Anisa Curry Vietze and Gigi Ewing, Senior Staff

Anisa and Gigi, with a special feature from Ella’s finger, as they reported live from the Trump rally in Wellington, OH in June 2021. Photo by Ella Moxley Kushagra Kar Editor-in-Chief

In 2018, two brilliant and immensely powerful women stepped into an unassuming Oberlin campus. In week one, Anisa Curry Vietze shook the Oberlin journalism scene with her first article: “Lorain, Ohio Misses Deadline on Medical Marijuana Program.” From there, Anisa went on to report on everything from the biggest Gibson’s lawsuit updates, to local business updates, to comedy siblings hosting Shit Pit. Her range and skill as a writer are rivaled only by her wit and candor. In year two, Gigi Ewing made her debut as a Production Editor extraordinaire, serving as a master of both AP Style and everlasting charm. With an iconic first article, “#VotingIsSexy Initiative Hopes to Engage Students,” Gigi soon rose to the role of News Editor, breaking stories on the Professor Mahallati controversy, the College’s COVID-19 responses, and the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association’s resurgence after the pandemic. Gigi and Anisa have matching “TKTK” tattoos, a Review inside joke. For the last two years, Anisa has mentored me and this paper as Editor-in-Chief, and for the past two semesters, Gigi has inspired me through her work as Managing Editor. I have been privileged to work alongside Anisa and Gigi on Senior Staff, and with their departure bid farewell to two hallmarks of the Review.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What made you both join the Review?

GRE: I joined the Review in fall 2019, which was the beginning of my second year. I saw an ad on Facebook and noticed that the person who posted it was my tour guide from when I first visited Oberlin two years before — Devyn Malouf, OC ’20. I really, really liked her when I did the tour with her, and she was actually one of the reasons I came to Oberlin. I am an English major, and I knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I never knew how I wanted to pursue that. I figured that if she was advertising something, it would be good, so I applied for the production job. I got it and started that fall. Then it was love at first production.

ACV: I joined the Review because I came to college knowing that I wanted to do journalism in some way, although I thought newspapers were boring. I was definitely gonna try writing for a student publication, and during Orientation Week, I met former Editor-in-Chief Nathan Carpenter, OC ’20. He asked me what publication I was interested in writing for, and the only one I could remember was The Oberlin Review. He was like, “I am Editor-in-Chief,” and he really showed me the ropes of the Review. So I started writing in my very first semester and editing in my second semester. While it was honestly kind of a lot for me as a first-year, it gave me access to this whole community of older students who were mentoring me in this way that I never would’ve been mentored in a class, even by the most accessible professors.

Which parts of the Review will you take with you in your next steps?

GRE: I feel like for me, on a very basic level, it’s given me a career path. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life before the Review. I always felt very behind because I felt like everyone else knew what they wanted to do and who they wanted to be. And I feel like that identity for me really grew out of the Review, both in terms of the career I want to have moving forward and the type of professional I want to be. I feel like I’ve learned a lot working here. I’ve learned a lot from my mistakes and from other people’s mistakes — mostly my own. I’ve learned how to work with people, how to not work with people. I’ve seen the worst parts of myself and the best parts of myself come out in this office. I think that it’s given me a better handle on how I interact with people, how I take care of myself, how I pursue the work that I do, what my motivations and goals are — things like that.

ACV: Like Gigi, I do wanna pursue journalism and the Review definitely got me closer to my 10,000 hours. I’ve done probably hundreds of interviews at this point. I started off as someone who was extremely anxious going into interviews; I’m not inherently the type of person who finds it easy to talk to strangers, and I think that is exactly the reason I wanted to pursue this type of work. Another way this work has pushed me is in being a leader and in charge of a 40-person staff. Making big, editorial decisions that have real impacts on people’s lives is another component that I particularly struggled with, and also particularly got something out of.

