March 2, 2018 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review March 2, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 16

Symposium Looks to Cityscapes to Address World Issues Simon Idelson

President Carmen Ambar presenting to students regarding Oberlin’s financial deficit.

families are sacrificing to make it happen, so don’t think I don’t appreciate that,” Ambar said. “But what has happened to tuition here at Oberlin … is that over time, with our competitors, we really kind of bunched up, right? The tuition cost here is pretty similar to what we see at Vassar or Amherst or Kenyon or Macalester or Barnard.” College junior and Student Senate Chair Kameron Dunbar finds the threepercent tuition increase reasonable. “One thing President Ambar challenges us to [do] is to think from an institutional perspective, and as someone who’s been involved in student government for a long time, I think that I have a good idea of the big picture of Oberlin’s political and economic landscape, and from that … I do think it’s an appropriate increase,” Dunbar said, adding that it is important that the hike will not hurt low-income families. Other changes to address the deficit that Ambar offered at the presentation included asking the General Faculty Committee to consider five to 15 percent reductions in faculty and staff, looking into further Voluntary Separation Incentive Programs as well as the consolidation of buildings that are not being used to full capacity. In the meantime, Ambar has pushed for the College to undergo an external review to gain further insight about how to address its financial situation most effectively. In the long term, a larger analysisfocused group will be assembled to strategize permanent changes to ensure the longevity of the College. Approximately half of the group will consist of faculty,

The College’s third annual Global Issues Symposium, The Global City, has begun its series of talks, discussions, and screenings that will run until April 27. The symposium will address daily life, politics, environmental issues, human rights, art, sports, and culture in a variety of cities in the Global South. The series is funded by an Isenberg Family Charitable Foundation grant and Oberlin alums and is organized by the Oberlin College International Studies Concentration. The International Studies Chair and Associate Professor of History Zeinab Abul-Magd is the primary organizer of the symposium. She said that the global presence of the U.S. calls for Americans to learn about the societies the U.S. occupies and interacts with. “The United States is not just the United States; it is everywhere, and making money everywhere,” Abul-Magd said. “Therefore, it has a responsibility to learn about all these places and understand the peoples and the cultures that it employs as cheap labor and sells products to.” Professors of the International Studies concentration decided to use the grant money for this year’s symposium on global cities in particular, because the world’s population is increasingly moving towards cities, making them the political, economic, cultural, and social hubs of the present and future. “In 2007, the world became more than 50 percent urban for the first time, so the urban world is where the future is at for humanity: for confronting environmental problems, social problems, and identity politics,” said Karl Offen, an Environmental Studies professor. “Urban areas are going to shape the way the world works. I think some urban areas are going to become more powerful than nationstates; particularly the smaller nationstates will be surpassed by some of the big metropolitan areas that are emerging from within their countries.” Chris Gaffney, a speaker in the symposium and an urban geographer working in Argentina and Brazil, said that the symposium would create a broad -based analysis of global urban trends. In February, the series focused on African cities, and in the coming weeks will feature Latin American, Middle Eastern, and South Asian cities. “The opportunity to talk with scholars and practitioners provides critical insights into the complex dynamics in the global-local nexus that are frequently glossed over in media reports and even in armchair-academics’ presentations of

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Photo by Yonce Hitt

Ambar Details Finances, Solutions to Students

Devyn Malouf Staff Writer

Melissa Harris Editor-in-Chief President Carmen Ambar presented to students about Oberlin’s current budgetary state and answered subsequent questions Wednesday evening in King Building. Ambar mentioned how she intends to answer the financial deficit in studentspecific ways, including the eventual closing of Dascomb Hall’s cafeteria and older Village Housing Units. The presentation is the 10th in a series of 11 that Ambar has been giving to different groups on campus. The president said that financial decisions made over the past 11 years, including the construction of the Science Center and Kahn Hall, have contributed to the deficit Oberlin sees today. In 2007, Oberlin began using its endowment funds differently than it had previously. Rather than spending about five percent of endowment funds annually — as it had prior, and as is typical for our peer institutions — Oberlin started withdrawing additional money from the endowment in “extraordinary dollars,” to use Ambar’s language, which has accumulated to $80 million over the past decade. To address the deficit, which currently sits at $3 million but is projected to increase to $9 million next year and to $20 million in following years, Ambar suggested adjusting housing and dining facilities to fit the smaller classes that Oberlin has enrolled in recent years — in the past 10 years, the College has only hit its enrollment goal of 2,950 students twice. Since 66 percent of Oberlin’s revenue

comes from tuition, student enrollment is a significant factor in the resources Oberlin has to work with. Ambar said that in light of the results of last semester’s campus dining review, closing Dascomb’s dining hall will help the College adjust to its financial situation. “There was a dining study that was done — students were surveyed about their dining experience,” Ambar said. “Essentially, the lowest numbers were in Dascomb … first of all, and then it was rated as the least quality food. … We can’t contain all the dining halls, so how do we make this choice? We looked at numbers of people going to the facilities, the quality of the food. ... The other piece was what we might be able to do with that space, that we can bring some other things into central campus that we need.” Despite the results from the student survey, according to statistics previously reported (“Students, CDS Workers Protest Bon Appétit, The Oberlin Review, May 5, 2017), Dascomb serves a significant number of students, averaging at 500 for lunch and 350 for dinner, while Stevenson Dining Hall serves 600–800 for both lunch and dinner, and Lord-Saunders Dining Hall serves 150 for dinner. At the presentation, Ambar announced that the Board of Trustees had already decided to increase the 2018–2019 school year tuition by three percent, but she said that this rate and the cost of an Oberlin education will be in line with the College’s peer institutions. Ambar added that students and families who are in the $70,000-and-under income bracket will not be affected by the tuition hike. “This sounds like a terrible thing to say, because I know it’s really expensive to go here, and I know many of you and your

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

THIS WEEK

02 Workshop Series Facilitates Dialogue on Imposter Syndrome

05 Editorial: Journalism Program Would Revitalize Academics

08-09 We All Scream for Ice Cream 10 Emma Lee Toyoda Stages “Madgrrlrock” Show at Fairchild Chapel

03 Mercy Health Will Merge with 07 ObieHub Rams Expectations Bon Secours Health System by End Hard of Year

The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

12 “Keep It Gay” Evokes LGBTQ+ Pride with Queer Music

SPORTS 15 FBI Sting on NCAA Basketball Stalwarts Sparks Conversation 16 Yeomen Dominate Season Opener

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Workshop Series Facilitates Dialogue on Imposter Syndrome students,” Soble said. “I think that’s why we have trouble retaining STEM majors among students who are underrepresented in the sciences because of our culture at Oberlin where everybody feels like they have to be the best.” The workshop brought faculty, staff, and students together. For the facilitators, it was especially important that students could hear from faculty members who also experience imposter syndrome. “When a faculty member tells a story of their own struggle with imposter syndrome, it’s very powerful,” Burgdorf said. “It helps students to feel that they’re not alone.” Soble said that hearing from faculty was particularly impactful for her. “I think that the most imA workshop at the MRC about Impostor Syndrome. This widespread phenomenon describes those who portant part of these workstruggle to internalize their accomplishments and experience fear of being discovered as a “fraud.” shops is that even professors Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo Editor showed up,” she said. “And in Hannah Robinson individuals understand what workshop pushed her to think my head, professors are these Layout Editor they may be feeling and giving more about how imposter syn- amazing, smart people, like them the ability to combat it drome plays into her own life, they have a Ph.D. — how could The Center for Student in their own lives. The work- even though she had heard of they possibly doubt themselves? But we all experience Success; the Counseling Cen- shops are facilitated by Assis- the phenomenon before. “I‘ve definitely paused a lot self-doubt.” ter; and Center for Learn- tant Dean of Students and the Imposter syndrome is well ing, Education and Research Office of Disability Resources more when I’m getting down have joined together this past interim Director Monique on myself about grades or re- documented in college setmonth to bring a workshop Burgdorf; Assistant Dean of search or looking for jobs,” tings, especially at elite uniseries to students, faculty, Students and LEAD Program Soble said. “I’ve paused and versities. For students of color and staff about impostor syn- Coordinator Anna Brandt; Di- thought maybe this is just in and those underrepresented in drome. Those who experi- rector of CLEAR Nicollette my head, and maybe I’m not as their fields of study, the sometimes debilitating effects of ence imposter syndrome often Mitchell, OC ’13; and Pyschol- bad at this as I think I am.” As a student leader in the feeling insecurity and incomexperience feelings of self- ogist Kaitlyn McCarthy. “What are some concrete OWLS program, Soble said she petence can be amplified. A doubt, feel anxiety about being a “fraud,” and struggle to things that we can do to mini- sees the students she works 2017 study out of the Univerinternalize their accomplish- mize this feeling?,” Mithcell with struggle with feelings of sity of Texas at Austin found said. “We’re hoping to add self-doubt. that impostor syndrome was ments. “Some students have al- prevalent among minority stuThe four-part series, which some tools to people’s toolready assumed they’re going dents and can hurt the mental will host a final session March kits.” College senior Anah Soble to fail so much that they don’t health of those who already 8, is geared toward opening dialogue about this phenomenon attended the second session even go to OWLS because in internalize negative racial steto campus, as well as helping of the series and said that the their heads they’re not STEM reotypes against them.

The term “imposter syndrome” was coined by Oberlin Psychology Professor Pauline Rose Clance, who taught at Oberlin in the 1970s. Clance noticed that many of her female students who sought counseling experienced feelings of being a fraud. Together with Psychologist Suzanne Imes, the two researched the phenomenon, and in 1978 named it “the imposter phenomenon.” The study described it as “a strong belief that [those affected] are not intelligent; in fact they are convinced that they have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.” 40 years later from the syndrome’s establishment, Burgdorf said she often sees students grappling with feelings related to impostor syndrome. She added that some students feel that they aren’t smart enough to be at Oberlin, to the point where it can be “debilitating,” and that feelings of incompetence can be heightened for seniors worried about life after graduation. “[In college] you’re constantly opening yourself up for feedback or for critique in some way, that’s when imposter syndrome really comes out, and that pretty much how college operates,” Brandt said. Looking forward, the series facilitators are planning to continue the conversation and bring the discussion to a larger percentage of the college. This fall will be the 40th anniversary of the first description of the syndrome, and facilitators hope to bring new insights and tools for dealing with it to campus.

Students Attend Ambar’s Financial Presentation Seeking Transparency Continued from page 1

with the other half composed of a combination of staff, trustees, and students with the aim of creating a greater level of transparency moving forward. Amid the larger structural transformations, Ambar added that she hopes to decrease smaller expenses for students, such as removing coin-operated laundry machines. “One of the things that we’re going to do next year is we’re going to eliminate the coin-operating machines in the resident halls so you guys don’t have pay for laundry,” she said. “We’re trying to eliminate some of the costs of these smaller things.” After the presentation, students asked questions on topics ranging from the fate of

union worker jobs, where the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association sits in Oberlin’s future, and how the dining system will be rearranged to accommodate Dascomb’s eventual closure. Ambar said that although different employment positions and OSCA — which about a fifth of students are a part of — are on the table for restructuring discussions, she does not know what further review will suggest in the future. “We’re just going to have to think about it,” Ambar said in regards to students dining and housing in OSCA. “I’m not saying that we have to get rid of everything like that; I’m saying we just have to figure it out, because we have to think about the longterm sustainability of the institution.” Ambar added that counseling, student health, or some combination of student

The Oberlin R eview March 2, 2018 Volume 146, Number 16 (ISSN 297–256) Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as secondclass matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911. POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081. Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. Phone: (440) 775-8123

Editors-in-Chief

Melissa Harris Christian Bolles Managing Editor Daniel Markus News Editors Sydney Allen Roman Broszkowski Opinions Editors Jackie Brant El Wilson This Week Editor Lucy Martin Arts Editors Julia Peterson Ananya Gupta Sports Editors Alex McNicoll Alexis Dill Layout Editors Hannah Robinson Parker Shatkin Elena Hartley Photo Editors Bryan Rubin Hugh Newcomb Business Manager Monique Newton

wellness offices may replace Dascomb’s dining space, and that the other dining halls will adjust hours to accommodate meals like breakfast, which Dascomb and the Science Center cart currently provide on weekdays. Dunbar said that he thought the Q&A went well, and that students were honest with their questions. “I think the people asked about the things they found important,” Dunbar said. “I think people also asked things that maybe were in the heads of other folks — so, students asked how changes might affect unionized staff — and I thought that that was particularly important because Obies care about the well-being of other people.” College senior Robin Cornell said that despite the difficulty of transpar-

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ently explaining Oberlin’s budgetary situation to students, he appreciated Ambar’s presentation. “I thought [Ambar] did a really good job in conveying the information and conveying controversial and tough aspects of what she had to get through,” Cornell said. College sophomore Brian Smith said that in coming to Wednesday’s presentation, he wanted to hear the financial state and Ambar’s plan, adding that he was willing to trust the president. “There seems to be a lot of worry around budgeting and the campus and what’s happening, and with worry comes rumors, so I’m here to hear what’s fact and what’s fiction and what’s the plan for Oberlin,” Smith said. “But at this point I feel like I trust Ambar.”

To submit a corrrection, email managingeditor@ oberlinreview.org.

