May 3, 2019

The Oberlin Review May 3, 2019

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 22

Walking Tours Highlight Oberlin’s History Jaimie Yue

just suck it up, buttercup.”

Kamitsuka did acknowledge that, given the AAPR’s momentum after a months-long process, its general recommendations are essentially set.

“Until we submit the final report to President Ambar, the steering committee will continue to listen for and consider ideas that will make our recommendations better,” he wrote. “That said, after more than 45 meetings in the last six weeks, the likelihood of major ideas emerging that will substantially change the course of our report naturally grows smaller over time.”

At the forum, Pardee and many other hourly employees expressed concerns over their job security, given data released by the AAPR which says Oberlin pays its hourly employees 34 percent more than comparable institutions, the Five Colleges of Ohio — which include Kenyon College, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, The College of Wooster, and Oberlin College. One of the steering committee’s recommendations with regard to employee compensation is to lower hourly workers’ pay in order to close that gap, as well as reduce the overall number of employees on campus.

When pressed, steering committee members were unable to provide specifics regarding which positions could be cut. Vice President for Finance and Administration Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings noted that such details fell outside of the scope taken

For those interested in learning more about Oberlin and its rich history, new walking tours are now available through the izi.Travel app or website. The free app can detect a user’s location and allows the user to listen to a tour while visiting a site at their own pace.

On May 11 from 2–3:30 p.m., the Oberlin Public Library will host a formal launch and introduction to the virtual tours. The event is an opportunity for the public to learn how to use the app and give feedback to the Coalition for Oberlin History, the original designers of the virtual tours. A reception will be held later that day at 4 p.m. at The Feve.

Emeritus Professor of History Gary Kornblith and other faculty members founded the Coalition for Oberlin History in 2017. For Kornblith and others from the Coalition, the launch of the app is the culmination of nearly three years of brainstorming, discussion, and hard work.

The idea for the app began when Kornblith and his wife Carol Lasser were traveling to an outdoor sculpture garden in Hamilton, Ohio, where they were able to use a phone app as a guide around the park.

“We both realized, ‘Gee, this would be a way of creating tours without having to locate those tours in one organization or another,” Kornblith said. “We brought that [idea] back to the Coalition, and everyone said, ‘This is interesting,’ and I volunteered to look up the options, how to create one of these tours, and what were the competing possibilities.”

The Coalition has partnered with many local groups in order to uphold its commitment in promoting diversity.

“We were talking about ways of presenting Oberlin history that would allow for multiple narratives rather than a single story,” Kornblith said. “If you’re a town booster connected to the Chamber of Commerce, you have your version of how Oberlin history has evolved, but if you are an African American whose family has been in town for multiple generations, the history of the community looks very different.”

For Oberlin College Library Archivist Ken Grossi, the Coalition was the perfect way for the College Archives to connect with the wider Oberlin community. “[History] has always been a passion of mine,” Grossi explained. “I really feel fortunate that I’m in this position to be able to share the history.”

Kornblith explained that finding the izi.

Travel app was very beneficial to the project.

“It had all the right features,” Kornblith said. “It was free. It was a do-it-yourself app, so you didn’t have to hand off your images to a third party that would then make a tour, but you could do it yourself..”

Kornblith and Grossi produced the tour, “Oberlin College: The First Century.” In

See Forum, page 3

See Historical, page 4

Oberlin Community members gathered for a public forum in King 306 yesterday to express thoughts and concerns about the AAPR recommendations.

Photo by Meg Parker, Photo Editor

AAPR Unveils Draft of Final Recommendations Nathan Carpenter Editor-in-Chief On Monday, the steering committee of the Academic and Administrative Program Review released a public draft of its final recommendations that will be submitted to President Carmen Twillie Ambar at the end of this semester. The draft, a 59-page document expanding on the initial areas of recommendation made public in March, was the subject of a well-attended public forum yesterday.

According to Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and AAPR Chair David Kamitsuka, the draft was informed by feedback gathered from community members over the last several weeks.

“Since the steering committee outlined its ideas in the Summary of Work to Date in mid-March, members have participated in more than 45 meetings with various governing bodies and stakeholder groups,” Kamitsuka wrote in an email to the Review. “The initial presentations and webinar in March alone engaged more than 1,000 faculty, students, staff, alumni, and parents, always with an open exchange of information and ideas as part of the event.”

