Time to Get Outside: Spring Activities Near Oberlin

Matt Rudella

It’s finally that time of year. The sun is out longer, the weather’s warming up (along with the climate) and people can once again be found throwing a frisbee in North Quad or just lounging in Wilder Bowl. Although it’s Ohio, where it will be 65 degrees one day and snowing the next, it’s still a good idea to start making plans for when the weather is consistently warm, whenever that may be. Here is a list of local attractions you should check out when the time’s right.

Oberlin Arboretum

If you’re looking for an easy walk or hike in the area, the Arb is the place to go. Although it’s currently under construction, it may reopen this season. On the south end of campus, past Johnson House, the Arb has lots of trails and creeks with a reservoir split into two ponds — and you just can’t beat the fact that it’s free! I haven’t spent much time there, but I’ve heard nothing but good things from the people who walk around there, and I will definitely check it out when the trees start to bud.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

If you’re looking for a more serious hike, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is your best bet. You’ll have plenty of trails to try, as the park spans over 32,000 acres of land and has over 125 miles of trails with varying difficulties. The National Park Service recommends the Ledges Trail, which “circles a plateau of striking rock formations and provides stunning views along the way.” There are also over 100 waterfalls to check out while you hike. It’s about a 45-minute drive away, but it’s worth it — it’s the only national park in Ohio, after all.

Progressive Field

If you’re into professional sports, Cleveland Guardian games are always a fun time to share with friends. Progressive Field is a gem in downtown Cleveland, and it’s the perfect place to sit back and watch baseball on a Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed the two games I went to last year, and I think the stadium’s a must-see for any sports fan. Even for non-baseball fans, it’s a great opportunity to relax under the sun and watch some of the best athletes in the sport compete. The night games at the beginning of the year are also a phenomenal atmosphere and usually draw big turnouts if you don’t have free time in the afternoon. It’s only 40 minutes away and you can usually get tickets for cheap too. The home opener is April 15; after that, there are home games consistently for the next six months.

Cedar Point

The Sunday Funday committee, a group of Oberlin men’s lacrosse players that plans fun Sunday activities for the team (myself included), would highly recommend Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, OH. It’s about a 45-minute drive away and tickets typically cost between $50–60. If you have the time, I suggest paying a visit. Cedar Point is widely considered to be one of the best amusement parks in the country; people from all over come to Ohio just to visit. I have never feared for my life more than when I heard the slow clicking noise of the tracks on the way up the Millennium Force roller coaster, awaiting a 310-foot drop. The park has 17 total roller coasters, but my personal favorites are the GateKeeper, Millennium Force, and Steel Vengeance. The park opens May 7, and I would suggest planning to go on an off-day, since the park will be very busy for the first month or so after it opens.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

The Cleveland Zoo is a great place to go with friends on a nice afternoon. In 2019, USA Today ranked it as one of the best zoos in the country: “Known for one of the largest collections of primates in the United States, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is part of 23,000 acres of parkland that also has 300 miles of trails, eight golf courses, and eight lakefront parks.” It also has a vast rainforest exhibit and over 600 species from across the globe to observe. The Sunday Funday committee will definitely have this on our radar in the coming weeks.

Men’s Lacrosse Continues Season Success

Zoë Martin del Campo

Contributing Sports Editor

Zoe Kuzbari

Sports Editor

With six games under its belt, the Oberlin men’s lacrosse team has hit the ground running with a 5–1 record. In its most recent game against the University of Mount Union Raiders, the squad’s strong defensive presence forced 23 turnovers and only allowed seven total shots preventing the Raiders from hitting the goal. This week, fourth-year attacker and midfielder Michael Muldoon was named North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for scoring nine points in two games. Emerging from the COVID-19 hiatus, Muldoon is optimistic about the team’s performance, although he believes there are some things the team can work on going into this weekend’s game against Wittenberg University.

“I think the game this past weekend was really good,” Muldoon wrote in an email to the Review. “The defense was holding it down, and the offense generated a ton of shots. In the future, I think we just have to work on shot placement to improve our efficiency. Our team generally starts to click in the fourth quarter so it would be nice to have that throughout the whole game rather than toward the end.”

Muldoon leads the team and ranks third in the NCAC with 22 points. His 14 goals are fourth best in the league, while his eight assists rank him fifth in the conference.

The team’s success this season can be attributed in part to the strong defensive presence on the field and the mix of veteran leadership and talented third-year players.

Fourth-year defensive player Kiernan Stone also believes that Assistant Men’s Lacrosse Coach Jackson Mumford has been integral to the team’s success.

“On the defensive side, I think Coach Mumford’s schemes have really helped us shut offenses down, as well as the cohesiveness of our group,” Stone wrote to the Review. “[Third-year] Eugene [Kang] in goal has also been a huge help for us.”

The team’s next home game is this Saturday at 4 p.m. against Wittenberg, during which the Yeomen will hopefully continue to dominate the field.

Top Right: The Oberlin Men’s Lacrosse Team Competes Against Capital University. Bottom Right: Oberlin Men’s Lacrosse Squad gathers its gear after a successful game. Below: Fourth-year Kiernan Stone checks a Capital lacrosse player to the ground. Courtesy of Carrie Loh

River Schiff

Senior Staff Writer

Third-year baseball infielder Max Anastasio is entering this season with big plans. After not playing baseball at Oberlin since his first year, Anastasio is faced with a new leading role on the team which he has used to encourage his teammates in thinking more critically about the deep-rooted problems of sexual harm within the Oberlin baseball community. He’s challenged his squad to face these issues head-on and has rallied younger players to make a difference in the program both on and off the field. As a recent addition to the lineup, Anastasio has found success on the field in ways he never anticipated with his positive outlook and desire to improve both himself and his team.