Harbaugh Presents on Military Humanitarianism Security Notebook Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018

1:28 a.m. A student reported the theft of their jacket while attending an event at the ’Sco. 5:50 p.m. A student reported that they received a suspicious piece of mail, slid under their door in Langston Hall. A Safety and Security officer contacted the U.S. Census Bureau and confirmed the letter was legitimate.

Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 4:21 a.m. A staff member reported that unknown person(s) broke the plywood door leading to the pool area in Philips gym. Officers found no additional damage or any suspicious individuals in the area.

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 7:10 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from outside the Apollo Theatre. It was locked at the time of theft, which was between 3:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018

Ken Harbaugh, disaster relief expert and candidate for Ohio’s 7th Congressional district, gave a presentation titled, “Military Humanitarians: Deploying Veterans as Emergency Responders and Civic Leaders.” Although Oberlin is not in Harbaugh’s district, he has been hosting a variety of events at the College to engage young people in voting, as he believes this is a key strategy through which he and Oberlin’s congressional candidate Janet Garrett can oust Republican incumbents in the area.

9:27 a.m. Staff reported that a windstorm toppled a large tree at BurrellKing House. The tree damaged part of a storage barn and knocked down telephone lines. Barricades were put up to restrict access to the area. 8:40 p.m. An ambulance and officers assisted a student having an allergic reaction at South Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Photo by Yonce Hitt

Mercy Health Will Merge with Bon Secours Health System by End of Year

Oberlin’s Mercy Allen Hospital, a Mercy Health affiliate, will be merging with the second largest hospital network in Ohio: Bon Secours. Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo Editor

Duncan Reid Mercy Health, the hospital network that operates the Mercy Allen Hospital in Oberlin, is merging with the Bon Secours Health System in a move that would create the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country. While details such as the leadership and name of the new network are still being negotiated, the merger will be finalized by The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

the end of the year. Maureen Richmond, Senior Director of Integrated Communications for Mercy Allen Hospital, said that the company does not expect the merger to impact local facilities. “The proposed merger creates future opportunities to deepen our commitment to our existing communities,” Richmond said. The CEO and President

of Mercy Health, John M. Starcher, Jr., said in a statement released last week that “[the new health group] will continue to serve as the lowcost, high-value provider” in the coverage areas it currently serves. Mercy Allen Hospital in Oberlin is unique because of its coverage area, which means it has been designated a Critical Access Hospital by the Centers for Medicare

and Medicaid Services, and therefore receives some fiscal benefits from the federal government due to its rural location. When asked if the merger could impact this designation, Richmond reiterated that they don’t expect the merger to impact the local hospital. The two companies released a joint statement. “[The merger] allows us to advance our shared min-

istry and reinvest in community benefit [and that] further alignment of the ministries offers an opportunity within the United States and outside of its borders to bring healing and hope to those most in need,” it stated. Hospital mergers have been increasingly common nationally, with 115 mergers in 2017 — the highest amount since tracking started in 2000. Craig Brammer, CEO of health education nonprofit The Healthcare Collaborative, noted, “Across the United States ... health systems are aggregating for business reasons for economies of scale and more clout in contract negotiations.” The proposed merger would increase Mercy’s scale, as Bon Secours provides health services in Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Florida, South Carolina, and New York. When added to the hospitals and other care sites that Mercy Health currently operates throughout Ohio and Kentucky, the new company will operate over 43 hospitals and bring in over $8 billion in net operating revenue. The companies will be working together over the coming months to finalize the merger agreement and gain governmental approval.

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Oberlin Symposium Celebrates Urban Centers

OFF THE CUFF

Heidi Brown, OC ’93, Investigator Heidi Brown, OC ’93, is a former journalist for Forbes Magazine in Russia. She covered the Russian business environment after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has written extensively on Russia’s oligarchs and governmental corruption. She now works for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as an investigator. Brown delivered a talk on Russian politics, titled “Beyond the Oligarchs” in King Building Monday.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

‘reality’,” Gaffney said. The symposium is open to students of all majors. “We are trying to bring people from across academic disciplines,” Abul-Magd said. “The speakers are not just political scientists; they’re urban geographers and more. The keynote speaker is a sociologist coming from University of Illinois. We have a cinema studies professor from Bombay talking about how the Bollywood industry is intertwined with urban spaces, and an Indian graphic novelist. It’s very diverse.” Abul-Magd added that the variety of events will allow students and faculty to compare the way different societies tackle challenges of poverty, climate change, and urban and economic change. The first talk in the symposium was on women’s rights in Lusaka, Zambia, by Sara Longwe, a prominent Zambian activist. The Latin American city talks will be hosted by journalist Juliana Barbassa and Gaffney on Thursday, March 8, and Friday, March 9, respectively. Barbassa will discuss Brazil’s urban landscape. “Brazil is under-represented on campus,” Offen said. “We lost our Portuguese program a couple years ago, and as far as I know, Brazil is not a common theme or topic at all. Brazil was a gap that could be filled in this symposium.” Gaffney’s talk, “Rendering the Games: The Essence of the MegaEvent Accumulation Regime,” will take on a large-scale analysis of sports culture and its effects on urban economies and politics. “From my talk, you can expect a macro-analysis of the political economy of sports mega-events and the ways in which they transform cities in particular instances,” Gaffney said. “Now that we have just finished another destructive Olympic Games, it is good to reflect on the global spectacle in the abstract and concrete.” After Latin America, the symposium will discuss the Middle Eastern and the South Asian cities. The talks include the role of the Egyptian press in Cairo and others titled “Rebel Cities: A View from the Middle East” and “Climate Smart Cities in Bangladesh.” All events, including film screenings at the Apollo Theatre, are free and open to the public. Specific information about events can be found on the symposium poster around campus and online.

Interview by Gabby Greene Staff Writer What drew you to Russia’s business scene? I did not have any interest in business or being a business journalist when I was at Oberlin or when I decided to commit to journalism as a profession. After I graduated, I went to New York, and I tried to get an internship at The Nation, but they told me that they didn’t like that I showed up in a business suit for my interview. I also tried to get a job with the International Rescue Committee during the war in the former Yugoslavia. They were very nice, but told me that they couldn’t hire anyone who didn’t have any logistics experience. Because I spoke Russian, someone I knew at Texas Monthly Magazine said, “Why don’t you use your language skills and go abroad?” I had never thought that I would go back to Russia, because I thought St. Petersburg was a very difficult place to be when I lived there. But it was my one opportunity to break into the business, and I took the chance and went to Vladivostok. It opened up a whole new world.

When did you become a staff writer for Forbes Magazine? When I got to Vladivostok, the nice thing was I was writing about all different things Russian. I wrote about the environment, power structures, corruption, etc. Again, I didn’t have a sense that I would become a business journalist, but when I got back to the states, Forbes had an interest in hiring someone with my language experience. And I thought that working for a well-known publication would be good for my career, so I learned about business on the job. How would you describe the change that has been taking place since you started covering Russian business and oligarchy? I would say that, unfortunately, the most

surprising thing is how little things have changed. When I was finishing up my time at Forbes, it was becoming really clear that every business story kind of took on the same shape. It was about looking at some wealthy person and how they got their money, which always followed the same pattern — through a connection to the government or some sort of protection — while maintaining a good relationship with Putin to safeguard their wealth. And that really remains constant. The only difference is that now the people who are really powerful have already established their relationships with Putin and have learned how to keep that relationship peaceful by not posing any sort of threat to him. Given this year in American politics and speculation around election interference, what could you say is important for Americans to think about Russia? I spoke Monday afternoon about the fact that just having a basic understanding of what we’re seeing today — incursions into the Democratic Party’s email system and these manipulative bots on the internet — is really just a very new way of using a very old Soviet method for misinformation and propaganda to stir up chaos in a political enemy. As long as we can be aware of what’s happening, we can maintain a critical distance from the things that we read. That’s the best way to defend against threats to any part of our democracy, whether it be from Russia or elsewhere. Do you think that social media has influenced the politics of Russia? Absolutely. I think social media is absolutely critical and instrumental in helping to build an opposition domestically. When I wrote the story in ’09 predicting that there would be censorship on the internet, it was because that was the beginning of people using Russian blogs to post

very controversial thoughts, mostly to their friends, but then they became public. It was a blog called LiveJournal, and it quickly became an area for like people to share critical ideas about the regime, and ever since 2009 through 2012, Russians have used social media to connect with each other across a very large expanse and to try to maintain some sort of freedom of thought because the media itself is now almost all either government-owned or government-connected. Is there anything that surprised you learning about Russia and covering it for so long? I guess what I would say is it’s like any other place that we don’t understand initially. But when you start to learn more about the people who live in it you became more familiar with the hopes and ideas for making the country better. You know, when you’re looking from the outside, Russia seems so gray and stagnant, but there are so many people who have interesting lives in the arts, people who do experimental theater, and others who continue to be active in political groups and activism. I think that was probably the most surprising thing: the diversity of people I found once I got to know the place better. Why is it important that this subject is addressed and talked about at a place like Oberlin? Going back to my theme, I think it’s important to understand that what we’re seeing today really has deep roots. Russia right now is trying to understand where it came from. It’s still looking at the Stalin era. History is informing how it behaves, domestically and on the global stage. So I think for people like Oberlin students — who see just what’s happening today, and they read about bots and they read about these fake news stories — it may all seem so scary, or it may seem so overwhelming. But I think if you have historical context and

Oberlin Community News Bulletin

Oberlin Public Library to Host Dr. Seuss Day

Final Nexus Vote Will Occur March 5

The Oberlin Public Library, partnering with America Reads, will be holding its annual Dr. Seuss Day this Sunday, March 4, from 1–3:30 p.m. The event will feature games, crafts, prizes, and face painting, as well as a reading from classic Dr. Seuss books. Oberlin College President Carmen Ambar will be present to ring in the festivities. Every child in attendance will also receive a free book.

Oberlin City Council will vote for the third time on whether to settle with Enbridge, the company constructing the NEXUS pipeline, which will run from southern Ohio to Ontario, Canada, and pass through Oberlin. The vote will occur at 7 p.m. at City Hall March 5. This will be the last of three votes on whether to settle for $100,000. The last vote passed in a 4–3 majority.

understand where it’s coming from, and understand that, what the agenda is, is really more about how Russia sees itself. What Putin is trying to send as a message to his own people is that they are still powerful, and still part of an empire. I think that can help Oberlin students too. I mean, think about the parallels with our own administration, right? Would you like to go into more detail about that? I guess I could say that having been a student of Soviet history and also post-Soviet history and business, observing the way President Donald Trump has sort of conducted himself and the way that he combines his business interests with the power that he wields today has an echo for me. It’s not even something that I think about, it just automatically resonates with what I know about how Russia unfolded after the Soviet collapse. The parallels are so strong. To see the way Trump functions, the way he keeps his family in power, and relies so closely on the people he trusts to have positions of influence, it’s so close to me to the way people in power in Russia function. You mentioned before that you predicted some changes in Russia that ended up happening. Do you have any concept of where Russia is going at this point? I believe there is going to be more stagnation. I think it’s going to stay in this sort of situation where I think Putin’s going to stay in power for a while, and I think that the people who have the money, the capital, the influence, if they continue not to alienate him, will remain powerful and wealthy. I think the next — and I’m not the only person to say this — I think the next big source of instability is going to be any problems with Putin’s health. There’s a lot of reflection going on within Russia about what comes after Putin. It’s a big question mark. He hasn’t prepared a successor that we know of.

Republic Services Applies for Landfill Addition Republic Services, Lorain County’s largest landfill system that receives a total of 4,000 tons of waste each day, has applied for an additional 9.5 million cubic tons of space. This would increase the landfill’s total capacity to 61 million cubic feet of trash. If approved, this would increase the landfill’s lifespan by 18.6 years. The landfill is currently located at 43502 Oberlin-Elyria Road in New Russia Township.