While much of the latest draft only provides more specific information and directions for the initial areas of recommendation, some new areas are also included.

In particular, this draft provides implementation timelines for each area of recommendation. The

timelines begin this summer and stretch, in some cases, through 2024.

Additionally, the committee detailed how the areas of recommendation will interact with each other and recommended the formation of an ad hoc committee to track the effectiveness of the recommendations as they are implemented.

While Kamitsuka emphasized the steering committee’s efforts to seek community feedback, some noted that the most recent recommendations are largely the same as they were in March.

“At the end of the day, it felt like the … touching base with everybody was just to explain what AAPR was supposed to do and supposed to be,” said Student Finance Committee Co-Chair and Student Senator Elmo Tumbokon. “And so, if you look at the text body of what the AAPR final recommendations are, not much has changed — it literally is just a more detailed explanation.”

That sentiment was reflected at Thursday’s forum, where the conversation largely focused on the AAPR’s impacts on Oberlin’s hourly employees and bargaining units.

“I don’t think they’re listening to what the people are saying, because they’re not changing anything,” said English Departmental Secretary Linda Pardee, who is also a member of the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees union. “You know, it’s kind of like they’re letting us listen to what they’re planning on doing. We don’t have a say in it and they’re going to do it, you know, and

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

THIS WEEK

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

02 Admissions to Diversify International Student Population

05 International Programming Needs Greater Support

08 Comics at Oberlin

10 Audience Fills Birenbaum for Moonlight, My Heart

15 IM Softball Builds Community and Competitive Spirit

03 Car Crash Damages The Hotel at Oberlin

06 Disabled Student-Athletes Must Have Accesibility Needs Met

12 Alum Film CRSHD Screens at Apollo Theater Next Thursday

16 Son Heung-min Weighs in on England’s Race Debate

The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

oberlinreview.org facebook.com/oberlinreview TWITTER @oberlinreview INSTAGRAM @ocreview

1

Ne w s

Admissions to Diversify International Student Population

College first-year Marwan Ghanem works on his laptop in the International Student Resource Center. Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Ella Moxley Senior Staff Writer Oberlin has seen a steady increase in international student enrollment over the past several years, and is currently looking to implement changes to continue increasing diversity in the student body.

Josh Whitson, director of the International Student Resources Center and assistant dean of students, reports that, although his office is not in charge of admissions recruitment, Oberlin always works to expand diversity.

“The idea is to always bring in as diverse of a class as possible,” Whitson said.

This is why, over the last few years, the number of international students has increased at Oberlin. Currently, international students make up about

11 percent of the student body, almost double the amount in 2008, when the amount was around six percent.

According to Senior Assistant Director of Admissions Sophie MettlerGrove, who is in charge of international recruitment, having international students at about one-tenth of the student population is fitting for Oberlin’s priorities.

“Our growth in international students reflects our continuous commitment to being a highly diverse community which values global experiences, perspectives, and identities,” MettlerGrove wrote in an email to the Review.

“We have been around 11 percent, and that feels comfortable given our various enrollment priorities.”

In the 2017–2018 school year, colleges comparable to Oberlin enrolled similar percentages, with Wellesley

and Swarthmore both enrolling international students at around 13 percent of the student body.

Mettler-Grove says that the majority of Oberlin’s current international students are from China, followed next

by India and then Vietnam. Efforts to diversify the international student body include recruitment of individuals from different parts of Europe and Asia.

“These are the areas that already know us, and we want to expand our name recognition and representation of the regions on campus,” Mettler-Grove said.

One challenge international students face comes from the rhetoric and policies of the current Trump administration.

In addition to the travel ban, there have been many small changes that make the process of coming to the U.S. for college more difficult. For example, the I-765 form for employment after graduation has increased from two pages to seven pages under the current administration.

Other challenges with recruitment include the fact that many students outside the U.S. do not understand what a liberal arts education entails.

Additionally, countries like China, the Netherlands, and Canada are starting to draw students away from the U.S. The United States’ extended visa and the high cost of education can make these other countries more attractive to students looking to study outside of their home country.

