October 14, 2011

The Oberlin Review VOLUME 137, NUMBER 16

FEBRUARY 28, 2009

ESTABLISHED 1874

Soup Kitchens Feel the Pinch as Layoffs Continue John Cheng Staff Writer

Hard Times Hit Home: Unemployment in Lorain County is 0.3 percent higher than the national average. Enrollment here in the food stamps program has increased.

Owen Henry

As unemployment increases, Lorain Country residents are further tightening their belts by turning to food pantries and soup kitchens. But these organizations are also suffering from decreased resources all around.

On Saturday, Feb. 21, College junior Sydney Harris, the coordinator of the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign for the Ohio Public Research Institute Group in Oberlin, led OPIRG volunteers serving at the hot meals program hosted

by Grace Lutheran Church.

“Poverty and hunger are a much bigger issue in Oberlin than most of us care to admit,” said Harris.

According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 14.2 percent of Lorain County’s residents relied on food stamps in 2007. Nationwide, over 10 percent of Americans receive food stamps.

Grace Church does not fund the food kitchen, so members of its small congregation volunteer their own resources. Responsibility for running the soup kitchen rotates between families — every month, a different family (sometimes two) are in charge.

The atmosphere at the event is fairly low-key, friendly and informal.

“It’s important to remember that when you volunteer somewhere like the soup kitchen at Grace Church, you are not only providing a meal to someone that needs it, but you are providing much-needed conversations,” said Harris.

Abnormally high levels of poverty have plagued Lorain County, and job losses and under-employment have exacerbated the need for food aid.

According to the most recent data, the unemployment rate in Lorain County is 7.9 percent, whereas the national unemployment rate is 7.6 percent.

The number of people who eat at the hot meals program has remained steady, and the same individuals typically attend meals at the soup kitchen — ranging from eight to 20 each time, most of whom are single adults.

Grassroots organizations that run programs to cushion the effects of growing hunger are frustrated by practical constraints on food banks. Deeper structural problems, such as poverty and government policy limitations, also impede addressing hunger.

“Raising poverty guidelines would help [food aid] reach more people,” said Kathryn Burns, the client services coorSee Hunger, page 5

OPD Offers Law Enforcement Training to Citizens Senate Announces Victors Charlotte Halloran-Couch In a move designed to improve relations among the town, College and local law enforcement officials, Oberlin Chief of Police Tom Miller has instituted the police department’s new Citizen’s Police Academy.

“Our goal [with the CPA] simply is to give the community a better understanding of police operations,” said Miller. He added that it is not meant to function as a training program.

Oberlin police officers will teach 16 Oberlin city residents about police policies and procedures. The class will cover a range of topics from officer training to the use of force to bookings and investigations over the course of 10 weeks. Academy classes will begin Thursday, March 12.

Miller sees the Academy as an opportunity to prevent repeats of past miscommunication.

Minimum Wage, Maximum Worry The economy is on the rocks and local businesses have mixed reactions regarding a 2007 minimum wage law.

“I think lots of times … when we have complaints or concerns about the Police Department it’s a misunderstanding about how we do things and how the community does things,” said Miller.

‘Our goal simply is to give the community a better understanding of police operations.’

Tom Miller

Oberlin Police Chief

In the past, the OPD sought to correct such tensions through community meetings. According to Miller these meetings failed to create dialogue because community members only attended when they had specific complaints.

Miller believes that the

See Oberlin Police, page 3

Love All

Eclectic Sounds from Phan Tenor Nicholas Phan performed in Warner Concert Hall.

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Academy will be more successful in generating discussion as graduates of the program serve as informal peer educators about police operations.

Miller hopes to “get representation from as many sectors of town [as possible] ... We would certainly like some College representation.”

Two seats in each class will also be reserved for nominated Oberlin High School students.

College junior and Student Senate Student-City Liaison Jules Brouillet has been posting flyers about the Academy on campus to encourage students to apply. He hopes that through student participation in the classes, studentOPD communication can be based on more than the periodic party break-up, laptop theft report and off-campus housing orientation advice.

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Women’s tennis focuses on the mentality of the game.

Jackie Sojico News Editor This semester saw 17 candidates vying for just three open positions in the Student Senate. After a flurry of flyers, Facebook groups and e-mail campaigns of candidates’ statements, College seniors Matthew Presto, Kalan Sherrard and incumbent Leah Pine were elected as Senators.

Regarding the high number of candidates this semester, Senate Liaison and College senior Justin Brogden said, “I am impressed with not only the number of candidates that ran but the quality of their campaigns. … Their eagerness to serve is a testament to the changing image of Student Senate.”

Incumbent senator Pine agreed that the competition among candidates had increased significantly.

“I think the fewer number of seats was actually the reason that candidates took it so seriously.

Those who wanted to win had to bring their A-game from the beginning by writing mature statements and talking about issues with real weight,” said Pine.

Students cast 991 ballots in this semester’s election. Of those votes, Pine won 484, Presto earned 354 and Sherrard made it with 344.

Index Arts Commentary Sports This Week

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13 7 20 10

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The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

the news in brief Apollo to Be Run by Local Chain Kaitlin Bushinski News Editor In the latest development of the Apollo Theater’s purchase by the College, local theater company Cleveland Cinemas took over management of the Apollo on Friday, Feb. 20.

Cleveland Cinemas, a small chain that operates six other theaters in Northeast Ohio, won an indefinite contract with the College to manage the Apollo.

David Huffman, director of marketing and concessions for Cleveland Cinemas, said there would be some immediate changes to the theater’s operation, but ticket prices would remain the same. “We added 4 p.m. shows during the week, so there will be three shows a day,� said Huffman. “We also plan on having a weekend kids’ series starting in April, and we’re looking into running more late-night cult-classics.�

As far as staff changes, Huffman said that the company had interviewed Apollo employees, and “everybody that wanted to stay is staying.�

A College subsidiary purchased the historic theater in early February when its former owners, twin brothers William and Sandy Steel, decided to retire and put it up for sale. One of the few remaining single-screen theaters in the country, the Apollo was owned and operated by the Steel family for 81 years.

College officials have organized two open forums this week for community and College members to voice suggestions and concerns about the Apollo’s transition. “We are looking for community and College input into programming, marketing and education/outreach activities,� said College President Marvin Krislov in his weekly column in the Source. “Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to become part of this historic undertaking.�

Senate Censures Student Health Jonah Kaplan-Woolner News Editor If you’ve ever been irked by an unsatisfactory experience at Student Health, you’re not alone.

Student Senate passed a resolution on Sunday, Feb.

Coping with a Hiring Freeze Jackie Sojico News Editor As the College’s endowment continues to diminish, the Board of Trustees has decided to table faculty hiring. The Review checked in with departments on campus to see how they are faring in this grim climate.

Though hirings have been suspended, departments are not yet feeling pressure to cut any existing positions. “English is doing really well. We’re getting all our replacements,� said William Patrick Day, chair of the English department.

The English department hired two new tenure-track professors: Natasha Tessone, who specializes in 19th century British literature, and Wendy Helman, who specializes in early modern literature and Shakespeare. Tessone and Helman will replace retired professors John Olmsted and Phyllis Gorfain, respectively.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to hire two new professors in a time of economic crisis, the English department was able to make these hires because the department had known of Olmsted and Gorfain’s plans to retire well in advance. “These hirings were authorized last year,� said Day. Day explained that problems in hiring arise when faculty members leave unexpectedly. Otherwise, departments submit applications to the Dean of Arts and Sciences office the year before the position becomes vacant.

Tim Scholl, professor of Russian and chair of comparative literature, believes that the interdisciplinary nature of the comparative literature department may be to its advantage in the current budgetary climate. “Comparative literature is mostly stable because we do work with people in English, classics, all the language departments ... so there are plenty of enthusiastic people that are anxious to work See Trustees, page 3

The Oberlin Review –– Established 1874 ––

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Published by the students of Oberlin College every Saturday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $10 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. (440) 775-8123 Fax: (440) 775-6733 On the World Wide Web: http://www.oberlinreview.org

15 censuring Student Health for students’ “great displeasure with [its] performance� and encouraging easier access to medical care.

The resolution reads in part, “Every student should be able to easily access the services provided by the Office of Student Health, and ‌ every student should be able if they so desire to receive medical counsel from a doctor.â€? It calls for the establishment of a Senate subcommittee to oversee improvements in Student Health.

College senior and Senator Ben Klebanoff introduced the measure. “I believe students should be able to easily schedule appointments with the office and easily receive care from a medical professional of their choice,� he said.

When asked for further information about Student Health’s response to the Senate resolution, Marilyn Hamel, coordinator of Student Health Services, commented, “Ben Klebanoff of the Student Senate has informed us that he has some concerns he wants to explore with Student Health.� She did not offer more details.

Members of the Senate met with the office of Student Health on Friday. At press time results of that meeting were not yet available.

Businesses Struggle with State Minimum Wage Law Carolyn Bick Staff Writer Some local merchants say that, along with the struggling economy, the Ohio Minimum Wage Law is adding to today’s financial pressures.

The Ohio Minimum Wage Law that took effect in 2007 states that minimum wage must inflate along with the inflation of the consumer price index — regardless of how high the index rises.

Currently, for untipped employees of businesses that gross $267,000 or less per year, minimum wage is $6.55 per hour, but that will increase to $7.25 on July 24 because of rising inflation.

Some small business owners like Leeza Ramsey, owner of the Oberlin Market, claim they can no longer afford to provide entry-level staff with pay raises. “I used to have a wage scale, and people would move up the scale based on merit and longevity,� said Ramsey. “Now I can’t afford to do that. Everyone just makes minimum wage except for my professional staff.�

Ramsey admitted that every business is different, but she said that the law hurts everyone financially. “It makes it harder for other people to earn a living wage,� Ramsey said. “There’s a strong negative impact of the Minimum Wage Law that a lot of people don’t understand.�

Quizno’s owner Geno Gnidovec echoed Ramsey’s sentiments. “Some people say that [an increase of] 30 cents an hour is not a big deal, but it is in the restaurant business,� said Gnidovec. “Per hour, no, it’s not. Per hour over the entire year, yeah, VIRGINIA SMITH SOPHIA YAN Managing Editor SIMON NYI News Editors KAITLIN BUSHINSKI JONAH KAPLAN-WOOLNER JACKIE SOJICO Commentary Editor MONICA KLEIN This Week in Oberlin Editor BEATRICE ROTHBAUM Arts Editors MICHAEL EMERSON DIRDA NIKA KNIGHT Sports Editors LIV COMBE JORDAN JANCOSEK Layout Editors KELLY SCHMADER WILL ROANE ERIKA ZAROWIN Photo Editors MELISSA WOLFISH MA’AYAN PLAUT Ads Manager BRITTANY JORDAN Business Manager DANA RICH VANESSA YOUSHAEI EEditors-in-Chief

it adds up. People look at 30 cents just like it’s 30 cents, and it’s not.�

Like Ramsey, Gnidovec believes in meritbased wages. “Everything I do in my store is based on merit,� said Gnidovec. “A person’s value has got to be set by themselves and their work ethic.

There are some people out there who aren’t worth $7.30 an hour. That may be a mean, cruel way to put it, but it’s true.�

But others do not share Ramsey’s and Gnidovec’s views. Joe Waltzer (OC‘98), owner of Black River CafĂŠ and Agave Burrito Bar and TequilerĂ­a, voted for the new minimum wage law, citing what he considers fair competition and a level playing field in the restaurant business as his reasons for supporting the law. “I think it’s a good thing,â€? said Waltzer. “I’m glad my competitors have to come closer to paying people what I think is a fair wage for work. It’s hard to compete when you’re paying employees more than other places.â€?

Though he supports the law as a whole, Waltzer has one objection. “I am strongly against one aspect of it, which has to do with server minimum wage,� said Waltzer.

Waiters and waitresses are typically paid around $3.50 per hour because tips compensate for low wages. However, since the table servers at Waltzer’s businesses are also guaranteed a higher base wage under the new law, they will be making that plus tips.

Waltzer expects this server wage increase to raise his business expenses by about $10,000 per year and to force him to raise his restaurants’ prices accordingly. “I thought it was a poor decision to raise that,� said Waltzer of the increase in servers’ wages. “Besides that, I’m all for it.�

MIKE BROOKS KATERYNA KUKSENOK Production Manager CHRISTOPHER GOLLMAR Content Editors SHIRA GLUCK TRACEY KNOTT JIN WONG Production Editors ANNA BETZEL RAMONA DEMME DANIEL DUDLEY TIMOTHY NG KATE RILEY WILL ROANE Copy Editors ADAM CHAMBERS LAUREL FUSON SHIRA GLUCK KATE MELANSON NOAH MORRIS KATHARINE WILLS Distributors JACQUELINE HANSON ANDREW MIXTER Online Editor

CORRECTIONS The Review apologizes for the misspellings in the Israeli-Palestinian editorial printed Feb. 21, 2009.

The Review strives to print all information as accurately as possible. If you feel the Review has made an error, please e-mail

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News

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Alumni Publication retrospective

Before The Grape, there was Below the Belt.

Daniel Radosh, OC ’91, presided over the 1988 debut of this monthly humor and satire newsletter. Radosh, now lives in Brooklyn, and has been published in The Week, Slate, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Playboy and Esquire.