OPINIONS March 2, 2018

Letter to the Editors

Founding Fathers Would Approve of AR-15 Sales To the Editors: This letter is a response to the op-ed by Booker C. Peek regarding AR-15s and Constitutional law (“Constitution Does Not Automatically Permit AR15s,” The Oberlin Review, Feb. 23, 2018). Toward the beginning of their case, Peek briefly reflects on the tragic mass shooting in Florida. As someone who was born and raised in Florida, I certainly share my condolences with the families of the victims, and I understand why many people are pushing for gun legislation and Constitutional amendments on assault weapons. As a person who shares Peek’s sympathy for the victims of mass shootings, I think it is important to also use those feelings to properly assess solutions while preserving Constitutional law. Keeping this in mind, I disagree with Peek’s argument favoring a Constitutional ban on AR-15s. The Supreme Court interprets original Constitutional amendments in the historical context of the Founders. Therefore, it is essential to examine the makeup of the AR-15 to understand why the Founders would have approved of such firearms while drafting the Second Amendment. Firstly, AR-15s are semi-automatic weapons, a type of firearm that can fire one bullet per trigger and uses cartridges to prepare for continued fire. Not only does this make the AR-15 no different than many other legal rifles such as the M1 Garand, but also indicates that there is nothing unique about the AR-15 that would prevent

the Supreme Court from believing that similar guns wouldn’t have been around in America during the Revolutionary period. As a matter of fact, there were guns even more dangerous around in the times of the Founding Fathers such as the Belton Flintlock, which could fire nearly twenty bullets in five seconds — which is about as many bullets as a very skilled AR-15 wielder. Peek’s case rests on the assumption that guns like the AR-15 didn’t exist in the time of the Constitution, but historical data clearly shows that this isn’t true. In his article, Peek also mentions the need for mental health programs and background checks. While there is a case to be made for those programs, the better solution would be to increase armed policing in public schools to protect students and teachers who aren’t able to legally obtain or conceal weapons to protect themselves. Since mass shooters generally lack firearm training, armed police officers could easily respond due to greater numbers and superior training. Peek’s op-ed ends with a message of hope. I would like to end this response on a hopeful note as well. The fact that the United States has significantly lower homicide rates than other countries with stricter gun laws should be enough for anyone to remember that safety is in the hands of those who are the most responsible. In the end, it is not up to the law but up to our moral identity as human beings who care for each other to foster a peaceful future. – Jacob Britton OC ’19

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and op-ed submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview. org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in that week’s issue. Letters may not exceed 600 words and op-eds may not exceed 800 words, except with consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names and any relevant titles, for all signers. All writers must individually confirm authorship on electronic submissions. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length, grammar, accuracy, strength of argument and in consultation with Review style. Editors will work with contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. Headlines are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in editorials, letters, op-eds, columns, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to a contributor. The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 16

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief

Melissa Harris

Christian Bolles

Managing Editor Daniel Markus

Opinions Editors

El Wilson

Jackie Brant

Journalism Program Would Revitalize Academics

President Carmen Ambar is future-oriented. She thinks, as she says, in a “doubly futurist” way, in that Oberlin needs to reconfigure its coursework and infrastructure to not only serve children being born today who will be applying for college 18 years down the road, but also to equip them with tools that will allow them to thrive for the decades to come after they graduate from Oberlin. High school students today are questioning the value of a liberal arts education, and we’ve seen the consequences of that doubt in this year’s drop in admissions and retention. In short, we need to redefine the liberal arts education to keep it viable for students’ futures today and in the generations to come. Although Oberlin certainly provides students with unique world perspectives, it also needs to give students the ability to convey them to the world. How can one person change the world if they don’t have the tools to keep up with the way the world has already changed? In a pre-internet era, having a liberal arts degree from Oberlin certainly gave journalist alumni the multidisciplinary knowledge to navigate the equally diverse topics that reporters cover. However, several alumni from the Review — many of whom began their careers in journalism before and into the digital news age and have seen changes to what makes journalists employable — have stayed in touch, assuring us that knowing how to write a standard story isn’t enough anymore. Journalists of all kinds need to know how to analyze statistics, code interactive news stories, produce audio and visual media, and how to double in different positions. They need to be swiss army knives of sorts, able to adapt to the rapidly changing technological and increasingly multimedia way news is produced and consumed. If Oberlin students don’t graduate equipped with the tools they need to succeed in journalism — especially given the increasing price tag of an Oberlin education — of course prospective students interested in journalism would look elsewhere for college. While Oberlin does have some outlets to help students learn about and practice journalism — whether through the Rhetoric and Composition department’s occasional journalism courses or by taking a shot at working for a campus publication — students are largely left to fend for themselves if they want to be journalists. Editors at the Review have personally experienced and seen their writers experience simultaneous interest and trepidation in wanting to enter journalism, and many let fear or doubt in their own ability get the better of them. Furthermore, working as a non-staff member of the Review or for other campus publications is financially inaccessible, since reporting and writing articles takes considerable time with no monetary compensation. The current resources for journalistic growth at Oberlin are therefore limited, and creating a journalism pathway — whether within the Rhetoric and Composition program or separate from it — would be a great stepping stone for students to understand and participate as reporters while also gaining academic credit. A journalism concentration would include basic reporting classes, much like how the Rhetoric and Composition department offers Journalism Basics and Literary Journalism. It could also allow students to credit existing courses in existing departments towards their concentration if those courses supplement the foundational skills of writing and editing. For example, students could learn fundamentals of audio with courses in TIMARA, coding in Computer Science, and photography in Studio Art. Combining existing courses and some new ones into a formal program would also deepen existing interdisciplinary ties between departments. Although the College has already developed course clusters in an attempt to do so, a journalism program could be a way of sustaining those bonds in the long term. What better way to demonstrate the value of an intersectional liberal arts education than by structuring more explicitly overlapping and collaborative course work between programs and departments? Even if students don’t end up going into journalism, skills along these lines are valuable and marketable for other careers. With local news organizations struggling as national media outlets dominate in the digital age, a journalism program at Oberlin could also work to help students and local news organizations in northeast Ohio by forming innovative, mutually beneficial partnerships. Through these, students could get experience in broadcasting, writing and editing, and producing that they cannot necessarily find in a classroom while acquainting them with the importance of local news organizations. This would demonstrate to future students that their time at Oberlin won’t just be defined by grades and interactions with professors, but by participation in meaningful work experience as well. Meanwhile, news organizations in our area who partner with the College could benefit from the work of driven student-journalists. The Chronicle-Telegram has hosted students as newsroom interns in the past, including some editors at the Review. Working to expand and develop these opportunities in journalism, and even in other fields, would set Oberlin apart from its peer institutions in demonstrating that we can put our students in meaningful positions and further develop their work portfolios, leading to tangible jobs after graduation. Further, Oberlin must be better at communicating the pathways that do exist for student journalists to prospective students, irrespective of creating new programs or initiatives. When parents and prospective students touring Oberlin inquire about the lack of a journalism major, we must have an answer ready, because we believe that if students work hard and craft their Oberlin education with intention, they can learn multidisciplinary journalism here. The problem, as we see it, is in part a failure to effectively relay those possibilities to prospective families, one that could be helped by connecting prospective students with current students pursuing journalism, making it easier to craft individual majors, and creating better mentorship within the Career Center. Oberlin has produced some stellar journalists. Our alumni have landed positions at The Wall Street Journal, NPR, L.A. Times, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and many other reliable, strong news institutions. These Obies have thrived and pioneered journalistic potentials and standards, creating successful shows like Radiolab and serving as chief White House correspondents. But many of these journalists broke through before students began reconsidering the value of a liberal arts education. If we want to be doubly futuristic — to send prepared, even innovative, journalists out into the world not just today, but 18, 50, or 100 years from now — we need to provide and structure our approach to higher education to cater to the changing nature of postgraduate life and careers. College is supposed to be a transformative moment in young adults’ lives. Let’s prove to the world that we can do that for our students. But let’s also prove that we can be the transformative force in revitalizing, maybe even revolutionizing, higher and liberal arts education. Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Opinions Editors — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Opi n ions

Lack of Gun Control Puts U.S. Education System at Risk Nathan Carpenter Columnist

In the more than five years since the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, it has become clear that gun control in the United States will not be achieved through the avenues that we have already explored. Congress has proven that it has no interest in challenging the National Rifle Association, even at the expense of students’ lives. Students are now taking matters into their own hands — and not just the survivors of the horrific Parkland shooting, but countless others around the country as well. Mass school walkouts in support of gun control are being organized in one of the most compelling and powerful instances of studentled action in my lifetime. Now, schools must choose how to respond to these walkouts. For many, I hope it will be an easy decision — schools are, at their roots, valuable places for young people to become conscious and engaged citizens. I truly believe that many teachers and administrators understand this and will support students in making their voices heard. Others, however,

have already stated publicly that students participating in these walkouts will face disciplinary consequences, including suspension — a punishment with potentially serious ramifications, particularly for students planning on applying for college. Fortunately, many colleges and universities have already stated their support of these walkouts and made clear that applicants to their institutions will not be penalized for such suspensions. Oberlin is among those, as the Admissions Office made a statement last week affirming its support of social justice and “respectful engagement.” (I think there is a conversation to be had about the use of the word “respectful” in this context, but that is for a different time.) Oberlin joins more than 10 other Ohio colleges and universities in making such a statement. While their position is important in terms of providing security for applicants from the high school class of 2018, it has broader implications for the future as well. My sense is that the United States is currently engaged in a cultural war over how to address this epidemic of school shootings, and the very nature

of our school system hangs in the balance. On one side of this struggle, we have students like Emma González, who are articulating a coherent and logical need to tackle the problem of guns in schools without adding more guns to the equation. Their advocacy feels like a last-ditch effort to force Congress to address the deadly combination of cultural violence and easy access to killing machines that makes U.S. schools disproportionately dangerous among those in developed countries. On the other side, we have establishment politicians — many bought and paid for by the NRA — who argue in favor of arming teachers in lieu of responsible gun control legislation. This proposal is so staggeringly misguided and irresponsible that it is difficult to even know where to begin, as it leans heavily on the classically erroneous argument that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The spirit behind arming teachers reflects a learned fatalism in American culture when it comes to mass school shootings. Our response to this growing sense of inevitability will play a major role in steering the trajectory and priori-

ties of American education for decades to come. If we don’t get this moment right, we risk fundamentally shifting the discourse on gun control and school safety in favor of normalizing a heavily militarized education system — a system that would only contribute to a culture of violence at schools. Schools should not have to require that students walk through airport-style security and have their bags searched. They should not involve armed police officers standing outside classrooms and across from lockers. Making tools of violence and state militarization more present in schools does nothing to protect our students, and indeed may only place them at greater risk. I fear that tightening security measures in this way will — particularly in the current political climate — place undocumented students at greater risk for exposure and deportation and increase the criminalization of young people for innocuous crimes like marijuana possession. Deporting and incarcerating students are forms of violence themselves. Are we really content with a solution to mass shootings that allows guns to continue to run rampant and permits the disturb-

ing presence of violence — including violence carried out by the state — to persist in our schools? The incredible student organization of the past two weeks is inspiring, but it also feels like one of our last chances to avoid a dystopian educational system so flooded with militarized security measures that the ability of students to be present and engaged — to get the most out of their education — is compromised. I am worried about where we go from here. The idea of heavily armed and armored police patrolling school hallways makes me sick — but so too does the knowledge that children are being shot dead in those hallways for the crime of going to school. It’s clear that something has to change. I’m proud of students across this country who are demanding that change because they’ve realized that Congress will not protect them simply because it is right, and I’m proud of Oberlin for supporting them. I think we still have time to preserve a conception of school and education that excludes violence and militarization, but that window is closing fast. I hope we get there in time.

300-Meal Plan Scams First-Years Out of Tuition, Meals Ilana Foggle Contributing Writer

On April 21, 2017, I came to “All Roads Lead to Oberlin” after putting down my deposit for Oberlin a week earlier. I wanted to meet fellow incoming Obies, learn more about my home for the next four years, and convince my dad that, contrary to popular belief, going to Oberlin would not make me turn into an elitist hipster. After an early morning flight, my dad and I trudged onto campus. I was wideeyed, excited, and eager to commence the next chapter of my life. We started the day with a speech from Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren. He talked about his hopes and dreams for our incoming class and what made Oberlin so unique. In the middle of his speech, at least a dozen Oberlin students barged through the doors with posters. They grabbed the microphone from the dean. At first, I thought that the students were a part of the presentation, meant to show how passionate Oberlin students are, but it soon became clear that the admissions staff and the dean had no idea about the protest. Students explained that the College had just made changes to financial aid that required incoming

first-year students to be on a $4,000, 300-meal per semester plan for four semesters. They also explained that if students joined Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, $1,000 would be removed from their financial aid packages. The students urged us to raise our voices as prospective students to advocate for ourselves. After the protest, Elgren said, “Welcome to Oberlin.” His nonchalant comment minimized the importance of the protest. I did not realize how relevant the situation was. I did not raise my voice. Four months later, I stepped onto Oberlin’s campus, officially an Oberlin student. My parents and I headed to a barbeque in Stevenson Dining Hall that night to celebrate move-in day and the start of orientation. The food was delicious. I assumed that every meal was going to be this great and I thought to myself, “Thank goodness I have those 300-meal swipes! I’ll never go hungry!” As classes started, it became clear that there was no way I would be able to use every meal swipe. With my class, activities, and work schedule, I was lucky if I used two meal swipes a day. At the end of the semester, I had only used about half of my 300 meal swipes. The required meal

plan is roughly $4,000. This means that I lost $2,000 on food I did not eat or buy. I am not alone. First-year College student Barnaby Woods estimates that he lost about $1,300 from unused meal swipes. Similarly, first-year College student Alex Scott calculated that, based on his used meal swipes, he was paying upwards of $20 for each meal. To make matters worse, students who spent Winter Term on campus learned that their unused meal swipes from first semester did not carry over into Winter Term. We are also required to have this restrictive meal plan for four full semesters. This plan puts a burden on all first-year students and an unfair financial strain on low-income students. It is time for change. This plan is unacceptable and current students have an obligation to create change for future Oberlin students. I do not propose that we protest at “All Roads Lead to Oberlin.” However, I do suggest that we raise our voices and make ourselves heard. If Oberlin continues to require the 300-meal plan, there must be changes. First, unused meal swipes from the fall semester must carry over into Winter Term. Second, students should be allowed to use multiple meal swipes during any

time slot. Students deserve to get their money’s worth of food. First-year College student Kyra Amundson created an online petition to demand the attention of Campus Dining Services and the Oberlin administration. Parents and students have signed the petition, citing their personal experiences with wasted resources under the required meal plan. In order to create change, students of all years must come together to support first-year, prospective, and lowincome students. We all understand that Oberlin has to undergo many changes in the upcoming years to ensure that the College becomes financially sustainable. Scamming first-year students into buying more meals than they can use and leaving low-income students hungry during Winter Term is not an acceptable way to address our financial troubles. Our college values inclusivity and diversity. We have a long way to go to make this school truly accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, but fixing the unjust meal plan is a place to start. The link to the petition can be found at the online version of this article at oberlinreview.org.