Whitson’s office helps students navigate various bureaucratic tasks associated with immigration. Often this can be a difficult task. Whitson says, for example, if an American student finds an internship in finance but is a biology

major, taking such an opportunity is not a problem. However, for an international student, internships or off-campus jobs must be related to their area of study and go through a process of Curricular Practical Training authorization. Even for things as simple as adding a major or minor, there is immigration paperwork that needs to be updated.

The office also supports students with living far away from home. For example, because many international students do not go home for breaks, the office will help them stay in The Hotel at Oberlin for winter break and subsidize the cost based on need.

Conservatory first-year Linda (Xiang) Su says the International Student Center aided with her transition to Oberlin. “[The International Student Center] holds many events, activities, and groups, like the Chinese Student Association,” Su said.

College first-year Liam Mai echoed this, saying he felt very supported at Oberlin.

“I feel like I have more than enough resources,” Mai said.

Other international students, like College junior Maryam Ghazala, have contrasting feelings.

“There are good resources for international students on campus and Josh Whitson has been a very helpful resource but, overall, I don’t think the resources we have are enough,” Ghazala wrote in a message to the Review.

“There is a lot that can be done in terms of academic and career advising and mentorship for international student that would improve their college experience.”

OST Considers Implementing New Timecard Procedure Jenna Gyimesi News Editor Oberlin’s Office of the Student Treasurer is considering adopting a new approach to timecard collection for certain stipended student organizations, including the Sexual Information Center, The Grape, and the Review. Recent confusion about the submission of timecards — whether individual student workers should submit their hours via a Google form as opposed to organizations submitting timecards — resulted in many students paid through OST not receiving payment for two pay periods, or about one month’s time.

OST leadership said that the goal of transitioning into an online collection method is to combat the fact that some student organizations were receiving payment that did not correspond to their assigned stipends.

“It was brought up that we should bring timecards in-house to OST because there have been incidents in the past where we find out that people are being paid for hours that they do not necessarily work, or that they are overpaying themselves,” College junior and Assistant Student Treasurer Nae McClain said.

The Oberlin R eview May 3, 2019 Volume 147, Number 22 (ISSN 297–256) Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch.

Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as second-class matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911.

POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081. Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. Phone: (440) 775-8123

2

“We thought it would be better to do it in-house because we have the budgets and can triple check who’s being paid, and what hours they are being paid for.”

OST informed groups that payment processing could change and acknowledged the potential creation of an online form to track hours worked.

In an email on March 6. OST requested that groups submit their hours worked through a Google form for informational purposes only. Many groups believed that OST was requesting that organizations now submit online time cards exclusively.

“I let people know that there might be something to look out for,” said OST member and Student Finance Committee Operations Manager Elijah Aladin. “The email that I sent had a Google form attached to keep track of hours. One of the issues we have is keeping accurate records of what people are actually working versus what they are stipended for. Otherwise we are allocating the stipend based on pure trust. ... But I was basically just trying to collect records.”

However, many students in affected student organizations were frustrated by the email and subsequent communications.

Editors-in-Chief

Sydney Allen Nathan Carpenter Managing Editor Ananya Gupta News Editors Anisa Curry Vietze

Jenna Gyimesi Opinions Editor Jackie Brant This Week Editor Mikaela Fishman Arts Editors Kate Fishman

Katherine MacPhail Sports Editors Jane Agler

Alexis Dill Photo Editors Mallika Pandey Meg Parker Senior Staff Writers Carson Dowhan Roman Broszkowski Julie Schreiber

Ella Moxley

Layout Editors

“Four days after [OST] sent the email, I emailed [OST] and I asked about it,” said SIC Treasurer Taylor Andrews. “We had contacted OST and were asking what was happening, and why. We couldn’t get a response back.”

Some members of the groups were worried about the added financial stress this may cause members of their organizations.

“We really try to hire diverse staff here at the SIC,” Andrews said. “That includes people of different socioeconomic statuses. A lot of us can’t not get paid for our hours.”

Moving forward, OST hopes to adopt a new policy for timecard collection that will make the process fairer and more efficient, but is not focusing on developing that policy at this point in the semester.

“Switching to the new system is not a priority,” Aladin said. “It’s not even supposed to be brought up right now, there are so many other things.”

In addition to the Review, SIC, and The Grape, OST, SFC, and Student Senate were also not paid for approximately one month’s time due to an internal issue. OST is in the process of filing back payments for these groups, and they are expected to receive payment within the next two weeks.