I think the biggest thing the Review taught me about is my relationship to work, this idea that I can find it meaningful. The great thing about the Review is that it sort of exists adjacent to capitalism. No one is profiting off of our labor, everyone is really just doing it because they care about it. When I got to college, I had the sense that the only way that I was gonna find happiness was through working as hard as possible. I think I did find happiness in doing that for a long time — and then I found out that you can’t do that forever. The Review taught me balance, how to do this intense of a job while also giving myself the space to have things outside of work as well. I think one of the great things about this year’s senior staff is that we’ve done a good job between the three of us saying, “Okay, this is the night that this person seems like they’re having a particularly hard time. Maybe you should go home early and we’ll take care of it,” and delegating these tasks among ourselves so that we’re not burning ourselves out and we’re not overwhelmed. I hope that we’re doing that for our staff as well.

What is your favorite memory at the Review?

GRE: My favorite Review memory was the first party that we ever had at the beginning of my second year. There were just certain vignettes from it that will forever be engraved on my mind. One of them was sticking Swedish Fish up Nathan Carpenter’s nose as he laid passed out on the couch. Another one was playing a very intense game of Jenga and just the general spirit and energy that everyone had. It was the first time in college that I felt like I belonged somewhere.

ACV: Mine is everything that happens in the inbetweens when we’re either procrastinating work or there’s a lull in the work we have to do. It’s shooting each other with Nerf guns in the office. It’s playing the same five songs early Friday morning when everyone’s bleary-eyed and tired. It’s people saying unhinged things that we write on the walls in Sharpie. It’s the walks to DeCafé or the times that Katie Lucey, OC ’20, and I would run around North Quad because we’d been sitting in the office for too long and couldn’t read anymore. I think that the community and the fun that comes with the Review is always little moments tucked between stress and work, which almost makes it sweeter.

Mahallati Protesters Culminate International Protest Series

Continued from page 1 the theocratic regime’s dictates, Bazargan expressed shock that the College continued to employ Mahallati.

“He had said back then that if Westerners believe in freedom of speech — this is our freedom of speech,” Bazargan said. “Can you believe it? Putting a bounty on the head of somebody is freedom of speech — and this guy teaches ethics and morality to you guys.”

At the time, Mahallati defended the fatwā by arguing that other Islamic countries supported Iran’s stance toward Rushdie. “I think that if Western countries really believe [in] and respect freedom of speech, therefore they should also respect our freedom of speech,” Mahallati told Reuters. “We certainly use that right in order [to] express ourselves, our religious beliefs, in the case of any blasphemous statement against sacred Islamic figures.”

Bazargan also responded to accusations that her protest movement peddles Islamophobia and aligns with pro-Trump politicians.

“We are none of that,” she said. “We are just victims of an Islamic regime, and that’s what we are talking about.”

Although the College has yet to formally address the protests, Bazargan’s commitment has not diminished.

“We are also going after politicians — we have started [reaching out to] some contacts and we are asking some citizens of Cleveland to contact and talk to them,” Bazargan said. “We are trying to organize some other pressures coming directly from the government. But for sure we won’t let this go because it is not acceptable that somebody who was involved in such atrocity continues teaching students.”

As they reflected on the Oberlin community’s response to the Mahallati issue toward the end of their College career, Bernstein described a lack of understanding and compassion for the protesters. They expressed hope that the coming protest would change the tides in the community’s acknowledgement of the allegations against Mahallati.

“I really hope that there’s more attention to this protest,” Bernstein said. “I hope there’s more flyers or publicity or conversations on social media. I don’t know what it will take to get people to care, but the people that are protesting are in mourning for a very real issue. At the very least some support would be awesome.”