Students Must Protect Entirety of Oberlin, Not Just Specific Parts Kameron Dunbar Columnist

This article is part of the Review’s Student Senate column. In an effort to increase communication and transparency, Student Senators will provide personal perspectives on recent events on campus and in the community.

President Carmen Ambar delivered her 10th comprehensive presentation on Oberlin’s financial futures on Wednesday, particularly the challenges and opportunities therein. King 306 was packed with students, with audible laughs and sighs throughout the event’s duration. Personally, I was extremely ex-

cited to see such an awesome turnout. Years of frustration, coupled with an inclination to interrogate institutions, have left the student body suspicious of practically anything that involves administrative decisionmaking surrounding Oberlin’s finances. This type of skepticism is fair. Oberlin’s

most recent Strategic Plan process tokenized students by giving the illusion of input without much serious consideration for actual student feedback. Even when student voices are solicited, students still rightfully question the true weight of their contributions. I’ve been involved in student government at

Oberlin for nearly my entire student career, and it is clear to me that this is a pivotal moment in Oberlin’s lifespan. Decisions made today are, in many ways, existential, and Oberlin’s future is dependent upon them. I mention this not to provoke fear, but more so a sense of urgency and dedication to thoughtfulness

and rationality in a critical time. In the coming months, various announcements will be made concerning changes in operations across campus. As students, I know we all have things we cherish deeply at this institution. I love working with the Rhetoric and ComposiSee Oberlin, page 7

ObieHub Rams Expectations Hard Madisyn Mettenburg Production Editor

To anyone disillusioned with democracy — which is to say, anyone who has been keeping up with even a fraction of the hellstorm coming out of Washington — the Oberlin College administration’s decision to let the people pick a name for the new student website may have seemed fraught. PRESTO, Oberlin’s beloved, clunky mess of a registration website, was certainly due for an upgrade. Its preferred browser was Internet Explorer, and without the studentmade class directory called OPrestissmo, it was nearly impossible to navigate. In keeping with Oberlin aesthetics, PRESTO’s longevity may have stemmed from its cool factor of being so useless and obsolete — vintage, if you will — but regardless, it was time for a change. Change came first in the form of a Google Form. At the end of last semester, an email was

sent by the administration to the student body linking them to an online poll where students could suggest names for this shining beacon of hope, this new website. The students rose to the occasion magnificently; following the outset of the poll, places like the Oberlin Facebook meme page — Oberlin Consortium of Memes for Discourse-Ready Teens — overflowed with the creativity of Oberlin’s most brilliant young minds. Names like “The Communist Manipresto,” “Presto II: Electric Boogaloo,” and “Stop raising the tuition” abounded, and for one glimmering moment, it seemed possible that the will of the people might triumph. But then, after a few months, the final poll was sent out. After narrowing down over 800 submissions, the administration presented the student body with a neat selection of five names — none of which seemed familiar to those who had been swapping ideas in places like the meme page. Cen-

sorship was afoot. But was this really surprising to anyone? Possibly the best harbinger of this tyranny was website suggestion “Presty McPrestoface,” a name alluding to another failure of democracy, Boaty McBoatface. In March of 2016, the UK Natural Environment Research Council announced that the public would be allowed to choose via online poll the name of a new research vessel. The public spoke, and more than 124,000 people voted for the name “Boaty McBoatface” to be emblazoned on the side of this stateof-the-art ship. But their democratic spirit was ultimately doomed — after a period of stalling, the NERC disregarded the people’s will and went for a namesake with much less grandeur: naturalist Sir David Attenborough. At this point, we have all become accustomed to this take-back effect. Whether it’s the NERC or the CIT department or the Electoral College, the message has been

astounding clear: the people cannot be trusted to make their own decisions. Time and time again, the public is given what looks like a choice only to be reminded that their autonomy is nothing compared to the vast mechanisms of power, always insidiously grinding along in the background. At least, this is what I thought when I heard that the name “ObieHub” had won for the new school website. Just another take-back in a long line of take-backs — the tyrants win again! But the will of the people is more resilient than we might think. For just as I was beginning to despair, I and many others realized that in both structure and logo, this new choice resembles another website favored by Oberlin students: PornHub. PornHub was probably not an association the administration was expecting to make with the new name choice. And yet this association is now our legacy:

CARTOON OF THE WEEK Mikaela Fishman

With democracy on our minds and clickbait in our hearts, we the students have managed to exert our will in the face of limited options and a regime of censorship. Perhaps democracy isn’t dead — perhaps the hope

that America desperately needs lies with younger generations, waiting for the chance to burst forth like a phoenix from the ashes. Let’s hope they keep the logo.

Appeasement Policies Will Not Fix Doping Oberlin Community Duncan Reid Contributing Writer

Four years ago, in something out of an Ian Fleming novel, the Russian government engaged in a conspiracy to successfully facilitate Olympic athletes doping and cover evidence that makes what Lance Armstrong did at the Tour de France look like petty crime in comparison. The world was appalled when the operation was uncovered. Stories of KGB agents breaking into the Sochi Doping Control Center — the building where doping tests occur — to swap urine samples, whistleblowers seeking asylum, and a systematic doping program that involved the highest levels of the Russian government flooded the airwaves. The International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency quickly convened special commissions to investigate the accusations. They found a nesting doll of cover-ups in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, an organization that had reportedly benefited 1,000 Russian athletes from 2011 to 2015 across almost every Olympic sport. The final report found that RUSADA was in non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. 111 athletes were removed from the 2016 Russian team competing in Rio. These allegations led President Thomas Bach of the IOC to ban Russia outright from the Pyeongchang Games. However, the IOC decided to allow 168 athletes to compete in Korea, competing under the flag of “Olympic Athletes from Russia” rather than the traditional Russian flag. This seemed to be a win for Putin, who is, after all, used to having Russians compete under different flags — such as when the Russian troops in Ukraine wore “blackops” uniforms with no marks identifying their nationality. Bach made certain The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

that the 168 athletes would be thoroughly vetted so that the dirty results of Sochi wouldn’t be repeated in Pyeongchang. Certainly, it seemed, Russia had learned their lesson. We all could have guessed what happened next. Less than a week into the Pyeongchang games, Alexander Krushelnitsky, a member of the OAR curling team, was found to have a banned substance, meldonium, in his system. A couple of days later, Nadezhda Sergeeva — who was featured in a promotional video issued by the Russian Olympic Committee and IOC during the games, in which she wore a t-shirt that read, “I don’t do doping” — returned a positive test for trimetazidine after the women’s bobsledding competition. These cases don’t even include the suspicious circumstances that surround OAR cross country skier, Denis Spitsov, who earned three medals at the games, after making his international debut just two months ago. Although Spitsov passed the IOC’s so-called rigorous vetting process, his coach, Yuri Borodavko, was banned from the sport for two years after administering performance-enhancing drugs to his athletes. Borodavko told the Associated Press in Pyeongchang that he was given “complete carte blanche” after serving his ban. Athletes like Sergeeva and Krushelnitsky are perfect examples of the IOC’s approach to the Russian fiasco at large. Step 1: Claim you’re clean. 2: Get caught. 3: Apologize. 4: Repeat the same actions. Despite the continuous cycle of Russian doping, Bach claimed after the closing ceremonies that “there is no indication whatsoever of systemic or systematic doping here, or of any involvement of the OAR leadership or the Russian Olympic Committee.” He later

went on to say, “In society, we have had laws against theft or robbery for thousands of years. And there is still theft or robbery. This is unfortunate, but we cannot ignore human reality.” But instead of punishing Russia for repeated offenses, like we do with criminals, Bach has insisted that the best policy for disciplining systematic Russian doping is to not have a policy. Instead, Bach is expected to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee in the IOC in coming days as a reward for their “good behavior.” In fact, it was reported that he was even willing to let the OAR delegation walk into the closing ceremonies Sunday waving the Russian flag, until wiser heads prevailed in the IOC Executive Cabinet. Instead of following the footsteps of the International Association of Athletic Foundations and instituting a blanket ban, or listening to ex-WADA President Dick Pound when he said you couldn’t “wish away” the Russian fiasco, Bach has simply ignored the fact that, in Russia, doping is considered normal. Bach’s policy of appeasement isn’t going to fix the Russian doping culture. All it does is frustrate clean athletes, and show the Russians that you can cheat, as long as you don’t cheat too much. As for Krushelnitsky and Sergeeva, they’ll most likely receive a year-long suspension, or at most a twoyear ban after their cases are heard by anti-doping courts, which will be just in time for them to begin to compete in the qualification period for the 2022 Beijing Games. Hopefully, by Beijing, the IOC will have broken the iron curtain of doping, Russia will have taken responsibility for systemic doping, and we’ll have faith that the results of events with Russian athletes haven’t been tainted. We can only guess what will happen next.

Must Support Hard Choices Continued from page 6

tion department, enjoying a lime LaCroix in the Wilder Hall nooks, and spending hours on the first floor of Mudd library pretending to study while really catching up with friends. So when Ambar initially informed me as Student Senate Chair about some of the administration’s options for next year, including examining some student residences and reimagining Dascomb, I was immediately shaken. I thought of all the friends I made sitting on the deep green booth cushions, and I recalled all my fond memories from mac and cheese nights at Fourth Meal. Despite that nostalgia, I also understand that none of those joys would exist for me if Oberlin College didn’t exist. What stuck out to me most in Ambar’s Wednesday presentation was the point at which she asked that students, and everyone else in the Oberlin community, not immediately run to their individual corners to only protect specific parts of Oberlin. In my opinion, this will be our biggest challenge. This oncoming process of data collection and review will require community consensus around what we find, and the courage and fortitude to make hard choices that impact campus bodies beyond our own. At the end of the day, students are the backbone of this place. Our opinions matter, and we should voice them vigorously. Student Senate is well equipped to act as a microphone for students. When we call for feedback, input, and advice, extend us some grace and help us. We want to represent the student body as best as we can. Without your help — and to quote President Ambar — “this is gonna be hella hard.”

We All Scream for ICE CREAM

Josef “Joe” Bomback and Debby Krejsa — the owners of Cowhaus Creamery — have always wanted to collaborate on a project. Joe studied music at Oberlin and worked for record companies post-graduation, but even as he did, he stewed broths and stocks while he was recording and made ice cream for bands. For many years, Joe and Debby played around with many food-related companies but always felt that they didn’t have enough experience to create a sustainable business. While spending a Thanksgiving with his daughter, she suggested that he make ice cream, inspiring Joe to research current ice cream trends. To his surprise, he saw that he already had experience making what was currently popular. He then went to the University of Wisconsin to study ice cream production and worked with a man he proclaims the “milk guru of the United States.” Debby, who studied graphic design, created the logo, name, and advertisements for the new company. She mainly runs the store, but is also the creator of Cowhaus’ caramel salt, butter pecan, and peanut brittle ice cream flavors. Because the two live in Lorain County and wanted their shop’s location to be close, Oberlin was the best fit. Though it gets slow over the summer, they have made efforts to engage with the community, fundraising for the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival, which runs from June to July. They are currently looking to sell ice cream at Elyria’s Brown Bag Concert Series. Cowhaus’ factory is in Elyria, and will be open to the public on Saturdays in April from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Cowhaus will open this weekend, weather permitting, and will be open in March every Thursday and Sunday from 1–9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 1–10 p.m. In April, they will be open seven days a week.

Victoria’s Sponge

Blue Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies ‘n’ Cream

These are the season’s newest flavors at Cowhaus! They are inspired by the food and cultures of the places that Joe and Debby have visited around the world.

Saturday, March 3

Oberlin College Libraries and the Allen Memorial Art Museum join other colleges and museums for the Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon. The Edit-A-Thon is designed to create and improve Wikipedia pages on cis and trans women. Bring your own laptop and learn how to edit Wikipedia articles as you eat snacks. Allen Memorial Art Museum East Gallery Noon–4 p.m.

Sunday, March 4

Assistant Professor Rachel McKinnon in the College of Charleston’s philosophy department talk, “Including Trans Women Athletes in Sport: Analyzing Principles and Policies of Fairness in Competition” discusses the science of testosterone, the role of fairness in competition, and arguing that excluding trans women from sports is a human rights violation. Finney Chapel 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 8

The Oberlin College Black Scientists Guild hosts Dr. Tamkia Cross for the event, “Black Women in Medicine: The Road to M.D.” This is the second in a series of events, the first being “Black Women in Medicine: #Whatadoctorlookslike” which will be at 12:30 p.m. in A154 of the Science Center this same day. These events focus on the experiences of Black women in the medical field. Science Center Love Lounge 4:30 p.m.–6 p.m.

Thursday, March 8

The Oberlin College Program Board presents: “Rob Boss Paint-Bar Night.” They invite students to come paint at the ’Sco as Bob Ross’s videos play in the background. Supplies will be provided and “Happy Accidents” are welcome. The ’Sco 4 p.m.–6 p.m.

