quality of classes would suffer, but ultimately the addition of more staff would make smaller departments more accessible to students. There are many smaller departments, such as

Cinema Studies and Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, that garner huge amounts of interest, but simply don’t have the capacity to accommodate so many students. Investing in a few of these departments could incentivize students who might have chosen other schools over Oberlin. When facing a financial cri-

sis, it makes sense that the College would change departments that serve fewer students. However, cuts like these will ultimately harm the educational experience of many students and thus the College itself. Instead, the administration should investigate more creative forms of generating profit, looking to larger universities as a model.

Travel Looking for a little adventure? Organizations like NOLS and Where There Be Dragons offer group backpacking and cultural immersion programs.

Summer Sun, Something’s Begun

For a cheaper option, Greyhound has bus routes all over the country — stay in a hostel or with friends for the weekend and explore a new city. Check out Switchboard to connect with alumni who may have extra room.

Intern Summer is the perfect time to build your résumé. There are jobs and internships across all disciplines. For ideas, check out Obie Opps online or stop by the Career Center — dropin hours are in Stevenson-Longman Commons on Monday through Friday, 3–5 p.m.

Work At A Camp Working at a summer camp can be a very rewarding experience. There are sleepaway and day camps all over the nation, presenting traditional experiences and specialized ones such as art, music or science. If kids aren’t your forte, there are also opportunities to work in camp kitchens.

As our damp, post-shower hair freezes in the cold, many of us are starting to dream of warmer days. Never fear, they will be here before we know it! Although it continues to snow in Oberlin, many summer programs and jobs are already beginning to accept applications. Whether you are looking for something relaxing, adventurous or challenging, there are enough options for everyone to do something interesting this summer! Here are a few suggestions.

Stay At Oberlin Many possibilities for research exist right here on campus. Reach out to a professor of a subject you are interested in and ask if they know of any opportunities in their department.

WWOOF

O B E R L I N

WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a great way to travel to a new country while giving back to the community that welcomes you. There are programs both in the U.S. and abroad, and most offer room and board in exchange for your work on the farm. More information at wwoof. net.

Try Something New If you are staying at home this summer, there are plenty of ways to keep your mind engaged. Create art, join your local pick-up sports team, try embroidery or learn to play an instrument.

Layout and Text by Izzy Rosenstein, This Week editor

Calendar: S t a r g a z i n g O b s e r v a t o r y a n d P l a n e t a r i u m , P e t e r s H a l l F r i d a y , F e b . 1 7 7 – 9 p . m . Various telescopes will be available to look at the stars and planets. The planetarium will be open if clouds obscure the views.

B a s k e t b a l l v s D e P a u w P h i l i p s g y m n a s i u m S a t u r d a y , F e b . 1 8 W o m e n @ 1 p . m . M e n @ 3 p . m . Come and support the Yeowomen and Yeomen as they take on the DePauw University Tigers.

R o u n t a b l e D i s c u s s i o n : T h e F i r s t 1 0 0 D a y s o f t h e T r u m p A d m i n i s t r a t i o n D y e L e c t u r e H a l l M o n d a y , F e b . 2 0 4 : 3 0 – 5 : 3 0 p . m . Oberlin professors Renee Romano, Jennifer Fraser, Charles Peterson, Jafar Mahallati and Marcelo Vinces will be conducting a roundtable discussion on notable moments from the beginning of Trump’s presidency.

A n E v e n i n g w i t h P a u l B e a t t y F i n n e y C h a p e l T u e s d a y , F e b . 2 1 7 : 3 0 – 9 p . m .

S t u d y A w a y I n f o S e s s i o n W e d n e s d a y s , 4 : 3 0 p . m . a n d T h u r s d a y s , 1 2 : 3 0 p . m . u n t i l M a r c h 1 5 P e t e r s H a l l 2 1 2

P u s s y v s . P u t i n A p o l l o T h e a t r e W e d n e s d a y , F e b . 2 2 7 – 9 p . m .

6 o n 6 : V i o l a s P l a y B a c h B i e n b a u m I n n o v a t i o n a n d P e r f o r m a n c e S p a c e T h u r s d a y , F e b . 2 3 8 p . m .

This convocation features poet and novelist Paul Beatty, who writes about race and politics in America and has won multiple awards for his work, including The Sellout.

Interested in studying abroad next year? Learn about the application process, program selection, costs and deadlines.

One night screening only! This documentary follows the story and activism of Russian punk band Pussy Riot. A discussion with journalist Masha Gessen will follow.

A viola performance of Bach’s preludes, Boureés, Gavottes and Minuets in The Hotel at Oberlin’s new concert venue.