The Oberlin review

May 20, 2022 Volume 151, Number 22 (ISSN 297–256)

Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as second-class matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911. POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081. Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. Phone: (440) 775-8123

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Anisa Curry Vietze Kashugra Karl Gigi Ewing Ella Moxley Lauren Krainess Nikki Keating Emma Benardete Emily Vaughan Lilyanna D’Amato Kathleen Kelleher Zoe Kuzbari John Elrod Zoë Martin del Campo Walter Thomas-Patterson Khadijah Halliday Abe Frato Wiley Smith Adrienne Sato Sofia Tomasic Juliana Gasper Sierra Colbert Meghan McLaughlin Matt Rudella

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Ada Ates Yuyang Fu Lia Fawley Claire Brinley Sumner Wallace Yuhki Ueda Isaac Imas Kayla Kim Ella Bernstein Trevor Smith Grace Gao Adrienne Hoover Erin Koo Molly Chapin Clair Wang Holly Yelton Thomas Xu Nondini Nagarwalla Corrections: In the May 13 article “Oberlin to Offer Five New Academic Programs,” the Review mistakenly said that 100- and 200-level classes would not count toward the Spanish minor. Classes at these levels do in fact count toward the minor. The Review apologizes for these errors.

Students held a vigil Sunday for the 74th anniversary of the Nakba on Tappan Square

Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Students for a Free Palestine Hosts Nakba Vigil

Ella Moxley News Editor

On Sunday, Students for a Free Palestine commemorated the 74th anniversary of the Nakba with a vigil on Tappan Square. The Nakba marks the day in 1948 when over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes by Israeli forces. The Oberlin vigil featured a number of student speakers and a candle lighting in honor of murdered and displaced Palestinans.

College first-year, vigil organizer, and international student from Palestine Farah Sabbah spoke about her exposure to violence as a child at Sunday’s vigil.

“Before going there and speaking, I was actually so nervous, but at the same time I wanted to … talk about my experience living in Gaza my whole life and share it with students here who don’t know anything about Palestine or what’s going on there,” Sabbah said.

College third-year and vigil organizer Osama Abdelrahman also spoke at the event and emphasized the importance of speaking out against the ethnic cleansing and other injustices Palestinians suffer.

“In a situation of injustice, there is no such thing as ‘I’m not taking sides,’” Abdelrahman said. “You have to take sides; you have to find where the truth is and support it, because if you’re not supporting the truth or if you’re not taking sides, then you are basically on the side of the oppressor.”

Many students gathered on the lawn around Memorial Arch to listen to the speakers talk about the need for more active support for Palestine. However, College second-year and vigil organizer Lulu Chebaro noted that there was still more work to be done.

“It was a good turnout, and I think people that were there really cared and were really present and listening,” Chebaro said. “But if you look at a lot of other events we have on this campus, ... a shocking amount of people were not there. Honestly, the turnout is really telling of a larger issue on this campus where people just don’t care.”

Despite this, the vigil served as an important platform to allow students to grieve for murdered and displaced Palestinians, including Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist who was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week.

“As a child [I] experienced all of this — someone my age shouldn’t experience such things,” Sabbah said. “People should speak up about what is happening there and what’s going on there because it’s worse than you actually would expect.”

Report Commits to DEI Improvements

Continued from page 1 College to offer appropriate support resources.”

Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies and Special Assistant to the President for Racial Equity and Diversity Meredith Gadsby considers the recommendations in the review of the academic standing system one of the most important aspects of the report.

“I would like the recommendations there to be implemented as soon as possible,” Gadsby said. “I think that there are some items that can be implemented sooner rather than later, because they don’t involve the relocation of resources — that’s not something that we need to spend more money on.”

Additionally, Gadsby explained that this work builds on Oberlin’s commitment to a high-quality education with fewer barriers to success.

“For those people who are kind of dubious and suspicious of this work, and may feel as though it means that we are gonna make changes that have to occur at the expense of excellence: I challenge those people to really reframe their notion of excellence and what excellence connotes,” Gadsby said. “If your definition of excellence is connected to exclusion, then that’s not one that I think is a mission-centered approach to the work that we do here at Oberlin.”

ABUSUA Demands

The report addresses each of the demands that ABUSUA, Oberlin’s Black Student Union, made of the College in June 2020 and later updated in February 2021. The report outlines each demand and the status of the work done to address it.