Layout, art, photo, and text by Lucy Martin, This Week Editor

We All Scream for ICE CREAM

Victoria’s Sponge

Blue Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies ‘n’ Cream

These are the season’s newest flavors at Cowhaus! They are inspired by the food and cultures of the places that Joe and Debby have visited around the world.

Saturday, March 3

Sunday, March 4

Thursday, March 8

Layout, art, photo, and text by Lucy Martin, This Week Editor

A r t s & C u lt u r e

ARTS & CULTURE March 2, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 16

Emma Lee Toyoda Stages “Madgrrlrock” Show at Fairchild Chapel Ananya Gupta Arts & Culture Editor

Seattle-based rock artist and founder of Make Fart Records, Emma Lee Toyoda — also known as Emma Tsuruko — is bringing their eccentric and charming musical performance to Oberlin at 8 p.m. tonight in Fairchild Chapel. Toyoda released their debut album “sewn me anew” in 2016, and performs both solo and with a band, featuring drummer Zeke Bender and bassist Khyre Matthews. They describe their music as nocturnal “madgrrlrock” or “sadgirlrock.” Pieces include a wide variety of instruments from saxophones to banjos, bringing a unique take to a classic sound. “I feel like there’s a little bit of classic rock and roll, drums, shredding on the electric guitar, but there’s also ... a dreamy carnival aspect [to their music,]” said College senior Lyris Schulman, who was responsible for bringing Toyoda to Oberlin. “[The album is] about 20 minutes of wonderful sounds. It’s cool because part of their music is like noise-sound art ... a song will just start with a lot of noise and a saxophone going wild and then the real melodies will begin. [They do] a few different genres, so they’re experimental in that way.” While Schulman’s initial contact

with Toyoda was online, Schulman and her band T-Rextasy later had the opportunity to tour with them. Bandmates of T-Rextasy”took the spring semester off last year to play 100 shows across the U.S. and Canada. “I was initially drawn into their sound,” Schulman said. “But I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing them perform many times and I feel like they also put on a really good show, which … is rare and also something that isn’t valued [as much] as it ought to be.” Toyoda is also a role model for the queer, non-binary POC community. In a Facebook response to their video “Fuuuck// Dream,” Toyoda wrote, “I hope that someday a young AsianAmerican femme stumbles upon it and sees someone who looks like them, in a lead role for once, doing what they love to do. I hope they see that they belong in POC communities and spaces, despite all of the internalized racism and model minority myths learned from a young age. I hope they’re inspired to take up space and make their voice heard, to advocate for themselves and other disenfranchised POC.” The social aspect of their music is another big attraction for millennials, and is a reason why Toyoda’s performance is expected to resonate particularly well with Oberlin students.

“Your identity is valid no matter what people do or say,” Toyoda wrote in an email to the Review. “You are important, and you are loved. I see you, I hear you, and I’m here for you. Build up your communities, and be mindful of who you allow into your spaces. You don’t owe anyone anything, and f **k whoever makes you feel otherwise — you don’t need ‘em. Take care of your emotional and physical well-being, whatever that means to you.” Another aspect of Toyoda’s work is that it is completely self-organized. Running their own label and band, Toyoda does not have a booking agent or manager, but runs the whole show by themself. “I follow them on Twitter and they have very poignant tweets about Seattle art and the DIY scene,” College sophomore Emma Williams said. “They’re a really passionate individual who’re really upfront about the things they care about, and I really admire that.” Toyoda’s is a particularly inspiring success story for young, upcoming artists belonging to various minority communities at Oberlin and in the wider U.S. “I think there are lot of people at Oberlin who are on the verge of deciding between pursuing stuff at Oberlin and pursuing their musical

career a little bit and having people who have gone the musical route … [it] can be really inspiring,” Williams said. “I think that just having trans artists on campus and having trans artists who are vocal about being trans artists and caring about trans rights … is really important too.” Toyoda is acclaimed for their honest and vulnerable performances. Their lyrical style is sassy, witty, and often seeks to draw a laugh from the listener through lines like “we do nothing but joke // about how you do nothing but smoke,” from the song “Forget Me Now.” “[When] I saw them perform, it was just people who are honest about their feelings and unapologetic for having them,” Williams said. “I think it was really cool to have an artist talk that openly about being nervous, … just to see someone perform who is that human … I think a lot of it is just about being really, unapologetically oneself.” Since rock concerts generally call for an energetic atmosphere of dance and activity, Fairchild Chapel is an unconventional choice. “Oberlin should expect lots of yelling, growling, & $hredding,” Toyoda wrote. “Earplugs are highly recommended.” Emma Lee Toyoda’s music is available on Spotify and Bandcamp.

The Tangled Lands Explores Feminism, Environmental Justice Julia Peterson Arts & Culture Editor The Tangled Lands, a new dystopian fantasy novel by award-winning authors Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell, has no right to be as good as it is. Conceptual, morally ambiguous, and incredibly timely, The Tangled Lands explores well-wrought narratives of feminism and environmental justice in a beautifully-crafted fantasy world that drips with rich lore and details at every turn. The Tangled Lands is the first collaboration between these authors, but it is a natural one, as both Bacigalupi and Buckell have been lauded for their fantasy or science-fiction exploration of social justice issues. Bacigalupi in particular has a history of exploring environmental justice in novels like The Water Knife, which is set in a dystopian nearfuture United States that is coping with the effects of a severe drought. His experience is evident in The Tangled Lands, where no theory or claim about environmentalism is allowed to exist at face value for long. It’s almost misleading to call The Tangled Lands a novel — split into four parts that average no more than 75 pages each, it is more like a collection of short stories in which each stands on its own. It reads like fantasy’s answer to Stephen King’s collection Different Seasons, where each book exists independently of the others, and when they do reference one another, it is only in subtle winks and nods. The Tangled Lands, however, has an even more ambitious task — along with presenting four compelling, complete narratives within a narrow page count, the authors also have to establish a world that is at once drastically different from our own and in some ways eerily similar to it. This task falls primarily on Bacigalupi, who wrote the first part of the book, “The Alchemist.” Bacigalupi quickly and deftly establishes the main premise of this world: the use of magic leads to the growth of hostile, poisonous, deadly bramble. In small amounts, it hardly poses a danger, but by the time that the stories of The Tangled Lands begin, bramble has already buried entire cities and nations and killed untold numbers. “The Alchemist”

follows Jeoz, who has spent 20 years working on a device that can destroy the overgrowth. Though magic is expressly forbidden unless the mayor has permitted it, like many others in the city of Khaim, Jeoz ignores this edict when he believes that the magic is worth both the risk to him and the creation of more bramble, repeatedly using it to save his daughter’s life. Although Jeoz succeeds in creating his device, it is quickly taken by the mayor and his authorized magic user, Scacz, and altered to serve their purpose. Rather than destroying the bramble quickly, which would have meant that more people could have used small magics like the one that kept Jeoz’s daughter alive, the device is altered to detect magic-users. The result is a horrifying bloodbath, as Scacz and the mayor consolidate their power and Jeoz is taken prisoner and forced to create even more devices that detect magic use. Throughout this fast-moving plot, Bacigalupi deftly weaves a number of challenges for the reader to chew on long after they have put down the book. The story demands that we judge whether or not Jeoz is justified in saving his daughter — but if he is justified, then what about a man who used a bit of magic to save his sheep, his livelihood? What about all the people who have each only used a little bit of magic for something that they decided was important enough? And if all of them were understandable and justified, then how do we reckon with a world that is now choked by the bramble caused by the sum of their actions? But Bacigalupi goes further, deftly pointing out that putting the onus for fighting environmental destruction only on ordinary people often ignores a much larger source of the problem — the great consumers of magic, the very few politically favored ones who build floating bridges and castles with impunity. Ordinary people still contribute to the problem, but if all of them were to cease using magic immediately, that wouldn’t be enough to stop the bramble from spreading. Before readers can spend too much time with Jeoz, we are sprung into the next part of the book, “The Executioness,” by Buckell. While “The Alchemist” was tightly focused on the city of Khaim, Buckell blows open the boundaries of the

world, exploring trade routes and cities that have all been affected in different ways by the bramble spread. “The Executioness” follows Tana, a former butcher who becomes a warrior and a general after her husband is murdered and her sons are kidnapped by followers of The Way, a religion that blames outsiders for the spread of bramble. While most men of fighting age have been killed by followers of The Way, Tana realizes that she can lead an army out of the women that they have left behind. It’s an excellent, tragic, satisfying plot that challenges assumptions about gender and class without sweeping the horrors of battle under the rug. The final two parts of The Tangled Lands, “The Children of Khaim” and “The Blacksmith’s Daughter,” continue to highlight different aspects of this world and raise interesting parallels with our own. “The Children of Khaim” in particular provides a deep exploration of the anti-refugee sentiment that has been a prominent part of the background texture of the previous two books. “The Blacksmith’s Daughter”, on the other hand, plays with ideas that the book has previously raised without introducing many new ones. It does take a deep look at corruption and moral bankruptcy, but so did “The Alchemist,” and it doesn’t do much to lessen the jarring impact of having a few characters in this otherwise nuanced world who are almost unbelievably bad actors. It’s a wellwritten part, but by far the least satisfying of the four, and it unfortunately ends The Tangled Lands on an unresolved note. Still, it does nothing to diminish the book’s overall effect, which is to create questions that take root in a reader’s mind and stay there. The Tangled Lands is a profoundly enjoyable read — I would have been happy if it were at least twice as long. I can only hope that Bacigalupi and Buckell are not done telling stories in their shared universe, because it is clear that they have barely scratched its surface. I highly recommend The Tangled Lands for readers who enjoy high-fantasy whirlwind journeys through strange worlds, all the while maintaining a complex, nuanced, and profound connection to our own.

Brendan Baylor, Interdisciplinary Artist

ON THE RECORD

Brendan Baylor is an interdisciplinary artist whose work in printmaking, digital media, drawing, and installation is fueled by research and conceptual investigation. His Wednesday talk, “Landscapes of Power,” focused on the political ecology of place and several of his recent projects have investigated “extractive industry, settler colonialism, and white supremacy across the upper Midwest and East Coast.” This week, he will be working with Professor Corinne Teed’s reproducible media class. Baylor grew up in the Pacific Northwest, a landscape that juxtaposes wilderness and the urban and fueled his current interrogations of place and environmentalism. He received his BA from Portland State University and his MFA from the University of Iowa. He has displayed his work across the world, including at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Devos Art Museum, and the CONA Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is currently an assistant professor of art at Old Dominion University. Brendan Baylor, assistant professor of art and head of the print media division at Old Dominion University. Photo courtesy of Brendan Baylor Interview by Kate Fishman Staff Writer

You talked a lot about how you use research and concepts to inform your art. Why do you choose to express and present that research through art? For me, art is powerful because it works primarily with bodily experience and emotions. There is a way that you can engage people on a different level with the creative work — with the creative manifestation of research — in a way that’s different than writing or graphing or more rational ways of working. I think one of the things that working on environmental issues shows is that the problem is not that we have a lack of knowledge; we have the information that we need. It’s that we haven’t built the collective feeling yet to act on. I think global warming is a really great example of that. We have the information; we just haven’t catalyzed a collective understanding or a collective feeling around which to act. I think art can help us to do that. How do you perceive the role of art in the sociopolitical sphere, and in things like environmental issues? I think the power of art is that it helps us see new things and it helps us take experiences that we already have and understand them in a new way. To me, new ways of seeing lead to new ways of thinking that often lead to new ways of acting. And that’s not a one-to-one process, but I do think that if we can’t perceive something, we can’t understand it, and if we can’t understand it, we can’t act on it. So what I’m working

with, and what I think a lot of artists that are making effective socially engaged art are doing, is … helping us to perceive things differently. That altered perception can help us to act differently. What role do you feel fear plays in your artistic process? There are different feedback mechanisms within my process that let me know that I’m on the right track or that I’m challenging myself. That fear of failure, or taking on a project that is just on the edge of my ability to complete, is scary. If I’m not worried that something’s going to fail, it’s probably really comfortable for me, so I’m probably not growing as an artist or a thinker or a researcher. When I take on something that I’m worried — really worried — about, and afraid I’m going to fail at, it usually means I’m on the right track. There’s that fear aspect, but there’s also the aspect of having energizing conversations around the work or starting conversations about how we support ourselves in the world and our economy, and whether or not our society is as just as it could be. When the work is doing that for me or for other people in the gallery or outside of the gallery — when those conversations start happening that are really engaging people — that’s a good sign for me that the work is doing what it’s supposed to do. When I’m talking to my checker at the hardware store, who saw my piece in the paper, and then I get to talk with them for awhile about the history of extractive industry and industrial capitalism in our town, for me that’s a good moment [where] I’m on the right track; I’m doing what I should