Parker Shatkin Jake Butcher Lila Michaels Lillian Jones Business Manager Jared Steinberg Ads Manager Jabree Hason Web Manager Sage Vouse Production Manager Giselle Glaspie Production Staff Christo Hays Olive Hwang Lior Krancer Devyn Malouf Madi Mettenburg Allison Schmitt Annie Schoonover Ivy Fernandez Smith

Corrections: In the online version of the article “First Church to Undergo Historic Renovations,” published April 19, the Review wrote that the photo of First Church’s choir was taken in 1959. This is incorrect; the photo was actually taken in 1859.

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

Car Crash Damages The Hotel at Oberlin

Security Notebook Thursday, April 25, 2019

12:32 a.m. Campus Safety officers responded to a report of an unauthorized individual attending a student event at the ’Sco in Wilder Hall. The area was checked but the individual had left prior to the officers’ arrival.

9:02 p.m. A student reported the theft of their laptop from the third-floor center commons area in King Building. The laptop was left unattended for a short period of time. The area was checked, but the laptop was not located.

9:24 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of South Hall.

Steam from cooking activated the alarm.

The alarm was reset.

Friday, April 26, 2019

Yesterday at approximately 6:30 p.m, a single driver collided with the south side of The Hotel at Oberlin. The gold Prius damaged three window panes, shattering the glass and scattering it on the East College Street sidewalk and expxosing The Hotel’s empty retail space. The Oberlin Police Department responded promptly and cleared the scene. No one was harmed in the collision.

Text by Jenna Gyimesi, News Editor Photo courtesy of Kameron Dunbar

Forum Continues Conversation About AAPR Continued from page 1

on by the AAPR — this response was met largely with skepticism from the crowd.

“For them to sit down and tell us we have to wait another two years to find out if we’re going to have a job, ... it’s cruel,” Pardee said.

Ambar also addressed the crowd, challenging community members to think about the connections between institutional sustainability and stable employment opportunities, saying that nobody will be well-off if Oberlin’s structural budget deficits force the College to close its doors.

Despite the forum’s heavy focus on hourly workers, the draft’s final recommendations also outlined the potential roles that other campus offices and committees will play in implementing the AAPR recommendations. The steering committee has taken a collaborative approach to working with the Career Development Center, the Educational Plans and Policies Committee, and the Winter Term Committee.

“Part of the process for developing each recommendation has been a series of conversations and meetings with those most expert in the subject and most closely involved at Oberlin,” he wrote. “Those conversations helped us understand and document what capacity we think will be needed to implement the recommendations, which is detailed at the end of each recommendation, along with costs, infrastructure, timeline, and other elements of implementation.”

In particular, many of the recommendations will fall under the scope of EPPC, which oversees academic departments and tenuretrack faculty lines. Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and EPPC Chair Laura Baudot The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

shared that EPPC is in the midst of considering the recommendations, but has not yet commented publicly on any of them.

The Winter Term Committee, on the other hand, has already unanimously endorsed the AAPR’s recommendations regarding Winter Term programming. It is the first such committee to do so.

Associate Director of the Bonner Center for Service and Learning and Winter Term Committee Chair Tania Boster said that the AAPR recommendations lined up with work already being undertaken by the committee.

“Winter Term had undergone a program review over a year ago — independent of and preceding the AAPR process,” Boster wrote in an email to the Review. “The conclusions contained in that review are very much in line with AAPR’s findings and proposals for enhancing Winter Term. … So, all of us on the committee — students, faculty, and staff — were happy to endorse AAPR’s recommendations and to work on an area of growth that is so widely agreed upon as significant by the campus community.”

Boster shared that the committee will begin implementing changes immediately.

“We are prioritizing efforts to streamline processes for Winter Term 2020, and we’re already working to improve access to resources and clarity of communication around all aspects of Winter Term, from funding to project opportunities,” she wrote.

“These are areas of recommendation we’re able and eager to address right away.”

The Career Development Center is also identified as an office that will be key in implementing many of the recommendations. The

recommendations acknowledge that the center currently faces significant staffing and funding shortages.

However, Associate Dean of Students and Interim Director of the Career Development Center Dana Hamdan is confident that these challenges can be addressed.