His blog, Radosh.net, was named in Time.com’s Top 25 for 2007.

What you see here are excerpts from the second issue, dug up from the Review’s archives. The magazine offered readers musings on everything from “if penguins were Nazis” to menstrual advice for men.

Commentary

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The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

The Embarrassed Exhibitionists Monica Klein Commentary Editor I’m pretty sure my nipple is out there on the Internet somewhere. In some photograph, among the hundreds of Facebook tags, it probably exists. Maybe that puts me up in the ranks of Janet Jackson, or down below with the XXX porn sites. Either way, that incriminating photograph of my bra slip (or skinny dip) is not alone. This scandalous picture is kept cozy company by a million other perfectly captured moments of keg stands, wet t-shirt contests and other “socially unacceptable” activities. We post them on Facebook, tag our friends, laugh and maybe un-tag and move along with our day — until the pictures resurface.

The latest Facebook wake-up call for the webhappy generation has appeared in the form of Facebook’s updated terms of service. In an attempt to clarify their user terms last week, Facebook rephrased their right to retain user data even after someone deletes their profile. One blog caught onto a single deleted sentence in their fine print, and like the news-desperate August uproar over The New Yorker’s caricatured Obama, the story spread with the speed of a million googlers.

The Consumerist’s subtle article title, “We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content: Forever,” warned against Facebook’s villainous ownership of all user photographs, wall posts and messages (and Facebook’s apparent desire to do unspecified, nefarious things with this content).

The New York Times echoed The Consumerist, advising readers, “Anything and everything online can be held against you.”

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Miranda rights as a safeguard against unintended verbal slipups that could later incriminate a defendant in court.

Are we enraged that the information we publish on a public website with over 175 million users is no longer technically ours, or merely scared that these personal postings may later incriminate us outside the cybersphere?

I’ve heard Phelps apologize for his bong hit. I’ve seen Spitzer and his wife split, and my counterpart, Janet Jackson, suffer the repercussions of a televised nip-slip. We are witnessing an era of unprecedented public confession-and-apologies. And it seems that the only occurrence surpassing the pace of these admissions is the continuous stream of scandalous photos posted on Perez Hilton, Gawker and TMZ. Though I’m hardly kept up at night by the frightening thought of The National Enquirer publishing a close-up of my anonymous naked body, the damage

Claire Lachow potential of incriminating photographs and videos still haunts every Facebook user. We may harp on the copyright laws and broken trust, but the not-so-secret worry on everyone’s mind is who can google my nipple when I’m applying for law school? (Fill in your own Facebook quandary here.) This unprecedented freakout that permeated every blog from college campuses to The Washington Post seemed to continuously return to one, undeniable fact: our most private, embarrassing or intimate moments might now be seen by others.

It is possible that the Facebook freak-out is only the newest stepping-stone toward adulthood. Perhaps the end of our Internet oblivion will become a commonplace rite of passage, along with the realization that late-night rounds of tequila shots may harm our punctuality at work. Early morning barhopping, however, is hardly equivalent to resurfaced photographs of collegiate indiscretions; one tangibly affects our job performance, while the other is a relatively harmless stage of development.

The lifestyle alterations our generation is forced

to make are being grouped into one definitive list of unacceptable behavior. Although I don’t condone say, Spitzer’s extra-marital spending, there is a prevalent definition of inappropriate actions that seems to engulf everything from prostitution to inadvertent skin exposure. And though the Internet is an amazing source for information and networking, its ability to publicly disgrace puts medieval pillories to shame.

We are destined (or doomed) to be the Internetaccessible generation. We can google Arlington, Oregon’s Carmen Kontur-Gronquist and find pictures of the ex-mayor wearing lingerie in less time than it took to vote her out of office. John F. Kennedy may have been sleeping with sultry starlets in the White House, but without a Monroe-Kennedy sex tape on YouTube, how could there be a scandal?

Perhaps, our political representatives will one day cease their seemingly unquenchable desire to frequent Emperor VIP clubs and Minneapolis airport bathrooms (though honestly, this seems unlikely).

There is even less possibility that people will stop drinking or having sex. If the Internet is a permanent fixture in the 21st century, then we have to loosen our standards of inappropriate behavior and accept that girls in lingerie or guys smoking weed are as unremarkable as they are prevalent.

Before the rise of rampant photo-posting and ruined reputations, there was no need to distinguish between extramarital affairs and mere nudity, between drug addicts and youthful experimentation.

Socially unacceptable behavior was kept behind closed doors and away from photo shutters, hidden along with Kennedy’s exploits in that dark void where only the truly un-documented events disappear. However, dismissing the difference between a conventionally taboo subject and a truly harmful action is effective only when both can be adequately ignored or denied.

This absurd Facebook stir-up may be the shocking reality check we’ve needed. Facebook “privacy” is about as realistic as sobriety and chastity in college: And in order to accept this lack of privacy, we must be comfortable with our less-than-Puritan lifestyles.

With the advent of endless exposure, the standards of moral acceptability are shifting. Employers might still attempt to find the unacceptable keg stand or wet t-shirt contest among their future employee’s Facebook pictures today, but eventually the sheer mass of “unacceptable” evidence will overwhelm the googlers. After hundreds and thousands of photographs, we might just have to accept that a picture of a nipple has lost its incriminating shock-value.

Perhaps we haven’t all knelt under a bathroom stall making hand-signals in an airport, but I think most people have, at some point, been naked.

Staff Box Liv Combe Dear Student Offended by Labels: The first thing that I need to point out is that there has always been an editorial in the sports section of the Review, so this “frustrating error” was actually not one at all. It was a quite deliberate action on my part, as co-editor of the sports section, to put that offensive orange column exactly where it has always been.

Furthermore, saying that this article did not belong in the sports section because it “did not pertain to sports events at Oberlin” is exactly the kind of attitude about sports that I’m trying to change. Athletics is not just about game statistics and final scores; there’s an entire culture surrounding it that extends well beyond the edges of this campus. We have articles about Michael Phelps, the NBA and steroid use — more than just run-of-the-mill writeups about how teams are preparing during the preseason.

That editorial was about athletes, so it was in the sports section.

You also addressed my “shocking and narrow-minded bigotry” when it comes to imposing labels on people.

Question: Have you ever heard of satire? I was doing this tricky little thing where I was making fun of something — in this case, the prevalence of labels on the Oberlin campus — by playing along with it. Novel, right? I’m probably

the first person to have ever done it.

I’m sorry that “this article was not conducive to the relationships between those groups.” I wasn’t aware that I should be tiptoeing around everyone’s feelings in an attempt to foster a more Mister Rogers-ly atmosphere on

‘We have buried the putrid corpse of liberty!’ campus. From now on, I’ll make sure that anything that could possibly be offensive to anyone will never be published again! We have buried the putrid corpse of liberty!

Finally, you say I do nothing to prove my point that athletes are not freaks and idiots. I, an athlete, proved that simply by writing the editorial and by being at this school.

You may think that you’re speaking “for all of us” when you call my writing petty and awkward, but I would ask more than your immediate circle of friends for their opinion before you make such a generalization again.

So, “embarrassing?” False.

“Insulting?” All good journalism is.

And “astoundingly illogical?” Never. I’m way too hopped up on endorphins from all the exercise I get to ever be anything but unsurprisingly rational.

Voice your opinions.

Comment on an article.

Submit your letters to the editors today. commentary@oberlinreview.org

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

News

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Hunger: Oberlin’s Silent Epidemic Continued from page 1 dinator at Oberlin Community Services.

OCS operates a daily food pantry and runs a large-scale food distribution once a month in Oberlin and surrounding townships. Its most recent distribution provided food to 110 families. They predict the number of families being served will rise during 2009.

While OCS has responded to growing food needs of local residents, many food banks in the area have neither the manpower nor the resources to serve residents consistently.

Federal and state aid programs often provide minimum coverage to those in need. Food expenses consume much of an individual’s unemployment assistance. OCS also serves a large number of families who are underemployed; they cannot make ends meet on their wages but do not qualify for state assistance.

“You don’t have to live below the poverty line to have trouble making ends meet and providing food for a family — especially with food prices rising the way they are today,” said Harris.

Furthermore, Burns contends that expanded food stamp funding in the stimulus law, officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will not be enough to alleviate hunger.

‘You don’t have to live below the poverty line to have trouble making ends meet and providing food for a family.’

Sydney Harris College Junior

Harris, however, believes that any structural inadequacies of policies meant to address hunger serves as no excuse for inaction.

“American [sic] students are overwhelmingly apathetic, and, in my opinion, complaining that there are insurmountable obstacles in the way of progress is simply fuel for that apathy,” said Harris.

Commentary

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The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

More Letters to the Editor

Differing Views on Israeli Actions

represented, it would give me hope that a model of dialogue in the microcosm of our campus could be replicated on the Mediterranean.

–Josh Spiro

Continued from page 7 This raises the question of why so many people feel it behooves Israel to open her borders with Gaza when Egypt lies cheek-to-cheek on the opposite side.

Instances of Egypt opening its border with Gaza are such rarities because it is politically advantageous for surrounding nations to keep Israel in the hot seat by turning a blind eye to the difficulties of the Palestinians.

4) Finally, he mentions that “Hamas is not some rogue terrorist group, despite what the popular media would have you believe”; they were democratically elected in 2006. This may be so but pro-Palestinian advocates can’t have it both ways. If Hamas is an autonomous, legitimately elected government, then you can’t conceptualize the Palestinians as victimized people with no say in their own rule and no culpability for their government’s actions.

Furthermore, Israel is well within its rights to defend itself against outside aggression and shouldn’t feel compelled to send aid to a hostile nation. But if Hamas is illegitimate, then Israel must still answer its aggression if it can hope to have security or a partner for peace.

There are points that I don’t have the space to address, such as accusations of disproportionate force, but I would like to echo Gus’s commendable call for people to learn more about the situation on their own. I feel that this school is not yet ready for demonstrations or demands of the administration which he calls for because we require a prelude: dialogue.

Perhaps this is the time to divulge my own feelings on the best course of action. My humble and admittedly detail-light opinion is that the middle of the road is the only sane, sustainable future: a two-state solution with a cornerstone of discussion, cooperation and concessions on both sides. If the Oberlin Peace Activists League could get Oberlin Zionists and Students for a Free Palestine to co-sponsor events where more diverse perspectives are

In-Shape Obies To the Editors: Thank you to the campus community for participating in OB FIT ’09. The Division of Student Life, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education and the President’s Office sponsored this two-week program to encourage more members of the Oberlin College community to lead healthy lifestyles. Fitness programs offered to the campus — a wide variety of structured activities, open play, classes, demonstrations and lectures — were well attended by faculty, staff and students. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions for OB FIT ’10, feel free to e-mail us at life.skills@oberlin.edu.

–Elizabeth Sanders ’10 –Natalie Price ’09 –Corey Spiro ’11 –Kaitlyn Gam ’10

Senate Offended by Review’s Edits

ensure that the student body is informed of who the candidates are and what they stand for.

Last week, however, it came to the attention of Senate that one candidate’s statement had been edited. The phrase “the Review sucks” was omitted from this statement. Now, have no doubt that Student Senate, as well as most of your readers, fervently disagree with that sentiment. We believe, however, that it is important that you publish the candidates’ words in full and allow your readers to draw their own conclusions.

We don’t know of any publication that would happily publish something that depicts itself in a less than favorable light. However, it is unfair to print the full statements of those who are neutral or favorable towards the while editing those that are not. While we have no doubt that the Review will respect and uphold everyone’s freedom of speech, we think it is of the upmost importance that we exercise our tolerance and respect the opinions of everyone, even those with whom we disagree.

Senate understands that at times editing is necessary to preserve the integrity of any respected newspaper, but we believe the editors must be temperate when considering making changes to the political speech of others.

When it comes to the Student Senate elections, we ask that the editors inform the candidate and the Student Senate that such actions are being contemplated and provide an explanation as to why.

We thank the Review for their assistance and look forward to a continued relationship. Students are reminded that in addition to the Review, they can also find all candidates’ during an election, in full, on our website.

Thank you.

–Student Senate

To the Editors: Last week, as is customary, the Review published the candidate statements of the students running for the three open seats on Student Senate. We value our longstanding relationship with the Review and appreciate the space it dedicates to the elections every semester to help

Editor’s Note: Publication in The Oberlin Review is entirely at the discretion of its editors. We make every effort to include all opinions submitted and print many letters to the editors critical of our publication. We also reserve the right to cut material deemed offensive, irrelevant or immature.

Knock on Wood

A Clarification of Senate’s UAW Resolution Justin Brogden I would like to take this opportunity to respond to a letter to the editors written by one of my fellow senators that appeared in the Review last week.

Senator Shannon Ikebe wrote a piece entitled “Student Elections: Important and Imminent,” in which he encouraged students to vote in the Senate elections and to make choices based on the issues and not merely name recognition.

I couldn’t agree more, and as Student Senate works to become a more visible part of the Oberlin community, I fully expect that Senators will be assessed on their record and that candidates will be judged by the quality of their ideas. In fact, I believe this has already begun to take place.