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. be doing. Are there any other stories of feedback you’ve received that have been interesting to you? I got a Facebook message about a month ago from one of the landowners who took one of our pipeline signs — my students and I did a collaborative project where we installed signs along Enbridge Line 5 to raise awareness about the pipeline existing, and also the risk inherent having 540,000 barrels of oil a day going through the ground underneath you — where she took a picture [and said], “I put the sign up on my property, you can see it from the road.” She seemed really energized about it, and then she was telling me about the other activist organizing that was happening around the pipeline — not as a result of the work we did necessarily, but in addition and as part of that larger social movement in the town around the pipeline. They organized a game of lacrosse over the top of the pipeline. It was a way of taking this colonial space and making it at least temporarily a more indigenous space, since lacrosse is a native sport. Seeing stuff like that, where there’s overlap with other organizing, or there’s nonart people who are invested in the work — I think that that feels more meaningful to me. I mean, obviously it’s nice when curators and other art professionals are interested in my work, but it’s nice when people feel moved to reach out and talk with me about the work. What’s most exciting to you about the process of creating work? I primarily do printmaking, so it’s very process-heavy. For me, there’s

this moment where you’re pulling the paper off of your matrix — your block or your plate or whatever it is — you’re pulling the paper out and you’re seeing this image that you’ve been laboring over made material on the page. So for me, that moment of pulling the print off the press and seeing this thing made physical — I think that’s a really exciting moment. And there’s lots of different moments of seeing your idea finally come together. Like for the sign project, seeing the signs out in the landscape was really exciting. I think whenever things are finally starting to take physical form, and you can see them working the way you want them to in a space or on a page, that’s a really exciting moment. And that fear gives away to the realization that, “This thing I’m doing is going to work! It’s going to work! I’m going to succeed!” That’s a really great feeling. What does the interaction between nature and people mean to you? In a lot of my work, what I’m trying to do is erode a false barrier that we’ve created between human life and all of the other kinds of life on the planet. A lot of landscape images traditionally focus on nature totally devoid of people, like a sublime wilderness, or nature as a kind of idyllic, agrarian space where it’s rolling beautiful hills of wheat, or whatever it is. I think that those sort of images really close down our imagination of what our place in the world is. So for me, I’m trying to understand the complexity of how we interact with other kinds of life forms, and the landscape, and space, in order to See OTR, page 12

The Fall Franchise Fails to Live up to Expectations in Sequel Avi Vogel Columnist

Developed by Over the Moon, The Fall Part 2: Unbound is an adventure video game that continues the story from The Fall and features the previous game’s main character, an Autonomous Robotic Interface Device — an artificial intelligence being with a combat suit, who calls itself ARID. In this game, recently released on Feb. 13, you awake as ARID, with no ability to move your body, and to a hostile user attempting to deactivate you. The game tasks you with figuring out who is attacking you and how to save yourself. You do this by exploring a virtual space, hopping between other robots with their own The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

sets of rules, and occasionally shooting dark tentacle-like bits that spew out from different points in the virtual world. This sequel establishes that ARID has a new operating condition after abandoning all the ones it had in the last game: survival. That message is repeated constantly in the game until the ending, where in the name of a twist in the tale, ARID must re-evaluate all that it has done and go back and help those it has harmed. This twist leads to the introduction of a new mechanic which is a fascinating blend between technology and message. You gain access to all the AIs that you had harmed and now must save them, using the perspectives of each. This idea, a unit composed of individuals,

isn’t revolutionary, but its presentation and execution definitely is. Though ARID’s journeys toward self-identity and selfpreservation are intriguing, the game’s combat is boring and more of a chore. Only one encounter with ARID’s adversaries is truly difficult, and the rest feel like a complete waste of time. However, you don’t spend most of your time in combat. Instead you deal with the other robots in ARID’s world, all of whom have a variety of rules, self-imposed or given by their creators. Gamers must slowly pervert the rules of other robots through puzzles that range from incredibly simple to “I need a guide to solve this.” The Fall continues to come up short in terms of puzzle design.

The previous game used these puzzles, which at times were unduly difficult, to do world building and explore questions about the nature of artificial consciousness. They were brief but used each interaction to push the storyline of the game forward until coming to a satisfying and dark conclusion. This game focuses less on posing meta-questions to stimulate the player, instead pushing them to accept the answers the game provides, adding an aspect of preachiness to the tedium. The game tends to worry more about being edgy and presenting a morally compromised protagonist and less about establishing any sort of explanation for the characters’ motives or behavior. Every time I took action,

pushing the innocent AIs down paths of self-destruction, I hated my character. I didn’t want them to succeed from the start. It wasn’t a slow build up of me questioning the worthiness of my cause, but an immediate realization that I didn’t agree with anything I was making ARID do. I found this narrative structure disappointing, which was surprising given how strong the last game was in terms of pace, tone, and nuance. The predecessor established stakes, provided interesting situations, and slowly introduced scenarios that became less and less comfortable to you as the player. The sequel ignores that last step entirely and suffers for it. See Disappointing, page 13

A r t s & C u lt u r e

Taiko Drums Up Energy, Awe

OTR with Brendan Baylor (cont.) Continued from page 11

think about a messier and more complicated relationship that we can have to the land that’s not based around keeping it pure or something like that. I think when we take people out of the landscape completely and the only good landscape is a wilderness, then we still have to do something with ourselves, and so it makes it hard for us to reimagine our relationship to the land when we’re excluding ourselves from it.

Members of San Jose Taiko give an energetic, awe-inspiring performance in Finney Chapel Saturday. Taiko is a Japanese art form featuring synchronized ensemble drumming. The performance took place in conjunction with a presentation on the history of taiko in the U.S. and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, as part of the series of events organized around the current exhibit “Courage and Compassion: Our Shared Story of the Japanese American World War II Experience.” Text by Ananya Gupta, Arts & Culture Editor Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor

What advice would you have for people who are looking to make professional work and have art careers? I work with lots of young people since I’m a college professor, and it’s sort of an ongoing conversation with my students about what advice I would have for them. [First] I would say, understand the professional landscape. Understand what you’re getting yourself into. Look at people whose work you respect, and then figure out how they got where they did. Did it involve them moving somewhere new? Did it involve them connecting in the right social networks with the right people, like curators or museum directors or friends? Understand that landscape — how do you get where you want to go? And then the second piece is to … understand yourself, and the process that you’re undertaking or undergoing as a creator and as a creative person. Thinking about [the answers to questions like] what are my motivations for making this? What do I want to get out of it? I think for most artists, their work is a very long-form investigation of themselves and the world and their relationship to it. It’s a process, and it’s a lifelong process. So I think for me, it’s like, understand the exterior context, and then understand what your internal motivations are and what’s driving you forward, and make sure you’re able to reconcile those or find some sort of path forward negotiating those two things. I think a lot of it is trying to figure out what kind of compromises you can make with the world as it currently exists, and what is core to you and driving your work forward that you don’t want to compromise. I think a lot of times, as younger creators, we are driven by ideals and possibilities. As you get older, you have to take these ideals and possibilities and then make them into something that exists in the world. And the world is a messy, unfair place — and so trying to figure out how you reconcile those two things I think is difficult and also specific to each person. Part of it is figuring out what your path forward is.

“Keep It Gay” Evokes LGBTQ+ Pride with Queer Music Russell Jaffe Staff Writer

Oberlin was dazzled by its newest Oberlin Musical Theater Association musical showcase, Keep It Gay, which ran last Thursday through Saturday under the direction of College junior Julia Peterson. The showcase featured a collection of musical songs that had been “queered” or were queer and both tore at heartstrings and invoked laughter. Peterson, along with assistant director and College first-year Mia Fox and co-music directors College sophomore Paul Lawrence and College junior Alex Ngo, organized the showcase as a celebration of queer identity, delivering an important reminder of the values that hold the Oberlin community together. As the cast pointedly sang in I Am What I Am, “It’s my song, and if you don’t like the style I bring it / My song, so at least respect my right to sing it.” “I wanted to share my enjoyment of exploring and living my queer identity through musical theater with others,” Peterson wrote in her director’s note. With one of the highest ranked undergraduate

conservatories in the world, Oberlin regularly draws upon a level of talent that borders on professional. Keep It Gay went above and beyond expectations with performers who perfectly fit with their songs. Even though the performers ranged across all different levels of experience, there was no single star that ruled the stage. Everyone had a unique place, and the brilliant casting that led to this arrangement was perhaps one of the showcase’s greatest strengths. Arguably even more important was the teamwork that the performers brought to the showcase. Every individual in Keep It Gay was good on their own, but together, they complemented each other in both vocals and choreography to create a greater performance than any of them would have been able to achieve alone. Although there were times when the background music overpowered a performer’s singing, it was this teamwork that allowed the showcase to continue to shine. These collaborative dynamics were clear from the show’s opening number, a queer version of “S’wonderful” from An American in Paris, which showcased stellar harmonies from College

junior Chloe Falkenheim and College first-years Icey Belair and Annika Bell as they sang this amusing number about being in love, not realizing that they are all in love with the same woman. The show’s vocals were undoubtedly its best performance feature. While the choreography was certainly good, there were points at which it came across as flat or even forced. Nevertheless, it still added a dimension to the wide range of songs that included reinventions of old classics such as Les Miserables’ “A Heart Full of Love,” performed by Peterson, Belair, and Falkenheim, as well as contemporary Oberlin favorites, such as Fun Home’s “Changing My Major,” performed to great audience delight by College first-year Sofie Rejto. The range in experiences meant that the showcase did not adhere to any particular tone. Each act lent a glimpse into a completely different world, whether the whimsical magic of Into the Woods, performed by Falkenheim and Bell, or the heart-wrenching sorrow of Bare, performed by College seniors Drew Styles and Alexy Jabbour. The show did not seem as though it was meant to move in any

single direction, but instead to provide a brief taste of queerness in musical theatre — the state that it exists in today, as well as a vision of what it could someday be. It is worth noting that while some of the songs, such as “An Old-Fashioned Love Story,” performed with great power and comedic timing by Fox, and Jabbour’s tender ballad “What More Can I Say?” were originally queer, one of the most clever aspects of the showcase was its tendency to add queerness to different musicals, taking songs and stories that were written for straight characters and applying these narratives to a queer context instead. One of the best examples of this can be seen in “In [Her] Eyes” from Jekyll & Hyde, performed by Fox and Bell. In the original production, the song, as “In His Eyes,” is performed by two women who share the stage to sing about a man without interacting with each other. Keep It Gay subverts that trope, as the performers visually recognize each other in an electric moment, then begin singing about each other directly, entirely altering the song’s narrative with only a few subtle changes to pronouns and blocking.

Another love song, “What You Mean To Me” from Finding Neverland, performed with romantic, ethereal grace by Rejto and College senior Kira Scala, changes nothing about the song except how it is cast, an entirely different but no less wonderful way of creating a queer narrative in musical theater. Ultimately, the true power behind this showcase came from the simple fact that the performers were not just performing well-worn, ofttold narratives. Whether they were highlighting lesserknown queer love songs or creating queer narratives out of originally-straight stories, the performers brought real emotion to every act. Moreover, they made the audience feel as though we were a part of the show, because this was a celebration of our identities as well. Keep It Gay presented a reflection of our multifaceted queer lives and queer identities, reflecting theater’s long tradition of representing queerness on stage and offering up a glimpse as to where that legacy can lead. In the end, we are simply who we are, and Keep It Gay made it clear that whether we are accepted or not, we can never be denied.

Disappointing Story Drags Down The Fall intelligences to make this robot differentiate between itself and others. As a puzzle, it is slow, but the underlying mechanics were fun and made me think not only in terms of the game, but also in the wider scope of the world. It’s a shame that this comes at the end of the game, with maybe an hour left of play time in what is around a three to four hour journey. Overall, The Fall is a disappointment. It was a game I had been looking forward to since I finished the first chapter nearly four years ago. Instead of slowly pushing the themes of its predecessor, it takes them and force feeds them to you like a stubborn toddler who won’t eat their vegetables. If it stood alone, it might be tolerable, having at least some interesting mechanics in the latter half of the game. As a sequel, I recommend fans just go back and play the first game, and lament the fact that a game with so much potential is barely okay, let alone great.