“The staff is being built at this time, and the College is searching for a director of the CDC with the vision and energy to implement the AAPR recommendations for career development,” Hamdan wrote in an email to the Review.

Kamitsuka also addressed the proposed ad hoc committee, which would be formed after the conclusion of the AAPR’s work to monitor and ensure the effectiveness of its implementation, and would report directly to the president.

“The recommendation for a followup committee to assess progress on implementation and explore further ideas is intended to help weave together the implementation work of governance committees across the institution,” he wrote. “President Ambar has been one [of ] the chief advocates for transparency and public communication throughout the AAPR process, an approach very much shared by the steering committee. The result has been a data-driven, transparent process with regular updates, detailed reports, and opportunities for all members of our community to engage. We expect that to continue in this next phase.”

While Thursday’s forum marked the final public forum of the AAPR process, steering committee members emphasized that community members can continue to express feedback and concerns via contact information available on the AAPR website.

12:21 p.m. A staff member reported a 2-inch gash in a staff vehicle tire caused by a large pothole in the Professional Services parking lot. The facilities manager was notified of the pothole.

5:08 p.m. Officers, members of the Oberlin Fire Department, and an electrician responded to a fire alarm on the third floor of South Hall. The smoke detector was replaced and the alarm was reset.

8:59 p.m. Officers were requested to assist an ill student on the second floor of Langston Hall. The student advised that they were tripping on acid. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

11:22 p.m. Staff at Wilder Hall reported an intoxicated student who had wanted to attend an event at the ’Sco. The student, who was able to answer all questions and walk without assistance, was escorted to their dorm by a friend.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

7:02 p.m. Officers were requested to assist an ill student in Asia House. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

12:23 a.m. Officers were requested to assist a highly intoxicated student in the women’s restroom on the first floor of Wilder Hall. An ambulance was requested and the student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

12:46 a.m. Officers responded to a Goldsmith Village Housing Unit after receiving a loud noise complaint. Upon arrival, approximately 30–50 people were observed and a strong odor of burnt marijuana was also detected. The unauthorized party was dispersed and an electrician responded to replace the detector and reset the alarm.

12:47 a.m. Officers were requested to assist a student, ill from alcohol consumption, at a Union Street village housing unit. An ambulance was requested and the student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Monday, April 29, 2019

3:55 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the second floor of Bosworth Hall. The alarm was activated by smoke from burnt popcorn. The area was cleared and the alarm was reset.

10:12 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a reported grease fire in Third World Co-op.

The Oberlin Fire Department removed a pan of grease from the kitchen, the area was cleared of smoke, and the alarm was reset.

3

Ne New wss

Historical Tours of Oberlin Available Through App Continued from page 1

designing the tours, Kornblith aimed for a 20-to40 minute tour that inspire listeners and prompt more research.

“We’re trying to get people to learn a little bit about our history,” Grossi said. “Hopefully this inspires visitors, students, and community members to want to ask more and visit the archives.”

Kornblith is also optimistic that the tours will inspire curiosity.

“I hope that [the tours] will allow existing community members to learn about aspects of their town’s history that they might not have encountered before and to recognize that this history is rich, but it’s also complicated, it’s contested,” Kornblith said.

Additionally, the tours will offer a more indepth account of Oberlin’s history beyond its renowned status as the first college to admit women and all students regardless of race.

President of the Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group and Coalition member, Phyllis Yarber Hogan says that only learning about Oberlin’s abolitionist history creates the impression to visitors that “Oberlin must be a utopia, free from racism.”

As a lifelong Oberlin resident, Hogan’s perspective is more complicated. Hogan’s contributions to the project include the “Oberlin’s African-American Community: Historic Groveland” tour, which informs listeners about people of color’s contributions to the town’s history. Adding her own touch, Hogan’s tour includes the voices of female Oberlin high school students of color who narrate each stop on the tour.

“My point in asking the high school girls to narrate the tour was so that they would then have to learn something about the women featured on the tour,” Hogan explained. “I also want the young African-American women in Oberlin to know that they stand in a place that produced and educated women who made great contributions to the history of this country.”

The launch event at the Oberlin Public Library does not mean that the virtual tour project is complete. Kornblith envisions virtual tours being used for College students’ essays, reviews, critiques, and first-year seminars, as well as being incorporated into Oberlin’s new student orientation to teach incoming firstyears about the campus and town.