Senator Ikebe received the highest number of votes in last fall’s election, thanks, in no small part, to his manifesto. He was joined by many other talented and intelligent students who ran, and I believe won, because they had real ideas to create change in our community.

This election, we had 17 people running for three seats and we reached quorum in less than 36 hours. This is a testament to the enthusiasm that sena-

tors like Shannon Ikebe have created within the student body.

Although senators should be judged on their record, I would like to clarify some things that were stated in Senator Ikebe’s letter.

He mentioned that, “[In] one instance, the proposed resolution in support of the United Auto Workers last October, which included support for a livable wage and satisfactory healthcare for the workers, was defeated due to staunch opposition from some incumbent Senators.” I don’t believe this statement accurately reflects what took place, though I respect Senator Ikebe’s interpretation.

As one might recall, in early October the United Auto Workers, one of the largest unions on campus, was in negotiations with the College over its new contract, and there was talk of a possible strike. Many students supported the union in the negotiations and several urged Student Senate to take action.

During our Oct. 12 plenary, Senator Ikebe proposed a resolution that expressed support for the UAW as well as for the right of workers to have a living wage and health care.

The lack of information we had about these negotiations, which were confidential, made us hesitant to pass

this resolution. We had no information regarding whether these specific issues were points of contention, nor did we know where the two parties were in the negotiation process.

To avoid a rushed judgment, I proposed that we instead issue a statement that simply expressed the Senate’s support for the negotiation process and our hope that an amicable solution could be reached.

This was not in any way meant to suggest that any senator was opposed to a living wage or health care for all workers. In fact, I think most, if not all, of us fervently support all the rights of workers, included those mentioned above.

My proposal would not have passed without the support of Senator Ikebe, and he played an important role in crafting the final language of the statement released, which can be found on the Student Senate website in the documents section. How each senator voted on this resolution can also be found in the minutes for the Oct. 12 plenary, as well as on the website. I am proud of the statement we issued, and I believe it adequately represented the view of the majority of Oberlin students.

I believe every senator supports workers’ rights and many of the other ideals Senator Ikebe has championed.

I am proud of the work he and our fellow Senators have done to improve the Senate’s operations and address the issues important to students of Oberlin College.

Senator Ikebe is right; elections do have consequences, and I encourage every student to vote in future senate elections. Senate has changed a lot in the two years that I have served, all for the better. We have committed, passionate senators like Shannon Ikebe, who are working diligently to make our time here better, but we can’t do it alone. I hope that many more students will take this opportunity to attend our weekly plenaries, which are held every Sunday at 7 p.m., and make use of our office hours.

In addition, there are many opportunities to get involved in Oberlin’s governance system. Students can serve on a general faculty committee, make proposals at senate plenary sessions and attend forums put on by the Senate and the Oberlin administration. This past week, the Senate co-sponsored such a forum with Residential Education, and next week the Senate is sponsoring a forum with the new management of the Apollo theater. Don’t let your involvement with Student Senate begin and end with a ballot.

Arts

Page 14

Craftaroni & Cheese The Obie ID Card

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

by Emily “Googly-Eye” Boston, Alex “Colored Construction Paper” Michel and Linden “Sticker” Cady

Have you always wanted green hair but never had the guts to dye it? Is your Obie ID ridiculous and would you like to make it even more ridiculous? Or perhaps you want to give yourself some sophistication — a bowtie and top hat? ID cards aren’t the classiest things in the world, so here’s a simple and cheap project to add some spice to your swipe.

WWI Exhibit Offers Alternative, haunting Perspectives Continued from page 13

Ingredients: - Colored construction paper - Clear tape - Oberlin ID! - (Optional) Thin craft wire, glitter, googly-eyes, magazine cut-outs, stickers, permanent markers.

Implements: - Scissors - Cutting pliers if you use wire There are many different ways to add style to your ID. Here are two ideas, but feel free to put your own creativity in motion.

Other ideas include adding captions below your photo or speech bubbles.

Wacky Cut-Out Recipe* Great for adding hair, clown noses, hats, mustaches, halos and anything else you can think of.

1. Decide what style you are going for. I chose spiky green hair and a clown nose. If you are doing hair or a hat, measure your head with a ruler (your finger or a piece of paper is also a perfectly fine way to measure it).

2. Once you know the size of your head, sketch out the design with a pencil on the color of construction paper of your choice and cut away. It might take a couple of tries to get the hair/hat to the right proportion — don’t get discouraged!

3. Put a little bit of tape on the back of your cut-out and stick it on your photo.

4. Add glitter, stickers or any other design of your choice. You can also do fine details with a small sharpie.

5. Cover with tape so the design stays put.

6. Swipe with style!

*Emily says: “I’ve had my ID decorated like this for a while, and never had a problem. I usually just get a laugh. But if you are worried about people not taking your ID, look below for another idea.”

Ye Olde Identity Carde Recipe: Frame: 1. Cut out two lengths of craft wire (about 10” each) using pliers. Fold in half and twist as you please to make an oval frame for your ID picture.

2. Adjust it so it fits the picture and add more details and curlicues as you see fit.

Background: 1. Cut out a square border with an oval center to frame your face.

2. Use pens to add designs to the frame .

3. Secure with tape.

4. Swipe with (old-fashioned) style!

in Kollwitz’s frighteningly prescient pre-war etching “Death and the Mother” is echoed in her 1925 woodcut “Unemployment.”

This piece, from her “Proletariat” series, reflects Kollwitz’s conscious decision to make art that brought public attention to the plight of the poor in German post-war society.

In it, the square frame is dominated by the black ink expanse left by the uncarved wooden block; three white specters arise like ghosts in the upper-left corner. The outline of two parents is barely described, and more prominent is the white, ghostly face of a child.

The eeriness of the piece is reflected in Kollwitz’s own postwar self-portraits, in which the delicate hand of death moves into the frame to caress her shoulder.

Death, or the threat of it, is a constant presence; her illustrations of Weimar society are accordingly damning.

“To Make Things Visible” Art in the Shadow of World War I is on display in the Allen’s South Ambulatory Gallery until June 7, 2009.

The Multi-vitamin: Healthy Supplement or Trendy Placebo?

Nika Knight Arts Editor “I think people have pretty much blanketly decided vitamins are good for them,” my mother told me during a phone call home. She marveled at the change in public opinion: “When I was growing up, my mother was the first woman to think about how important vitamins were.

It was the 1950s, when everyone was talking about how good white bread and Hostess Twinkies were. No one was talking about what good food was; what good health was.”

I see in my mind’s eye the effects of my grandmother’s legendary prescience: the rows of fish oil, flower extracts, “Superfood” pills and vitamin powders that populate our kitchen counter at home.

More and more Americans, including we notoriously unhealthy college students, are supplementing their diets with vitamin pills. And it’s not just Flintstones: “Superfood” pills, which can be found at almost any health food store nationwide, consist of densely-packed greens.

That’s right, you don’t have to eat your spinach — unlike Popeye, you can swallow it in pill form. And if you’re like my roommate, you consume your supplemental dose of Omega-3 in an absurd variety of fish-shaped gummies.

The owner of the Oberlin Market remarked, “There is an increased interest in supplements … people are understanding the fallacies of pharmaceuticals. I think of [herbal supplements] as ‘green drugs.” She noted, too, that the economic downturn has yet to show any effect on vitamin and supplement sales.

These products, while relatively new for those of us who — unlike my mother — have not been consuming them for the past 30 years, have their origins as far back as the turn of the 20th century. It was in 1906 that British scientist Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins discovered that certain parts of food impacted health: The term “vita-

mine” was subsequently coined by the Polish scientist Cashmir Funk to refer to these group of nitrogen-containing compounds, called amines, that were considered vital for life.

It wasn’t until 1934 that the Nutrilite Company introduced the first multivitamin supplement to grocery shelves.

These original pills, like the current Superfood variety, were comprised of densely packed fruits and vegetables. In 1947 the first synthetic vitamin, Vitamin A — a fat-soluble nutrient discovered in butter — was produced.

As the emphasis in American food culture shifted from convenience to health, the benefits of vitamins became more widely accepted. Doctors began to prescribe multivitamins and folic acid to pregnant women as early as the 1960s. As a result, the concept of taking “supplements” to a modern diet — one that lacked the nutritive qualities of those consumed by our ancestors a thousand years ago — grew into a popular and accepted practice among the health-conscious, and growing varieties of pills began to take residence on the shelves of alternative food stores.

As these staples of the New Age move onto the more proletarian shelves of Walmart and Costco, the question of whether or not they actually work has become a more pressing one.

As a recent article in The New York Times notes, “After controlling for age, physical activity, family history of cancer and many other factors … researchers found that the supplements had no effect on the risk for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots or mortality.” In the same piece, a doctor is quoted as saying, “Buying more fruits and vegetables might be a better choice.” This, unfortunately, looks to be true.

Scientists since those who first created them have emphasized the fact that synthetic supplements can-

not replace the nutrients found in real food: Vitamins might be vital, but we eat them all the time. So, why all the pills? With all the arguing on both sides, it’s hard to tell what is trend and what is truth. In the end, the real question might be, does it even matter?

Charlotte Gund, College senior and avid consumer of Flintstones and Omega-3 fish-shaped gummies, defended herself: “[The supplement trend] is not a bad thing. It’s not something that will radically alter your body, even if it doesn’t work. If nothing else, it’s encouraging a healthy mentality. It’s worth looking into — whether it really helps people — but I don’t think it deserves all this medical hubbub. You know, they’re really just haters.”

Regardless of the research, we appear determined to keep our vitamin habits.

My mother — spokeswoman for all things proved untouchable by the cold empirical hands of Western research — tells me, “Whatever they say, your body is wired individually. Do you know who I read about today? Taylor Swift. She refuses to eat anything healthy: If she sees something green in her sandwich, she picks it out. She only eats junk food. And she’s so successful!

You know, that just goes to show.”

My mother, despite her bias, may have touched upon a truth. Perhaps it’s not the multivitamins and Superfood pills that are the craze, but rather the desire for an instant and universal fix — an almost mystical faith in the power of the pill — especially if it’s as en vogue as antioxidants — to ease our physical pains. The real solution, though, might be elsewhere. Our bodies are uniquely our own, contrary to the implicit assumption of broad medical research and the promises advertised across our bottles of Omega-3 fish gummies: We know what they need, if we only pay attention. We can’t buy the key to good health. We already have it.

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Arts

Page 15

Indie-Pop Artist Kelly Pratt Leads the Pack on Team B’s Debut Eric Gibbs Team B is the recent side project of Kelly Pratt, who is one of the countless touring members of Arcade Fire, as well as a road contributor for Beirut, Zach Condon’s Eastern European/folk/rock project.

While Pratt handles the majority of the instrumentation on his self-titled album — including vocals, guitars, horns and keyboards — he does have some outside help.

The list of Team B’s other contributors includes indie-rock heavyweights such as Arcade Fire bassist Richard Reed Parry, Beirut’s Jon Natchez and Perrin Cloutier, as well as drummer Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem.

While the list of musicians in the band is certainly impressive, this is primarily Pratt’s showcase. He composed the songs on the album on his own while on tour with Beirut and Arcade Fire from 2007 to 2008.

Given the prestige of the bands that Pratt has been a part of over the years, it is exciting to hear about Team B, and equally exciting to anticipate the type of music that might comprise the album. Fans of Arcade Fire and

Beirut will be pleased to know that this album is primarily the orchestral pop that is a large part of both band — okay, that’s not really true at all.

From the beginning, Team B is instead a generally sparse affair. The

ing results. “Empty Hallways” features a rapid-paced piano intro before turning into a dirge. “Tons of Fun” is a down-tempo electronica track that sounds like a Postal Service throwaway, complete with cringe-worthy

‘It is tempting to expect Team B to be an Arcade Fire or Beirut sequel, but this is clearly not what Pratt has in mind.’ album’s opener “On My Mind” is a piano-driven number featuring a distorted trumpet solo. The following track, “Hang Me,” is similarly minimal, exclusively relying on a finger-picked acoustic guitar and swirling horns.

In addition to piano, guitar and horns, there is a prominent electronic streak in the album. This is noticeable on several tracks including “Miasma,” which uses keyboard textures reminiscent of the dreamy vocals of Kid A’s title track, and gives the song a very hazy feel.

Overall, Team B is low-key. The majority of the tracks have slow tempos, and this does not make for engag-

lines like, “She may not be the fittest of the fit/but it’s nice to know she’ll never do better than me.”

The album’s more up-tempo material is hit-or-miss. “Life (Remix)” is a jaunty little lo-fi bit about all the ways in which life sucks. Pratt seems to be shooting for an interesting contrast between music and words, but ultimately the track is more annoying than anything else.

“Redd’s Opus K607” is another relatively fast-paced song, though it is just a short interlude that plays like an underdeveloped attempt at a dance track.

“No Purchase Necessary” is more

successful as an energetic song, as it alternates between Weezer-style distorted guitar blasts and quieter sections with vocal harmonies.

Keyboards and horns build back up to an irresistible chorus that’ll have you singing along as soon as you can understand what the hell Pratt is saying.

Finally, the album ends on a high note with the vintage doo-wop number “Salad Days,” in which Pratt taps into his upper vocal register while horns blare in the background.