Continued from page 11

The first chapter of The Fall was focused and tight. It was ARID falling onto a planet that seemed to be abandoned, and attempting to resuscitate the pilot inside of its suit, a combat suit. There are three rules that ARID, as an AI, must follow. The game then spends its course slowly showing that you can and must uphold the most important rule, until the final twist shows how everything you’ve done has been without purpose. Its sequel is about watching ARID run through the game rather than creating a connection with you as the player. One example of excellent gameplay in The Fall Part 2 is when ARID comes upon one of the AIs had been assimilated into a hive mind and you must restore its individuality. To do this, you cannot look at the world through its perspective, because it cannot see rationally. Instead, you use the perspective of the other artificial CROSSWORD

Across

Let’s Boogie

1. Dins 7. Make a frowny face 11. However, in a text message 14. Compel 15. The Nike swoosh, for example 16. Beginner’s query 17. The Beatles’ includes Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Magical Mystery Tour 19. Point, in cricket 20. “The _____ have it” 21. Where to point out a correct answer 22. Cocktail ingredient 27. Bloom 29. Long-legged bird 30. Scent 31. Included in five-spice powder 32. __________ stone 34. Something, in a dict. 37. One is contained in each set of shaded squares 40. Direction, abbr. 41. Designates for construction 42. Hot and bubbling 43. An escritoire, for example 44. Ravine 45. Oscars and Emmys 48. Home to the Oilers 51. Skeptical 52. Ancient Greek architectural structure 53. Did 44. Across 54. Government controlled by highly skilled experts 61. Author Kesey 62. “I guess so.” 63. Flatmate 64. Epoch 65. Programming language 66. Like the subcontinent of Asia

Puzzle by Daniel Markus Managing Editor 1

19 21

43 45

20 22

Down 1. Silent greeting 2. Org. that helps ensure safety at campus parties and events 3. Currency used in Tel Aviv, abbr. 4. Appears in quotes after grammatical errors 5. Friends of this puzzle’s author might say he has a big one 6. Where to return to in a piece of music 7. “Vamos a la _____” 8. “My bad!” 9. “Give me a break.” 10. Plaything 11. Pitch 12. Your competition at a Blackjack table 13. Robert Kraft, to the Patriots 18. Counter part to deg. The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

21. Winter Olympics powerhouse, as seen on scoreboards 22. Cost Gore the 2000 election 23. Dunham and Horne 24. Used for drug testing 25. Type of pear 26. Went “achoo!” 27. Org. that backs most bank accounts in the event of a financial crisis 28. Way back when 30. Singer Redding 32. Capsized 33. Linguistic suffix 34. Sound made by some while laughing 35. Wheat, to a Spaniard 36. Responsible for igniting the Trojan War 38. Flowerless plant that grows well in damp conditions 39. Deep black 43. Arid

45. Up 46. Makes up as much as 60 percent of the human body 47. Venue for gladiator fighting 48. —CH2CH3 49. Put on 50. Indigenous people from New Zealand 52. The Lion King antagonist 54. A T-Shirt or Oxford 55. Barely manage something 56. Snooker 57. Type of cell in the human eye 58. “_______ bothering you?” 59. Headquartered in Langley, VA 60. Japanese currency Editor’s Note: Solutions to this crossword will run at oberlinreview.org.

Sp ort s IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Sean Kiley and Milo Sklar, Baseball Team Captains College seniors and baseball captains Sean Kiley and Milo Sklar have each had an illustrious collegiate career thus far, helping the program win its first North Coast Athletic Conference title as first-years and helping the team break both the total wins and conference wins records last year as juniors. Both Kiley and Sklar earned All-NCAC Second Team honors last spring. Kiley, the Yeomen’s ace, posted a 3.67 ERA, the lowest among the team’s starters. Sklar, a sidearm reliever and utility player, hit .323 and broke the program’s single-season saves record with seven. The duo is looking to lead the “Mules” to the NCAC Tournament for the fourth time in six years this spring. Sean Kiley (left), and Milo Sklar.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Interview by Alex McNicoll and Alexis Dill, Sports Editors

Replacing the bats of 2017 graduates Justin Cruz and Brian Carney is no easy task, and a lot of underclassmen will be expected to step up. Can you talk about your team’s offensive depth? Milo Sklar: I think we have a lot of depth that we haven’t had in the past in terms of matching up guys — lefty or righty — for their best matchup. In the past, we’ve usually always played our best nine bats. I think we can get a little creative this year. We have guys who can play when they’re hot or play when they’re feeling it, and I think that’ll help the depth of our lineup a little bit. Sean Kiley: We’ve got some younger guys that are stepping into their roles, and some guys who are still competing for roles. [Junior] Jack McGowan and [sophomore] Maxx McGee are competing for centerfield, and then [first-year] Lawrence Hamilton and [senior] Jack Brewster will compete for right field. [Sophomore] Amari Newman’s probably got left field locked down, but it’s early in the year. Most of those guys are young guys, and the rest of the lineup [has plenty of experience], which is really great. It could definitely be a big year. The team has 19 pitchers, including you two, breakout talents Zach Steer and Noah Gear, and workhorse Dave Gaetano, among others. What’s the chemistry like amongst you all?

MS: I’d say it’s pretty good. We have a lot of trust in each other. With the new conference roundrobin style, it’s going to be interesting to see how roles change. It’s going to be shorter weekends, so I think that trust is going to really come into play and help us — just knowing that you might not be a starter for this doubleheader, or you might have a shorter role or longer role. You just have to do what you have to do for those 18 innings. SK: It’s great to go out there as a staff. We know whoever goes out there has a great option behind them, and that definitely takes a lot of pressure off. You don’t have to go out there and be perfect. In some of my earlier years [we didn’t have that], and there was a lot of pressure on starters. We got a lot of younger players that look great and are going to play right away, which is awesome. What are some of the team’s strengths that will help your chances of making the conference tournament? In what areas can the team improve? MS: I think our pitching is going to help us. We have a long time to get ready for conference — I think it’s like 16 games before conference [starts]. That’s a pretty far ways off, but we just get better [throughout the season] at making plays, not giving away free bases, walks or errors, running the bases right — those things that come with time. We just clean up as the season goes forward.

SK: As for strengths, experience is good. We’ve got a lot of guys that have been in big games — playoff games — before. We don’t have all of the nerves of a younger team. Also, the recognition we’ve gotten from the conference [shows how far we’ve come in recent years]. We were voted third in the NCAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll this year. Last year we were voted eighth, and we ended up finishing third. Other teams are starting to realize that we’re a big team, and that we can compete. We still have some room to improve on defense, but last year our bats really came alive and our pitching was strong, and both of those should carry over. For the first time since 2011, you will have a round-robin schedule, meaning you will play each team in the conference twice, rather than half of the conference four times. What do you think of this change? Will it help your chances of making the tournament? MS: I think we’ll be in a similar spot, where we’re in control and can get into those top four teams. It’ll be interesting. We know our side of the conference — [The College of ] Wooster, Kenyon [College], Allegheny [College]. We’re pretty familiar with them, so it’ll be cool, because the seniors have never played [Ohio Wesleyan University] or Wittenberg [University]. And it’s shorter; we’ll play Wooster two times instead of four times. The whole season series can get away from

Photos courtesy of AP Photo/ Peter Morgan

you quickly with just two games, so it’s all about urgency — gotta be ready to go with more play days. SK: I do think we’re the third best team — maybe even the second best right now. Playing everyone in the conference will certainly help us, but not playing four games in a weekend kind of hurts us because our pitching was so much better than everyone else in the conference. We had four great starters and a bullpen full of guys that can get the job done. Last year, we’d play teams where games one and two would be tough, but when we played their number three and four guys, we were much more confident. [On the other hand] it was tough being the third or fourth team in the stacked side of the conference when we had teams like Wooster and Kenyon with us.

pectation; it’s not a lofty goal. “We’ve done this before, let’s do it again” is the mentality a lot of the seniors are taking this year. We know we’ve got a lot of talent on the team, and we think we can make a run at the conference or even go to regionals. This is a lot different from my first year. We kind of got lucky in our conference playoff schedule. We were the eighth-place team and went on to beat the number one ranked team, then win the conference. We got hot at the right time that year, but this year we know we don’t have to get hot at the right time, because we’re good enough to do it the whole year.

When you were first-years, you helped the program capture its first NCAC title ever. What kind of leadership and experience do you bring to the program now as seniors?

MS: We talk a lot about just being grateful to play. There are a lot of limited opportunities to get out on the field — it’s a quick season. Just appreciate every moment you have when you’re out there. SK: I’m going to get on my high horse here and say that we’re the smartest team in the conference, and that’s our biggest advantage. We can use our brains better than the teams we’re playing against can, so we should. If we can think about what advantages we have, and then use them, [that’s what makes us special]. We’re not going to recruit the same big bodies that Wooster can, but we’re smarter guys, so we have to leverage that against them.

MS: The seniors and juniors have that experience … contributing to a winning team. We know that every other team in the conference is just another baseball team. We’re just playing baseball, and I think the underclassmen have done a good job of pushing us and bringing a lot of energy, but also listening to what a lot of the upperclassmen have said and the experiences that they have learned from. SK: I guess now it’s the ex-

What is one thing you want your younger teammates to take away from you? Do you have any advice or tips for them?

“What’s My Name, Fool?” Creates Dialogue Around Race, Activism Jason Hewitt Columnist

English Professor Yago Colás hosted a discussion Wednesday in Dye Lecture Hall between the ESPN Around the Horn co-host and University of Maryland professor Kevin Blackistone, Grand Valley State University professor Louis Moore, Northeastern University professor Sarah Jackson, and University of Michigan’s prominent Fab Five member Jimmy King. The four panelists are all influential Black individuals who are deeply connected to the overlapping realms of sports and activism. The talk opened with Colás’ introduction of the speakers. He then gave each speaker 10 minutes to share their thoughts on the overall topic. The first

to speak was Blackistone, who came to Oberlin for the second time to discuss his ideas after his first presentation, “Don’t Believe the Type! The Demythification of Sports Media and Sports” last fall. He began by reminding the audience of Fox News talk show host Laura Ingraham’s now infamous remark to LeBron James, “Shut up and dribble.” Blackistone continued his presentation by pointing out that Ingraham used LeBron James as a target to attack Black athletes who are using their collective voices to rebut the toxic oppression and injustice in this country. Professor Moore took a slightly different approach to the conversation, discussing historical aspects of Black activism in sports. He switched the topic toward the significance of

celebrated Black athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and many others throughout history. He vividly described the trials and tribulations that Black athletes went through for centuries in order to make their sociopolitical views heard. Not only did they want to be heard; they wanted to alter the oppressive system to which they were subjected. Professor Jackson began her ten-minute segment with the idea that women are often excluded from that conversation of sports and activism. Women were, and still are, at the forefront of protest against racial inequality. She encouraged the audience to embrace this with numerous examples, both past and present. One of the most

eye-opening narratives from her examples was the controversy surrounding women’s national soccer team member Megan Rapinoe, who took a knee during the National Anthem before her game in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. Female athletes are often overlooked by the media, allowing outlets to suppress women’s voices in the world of sports. Fab Five member Jimmy King used his experience as one of the most culturally influential basketball players from the 1990s to share his thoughts on the relationship between Black athletes, activism, and the media. The Fab Five was a group of five Black Michigan basketball players who collectively changed the game of basketball in the 1990s. He proclaimed that

their signature bald heads, black socks, and baggy shorts were all part of their agenda to protest against the NCAA and corporations who use their likeness without paying them. This problem still exists today with NCAA athletes, but there hasn’t been a group of athletes who combated this issue like the Fab Five did. Once the discussion was opened up to audience members, I asked King about the responsibilities of Black athletes, and whether the pressure to speak out against injustice should be on them or on white athletes. “It’s all internal,” he said. “They all have to make a choice if they want to [engage in activism] or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, Latino, Asian, whatever. We all got to make a choice.”

Yeowomen Best Hornets Without Top Player Hughes

Sophomore Lena Rich prepares to return a serve at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regionals in September. Rich and her doubles partner, senior Mayada Audeh, had a decisive 8–4 win Saturday against Kalamazoo College. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics Alex McNicoll Sports Editor

The Yeowomen tennis team traveled to Michigan for back-toback games against the Hope College Flying Dutch and the Kalamazoo College Hornets last weekend. Despite dropping the first match 3–6 to the number 21 ranked Flying Dutch, the Yeowomen closed out their road trip with a 6–3 win against the Hornets, raising them to 5–5 for the season. As they continue preparing for North Coast Athletic Conference play in April, the Yeowomen also look to improve on their third-place finish in the conference tournament last season.

“We are playing at a really good level right now,” Head Coach Constantine Ananiadis said. “We’re fit, strong, and — although our match against Hope College [was around four and a half hours long] — we’re used to this kind of stress. I wasn’t too worried about making it through the Saturday match against Kalamazoo College.” Against the Hornets, the Yeowomen started the match strongly, winning two of their three doubles games. Without top player and senior Sarah Hughes, the remaining doubles players had to step up to the challenge. First, sophomores Rainie Heck and Delaney Black earned an 8–6 win to

begin the day. Senior Mayada Audeh and sophomore Lena Rich then had a decisive 8–4 win. In singles, however, the Yeowomen got off to a slow start. Heck played in the top spot for the first time this season, replacing the injured Hughes, but was unable to capitalize. She dropped her match in straight sets, 6–3 and 6–0. However, the Yeowomen were quick to bounce back, as Audeh and fellow senior Jackie McDermott won their matches in the number two- and three-spots, respectively. Black also delivered with a win at the number-five spot, but in the end, it came down to first-year Maja Shaw Todorovic — who was put in the lineup to replace Hughes. Her 6–1, 6–2 victory at the number-six spot gave the Yeowomen the match 6–3. Black said Sunday’s win was a testament to her team’s resiliency this season. “We played two close matches with a couple of injuries and a few lineup changes, [and our performance showed] just how strong we are this year,” Black said. “We’re facing strong opponents outside of our conference and getting a good look at some different styles. This way, we’ll be ready for whatever the conference tournament has in store for us.” The Yeowomen did not fare as well against the Flying Dutch Saturday. Hope College proved why they’re one of the top 25 teams in the country by winning two of the three doubles matches, including a game against McDermott and Hughes, then

continuing to dominate in singles as well. Rich and Black managed to earn singles wins, but their efforts were not enough, and the Yeowomen fell to the Flying Dutch 3–6. While the Yeowomen have just a .500 record this year, Todorovic is excited to be on the team, both for their competitive drive and their camaraderie. “I’m so close with my team members,” Todorovic said. “They’re so welcoming and don’t make me feel like the only first-year on the team at all. Honestly, I don’t even think of the seniors as seniors. They’re just three more of my closest friends.” The Yeowomen have seven more matches — including four in Orlando, FL, over spring break — before conference play kicks off. But before then, they will have to focus their energy on today’s match against the University of Rochester Yellowjackets at 6:30 p.m. Moving forward, Ananiadis is more concerned with his team’s progression than their place in the standings as they approach conference play. “We really don’t pay attention to our record,” he said. “Every year we play a super tough schedule — including games against several national ranked Division III schools, as well as games against Division I and II schools. It’s all about the process. Are we better than we were in the fall? Are we better than we were last month? Last week? Yesterday? That’s how we evaluate ourselves.”