Not only can anyone access the virtual tours, but anyone can create their own. Grossi hopes that the launch event on May 11 will inspire others to design tours. Above all, the Coalition for Oberlin History’s hard work ensures that students, community members, and future generations have a well-researched and reliable account of the town’s history.

For those interested, seven tours of Oberlin are now accessible for free on the izi.Travel website or through the free izi.Travel app.

The Oberlin Public Library event on May 11 — meant to introduce the tours formally — is open to the entire community.

OFF THE CUFF

Manu Karuka, OC ’00, Author

Manu Karuka is an assistant professor of American Studies at Barnard College and author of the book Empire’s Tracks: Indigenous Nations, Chinese Workers, and the Transcontinental Railroad, which was released in March of this year. Karuka was a double-degree Oberlin student who graduated in 2000 with majors in Composition in the Conservatory and South Asian Studies in the College. After Oberlin, Karuka earned a Ph.D. in American Studies from New York University. Karuka delivered a talk at Oberlin about his book on Monday, April 29.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Manu Karuka, OC ’00

Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Sydney Allen Editor-in-Chief Can you summarize your talk for folks who weren’t able to attend?

I spoke about the core arguments of my book, Empire’s Tracks. The book is about the Transcontinental Railroad, and it provides the history of the railroad through the lens of imperialism. So I talked about the three major themes that I organized the book around — those are the themes of countersovereignty, which is how I understand the ways that the U.S. manifests its power over the territories that it claims, which is in reaction to prior Indigenous collective life. And I talked about what I call modes of relationship, which is a type of analysis that focuses on the production and reproduction of relationships, and that’s really drawing from the work of Indigenous feminist scholars and activists. And finally, what I call continental imperialism, which is how I understand the process by which the United States claims and maintains power over North America.

Could you elaborate on that last point? How did the U.S. maintain power during the period of your research?

Well, there are three major texts I look at for that argument. The first is a classic essay by the historian Frederick Jackson Turner, who is arguing about what he calls the frontier — it’s remembered as a frontier thesis. Turner argues that the frontier process — which, for Turner, is where civilization meets savagery — this process is what makes the United States exceptional in the world. So I read that essay in relation to two other works; one is by W.E.B. Du Bois, and it’s called “The African Roots of War.” It was published in The Atlantic Monthly in the 20th century. In this essay, Du Bois was trying to answer why the first World War happened and what led to the first World War, which at the time was a completely shocking and unanticipated war — an unprecedented war. Du Bois’ argument was that it was a European scramble for Africa that led to the violence and the outbreak of the first World War. The third text I look at is Lenin’s pamphlet on imperialism. Lenin also was trying to chart out why the first World War happened. Lenin also looked to the European division of the world, the precedents of financial capitalism over

other forms of capitalism, and the emergence of cartels — concentrations of capital under fewer and fewer hands — and the competition between these cartels that led to the outbreak of the war.

I’m interested in reading Lenin and Du Bois, their arguments, and the specific details of their arguments in relation to the history of North America.

One of the things that becomes clear when we understand the history of North America from the perspectives of Indigenous nations is that this process that they’re both describing is imperialism. That was taking place in North America a few decades before Lenin found it taking place in other parts of the world in Asia and Africa and Latin America. So there’s a connection between North America and what was once thought of as the Third World, what’s now called the Global South.

What first got you interested in this line of research?

I was led to this work by a question which stays with me: What does anti-imperialism look like from the vantage of North America? When I was an undergraduate student at Oberlin, I was studying South Asian Studies, and I was deeply immersed in the study of British imperialism and British colonialism in South Asia — the history and historiography of that, the way it’s written and how it actually happened. And so I was deeply interested in questions of imperialism and colonialism. But what brought me to this is trying to understand those questions and those histories here in North America itself. I started my work with that question and continue to ask that question.

In a similar vein, why do you think it’s important for your students and readers to engage with these questions and learn about this episode in American history?