Kelly Pratt’s pedigree is certainly an impressive one, but it also does some disservice to his Team B project. Considering his musical background and the accompanying musicians on the album, it is tempting to expect Team B to be an Arcade Fire or Beirut sequel, but this is clearly not what Pratt has in mind.

Instead, he takes the opportunity to explore different styles and polish his songwriting. The results are not stellar: the album is too scattershot genre-wise to be consistently engaging, although it does have its moments.

Handman-Lopez and Thorndike Join Dance Faculty Continued from page 13 dance verbally as well as physically.

“What I’m interested in is the question of ‘what is the dancer’s knowledge “I’m interested in how understandings of knowledge develop in dancers through physical and more dialogical articulations,” said Thorndike.

“For example, in a group of people who improvise together over time or in the rehearsals for a piece, I am interested in the back-and-forth between dancing and then talking about it and how those inform one another.”

Thorndike also performs professionally. Despite her lack of theater training, she often performs in more dance-theater type works. She connected with Oberlin through Peter Swendsen, a professor in the TIMARA department, with whom she has been collaborating for a long time.

Dance professors at Oberlin must often cater to a wide range of technical skill levels in dancers. College junior Kamali Teabout, who has never choreographed before but decided to enroll in Thorndike’s class — Values, Voice and Identity in Contemporary Dance Making — feels Thorndike is handling the task admirably.

“She makes me feel as if I have a goal or a target I need to reach all the time,” said Teabout. “And, despite the choreography class being mixed in terms of experience level, she accommodates for all of us.”

Thorndike will be creating a collaborative work with Oberlin students that will be performed in the Spring Back dance concert on April 10 and 11 in Warner Main, as well as setting a piece exploring proximities on three professional dancers that will be performed in the Oberlin Dance Company concert in May. Emelio Disabato

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Commentary

Racial Tensions Persist: National Conversation Long Overdue John Cheng Attorney General Eric H. Holder made headlines last week by insisting that America is “essentially a nation of cowards” when it comes to willingness to talk about race. It was a brave, and largely true, appraisal of the state of race dialogue and race relations in the United States.

Regardless of how individuals may have perceived Holder’s remarks, one hopes that his call for truth will be an actual catalyst for a debate rather than a transitory blip in the news cycle.

What should be the ideal shape, form and content of this discussion, when it does occur in earnest? Race, as both a conscious and unconscious reality for Americans, is such an expansive subject that attempting to perfectly engineer a discussion would be foolish.

A preferable starting point, nonetheless, would be to denote clarifications of racist behavior beyond the obvious (such as using racial slurs).

By “racist behavior” I mean to include attitudes, assumptions and stereotypes of groups made on the basis of

racial ignorance and dehumanization precisely when interracial interaction is close to nonexistent. It also follows that making racist comments within one’s own racial or ethnic group is no more acceptable than if they were made publicly.

Secondly, more attention must be paid to marginal minority groups, against whom racism is often disregarded. It is widely recognized that it is highly disgusting for whites to use their majority status to demean African Americans and Jewish Americans, as it should be.

However, it seems that a double standard permits less populous or prominent minority groups, such as Asian Americans or Native Americans, to be baited without much recourse. In a historical context, such groups also tend to have less strongly established infrastructures for civil rights organizing to push back against racism.

Racism is universally hateful, no matter the target.

All of the previous observations may sound fairly pedestrian and commonsensical, especially on a tolerant campus like Oberlin (minus outbursts of racism sighted on Oberlin

‘Racial debate should neither mean nor allow for racism to be spewed forth to the public, but it instead demands that such demagogues be called on.’ race. Though racism also has socioeconomic dimensions, my definition here is specifically cultural.

Establishing basic levels of understanding is essential because the ultimate goal is to induce greater awareness and sensitivity that discourages acts and expressions of racism. This discussion needs to have an intelligent sense of direction. An aimless free-for-all in which people breezily “talk” about race may be useful but not nearly sufficient.

First and foremost, subtle and often inadvertent racism is no less hurtful than unconcealed and/or intentional racism. A case example of this muted type of racism would be a backhanded compliment to an individual who looks “foreign” that his or her command of the English language is excellent.

This insidious version of racism emanates most prevalently from those in the white community and most frequently in situations where whites are the overwhelming demographic majority.

This is not to identify whites as the default source of racism in all cases, but when much of white America is reluctant to discuss race, it creates a self-induced confusion and denial of racism that is normally not witnessed in historically repressed communities of color. This confusion about racism necessitates a debate in the first place and refutes the claims of America being “post-racial.”

In a racially uniform environment, members of the majority group can afford to get away with making racist remarks, because there are no members of minorities who can mount any sort of challenge. De facto racial segregation of communities breeds

Confessional, as chronicled by the Review in November) and to any racially enlightened individual. And that would be a relief.

But on a national scale, the mediocrity of American media amplifies racial stupidity, thus standing as a hurdle to either stimulative debate or the two above premises in mind.

Edward R. Murrow himself decried, “that [the media’s] speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.” Journalistic institutions routinely abdicate their special responsibility to maintain a forum that provides space for racial discussion.

Not all news organizations are as respectable as NPR or PBS, and refereeing this debate will prove unwieldy when influential faux-journalistic pundits — Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter notoriously among them — can make racist statements on national television without penalty. Racial debate should neither mean nor allow for racism to be spewed forth to the public, but it instead demands that such demagogues be called out.

The burden of informing the public might rest more securely on academics, even as America continues to wallow in anti-intellectualism, usually giving birth to prejudice. Academia can offer context when educating the racial conversation being sustained at the ground zero of average Americans’ daily lives.

Race relations are difficult to gauge accurately, let alone improve. But there is no such thing as an inconvenient time to engage in racial dialogue, because race has always been relevant.

None other than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

Page 9

A Bank of America: Time to Start Embracing Nationalization Gus Wezerek “Nationalization” appears to be the new “socialism,” a boogey-word that neurotic conservatives toss around, pigeonholing any measure of government regulation as antithetical to the core values upon which America was founded.

A Gallup poll from this week found that 57 percent of people opposed “temporarily nationalizing major U.S. banks in danger of failing in an attempt to stabilize them,” whereas only 37 percent opposed the same proposal reworded as “temporarily taking over major U.S. banks…” (emphasis added).

This month, members of the GOP widely condemned U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for suggesting that the government consider nationalization as a solution to the banking meltdown.

Senator Graham stood behind her comments, pointing out that there has been little to show for the government’s subvention of half of the TARP fund’s $700 billion.

So what’s with all the commotion?

Think of nationalization as economic martial law, when a government takes industry or assets into public ownership.

In most cases, these shares are then sold back to the public once the precipitating breakdown has been rectified.

Historically, nationalization has largely been limited to the transportation sector. During World War I, the U.S. seized control of all railroads in order to facilitate the war effort. A similar endeavor in 1971 led to the creation of Amtrak.

Critics, such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, argue that bank nationalization would put a major strain on the U.S. government, as well as decrease the banks’ franchise value and scare off potential investors.

Bernanke is right — nationalization isn’t a viable option. However, Senator Graham wasn’t advocating true nationalization, but rather “soft” or semi-nationalization. This would entail providing federal aid only in dire cases such as those of Citigroup and Bank of America.

Prospects are too bleak for such minor intervention to be kept off the table. We are facing a global financial crisis. A recent Gallup poll estimates that only three percent of Americans have positive consumer confidence. Despite Wall Street predictions, the Realtors Association of America announced on Wednesday that housing rates have slumped to 5.7 percent, the lowest in over a decade. Also, unemployment has nearly doubled in the past year; my father, a single parent of four, was laid off in October and still cannot find a job.

I’m frustrated watching Republicans trot out the same old tropes in defense of the same failed ideas. It’s clear that they hear Obama’s call for bipartisan legislation. The best part of Bobby Jindal’s laughable response to Obama’s address was his admission that “where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.”

Yet Jindal offered no solutions of his own, and, like the rest of the GOP, seemed preoccupied with ridiculing any federal subsidies for items they don’t understand. For Jindal, it was natural disaster funds like the U.S. Geological Survey’s “$140 million for something called ‘volcano monitoring.’” This coming from the governor of Louisiana!

Regardless of Republican sentiment, some degree of nationalization will probably occur. On Wednesday, the government began “stress testing” America’s 20 biggest banks, running them through hypothetical situations such as Depression era unemployment levels of 10 to 12 percent. While the government won’t directly release the results to the public, the banks’ situations will be clear from the amount of capital the Fed offers.

Many wonder if these tests will simply make shareholders and investors more anxious, prompting a spending freeze that will bury the economy. Last week, increased talk of nationalization pummeled the shares of Citigroup down 44 percent to an 18-year low of $1.61.

But assessments are necessary to get a truly accurate picture of the financial situation. We cannot continue in ignorance, fearing what might happen and choosing to ignore it. That’s the type of policy that got us into this mess.

The President understands the need for action. In his address on Tuesday, he promised that, “when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments” and “provide the support to clean up their balance sheets.”

Citigroup approached the FDIC on Sunday to discuss converting some of its $45 billion in preferred shares (counted as debt for the banks) to common shares. This would possibly increase the government’s ownership of Citigroup to near 40 percent.

Many are concerned such a large conversion would dilute the public’s shares and voting rights within the company.

As Obama reiterated on Tuesday, he is not in favor of bigger government — neither are the Republicans. However, any nationalization would be for economic rather than political reasons. Unless the opposition begins providing constructive alternatives instead of reactionary mudballs, it’s time to close our eyes, grit our teeth, and get it over with.

Christopher Gollmar

This Week in Saturday, Feb. 28

Most Played Artists at WOBC

Read with the Cat!

Everything I need to know I learned in Couples Massage!

1. Genesis

If you’ve ever wondered why your relationships just don’t seem to work out, then fear no more. There’s nothing wrong with you: You are a unique and beautiful snowflake. But if you want to work at improving that connection with your significant other, this would be a good thing to try. Learn how to care for your partner through relaxation therapy and gain some massage skills to serve you throughout your long and lonely life. 1 p.m. Common Ground, 14240 Baird Rd. $75 per couple.

2. David Bowie 3. Bob Dylan 4. Fleetwood Mac 5. Black Tambourine 6. Beatles

Chinese New Year Banquet

It’s the dawning of the Year of the Ox, and like that cargo-hauling, graintrampling, log-cutting bovine, you need to pull yourself together and get going. It’s New Years for goodness sake, and you need to ring it in right. The Chinese Students Association will have the first-ever performance of a traditional Lion Dance by the Oberlin Lion Dance Troupe, along with performances by the Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble and the Oberlin Korean Students Taekwondo Association. Bring your semi-formal attire and your party attitude. 6 p.m. Carnegie Building, Root Room.

7. Bikini Kill 8. Magnetic Fields 9. Pete Seeger 10. Judas Priest

DC3 Benefit Blues Concert

Last Week’s Puzzle

Remember eighth grade? Or have you already blacked it out of your mind with the assistance of hard alcohol? Middle school is tough enough, but we college kids have a chance to make it more tolerable for some Oberlin public school eighth graders. Oberlin High School is hosting a blues benefit concert featuring blues giant DC3, to support a school trip to Washington, D.C. in May. 7 p.m. Oberlin High School, 281 North Pleasant St. Purchase tickets at Langston Middle School, the Board of Education, Dave’s Army Navy and Ben Franklin.

OMG, how exciting does this sound? Do you like hanging out with little children or consider yourself to be a child at heart? Maybe you just have a thing for Dr. Seuss, because he has always held a special place in your life. That’s a good enough excuse as any to forget about your readings, exams and seven page papers this weekend. Instead spend Sunday making a silly hat, face painting, fishing for words, creating poetry and discovering pirate treasure. Response: paper = bad; pirate treasure = good. The Obertones and Nothing But Treble will perform at the event, sponsored by the America Reads tutoring program at Oberlin College. 1:30 p.m. The Oberlin Public Library, 65 South Main St.

29th

Annual

Six-State

Photography

Show

You must admit, photography is pretty cool. Think of all the light patterns, radiation recordings and timed exposures used to create and store images inside a camera. What a beautiful thing. Christopher Yates of Columbia College of Art and Design and art reviewer for The Columbus Dispatch will ajudicate the show, which promises to be as fascinating as the medium itself. 2 p.m. New Union Center for the Arts, 39 South Main St.

Monday, March 2 Ramayana

Remix:

Two

“Bollywood”

Filmsong Sequences

There will never be enough song-dance musicals in the world, never.

This two-part epic is based on the Ramayana, and presents a new take on a classic story. The screening will be accompanied by a lecture on Indian storytelling and performance. 4:30 p.m. King 101.

Elaine Gazda: Life and Art in Roman Vil-

Sunday, March 1

las on the Bay of Naples

Dr. Seuss Day 2009: Grab Your Hat and

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watchin’ the tide roll away. Professor Elaine Gazda, Professor of Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology at the University of Michigan, will give a talk about

this intruiging subject. The event is sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa. 4:30 p.m. Craig Lecture Hall.

Tuesday, March 3 Learning from Labor: Unions and Workers at Oberlin

Organize yourselves, and learn how other people have before you.