College third-year and ABUSUA Administrative Chair Jillian Sanford, and Jasmine Mitchell, ’OC 21, created a living document to keep both ABUSUA leadership and the Presidential Initiative committee updated on the demands that were completed, in progress, or revised. Once Mitchell graduated, Gadsby continued to update ABUSUA on progress made on the demands.

“As a student leader, I am extremely happy to see the College open to making some changes,” Sanford wrote in an email to the Review. “As someone who was here and on the ABUSUA board when the demands were first released, I am happy that progress has been made and that, especially through the initiative, progress will continue to be made. I would like to add, though, that while this report is a great starting point for change on campus, we, as students, must continue to hold the administration accountable for what we want and hope to see in the coming years!”

Center for Race, Equity, and Inclusion

In December, President Ambar announced plans to create a center on campus to synthesize community building, civic engagement, and academic and career-related opportunities, all in pursuit of racial equity and inclusion. Now, the release of the report provides a more in-depth account of CoRE’s goals, as well as a three-year timeline for their implementation.

In year one, the committee hopes to create an institutional committee for CoRE, find a space for the Center, and hire a director, among other things. Year two will include career development opportunities to support students of color, collaboration on programming with the Division of Student Life, and the inauguration of a postdoctoral fellows program to be mentored by Oberlin faculty and gain teaching experience while working on research or creative endeavors.

Unlike the 2019 One Oberlin report, the Board of Trustees will not be required to approve the Presidential Initiative report in order for work to start on the recommendations. In fact, fundraising for the Center has already begun, and various committees have already met to discuss implementation.

“Some of the things will have some ways that are easily implemented and some of the things won’t,” President Ambar said. “This is the type of work that you just have to accept that it is an ongoing, persistent, diligent march toward an unclear destination, meaning you don’t end it. … There can be some things that are depressing about that. But the other side of it is that there’s always good work to do and we all get to have a part in it.”

Friday, May 13, 2022

5:41 a.m. A resident of Langston Hall reported a centipede in their room. A campus safety officer responded and the centipede was removed. A work order was filed for a room inspection. 8:22 a.m. A faculty member reported that an unknown person had entered their office without permission. Broken chalk was found on the floor, a bottle of water was knocked over, and several other items were moved. The office had been locked when the staff member left for the day on May 12.

Saturday, May 14, 2022

7:17 a.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department members responded to a fire alarm at Stevenson Dining Hall in the employee restroom. The smoke detector was found to have been activated by hair spray, and the alarm was reset. 11:36 a.m. A resident of South Hall reported a bat in their room. An officer and maintenance technician responded and the bat was removed from the room. 2:45 p.m. A student reported the loss of their backpack, which contained a laptop, from an unknown location sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning. The student will file a report with the Oberlin Police Department. 7:04 p.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department members responded to a fire alarm in the basement of Talcott Hall. Haze from a discharged fire extinguisher had activated the detector. The alarm was reset, an electrician responded for repairs, and a custodian responded for clean up. 7:04 p.m. Officers responding to a call at Talcott Hall observed fresh graffiti painted on the building’s bricks. A maintenance technician responded, and the paint was removed.

Sunday, May 15, 2022

1:53 a.m. A resident of a Village Housing Unit on Elm Street requested assistance after falling and injuring their knee while exiting the building during a fire alarm activation. First aid was applied by an officer, and the student was transported to Mercy Health - Allen Hospital for additional treatment.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

4:06 a.m. Custodial staff reported a student sleeping on a couch on the third floor of the Science Center. An officer responded; the student was awakened and advised that they were not permitted in the building after closing. 9:10 a.m. A student reported that they left behind their tote bag in Stevenson Dining Hall and it was missing when they returned. The bag contained a laptop, Apple Airpods, a wallet containing credit and debit cards, and miscellaneous items. The tote was white and had green lettering in Vietnamese. The incident is under investigation and will be reported to the Oberlin Police Department. 9:36 a.m. Staff at Wilder Hall reported that a vehicle had backed into one of the dumpsters in Wilder parking lot and broken some glass on the ground. The vehicle involved was gone upon the officers’ arrival. A work order was filed for clean up of the glass.