FBI Sting on NCAA Basketball Stalwarts Sparks Conversation Jane Agler

The the depth of malpractice in NCAA Division I college basketball recruiting became apparent Feb. 23. when the FBI revealed that powerhouse basketball schools committed a myriad of violations. As multiple charges are leveled, it seems that changes are coming to the college basketball landscape. Some men’s basketball prospects and current players received payments — politely worded as “loans” — to sway their collegiate commitment decisions, among other things. This preferential treatment has been exercised by big-name schools like the University of Alabama, Duke University, Louisiana State University, the University of Kansas, the University of Louisville, and Clemson University. While these are only a handful of the schools outed by the FBI, they illustrate the great extent of this network of influence and how these violations are deeply embedded in the supposedlyamateur athletic program. The FBI initiated the investigation in September, charging four assistant basketball coaches with fraud and bribery. The coaches were accused of accepting payments that could be funneled to top recruits to influence their college decision, in exchange for pressure to sign with specific agencies or brands when they eventually made their NBA debuts. These infractions ended the illustrious career of Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, after it was found that he had allowed Adidas Global Marketing Director Jim Gatto to pay his top prospect Brian Bowen $100,000 to go to Louisville in exchange for the basketball program’s cooperation with the brand. The questions, then, are why this is happening and why it matters now. These issues have been debated for years, and the NCAA is no stranger to scandals such as this one. Even so, it can’t be ignored that LeBron James and Barack Obama have weighed in on the issue. This is now a federal criminal matter, and the NCAA’s sanctions are apparently insufficient to stop these violations completely. The Oberlin Review | March 2, 2018

It is important to shed a little light on what kind of money is floating around the highly-profitable world of Division I athletics. According to sports economist Dan Rascher, some prominent basketball programs have brought in more revenue than the average professional NHL team. While there are many ways that institutions profit off of their athletes, the massive size of coaches’ salaries — which range from $4.3 million (Michigan State’s coach Tom Izzo) to $9 million per season (Duke’s coach Mike Krzyzewski) — is enough to show the exploitation of athletes. In 2015, Louisville reportedly made $45.6 million dollars in revenue via their basketball program, and have collected over $356 million since 2001. So, the programs, coaches, and schools are raking in money, and players are not receiving anything, even though their names are being sold — quite literally, in the case of jersey sales — to consumers. Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma was one of many to weigh in on this aspect of the issue, having tweeted that the NCAA should be accountable for generating billions of dollars while providing its players with so little. It should be noted that he reportedly received over $9,000 from an agent while playing basketball for the University of Utah. Taking each of these factors into account, these basketball programs have heavily violated NCAA rules and have greatly influenced the incentives of many recruits over the years. But while this is definitely illegal, is it inherently a terrible idea to pay players for their contributions to their respective programs? The NCAA considers itself a resource for supporting, protecting, and valuing the rights of collegiate athletes. They intend to act in a similar manner to the NFL Players Association, which is a recognized union for professional football players that considers their best interests in issues like wages, working hours, and conditions. But while the NFLPA has negotiated settlements to protect players after retirement and funded headtrauma research, the NCAA has allowed programs and sporting brands to expose their athletes. And in light of recent events, the question is not what their purpose is, but what their purpose should be.

The fact of the matter is that these collegiate basketball programs have ceased to look like an amateur sport over the past years; they are making enough money to compete with other professional sports and have amassed a comparable amount of viewership. A few different ideas have been thrown around, primarily centered on creating a farm system that feeds into the NBA, much like how Minor League Baseball relates to Major League Baseball. For the NBA, the incentive to play overseas and completely forego NCAA basketball has gained momentum as well due to the appeal of receiving a salary and getting valuable playing time with other professionals. With college employees facing potential jail time for federal offenses, this should incentivize the utmost motivation for a change in the NCAA’s role within collegiate athletics. As the association attempts to move forward, it will need to take into account its role in the world of professional sports. Most athletes who attend powerhouse basketball schools have their eyes set on the NBA and subsequently enter the NBA Draft after one or two years of playing in the NCAA. Therefore, the NCAA has crafted itself to be the main farm system for the NBA without considering itself one, despite its players looking, playing, acting, and being treated very much like professional athletes. The easiest solution for the NCAA might be to pay their athletes. This money could come out of jersey sales for individual players, or a percentage out of ticket sales — two forms of revenue, among others, that are directly dictated by the players and their performances. The idea, then, would be to make these quasi-professional athletes actual professionals. But I fear that the world will cease to experience purely amateur collegiate athletics, the unpredictability of March Madness with dominating teams and Cinderella teams, and the distinct loyalty and admiration nurtured by the fact that these players aren’t professionals yet. We should value that we have them here for a few moments before their prime, unscathed by the influential and competitive world waiting for them in the NBA.

SPORTS March 2, 2018

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 16

Students Must Exit Comfort Zones, Bridge Divides Justin Godfrey

Senior Reese Koburov scored 24 goals and collected 12 assists last year. He scored once in the Yeomen’s season-opening victory against Adrian College last Saturday and intends to continue dominating on the offensive end when Olivet College comes to Oberlin tomorrow for a 1 p.m. matchup. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

Yeomen Dominate Season Opener

Alexis Dill Sports Editor

In a 19–3 season-opening victory over the Adrian College Bulldogs Saturday, the men’s lacrosse team displayed the offensive weapons, impenetrable defense, and depth necessary to turn a good team into a great one. Last spring, the team went 6–9 overall and 2–6 in North Coast Athletic Conference play, but expectations have risen. College senior and captain Steve Kelleher said he believes this might be a special year. “I think we have a great chance to make it to the conference tournament this year,” Kelleher said. “We pretty much return our whole defense from last year, and a lot of the offensive players have been playing together for a few years. We have a lot of experience, and the new coaching staff has done a great job of getting the younger guys up to speed. I have the utmost confidence in our group, so I’m really excited for the next couple of months.” The Yeomen got off to a strong start Saturday afternoon, with 14 different players — six of whom are first-years — finding the back of the net. Head Coach Topher Grossman said fans can expect to see a variety of players earn points throughout the spring, rather than just one or two star players. “I think having so many players contributing to the offense on Saturday can be attributed to the way we would like to play in general,” Grossman said. “We would like to run more players than not, so we can get the freshest legs on the field whenever possible.” Kelleher said he credits the team’s overpowering offensive performance to camaraderie. “I think the offense is building a lot of chemistry together, even early in the season,” Kelleher said. “We all like playing together, and that’s when we’re at our best. We don’t see ourselves as first-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. On the field, we’re all just teammates trying to win and score as much as we can.” Kelleher and first-year attack Tom Decker bagged their first hat-tricks of the season. Decker also recorded three assists in his impressive collegiate debut. He said he has a lot of confidence on the field thanks to the support he receives from his teammates, especially the returners. “I felt welcomed immediately when I stepped on campus, even before we put on our pads for the first practice,” Decker said. “[The upperclassmen] also are all people I personally look up to and have tons of respect for. As well as being welcoming, the guys on the team are great role models, mentors, and teachers. I owe much of my success to my fellow teammates, both upperclassmen and [underclassmen].” Although the team lost its most valuable offensive weapon in Eric Hager to graduation last spring, last season’s second and third top scorers return in junior Jay Messina and senior Reese Koburov. Messina, who earned 37 points last year with 21 goals and 16 assists, picked up where he left off Saturday, scoring once and contributing three assists.

As a junior, Koburov scored 24 goals, good for second best on the team, and collected 12 assists for a grand total of 36 points. He began what one would expect will be an excellent senior campaign with a goal. Other players who scored Saturday include seniors Ian McCague, Daniel Pardee, and John Sutherland; juniors Jake Parentis and Dan Nerenhausen; and first-years Thomas Berle Carman, Alec Palmiotti, Joey Edell, Griffin Cappelletti, and Max McAllister. First-year Jack Stevens dished out three assists. Decker said as long as everyone continues contributing and finding small ways to improve, the team should experience massive success. “[My] first collegiate game gives me a lot of confidence in our offense, since we had a plethora of scorers,” Decker said. “As long as we run the offense and trust the process, I think we will have a high-powered offense with many talented players coming off the bench and adding depth to the roster.” Grossman advised that opponents and fans also look out for sophomore Regan Chasney, who recorded 16 goals and started in eight games last year. The Yeomen’s faceoff man and defense deserve just as much recognition as the offense. McAllister, the first-year faceoff specialist, has big shoes to fill this spring, replacing three-time All-NCAC selection Kinori Rosnow. However, members of the crowd caught a glimpse of what should be a wonderful career as McAllister won 18 of 21 faceoffs last weekend. He also collected a team-high 14 ground balls. “Max is a really good athlete and a really hard worker,” Grossman said. “Facing off can be a team game as much as it is individual, but there is no doubt that he is going to be a big piece of the equation at the faceoff [position] for us.” The duo of Pardee and sophomore Erik Zeug is expected to hold down the defense. Pardee played in every game in his first two years at Oberlin and was featured in 14 out of 15 matchups last spring, collecting 13 ground balls and causing one turnover. Zeug played in all 15 games as a long-stick midfielder, scooping up a team second-best 37 ground balls and causing 14 turnovers, also a team second-best. Both players collected two ground balls against Adrian. Pardee and Zeug will find help throughout the season from junior midfielder Elie Small, who scooped up 23 ground balls last year and caused nine turnovers, and defender Max Scott, who collected 25 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers. Sophomore goalie Cal Filson showed a ton of promise just a year ago — starting in all 15 matches and accumulating 145 saves — and is expected to continue improving. Against Adrian, he was challenged 20 times and made seven saves. “Cal has certainly matured on and off the field in the offseason, but it is nice that the growth process isn’t over yet,” Grossman said. “His athleticism can help spark our transition game, which is also exciting.” The Yeomen look to begin a winning streak when Olivet College comes to campus tomorrow for a 1 p.m. matchup.

My first few classes at Oberlin were some of the most uncomfortable times of my life. I remember sitting in Econ 101, sweat covering my forehead because I desperately didn’t want to say or do anything that would draw attention from the other 100 people sitting in King 106. Things were different in high school. I would thrive off the attention I received from fellow classmates and did anything I could to make sure all eyes were on me. At Westlake High School, a little over 30 minutes away from Oberlin, I participated in football, track and field, musicals, plays, choirs, and pep rallies — anything that would make people notice me. Still, in that lecture hall on my first day of college classes, all I could think was, “Please, God, no one look at me.” However, I’m 6’2” and 265 pounds with one of the loudest voices, so I’m pretty hard to miss. After this realization, I came to terms with who I am and started thinking of ways to make the most of my college experience rather than fear it. I decided to start participating in my classes, joined a few clubs, went to more public events and concerts, and even ran for Student Senate. These forays into the public eye gave me a new perspective that I hope others can obtain. We hear a lot about the athlete/non-athlete divide here. For athletes, it’s easy to feel comfortable amongst other athletes, and we even start to buy into the athlete stereotype. We study with our teammates or other fellow athletes in the atrium, take over a big table at Stevenson Dining Hall, and walk around campus sporting our varsity jackets. As a regular concert-goer and taker of many small classes, I’ve noticed something similar among nonathletes. If you want to be comfortable in that world, it’s easy. If I buy some Doc Martins, wear a pair of torn-up jeans, and tie it all together with a beanie, strangers would never guess that I’m a football player. Where does this leave people like me who live in the middle, then? Imagine a campus where nobody played into stereotypes — the North-South divide was no longer spoken of, and members of either side stopped complaining about the other in the Review or The Grape or the Oberlin meme page. It’s as if Oberlin College is a high school, where we all join a certain group because it makes us feel comfortable: band or theater or athletics, to name a few. But we don’t have to come here for another four years of high school. I think Oberlin should be a place that challenges you to break out of your comfort zone. College is supposed to be different, especially at a place like Oberlin, where people are coming from all locations on the map and bringing with them all sorts of interests and perspectives. Oberlin gives us all an opportunity to push our boundaries and meet some of the most interesting people we may ever have the chance to learn from. Some may think of me as a “dumb jock.” Others may say I’m an “Obie sympathizer” and don’t fully understand how harshly some outsiders view members of the athletics department. Although both may be true to an extent, I wish we could look at the bigger picture and stop judging one another. I wish we would show one another more compassion and appreciation, because we all play a role on this campus and help make it the wonderful institution that it is. I want to bridge the gap between athletes and non-athletes and help others break through the confines of their comfort zones, because I believe it would help us all feel a sense of belonging. If my future children come to Oberlin, my hope is that after the excitement of freedom from home wears off, they won’t feel like many of us here do on a daily basis: isolated.