A panel of representatives from the unions on Oberlin’s campus will gather to discuss the history and role of unions at Oberlin. Learn about Oberlin’s labor history and the all-important need for unions. Politics Professor Chris Howell will speak alongside the Safety and Security Guard Union, the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees Union (OCOPE). Sponsored by the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) and OhioPIRG. 12:30 p.m. Wilder 101.

Blood Drive

Share some of your blood, show that you care and do your good deed for the day, the week — or the month — depending on how good of a person you are. A pint from one arm can help at least three persons in need, and all blood types are needed in Northeast Ohio. 1 p.m. - 7 a.m.

Phillips Gym.

Wednesday, March 4 Student Forum Apollo Theater

Prefer Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Maybe you’re more a fan of absurdist Eastern European flicks. Now is the chance to make your voice heard! Sound off to Jonathan R. Forman, the Apollo’s new director of operations and film programming; Sandra Hodge, from the College’s Community and Government Relations Office; and Rian Brown-Orso, associate professor of art and cinema studies. 12:15 p.m. Wilder 101.

Eli Clare - Listening to the Freaks

This event has a catchy full title: “Listening to the Freaks: A History of

O BE RL I N Circus Tents and Everyday Gawking.” Eli Clare will explore the history of the freak show and what it teaches us about bodily difference and oppression, resistance and exploitation, using storytelling and images of race, disability, imperialism, and queerness in this not-to-be-missed event. 7 p.m. Lewis Environmental Center.

Thursday, March 5 Thursday Tea Talks: Keeping Perspective vs. Falling to Pieces

Relax, don’t do it, when you want to go to it. Don’t lose it to something like academic or social pressure. Learn tools to regain balance in your life, amidst your bottomless to-do list. Keep your cool.

Eat healthy snacks and sip hot tea as part of the Staying Calm as Things Heat Up: Wellness Programs for Stress Reduction, Academic Efficiency and General Well-Being. Hang in there, kid. 4:30 p.m.

Wilder 314.

Making Literacy Meaningful: Educational Work in 40 Countries

Words are beautiful things, powerful things, important things. Literacy has the potential to transform people’s lives and make them healthier, more thoughtful andmore peaceful. Enter the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project, an organization that has established networks of teachers in places like the Caribbean and Central and South America. Learn about the project’s ideas and strategies. 4:30 p.m. 108 Severance Hall.

Friday, March 6 Extra Life, Truman Peyote, Guatemala City, Shai Erlichman

When noteworthy bands visit our campus, it’s our obligation to check ‘em out. Oberlin College Concert Board is offering this selection of exciting bands in an alcohol-free environment. It’s early enough on a Friday night, so don’t miss out. 9 p.m. Fairchild Chapel.

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Across 1. Puzzle’s stream 6. One who entertains 11. Bar code?

14. Stadium entrance 15. Go out 16. “___ the land of the free ...”

17. Carnival announcer ’s call (3 words) 19. Code crackers’ org.

20. Cleveland’s lake 21. Gold brick 23. Canal site 26. Leader in a holiday song 28. Holiday Inn rival 29. Do business with 30. Monroe’s successor 31. Not fair at all 32. Tiny, in Scotland 35. 1994 film “____ Lies” 36. Kingdom east of Fiji 37. ____-Tass (Russian news agency) 38. 64 crayons, e.g.

39. Sheet material 40. Lil Wayne’s “Me_____ Drank” 41. Act before the headliner 43. Put something on 44. As a whole

46. Former Nicaraguan leader 47. Closes in on 48. False god 49. “Can’t Help Lovin’ ___ Man” 50. Kellogg’s cut Phelps’s 57. One of the Manning brothers 58. This puzzle’s title in paris 59. Winehouse anthem 60. Boxing Day mo.

61. War horse 62. Young Obama

Down 1. Type of feed 2. Cousin ___ of “ The Addams Family ” 3. Tr y 4. Assist, to Eliza Doolittle 5. Peruses anew 6. Pain: Suffix 7. Gleeful giggle 8. Meal starter 9. Law and Order: ____ 10. Halfheartedly 11. Black Flag’s “_________ __ Of It” (3 words) 12. Greek fabulist 13. Deadly sin 18. “Gar field” waitress

22. Borat punch line 23. Mexican father 24. Black Key ’s “10 ___ ___” (2 words) 25. “ What’s in a ____?”

26. Cover many subjects?

27. Bone meaning “elbow ” in Latin 28. “Phooey!”

29. Less loco 31. Actress Blakley of “Nashville” 33. Puzzle’s snake 34. Ex-”Ellen” actor Gross 36. Cans 37. Memo starter 39. Diminishes 40. 26-across has them 42. ___ for the course 43. The Roosevelt years and others 44. Over 45. Zora ____ Hurston 46. Rowed 47. Make yawn 51. “He’s Just ___ That Into You” 52. “___ Another Day ” 53. “Do ___ favor ” (2 words) 54. Lukewarm reviews

55. “As if ” 56. “Arrested Development” fundraiser cause

PHOTO of the week High Life at the Arb: There’s beauty to be found on this campus if you know where to look for it.

Gao Menglin

February 28, 2009

Commentary The Oberlin Review

Letters to the Editors Connection Correction Student Responds to To the Editors: Gaza Debate I wish to respond to the article in last week’s Review about the problems that some students have experienced with the campus network in Village Housing properties. Some clarification is needed.

We are committed to fully researching these problems, and we are doing what we can to improve the situation. Because the modems in these houses are not directly connected to the College network, and are shared by all occupants of the property, the network speeds are more easily impacted by the activity of one or more occupants in the house. Thus, it is harder to troubleshoot the exact cause of the slow speeds. Nevertheless, we want to know about your experiences and we want to address these problems.

CIT staff will hold an open meeting at 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Mudd 403 on Thursday, March 5 to talk with any student who would like to bring their specific complaints and/or questions to us. We want to hear from you. –John E. Bucher Chief Technology Officer and Director of the Center for Information Technology

To the Editors:

The Oberlin Planning Commission was right to reject the street name “Fitzcarraldo Way� as proposed by Sustainable Community Associates at their E. College Street project.

Fitzcarraldo is the name of a movie depicting one Carlos Fermin Fitzcarrald (1862-1897) a brutal rubber baron in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. As a crude fortune-hunter, his ruthless greed helped ruin native cultures and displaced local tribes from their territories.

Carlos Fermin Fitzcarrald, the oldest son of an Irish Navy man, gave these indigenous people a choice to work under cruel conditions or die. If they refused to work, he executed them! During the rubber boom (1839-1913), these Indians of the Amazon were enslaved by rubber tappers and an estimated 80% of the native population was killed.

Fitzcarraldo is not reflective of this town and our heritage in the anti-slavery and human rights movement over the past 175 years. The City has a responsibility to name this street which the citizens will pay for with future tax dollars, after a more fitting individual.

As has been suggested, Charles Martin Hall (18631914) seems more appropriate when it comes to local achievement. He grew up across the street on E. College and Pleasant Street and attended Oberlin College. Like so many other alumni over its long history, he gave back to the school and the community and contributed to towngown relations in many ways, such as Tappan Square, our Arboretum and much more. “Hall Place� or “Hall Court� gets my vote.

Gus Wezerek’s op-ed in last week’s Review titled, “Israli-Palestinian Conflict Highlights Need for Student Action� demands a response. This response is not born from pettiness, or some desire to nitpick the conviction of a fellow student who admirably took the time to start educating himself about this astoundingly complex issue. Rather, I feel that some of the misconceptions, perceptions and factual errors in his letter are representative of the predominant sentiment at Oberlin and at many other liberal arts colleges. In my conversations with other people about this topic, I have encountered well-intentioned sympathy for the Palestinian predicament, which I share. However, this sympathy is too often divorced from balanced information both about the history and about the up-to-the-minute developments in the conflict.

Before he attended the “Student Forum on Gaza,â€? the writer’s initial impression that popular sentiment at institutions like Oberlin is pro-Israel was painfully naĂŻve, as recent news about protests and possibly divestment at NYU and Hampshire College reflects. Even the title of the forum betrays the one-sided focus of the people involved in planning it; they were not there to talk about improving relations between Israel and Palestine, but instead to reaffirm each other in their finger wagging.

Sadly, this has been the way of many past panels on the subject at Oberlin.

Now to dispute some arguments raised in last week’s Op-Ed: 1) Gus wrote that “Israel, beleaguered by three weeks of unrelenting rocket fire, made the decision to launch a full out attack on Gaza.� This not the entire picture. Not only have 10,000 rockets fallen on the Israeli city of S’derot over the past eight years, but the range of the rockets fired from Gaza

by Hamas has recently grown to include more major Israeli cities such as Be’ersheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon.

2) He also mentioned a Nov. 4 raid on a border tunnel, which left seven Palestinians dead, saying, “it’s unclear whether the tunnel posed an immediate threat to Israeli security, but it didn’t matter.�

In the next sentence he explained that it “didn’t matter� because it didn’t shake the United States’ unflagging support of Israel. However, I would say that it matters a great deal and also raises the issue of border permeability.

3) The letter criticizes the amount of aid Israel sent across the border to Gaza — measured in truckloads, mind you — ignoring the fact that Israel continued to send essential aid to a territory that was actively attacking it.

You would be hard-pressed to find a similar precedent in military history.

–Tony Mealy

See Differing, Page 12

Street Name Rightfully Rejected To the Editors:

3,;;,9: ;6 ;/, ,+0;69 7630*@ The Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editor and column submissions. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at commentary@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in the following Saturday’s Review. Letters must include signatures and phone numbers of their authors for verification and may not exceed 600 words, except with the consent of the editorial board. Electronic submissions from non “oberlin.edu� addresses must include the author’s correct name and phone number. All electronically submitted letters from multiple writers should be carbon-copied to all signers to confirm authorship.

The Review reserves the right to edit letters for content, space, spelling, grammar and libel. The Review will not print advertisements on its Commentary pages. The Review defines the following as advertisements: 1) any announcement of products or services for sale, 2) any announcement of a meeting or gathering. All letters are printed at the discretion of the editorial board.

Opinions expressed in letters, columns, essays, cartoons or other Commentary pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review.

Page 7

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Don’t Tase Me, Bro: Cops, the Community and Kids Under normal circumstances, the Oberlin “bubble� thoroughly insulates students from the long arm of the law. Most Obies’ encounters with enforcement are limited to Safety and Security breaking up a party or disposing of a bong. This leaves the Oberlin Police Department to deal only with exceptional circumstances — and unfortunately, it has gained a less-thanpositive reputation around campus as a consequence.

This March, the OPD will start a program called the Citizens’ Police Academy in an effort to improve community relations. Certainly, this effort is much needed — few would deny that last fall’s contentious student arrests continue to cast a shadow over OPD-College relations.

Citizen police academies nationwide have recently cropped up, with varying degrees of success — Marian College student participants in Fond-du-Lac, Indiana, have written glowing reviews.

However, Oberlin’s own installment already reveals some troubling tendencies. Student Senate posted flyers on campus saying, “Have you ever wanted to prevent theft ‌ [or] use a taser?â€? If the OPD’s intent is simply to improve community relations, it is admirable. But Senate’s marketing spin on campus takes a rather careless approach. The posters trivialize a very serious concern regarding young people and weapons education.

The program’s website does not clarify whether attendants will actually learn how to use certain weapons. For such a sensitive issue as weapons training, transparency is key. This is particularly pertinent because the program has declared inclusion of two Oberlin high school students. Those nominated will be exempt from the minimum age requirement of eighteen.

In a community where town-gown relations are already strained, young people are particularly prone to alienation and frustration. Such feelings can lead to erratic or even violent behavior; a sense of community is essential to alleviate this condition. But a top-down effort from an institution that, to many, represents the heavy-handed “man,� runs the risk of perpetuating — rather than breaking down — divisions between authority and community.

It is the responsibility of the community as a whole — not just the OPD — to offer its youth a voice and a stake in order to channel their energy into productive conflict resolution rather than aggression. Moreover, the suggestion that the use of force and weapons can be a means to empowerment is deeply unsettling, particularly when couched in the language of “community-building.�

It remains to be seen how the OPD’s citizen academy will affect existing tensions in the community. If the program manages to At any rate, the OPD and Student Senate must be fully conscious of the potentially problematic implications of their program as they proceed. Oberlin, both town and gown, must keep in mind that the road to community is paved with inclusion and open dialogue, not tasers.

Editorials are the responsibility of the Review editorial board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Commentary Editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Arts The Oberlin Review

February 28, 2009

Freezin’ Arts Fest

Page 13

Allen Displays World-War-IInspired Art Nika Knight Arts Editor Walking into the main gallery of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, one is confronted by the usual overwhelming mix of Impressionist landscapes, large-scale sculptures and inexplicable abstract experiments. Dominating and enlivening the right-hand wall, however, is a single painting, “Self-Portrait as a Soldier” by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, painted in 1915.

Winter Wonderland: Oberlin residents are drawn in by gorgeous ice sculptures at the annual first Freezin’ Arts Fest in downtown Oberlin this past Saturday.

Ma’ayan Plaut

New Dance Faculty Offer Range of Experience Micheline Heal Staff Writer In this week’s issue of the Review, we examine the creative minds and backgrounds of Holly Handman-Lopez and Ashley Thorndike, two of the Theatre and Dance Department’s latest faculty additions.