I’m a student of Du Bois. Du Bois wrote so much; he left so much work for us. But among those is his magisterial history, Black Reconstruction in America, which many — myself included — understand as the greatest work of U.S. history that’s been written. But Black Reconstruction is not just a

Oberlin Community News Bulletin Oberlin Farmers Market Opens for Season The Oberlin Farmers Market is opening for the season Saturday, May 18 from 9–11 a.m. The Farmers Market supplies the Oberlin community with fresh fruits and vegetables, farm-raised meat and eggs, and fresh baked breads and pies from local vendors. The market also regularly sells jams, maple syrup, and homemade soaps.

Come join, rain or shine, outside of the Oberlin Public Library and listen to local musicians or enjoy some fresh kettle corn.

4

Discover Family Heritage at Genealogy Lock-In The Oberlin Public Library is holding a genealogy lock-in where participants can learn about their family history on Friday, May 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Genealogy experts will be available to help with research, library resources, genealogy databases, and other tools to learn more about your heritage. Everyone is welcome! Register online at oaaghg.com or at the Oberlin Public Library. Contact the events team at (440) 775-4790 with any questions.

work of history; it’s also a work that provides us a blueprint for radical, democratic, transformative change in North America. When I teach to my students, I say this is a living history because history is not over. Some of the core questions that we face right now — ecological devastation, runaway climate change, mass extinction of species, mass suffering, extreme poverty, police violence and vigilante violence, the rise of organized racist violence — are deep elements of the history of this continent. In studying the history, I think we’re studying the history of struggle and resistance and also the history of contradictions in power, the history of contradictions in assertions of what I call countersovereignty. All of these can be useful for us today as we try to chart a path to collective survival.

Can you to elaborate on how you think your time at Oberlin prepared you to enter academia and grapple with these huge questions?

Oberlin has a really unique intellectual culture. I was happy during my visit to meet a number of students — students in [Assistant Professor of Politics] Charmaine Chua’s class, students through a co-op, and student leaders of organizations — and just, you know, hear some of the questions that are in the forefront of their minds.

Oberlin really has a unique intellectual culture, and I’ve taught on a number of different campuses. It’s something that shaped me. And it wasn’t just the culture, you know — we would teach each other. I learned as much or more from my fellow students as I learned in class as an undergraduate. And those lessons, that way of working and thinking collectively really shaped my intellectual trajectory.

Do you have anything else you want to add?

I think I was most excited to meet students and hear what they are thinking about now, and I’m really inspired by the visions and the work that the students are doing. I left Oberlin feeling a deep gratitude to the students who are there now for the work that they’re doing collectively, not only to learn but to shape the future of the institution.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby to Speak to U.S. House Representative Carlos Curbelo The Oberlin chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby is holding their monthly meeting Saturday, May 11 from 1–3 p.m. in the Oberlin Public Library’s craft room.

They will be joined via video conference by former congressmember Carlos Curbelo, who is currently involved with Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Curbelo’s talk will focus on building bipartisan solutions to climate change. For more information, visit www.citizensclimatelobby. org, write to jwsabin@gmail.com. All are welcome!

May 3, 2019

OPINIONS established 1874

Ariana Grande Should Not Be Your White Queer Icon Aly Fogel Contributing Writer A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for the Review about queer tropes in the music video for Ariana Grande’s song, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” (“Ariana Grande’s Music Video Perpetuates Queer Stereotypes, Tropes,” March 8, 2018). Writing under the assumption that Grande was straight, I criticized the video for utilizing Grande’s kiss with a girl as a “plot twist.” This portrayal, I argued, fed into a common trope that delegitimizes and fetishizes queer women. The article was written a month after the video was released, prior to any sign of Grande coming out. Then, at the beginning of April, Ariana released a song titled “Monopoly” with her friend Victoria Monét, who is bisexual. In the song, they both sing, “I like women and men.”

This was a bombshell for the queer community. While fans declared her a “bisexual icon,” I remained skeptical. Time and again, I’ve been baited by entertainment that presents sexual attraction between women purely for the benefit of the male gaze. From videos like Rihanna and Shakira’s “Can’t Remember to Forget You” to shows like Riverdale, the fetishization of queer women is pervasive across platforms.

When I heard “Monopoly,” I thought to myself, “Could these five words really be a coming out statement, or am I, once again, being baited by a presentation of female queerness which only exists for the male gaze?” In a tweet defending the singer, a fan wrote that Ariana shouldn’t have to label her sexuality. Grande tweeted in response, “I haven’t before and still don’t feel the need to now, which is [OK].”