How long have you played baseball? Why did you choose to play at Oberlin?

I’ve been playing since I was five years old, so about 17 years. I knew I really wanted to play college baseball when I was in high school, and Oberlin was a good school. When I was looking into colleges, I didn’t realize at the time that baseball would bring me to a place that I’d actually really enjoy or would allow me to explore so many different opportunities. Oberlin has more to it than just being a good school. When I initially came here, I wanted to do the 3-2 Engineering program, but Oberlin showed me that I actually have other interests. I’ve always been passionate about the environment, and just declared an Environmental Studies major in addition to Economics. I never could have anticipated being on the path that I am now.

Was it jarring to be expected to take a leading role after quite a bit of time off?

The last time I was here, I was a first-year and essentially had no say on the team. This year, people look up to me to set an example. If nothing else, I definitely try to lead by example everyday. I don’t necessarily want people to listen to what I say, I just want them to go the extra mile. Not only as baseball players, but as decent humans cleaning up after ourselves and working hard after practice to be the best versions of ourselves.

What are you looking forward to as the season progresses?

We missed two years, so our team is very young. This year is a huge development year; there’s so much we’re missing just from lack of experience. Learning and getting better with each game is the most important thing for us. Most of us older players have also been pushing to be not just good players on the field, but off the field, too. We’re trying to hold our teammates more accountable for their actions off the field, which is just as important as getting better as athletes. This is a growing season for us. We want to be the best team we can be, but I also strive for us to be the best people we can be.

Max Anastasio mans first base after transitioning to the infield this season. Courtesy of Max Anastasio

that out. I’m in the process of trying to get everyone to go to the One Love workshop this Sunday that the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has helped put together.

What are you interested in outside of baseball?

My teammates kinda make fun of me for it, but I really like soccer. My roommate and I announced both the men’s and women’s soccer games this year and that was super fun for us. I also played in the intramural soccer league when I had the time. Other than that, I was a sustainability engineer this past Winter Term, which combined both of my interests and taught me a lot about what I want to pursue in the future.

Recently you’ve been outspoken about changing the culture of the baseball team, including scheduling a meeting with Survivors of Sexual Harm and Allies. What do you hope to get out of this meeting? What do you hope for the future of the program beyond baseball?

I want our younger players to get exposure to ways they can better themselves. SOSHA has great insight into sexual harm and sexual health. So if we have the opportunity to go above and beyond, we have to seek

Women’s March Madness Deserves Your Attention

Continued from page 16

I think South Dakota has a very good chance of continuing their Cinderella run and upsetting the University of Michigan since they’re clearly underranked by the committee.

Before the madness begins again, I think it’s important for people to recognize how far the women’s tournament has come recently. Change began happening within the NCAA during the 2021 tournament when Sedona Prince, a redshirt junior for the University of Oregon, recorded a video highlighting the disparities between the men’s and women’s weight rooms that went viral. While a Stanford trainer had already called attention to this issue, the NCAA dismissed the concern saying there wasn’t enough space. Prince’s viral video panned out to an empty weight room and ended with them saying “If you aren’t upset about this problem, then you are a part of it.” The video received millions of views on social media, and the NCAA upgraded the women’s weight room soon after. Prince became an overnight trailblazer for gender equity in college athletics.

Although Oregon was eliminated by Louisville in the Sweet 16 that year, people continued to pay attention to Women’s March Madness. Viewership increased and reached broadcast records while viewership for some men’s tournaments plummeted. After Prince’s video, the NCAA also launched an investigation and implemented some additional changes that can be seen in the tournament. March Madness branding was used for the women’s tournaments for the first time, and the competition was expanded to 68 teams. Another video made by Prince this year showed that the players’ swag bags improved in quality. Separately, the NCAA has also adopted an interim name, image, and likeness policy, meaning that student-athletes can now get sponsorships.

When watching sports, it feels like people see athletes and coaches as superhuman rather than actual people with thoughts and feelings. But now more than ever, it’s time for all of us to define athletes and coaches not just by their statistics, but also by their advocacy and the boundaries they break.

For instance, Prince, who is a lesbian, uses TikTok to talk openly about her sexuality. Prince and other athletes such as Azzi Fudd from UConn and Angel Reese from the University of Maryland have also partnered with the retirement fund TIAA for their #RetireInequality campaign.

UConn superstar Paige Bueckers honored and uplifted Black female athletes in her 2021 ESPY speech and called out the disparities in representation. Additionally, Bueckers is donating $1,000 for every assist she makes to Youthprise, an organization that helps low-income youth in Minneapolis. ESPN commentators Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle held a moment of silence for multiple games in protest against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. After Adia Barnes of the University of Arizona and Dawn Staley of South Carolina made history as the first Black female head coaches to reach the Final Four in 2021, 12 Black female coaches are now headed into this year’s March Madness. That’s double the number from the previous year’s tournament.

As one of the millions inspired by Sedona Prince’s courage, I’m urging everyone, especially men’s March Madness fans, to pay more attention to the athletes competing in the women’s March Madness tournaments.

There’s still a lot of progress left; Women’s March Madness games still aren’t available on the NCAA website while the men’s are, and comment sections are still littered with sexist remarks. Athletes in the women’s March Madness tournaments deserve more support and respect on and off the court for their hard work and advocacy, even if the NCAA is hesitant to give it.

You can watch the Sweet 16 and more on the ESPN family of networks and FuboTV.