Holly Handman-Lopez When she entered college, Holly Handman-Lopez did not anticipate majoring in dance, even though she had been studying the art form for a long time. It was during a modern dance master class taught by a guest artist at Connecticut College, however, that she realized that dance was her calling.

“I felt like every cell of my body just wanted to do this,” she said. “I felt comCourtesy of Holly Handman-Lopez pletely lit up, and I had one of those ‘aha!’ moments where I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is it.’ And how terrific and how sad for me — thinking about the life of a modern dancer.”

That is, a life that is often filled with fewer rehearsals than one desires, and significantly more waitressing than one could ever hope for.

Because Connecticut College brought in a guest artist every semester, attending the school had a strong influence on Handman-Lopez’s career — it allowed her to make essential contacts. It was through these contacts that she met celebrated dancer and choreographer David Dorfman, who was instrumental in her career.

Handman-Lopez and Dorfman developed a friendship while working together on productions at Connecticut College. During her senior year of college she contacted Dorfman about interning with his company. For a month she was a part-time intern with the Flynn Theater — where Dorfman’s company, David Dorfman Dance, was doing a residency — and part-time with the company itself. There, she created the first Athlete’s Project, a community program that the company later implemented in other locations. From then on, she danced regularly with the company.

When asked what drew Dorfman to her, Handman-

Lopez responded, “I think it was my story. I would not get chosen the first time around, and I would work really hard in their class and then the second time around be chosen and be the rehearsal director.”

Handman-Lopez attended Connecticut College at the same time as Nicholas Leichter, founder of Nicholasleichterdance, and with whom she also danced for a number of years. She ended up at Oberlin because the dance department was interested in bringing Leichter in for a residency but — due to unfortunate timing — he asked if the College would be interested in having one of his dancers go in his place.

Since then, Handman-Lopez has been an adjunct professor in the dance department, though this semester marks her first full-time appointment.

While teaching at Oberlin, Handman-Lopez completed a master’s in dance from the University of WisconsinMadison. Her students were instrumental in this pursuit: Many of the works created for her degree were set on Oberlin dancers. Handman-Lopez is currently revisiting her theatrical training through the creation of a dance-theater piece for the Oberlin Dance Company concert May 1 and 2 in Hall Auditorium.

“Holly has a unique and genuine ebullience,” said College sophomore Kat Lee, “She’s incredibly enthusiastic and funny. I am by no means a morning person, but it’s easy to get up at 8:30 a.m. to play with Holly and our class. It’s a dance playground.”

Ashley Thorndike Ashley Thorndike attended the University of Utah to study dance, after starting to dance at the relatively late age of 16. Upon graduating from college, she went to New York City to start her dance career but found that it was not the lifestyle she wanted.

She is currently completCourtesy of Theater and ing a doctorate in dance Dance Department studies from Ohio State University.

Her doctoral work exploring the kinesthetic intelligence coincides with the Oberlin dance department mission to have academic dancers who are able to articulate See Handman-Lopez, page 15

“Self-Portrait as a Soldier” Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Kirchner’s shocking reds and blues draw visitors to his haunting, vivid portrayal of the trauma inflicted by war.

Kirchner, cloaked in the bright blue uniform of the German soldier, displays a bloody stump — what remains of his painting hand — and his empty, cavernous eyes communicate the chilling hopelessness of his psychological state after serving his country as a soldier.

To continue onward from Kirchner’s piece is to discover the same sentiment captured through thick, heavy coal lines in Max Beckmann’s Self-Portrait. In it, Beckmann depicts himself as a crazed lunatic in a clown’s frilly collar, cynically alluding to the horrific absurdity of war.

The message of these pieces, along with the rest in the current exhibit “To Make Things Visible,” is aptly captured in a line by Paul Klee: “Art does not reproduce what is visible, but makes things visible.” Klee’s line hits on the central and most powerful aspect of the works on display. These artists paint their inner pain and make poignantly clear the ramifications of war.

The majority of the featured pieces are by German Expressionists, many of whom suffered as soldiers through the most brutal war Europe had ever seen. Germany had some of the greatest casualties in the war: With two million soldiers and 500,000 civilians dead, more than 15 percent of the male population was wiped from the map. The exhibit makes visible to a contemporary American audience the intensity of the devastation and the subsequent economic and political impoverishment of the post-war Weimar Republic.

Works by Käthe Kollwitz, in particular, powerfully communicate the overall emotional message of the show. The fraught and intricate struggle between the figures of death, a mother and child See WWI, page 14

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Scholarship Fund Will Honor Memory of Late Professor Sam Link Staff Writer As Black History Month draws to a close, students and faculty members intend to honor African heritage year-round by establishing the Yakubu Saaka Scholarship Fund.

The fund honors Professor Yakubu Saaka, a professor in Oberlin’s department of African American Studies for 36 years.

During a sabbatical, he served in the government of his native Ghana, first as a member of Parliament, then as the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister, eventually becoming Ghana’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Saaka’s wife Abrafi Saaka created the fund after the professor’s death last August.

According to Yolanda Walker, a College senior and economics major from South Africa, “It was started to aid African students who can’t otherwise afford an education.”

Because the scholarship is in its early stages, its developers do not yet know the number of students it will benefit, what kind of financial award its recipients will be given, or how a student can qualify for the scholarship. Its focus, though, will be on helping international students from countries in Africa pay Oberlin’s hefty tuition.

“Right now, the fund is a memorial fund,” Walker said, meaning it is solely donation-based and not yet sponsored by the College.

“Oberlin has a cap — it has to reach $50,000 before it’s endowed,” she explained.

The money must be raised

within a five-year period to prove the fund’s viability.

“We’re trying to find a way to bring awareness to it — and just raise funds,” Walker said.

The African Students Association Banquet last Saturday at Afrikan Heritage House raised $1500 for the fund. According to Walker, Saturday’s dinner and silent auction turned out well, but snowy weather made the number of attendees fall short of expected.

To help the fund grow, Walker plans to recruit Saaka’s former students to spread the word and to encourage fellow graduating students to donate their $300 matriculation deposits (returned to them upon graduation) to the fund. Seniors can choose between donating to the fund or SEED house this year, but Walker is optimistic that there won’t be friction between the two causes.

“Is there competition?” she said. “Sure. But the good kind. No one loses with those choices.”

Even if the final sum raised by the fund’s organizers does not reach the $50,000 benchmark, “they’ll still give it to a student or two — whatever they can,” said Walker, who plans to continue working to promote the fund in the coming years.

“I want to see this through until the end,” she said.

Walker strongly believes in the scholarship’s potential.

“Right now I can go back to my old neighborhood and tell kids, ‘There’s a school who has a fund for you, because they believe in you and want you to get an education.’”

News

Page 3

Oberlin Police Hope Training Camp Will Help Improve Cop-Kid Relations Continued from page 1 “In general, police only encounter students in enforcement situations,” Brouillet said. “[It would be] good for students to be able to communicate with police more closely.”

But College senior Ramona Barber does not see OPD-student relations as an issue: “[Police] seem to stay off campus [and] strike a good balance with Safety and Security.”

Others, however, recall past tensions.

College senior Daniil Karp said of the police, “When they act [on campus], they usually mess up.” Regarding the Academy, Karp believes, “It’s a good gesture.”

College junior Seth Wimberly is glad

to see the OPD making an “attempt” at dialogue “since there have been negative occurrences in the past.”

One such incident in fall 2007, when the arrest of three Oberlin students at a party, sparked controversy with student accusations that OPD officers had acted with racial bias. Shortly afterward, Student Senate proposed that a seat on the OPD Hiring Board be reserved for a College student in order to encourage student-police communication and cooperation.

Senate plans to use graduation from the Academy as one of the requirements for students seeking the Hiring Board seat.

If the program has a high turnout, the OPD will continue Academy classes at least annually in the future.

Trustees Order No New Hires Continued from page 2 with comp. lit. students,” said Scholl.

He added that the small size of the department may also contribute to his feeling of stability. “We don’t have a lot of resources in this department … so we don’t have a lot to lose, actually, which is, in this respect, kind of nice.”

The comparative literature department is seeking a visiting professor to fill Professor Jed Deppman’s position while he is on leave next year on a Fulbright Grant in China.

Scholl was surprised at the high number of applications already coming in for the position.

“I knew it would be competitive, but the volume of stuff that’s come in already is unbelievable. … I mean, our deadline isn’t until March 15 and I’m having the FedEx guy dropping things off,” said Scholl.

The Middle East and North Africa stud-

ies committee is also looking for a new faculty member. The committee applied to the College Faculty Council to begin looking for a tenure-track position known as the Nancy S. Dye Chair in MENA studies during the 2009-2010 school year. At this time the faculty council has not yet responded.

Currently Professor Zeinab Abul-Magd of the history department is the only faculty member in the MENA studies position.

“The College is committed to funding a full-time position for one year (non-continuing, visiting) next year, and we are now recruiting for that person. The next step — whether or not to authorize the Nancy S. Dye Chair and how to define it — remains up to the College Faculty Council to decide upon,” said Ben Schiff, professor of politics and chair of the MENA committee.

Dean of Arts and Sciences and Chair of the Council Sean Decatur could not be reached for comment.

News

Page 4

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Off the Cuff: Retired Professor Ken Roose Ken Roose was a professor of economics at Oberlin College from 1950-61. He also served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Pennsylvania State University and vice president of the American Counsel of Higher Education. Now 89 years old, Roose shared stories with the Review about the history he has lived through. Roose currently resides at Kendal at Oberlin with his wife Gretchen.

What was it like living through the Depression?

[My family] had moved from Kansas to California, where my father started a grocery store on Hollywood Boulevard. I passed out handbills with the store specials printed on them. But then the Depression came, and [my father] had to cut back. There would be break-ins to grocery stores, and what they would take was gum and cigarettes because those were the things that they could sell most easily.

In the depth of the Depression [my father] couldn’t afford to hire a watchman or anything so he got a cot and went over to the grocery store and — I don’t think he ever shot a gun in his life, but he had a pistol on the side of his bed. If anybody had broken in to the store I’m sure they would have shot him first! I got so lonesome for my father that I brought a cot over and stayed there with him sometimes.

The Great Depression had a lot of influence on me. When I went to graduate school I was very much concerned

with unemployment. I was so interested in the Depression I wrote my doctorate on it. I’ve written the main study on the 1937-38 depression that was published when I was here at Oberlin in 1954.

Do you notice anything similar between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression?

Just before George Bush left office he gave a talk on the [current] crisis.

If I could have covered my eyes and if [President Bush] had a more charismatic voice, I would have thought this was Franklin Roosevelt talking because he was saying the same things. Here we have one of the most right-wing people of all time and what he was saying was precisely the New Deal utterances.

It really impressed me. It’s so strange that all the things I studied — all that I taught my students while at Oberlin was almost passé for 50 years. All of a sudden, what we were talking about 60 years ago is what we’re talking about today.

As a professor at the University of California, you refused to sign an anticommunist pledge during the height of the McCarthy era. How did that affect your life?

I was being fired at the University of California because I wouldn’t sign the anti-communist oath. And Oberlin College gave me a job in August of 1950 [after I was fired]. There was this McCarthyism that swept the nation, and

Saturday, Feb. 21

Thursday, Feb. 19 12:26 a.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on Goldsmith Lane. The cause of the alarm was found to be smoke from burning incense. The alarm was reset with no further problems.

Friday, Feb. 20 8 a.m. An officer on patrol observed an egg thrown on the west exterior door of the Science Center. A work order was placed for clean-up.

10:05 a.m. Custodial staff reported vandalism in the lobby of Barrows Hall. Officers located a broken ceiling tile, legs taken off a chair and a broken bottom display window on the Pepsi machine.

10:30 a.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on Goldsmith Lane. The cause of the alarm was humidity from the shower. The alarm was reset with no further problems.

1:41 a.m. Officers were requested to assist with a student ill from alcohol consumption. An ambulance was requested, and the student was transported to Allen Memorial Hospital.

11:30 a.m. An officer on patrol in Langston Hall observed more holes punched in the north wall, first floor, center core. A work order was filed.

2:05 p.m. Officers responded to Harvey after receiving a report of a strong marijuana odor. The occupant of the room where the odor was strongest denied smoking marijuana, and nothing was observed in the room.

Sunday, Feb. 22 12:29 a.m. Officers were requested to assist with an intoxicated student lying on the floor in the lounge of Keep Cottage. An ambulance was requested and the student was transported to Allen Memorial Hospital for treatment.

12:01 a.m. Officers responded to the report of a loud unauthorized party on N. Pleasant Street. Approximately 80 persons were attending the party and most were consuming alcoholic beverages. The residents were helpful in shutting down the

these [anti-communist] committees. It was always so ridiculous because, by and large, the people who didn’t sign it were just strong-minded people who felt that this was inconsistent with academic freedom and with their role in a democratic society.

Oberlin College in 1952 — after I came [to Oberlin] — held a committee and they wrote a statement up about the conditions for membership employment on the Oberlin College faculty. And

there the important sentence was that “membership in the Communist Party in and of itself is not sufficient grounds for dismissal from the Oberlin College faculty,” and the trustees approved it. And that’s almost unique, not too many other places did that.

party. All alcohol was disposed of.

12:48 a.m. A student reported loud music at the south end of Noah Hall.

Officers responded and found the source of the loud music on the first floor. The occupant of the room was advised of the complaint and to keep the music down.

have fallen out of his coat pocket before leaving the room. A check of the area was made, but the items were not located.

Monday, Feb. 23 8:24 a.m. An officer responded to a vandalism complaint at Noah Hall. Yellow and red paint was found smeared on pipes and walls in the stairwell. A work order was filed for clean up/removal.

1:12 p.m. An officer responded to a vandalism complaint at Zechiel. Two ceiling tiles were found broken on the first floor of the west wing. A steel grid vent was found missing on the bottom of a restroom door and a large plastic ceiling light cover was found in pieces. A work order was filed.

1:45 p.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in a Union Street apartment. The cause was found to be burnt kale in a toaster oven.

The system was reset without complications.

3:11 p.m. A student reported his iPod and Bose earbuds missing from a room in Wilder Hall. The student believes they may

Interview and photo by Kaitlin Bushinski

Tuesday, Feb. 24 1:45 p.m. Staff at the Conservatory reported an unknown person(s) had broken into the audio-visual storage cabinets in the basement of Bibbins. Nothing appeared to be missing. The incident is under investigation.

7:16 p.m. Staff at the Conservatory requested assistance with a student who passed out. Officers responded and the student was transported to the Allen Memorial Hospital emergency room for treatment.

Wednesday, Feb. 25 12:01 a.m. Officers were requested to assist with a student having an allergic reaction to medication. The student was transported to Allen Memorial Hospital for treatment.

12:59 a.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at Philips Gym. A custodian operating a riding floor scrubber accidentally hit a pull station, activating the alarm. The alarm was reset once repairs were made.

Sports

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Page 19

IN THE LOCKER ROOM For this week’s In the Locker Room, Review writer Shana Osho interviews senior baseball co-captain P.J. Carter about his favorite animal, his expectations for the 2009 season, and why he started playing baseball.

Shana Osho: What do you expect from the 2009 season? What should we look out for?

P.J.: I’m very optimistic about the season. There’s a lot of talent on the team this year and all the guys have been working hard. We have high expectations.

There are a few young players on the team this year. What contribution do you expect them to make to the program?

I expect that our young players will play as huge a role as they did last year when we always had at least five firstyears on the pitch. The first-year and sophomore players give us a lot of depth even though we are a young team compared to most of the competition.

How do you see yourself fitting into your new role as one of the team captains?

As a co-captain, I hope to help the other players understand what our coach expects from us. I don’t have to be the mean leader to make an impact. In addition, I hope to take charge when things go wrong so I can help the team stay on its feet. Basically, I want to set a good example.

When did you start playing baseball

P.J. Carter

and why?

Baseball hasn’t always been my major sport. I liked soccer, football and basketball. As a kid they were so much more fun because they are so much faster. I started playing baseball when I was eight years old. One of my best friends was on a team so I hopped on in the middle of the season. It was easy for me to continue playing the game since I was always around him.

I got better as I continued playing so I stuck with it.

How do you balance your academics, being a Village Housing Assistant and playing baseball? You walk around looking so comfortable, too … how do you do it?

I haven’t gone without my breakdowns … especially in the past when I wasn’t able to manage everything. I think it’s most important to realize that we have only one chance. We need to make the most of our opportunities but they should not drive us insane. Sometimes we need to take a step back so we can enjoy our time.

Shorts or pants?

Having spent so much time in Ohio, I’ll have to go with pants. Imagine wearing shorts out in the snow … .

What is the relationship between Oberlin softball and Oberlin baseball?

We really have very limited interactions with the softball team; I’m not sure why. Even though we play similar sports, we seem to have very different agendas.

And One

I Love This Game: The women’s basketball team drives hard to the hoop.

Brian Hodgkin

If you could be any Oberlin athlete this year, other than yourself of course, who would you be?

I think [senior] RV Carroll has had the best season. He broke school records after returning from injury. The fact that he was able to achieve what he did, despite all he had been through, is impressive. He’s had a great year.

What’s your favorite color?

Blue. Calm, smooth, pretty.

What are your post-Oberlin plans?

I have a Teach for America interview soon, so hopefully that will work out. Eventually, I’m looking to go into either education or business. The military might be an option too, but I think that’s just a curiosity thing.

P.J. Carter Maybe the coaching and the dynamics of the teams are too different for us to form a strong link.

Who’s your favorite professional athlete?

LeBron James. I like him because he’s talented and because he represents his hometown. He is very well-spoken for his age and he represents his team well.

His ability to balance his superstar status and his responsibility as a role model is amazing.

What is your favorite animal?

I’d say fish, but they’re not warm and cuddly. Probably dogs because they’re personable and seem to understand what’s going on. It’s really interesting to see personality in an animal.

What will you miss most after Oberlin?

My friends. It’s really nice to have most of my close friends within a twoblock radius from my house. After graduation, we will all be separated ...

Final remarks?

I’m looking forward to a great year with the team. We have high expectations, and I hope everything goes the way we hope it will.

Courtesy of P.J. Carter

Sports

Page 18

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Runners Push to Greater Heights, Speeds Kate Melanson Staff Writer With conferences only a week away, the track and field team has been taking every opportunity to compete and prepare.

Of the two track and field meets that took place over the last weekend, both showcased standout performances by men’s and women’s teams. The hype leading up to the conference championships continues to build as improvements occur.

At the Greater Cleveland Indoor Championships, Oberlin pulled off several second place finishes and an impressive first. Sophomore Albert Davila and junior Clara Shaw both came in second place in the 800-meter run and first-year Christine Moore also placed second in the 1,000meter. But the real story of the night was senior Conor Doss’s win in the mile.

“I won the mile by 0.04 seconds, setting a new personal record in the process. The finish was — for lack of a better word — epic. The race leaders were several meters ahead and, in other circumstances, out of

Lacrosse Promises Success Tammela Platt Staff Writer The Oberlin women’s lacrosse team has been hard at work for many months, conditioning on the indoor track and practicing off-campus on a full-turf field.

This pre-season dedication has enabled the team to get a solid feel for the game before spring competition begins. The team has also had to drive to the offcampus PSA facility, allowing time for team bonding, according to Head Coach Deb Raneiri.

“It’s really helped everyone get to know each other a bit better,” said Coach Ranieri.

The team also had a scrimmage recently with five other teams; Ranieri says that it was the best pre-season showing that she’s seen in her seven years of coaching.

Returning standout sophomore Taylor Fey, who led the North Coast Atlantic Conference with 57 goals last season, believes the team is still in a transitional stage.

“Women’s lacrosse has been a rebuilding program for the past couple of years here at Oberlin. … We’re getting better, and all the teams we play this year will prove to be good competition,” said Fey. Senior and co-captain Dana Rich also noted that in the scrimmage, “We had a very promising showing … and we learned a lot about how to play together.”

With seven first-years and eight upperclassmen, this well-balanced team looks for success this year and beyond.

“We also have a strong freshman class, which will help ensure that all of the team’s hard work becomes evident on the scoreboard,” said Rich.

“This year’s freshman class is a lot bigger, and with their enthusiasm and talent they should have a big impact on the team,” Fey echoed.

Calling the team a “great group of women,” Ranieri hopes that family, friends and faculty will come out to support the team this season.

The Yeowomen open their season on Monday, March 16 at Trine University.

reach,” said Doss. “But [first-year] Stephen Yeowomen placed sixth and the Yeomen Williams started sprinting with me, push- placed fourth out of eight teams. But some ing me all the way to nip the leaders at the of the team members were not at the meet line. I really owe that performance to him at Baldwin-Wallace and instead competed and he deserves the credit.” at the Kent State University Tune-Up meet The close finish the next day. would seem to have Against teams ‘Winning that race was been the highlight outside its conof the race, however pretty incredible. I crossed ference, the team the “epic” finish conpulled together to the finish line and simply run its fastest. The tinued to get better.

After Doss crossed track at Kent lived roared.’ the finish line, he litup to its name as erally let out a roar “the fastest track *VUUVY +VZZ of passion. His teamin Ohio,” luring in Senior mates stood in awe at teams from Division the feat, which he had I, II and III. With just accomplished in such a short amount faster competition, track and field athletes of time. alike were able to push themselves to per“Winning that race was pretty incred- sonal records, and to face other competiible. I crossed the finish line and simply tion within their conference. roared. It was a little out of character, Senior Seth Wimberly put himself but also exhilarating to ride the rush,” in good position for the conferences by said Doss. posting a 200-meter time of 23.03 and Despite the high finishes, personal 400-meter time of 49.92. This makes him records and notable performances, the third in the conference in the 200-meter

— behind teammate sophomore Solomon Turner, who is second — and ranks him first in the 400-meter. These performances were great enough for Wimberly to be named NCAC Sprints Runner of the Week.

Other team members gave their best efforts and competed, but for the first time in weeks the 4x200 relay record wasn’t broken: the relay wasn’t run this weekend; many of the athletes were resting in preparation for the big meet. Although not everyone is aiming for nationals, the team is still hoping to produce big results in the upcoming week and for the outdoor season.

“I think that we are on track for ending our indoor season on a great note next weekend and for having an even better outdoor season on both the men’s and women’s ends,” said Wimberly. “I also think that people are going to be seeing some great things in the near future and the not so near future coming from OC track. Coach Hudson and our other coaches are great and because of them and some other great team leadership we are definitely going to turn some heads this year.”

Men’s Tennis Sets Season Goals High Alicia Smith Staff Writer The men’s tennis season is in full swing with three matches under its belt; the team boasted high aspirations and fresh new faces. The team is particularly young this year with six first-years (one redshirted), two sophomores, two juniors and one senior.

This year, the team strives for victory and fun. “We really want to get out there and win. But most importantly we want to win as a team. So, even if we lose, we are still having a great time as a team,” said junior Sergio Sanchez.

Junior and number-one singles player Ben Godlove had similar sentiments: “We are trying to improve as much as possible while having a good time.”

To accomplish their team goals, it is important that the individuals on the team do what they can to work towards their individual goals. “[This season my goal is] to improve, get good habits on the court and crush the opponent,” Sanchez said.

Among all of the matches the team will compete in this year, some seem to be backed with notably more anticipation and excitement.

“All of them are gonna be great, but I think we are really looking forward to Kenyon. Their number-one guy is ranked pretty high, so it will be fun to see our number one compete against him,” Sanchez commented. Godlove expressed

Doubles Time: The Yeomen tennis squad, with three matches already behind them, looks ahead to the rest of the season.

Brian Hodgkin

that he is looking forward to playing Hope College as well as Kenyon.

When asked who they thought would do “big things” this season, Godlove and Sanchez both had their speculations.

“I think all of our doubles teams have a lot of potential,” said Godlove.

Sanchez had more specific predictions about who will bring in the wins this year. “Both Sergio ‘The Latin Stallion’ Sanchez and Benjamin ‘Angles-BoJangles’ Godlove will do great things,” he said playfully.

Unfortunately for “Angles-Bo-Jangles,” his season has been halted due to a rotator-cuff injury. As he was the Yeomen’s only returning letter winner from the previous season, Godlove’s absence on the court could prove to be detrimental for the team down the road.

However, it appears that “The Latin Stallion” and the rest of the Yeomen still have an exciting and fun season ahead of them. The team travels to Berea, Ohio today to take on the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin-Wallace College.

Softball Squad Gears Up for Season Liv Combe Sports Editor Beginning today, the Oberlin women’s softball team will be back in action, playing in their first games of the season in a tournament hosted by Centre College.

“We’ve got a solid team all around this year,” said Head Coach Adrienne Davis, citing returning players such as seniors Michelle Zanni and Ruth Allanbrook and junior Julia Chauvin as offensive leaders and lauding the incoming first-years who will “add so much power to the battling order and a ton of athleticism on defense.”

In preparation for the season, the soft-

‘We’ve got a solid team all around this year. ... I can’t wait to see the team bring it in a game!’

(KYPLUUL +H]PZ

/LHK :VM[IHSS *VHJO ball squad has been going to Gameday Sports — the off-campus practice site for several Oberlin sports teams — twice a week to get in some hitting practice, using this preseason time to focus on their offensive skills. They also use the cages in the racquetball and squash

courts for drills.

The Yeowomen have set a few goals for themselves for the beginning of the season, such as getting behind every fly ball and winning each inning. They also strive to stay very aggressive throughout the games and have confidence in their playing.

“As the season progresses, the goals will progress too,” predicts Davis, positive that the team will be able to rack up quite a few wins. “I can’t wait to see the team bring it in a game!”

Today the Yeomwomen will have a doubleheader against Anderson and Centre College. Tomorrow they will be facing off against Transylvania and Dubuque.

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Arts

Page 17

This Week at the Apollo: Slumdog Millionaire

“Slumdog Millionaire was a surprisingly complex look at human relationships that went far beyond its seemingly kitschy plot and complicated the usual good-versus-evil paradigm. It is beautiful to look at and the whole thing is completely worth watching just for the last minute and a half. Plus there are poop jokes.”

–College senior Savannah Mirisola-Sullivan Photo courtesy of www.imdb.com

Wii Fit Promotes Exercise in Gamers and Non-Gamers Alike Continued from page 16 before, with less time on my hands, I went out and ran a mile instead.”

Wii Fit’s success has even prompted a public appearance here at Oberlin. In an effort to foster engaging educational outreach, the Center for Leadership in Health Promotion recently purchased its own copy of Wii Fit for students’ use.

“The Center for Leadership in Health Promotion’s investment in a Wii Fit is demonstrative of the value we place on dynamic, creative approaches to health education on the Oberlin College campus,” said College junior Kaitlyn Gam, a peer health advocate at the CLHP. “The Wii Fit’s versatility in its ability to be integrated into many of our programs is exciting and we hope the student body will seek Wii Fit programs — be it in

taking a break from everyday stress to play video games with friends to seeing the effects of the overuse of alcohol.”

“For OB Fit, we are bringing Wii Fit to the residence halls as a fun, alternative way to get people engaged with the program and get them moving,” added College senior Sarah Frank, another peer health advocate.

“The Wii Fit program has been really well received by students. It’s hard to walk by

people playing Wii without joining in.”

Though the official Wii Fit website doesn’t quite keep its word when it claims the game is “designed for everyone,” and it could use some improvements — like an expanded weight capacity and a warning about the game’s content — Wii Fit can still be an effective weight loss tool — especially for those who want to prove they can walk without tripping.

Arts

Page 16

The Oberlin Review, February 28, 2009

Healthy Exercise Finds an Unlikely Ally in Nintendo’s Wii Fit Angela Suico Staff Writer “Do you trip while walking?”

Somehow, the program developers at Nintendo knew that interactive fun wouldn’t be enough to keep an exercise video game interesting, so they decided verbal abuse would do the trick. The above jibe is one of many the game will spout at you if you don’t measure up to its standards of good balance and other athletic skills. Though the badmouthing has caused considerable controversy among parents, according to obesity experts and most recently The View host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the Wii Fit may be just insulting enough to work.

The game operates on the innovative Wii Balance Board, a peripheral on which players stand that can sense weight and pressure changes resulting from their movements. After creating a Mii (a character users customize to look like themselves) and entering their height, players must stand on the board to enter their weight; the game calculates their BMI, deems them “underweight,” “normal,” “overweight” or “obese” and then changes their Mii’s appearance accordingly.

Understandably, Wii Fit is not for everybody; it can easily affect the self-esteem of younger, more impressionable users, such as the 10-year-old girl who made headlines last year because her Wii Fit claimed she was “fat” (the media’s interpretation of being placed in the “overweight” catego-

ry). Other individuals who are particularly self-conscious about their weight may not need to hear the annoyingly chirpy female voice claim, “That’s obese!” when they first weigh in. And self-confidence issues aside, the Wii Fit has weight limitations; it can only accommodate players who are 330 pounds and under.

However, the game also has its advantages. While seeing a svelte avatar of yourself suddenly plump out into a caricature of your actual body shape may indeed be offensive, the distortion may trigger even the most sedentary gamers’ inherent competitive streaks and motivate them to begin more active lifestyles. And hearing the game constantly snark at you can set up a healthy self-competition — “How quickly,” one might ask, “can I get this thing to shut up?”

Moreover, Wii Fit’s four training modes — yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance games — include over 40 different activities, providing enough variety to prevent you from abandoning your exercise regimen in boredom.

Several game reviewers have attested to Wii Fit’s effectiveness in changing their attitudes toward physical activity. After experimenting with the game for a month, Wired.com blogger Chris Kohler writes, “Although I haven’t been playing Wii Fit every day, it’s successfully gotten me into the frame of mind where I try to exercise every day. For example, I did half an hour of Wii Fit Sunday morning, but the day

Weekly Words

See Wii, page 17

“There is no iron which can enter the human heart with such stupefying effect as a period placed at just the right moment.”

–Isaac Babel

The Real Deal: French, vibrato and transcendent poetry — who could ask for more?

Courtesy of www.nicholasphan.com

Nicholas Phan Performs Eclectic Multilingual Set at Warner Hall Jacob Gordon Staff Writer Not many great singers are known for being equally at home when singing in multiple languages. But that didn’t stop tenor Nicholas Phan from presenting music in English, French and German in his concert Wednesday night in Warner Concert Hall. His program, which included works by Handel, Fauré, Schumann, Britten and Purcell, had many impressive moments, although its wide range felt more self-conscious than fully coherent.

In the opening Handel items, Phan displayed pure, clear tone and agile runs. His use of vibrato to vary his vocal color in his second piece sometimes sounded a bit fussy in the piece “Where e’er you walk;” this wasn’t a problem in the four Fauré songs, however, which were sung with unforced feeling. Phan also sounded at ease singing in French, something many great singers never achieve.

But the tenor truly came into his own during Schumann’s Liederkreis, a cycle of Heinrich Heine poems set to music.

Typical of Schumann, this is a work of extremes: lyrical, flowery songs alternate with violent, neurotic ones. It presents

a formidable range of feeling, but Phan proved up to the task. His vibrato tricks, which sounded out of place in Handel, here lent the music an effective edge. He also did justice to the more restrained songs like “Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden.”

The whole cycle sounded beautiful and passionate — it was the highlight of the concert.

The second half began with another major shift: Britten’s Winter Words, a cycle of Thomas Hardy poems. Britten responds to these complex poems with striking words, but I never felt that his music truly transcended Hardy’s poetry.

When the piece was over, the poems stuck in my memory more vividly than the music. Still, Phan brought the same qualities to this piece as he did to the Schumann: warm tone and a strong sense of drama.

Unfortunately, the concluding Purcell items brought the evening to a rather flat finish. Purcell’s music needs to sound majestic in order to be effective; performed on a piano alone, the slow tempos just make it sound sluggish. “An Evening Hymn,” in particular, dragged on, although it did show off Phan’s impressive breath control.

February 28, 2009

Sports The Oberlin Review

Women’s Tennis Looks Ahead Tino Merino Staff Writer It is only the fourth week of the semester, but the women’s tennis team has been hard at work. It has already competed in seven matches and has come out swinging to a 5-2 record thus far. Even though the team started out strong, it still has plenty more competition to look forward to. The team’s season is jam-packed with a total of 10 regular season matches plus a trip to Hilton Head, S.C. where it will play Depauw University, West Virginia State University, University of Sioux Falls and Carleton College.

This season, the team has added some new blood to the roster. First-years Rebecca Brown, Nattie Chan, Finley Gates, Ariel Lewis, Emily Thebaut and Gabrielle White-Dzuro have helped to almost double the team’s size. Lewis, the number one singles player, entered Oberlin ranked 24th in the Midwest. She has high hopes for the rest of the season.

“I’m so excited. Our team has performed very well so far and we go on a trip to Hilton Head for spring break, which is going to be so much fun!” said Lewis.

Senior Sarah Teitelbaum plays in the number four posision in singles and has been a force on the team for the past four years. She has great expectations for her last season.

Although there is still snow on the ground (well, some days) and the snot inside your nostrils freezes as you walk outside in the morning, the Oberlin College men’s lacrosse team is hard at work.

Holding practice up to six times a week in the gym or at an off-campus facility, the team is preparing for its spring season.

The team is built around finesse, speed and skill. Lacrosse is the fastest game on two feet, with the ball oftentimes traveling the whole length of the field with just the flick of a couple long passes. All the indoor conditioning should pay off when it really counts later in the season.

First-year midfielder Theo Anthony described the team: “It’s an awesome group of guys that really enjoy playing the game.”

Quiet, Please: With a rigorous season ahead of them, the women’s tennis team focuses on the mental side of the game.

Ma’ayan Plaut “It’s sad when I think of this as my last season, but I couldn’t be happier about how close we are as a team and how much fun we have together,” said Teitelbaum.

She also expressed that she wishes to improve her mental game because she feels like it will give her an edge against her tougher opponents.

“We have been introduced to several techniques that can help with this, par-

ticularly visualizing — which I am hoping to tie into my playing — that I think could help me to win close matches.”

Head Coach Constantine Ananiadis explained his philosophy on coaching this year’s team: “Our only expectation is to work hard and improve,” he said. “We don’t really set goals in terms of wins and losses or placement in the conference, etc.

We let that take care of itself.”

‘We realize we are not a Division I program, but that won’t stop us from going out there and playing hard.’ ;OLV (U[OVU` -PYZ[ @LHY

Division III is the highest level of competition in which athletes cannot receive any kind of monetary compensation for participating in a team sport. Then why do they do it? Simple: for their pure love of the game.

“We realize we are not a Division I program, but that won’t stop us from going out there and playing hard,” said Anthony.

The captains this year are seniors Jesse Kane and Matt Hollenbeck and

sophomore Rob Bond. Anticipating that they probably won’t even get to have a full practice on the fields before their first game against Adrian on March 8, the team will need to be mentally prepared.

Anthony said he’s not nervous. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that he has been playing lacrosse since he was only 3 or 4 years old.

With only 16 players on the current roster, the team is quite small. According to Anthony, they may face opponents more than double that.

Having such a small team may be a challenge sometimes, but it could also be a blessing in disguise. The group is really tight, which could be one of the keys to this season’s success.

With the winter sports seasons winding down, spring will be upon us before we know it. The men’s lacrosse team is poised for an exciting season.

NFL Picks and Chooses at Combine Dimitri Macris Staff Writer From Feb. 18 to 24, the National Football League hosted the annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Once a year, a hodge-podge of draft-eligible players merge at one place and compete among themselves in drills that allow for a quantitative look at the prospects.

The drills include: 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, threecone drill, 20-yard shuttle, 60-yard shuttle and the Wonderlic Test.

Most coaches and scouts will agree that the combine rarely hurts players, because one bad 40-yard run cannot change all the tape from college players.

However, it is more often used to help players who might have fallen through

Caution: Opinionated Jordan Jancosek Sports Editor

Team Dynamic Important for Men’s Lacrosse Chris Canning Staff Writer

Page 20

the cracks.

For example, at last year’s combine, running back Chris Johnson (now of the Tennessee Titans) ran a 4.24 40yard dash, which is a beyond-ludicrous speed. This ultimately helped him get drafted 24th overall, and he ended up having the eighth-most rushing yards this season, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark and averaging almost five yards a carry.

However, at this year’s combine, the standout player was found in Wake Forest’s outside linebacker, Aaron Curry. With the fastest 40-yard time of all the linebackers, he cemented himself as the number one linebacker, and possibly the top player overall. As always, the 40-yard dash and the bench press were the glamour events at the

combine, and while this year, there were no incredible 40-yard times, it’s always amazing to see a 300-pound man running 40 yards in only five seconds. There were also some impressive feats of strength, with Texas Tech guard Louis Vasquez benching 250 pounds 39 times.

Even if a player had a poor performance — or even chose not to participate in a drill — players still have their college’s Pro Day to impress scouts.

This year, the top-rated quarterback, Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, chose not to throw passes and wait until his Pro Day, whereas the top-rated offensive lineman, Alabama’s Andre Smith, stayed in Atlanta working with his trainer.

In Stafford’s case, the decision not to throw was questioned by some, but

This is an editorial. An editorial means I can use my voice to express my thoughts, concerns and opinions. I can write about what I damn well please (staying within the lines of what’s appropriate, of course) While it usually delights me to rant about how bad my Chicago Cubs are or how the dear Fighting Irish completely blew their basketball season (that one is yet to come, don’t you worry), I do sometimes like to write about things other than sports.

For example, it’s perfectly acceptable to write about health issues, as both Liv and I have previously done.

I composed an editorial during finals week last semester concerning stress and how to keep yourself calm during that crazy week. Sure, it involved exercising — but that’s not directly a sport, is it? If I chose to write an editorial about why I think the sky is blue, I could and I would do it. But I won’t because that’s completely irrelevant to everything.

So why am I ranting and raving and really not making any sense?

Because this week, I am writing about opinions.

Opinions are great. Yes, they usually can be the cause of some conflict or argument, but how boring would the world be if everyone thought the same? Thinking differently really distinguishes people and their identities. It allows us to have a favorite color, it’s what creates great sports rivalries, and it allows high schools to have an active debate team. Having opinions makes things like the school housing forum effective, helps the school decide what to do with our money (virtually nothing … wait, did that really come out?) and makes having an everyday conversation that much more enjoyable.

Opinions are great. Without them, I wouldn’t have a column.

But for future reference, let us talk about what we want. Even though this falls in the sports section, it doesn’t mean all of our issues need to be about sports. We decided to get rid of the “Sports Talk” logo for a reason.

Take it or leave it, but that is MY opinion. in the grand scheme of things it makes sense for him. To have to try to complete throws to receivers that he has never thrown to, and possibly have a bad performance, is just not worth all the hassle. So he’ll wait and throw in the comfort of Georgia to the receivers he has been throwing to for at least a year and maybe longer.

Basically, the combine acts as something for all the draft gurus, ESPN analysts and sports writers to completely overanalyze for a few weeks until the unbearably long time between the end of the NFL season and the NFL draft sometime in April.

Hopefully, they’ll include egg relays to add to the festivities next year.