The fact is: It is OK. No one should be forced to label their sexuality or out themselves before they are ready.

I immediately reacted to “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” with anger, because I have seen straight women use queer tropes so many times before. Now that she’s also sung publicly, “I like women and men,”

who are we to question if she’s “really queer” or not? Sexually fluid, pansexual, and bisexual people should not have to prove their same-sex attraction in order for their sexuality to be validated. Questioning the validity of someone’s expressed queerness is an unfair form of gatekeeping for the LGBTQ community. I do think it would have been more beneficial if Grande, as a massive celebrity, came out in a more formal way, but an official “coming out” should not be forced upon anyone — celebrity or not.

Still, I am not going to call Grande a queer icon. Even though Grande is not adopting queer culture for attention or popularity among the queer community, she still has a long history with cultural appropriation, especially with adopting aspects of Black culture. Because of this history, white queers should not celebrate her.

Cultural appropriation is the adoption of costumes, aesthetics, music, or any other cultural aspect by a person, especially a white person, who is not a part of that culture. Grande — who is of Italian descent — still frames herself in a way that directly exploits an identity which does not belong to her.

This appropriation is especially clear in Grande’s “7 Rings” music video. The song veers out of Grande’s typical pop sphere, using aspects of trap music. Black artists called her out for stealing from their songs without giving them credit. Notably, Soulja Boy called out Grande for copying his hit, “Pretty Boy Swag.”

Princess Nokia also criticized Grande for stealing the flow in “7 Rings” from her song, “Mine.” The two tracks also have significant lyrical similarities. Both sing about their fake hair: Grande raps, “I see it/I like it/I want it/I got it” in a very similar rhythm to Princess Nokia’s, “It’s mine/I bought it.” In “Mine,” Princess Nokia raps about white people trying to touch her hair without permission.

Princess Nokia’s song is a celebration of women of color and of hair that does not fit Euro-centric beauty standards. The rhythm and lyrical similarities in “7 Rings” are especially offensive because Grande meets See Grande, page 6

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and oped 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 | May 3, 2019

Volume 147, Number 22

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief

Sydney Allen

Nathan Carpenter

Managing Editor Ananya Gupta

Opinions Editor Jackie Brant

International Programming Needs Greater Support The last decade has seen the population of international students attending Oberlin nearly double, stabilizing at an average of 11 percent per year. The profile of the class of 2022 includes 13 percent international students from 35 different countries. However, despite this population growth, resources for international students on this campus seem to remain relatively stagnant.

While the current resources available to international students, primarily through the International Student Resource Center and student groups, deserve credit for the phenomenal support they provide, they are spread thin relative to the size of the community they serve. The ISRC has a single full-time staff member, and while Assistant Dean of Students Josh Whitson is indisputably a gem, it is worrisome that he single-handedly manages all international student affairs, from orientation week to post-Oberlin employment paperwork known as optional practical training, which allows international students to work in the United States for one to three years after graduation.

This means that a single College employee is not only the sole resource available to international students on campus for four years, but also that this one person is tasked with supporting students with immigration paperwork up to three years after they are no longer at Oberlin.

Organizations such as the International Student Organization, other cultural clubs, and courses in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program must certainly be recognized for their efforts in creating support and a strong community for international students as well. However, there is enormous potential for improvement in institutional resources for international students — most importantly increasing full-time staff in the ISRC. It is imperative to note that the dearth in support is not limited to resources available to international students. The problem also lies in the lack of educational opportunities provided to American students at Oberlin regarding cultural sensitivity. There seems to be a wide gap in knowledge amongst American students about how to be culturally sensitive — both when interacting with international students on campus and when traveling abroad.

This problem is not just particular to American students at Oberlin, however.

Intercultural incompetence is a national problem in the U.S. Americans are notorious for their limited knowledge and understanding of how other countries, especially developing countries, operate.

Oberlin offers students several opportunities to study abroad, whether it is for a semester, a year, or through postgraduate programs like Shansi or Watson fellowships. While the longer term programs do offer some support in terms of navigating a foreign language, there is not enough recognition of ideas such as American privilege, colonial histories, governmental differences, and other cultural differences students are bound to encounter.

Treating local private spaces in other countries like tourist spots, expressing resentment toward the lack of infrastructure or amenities in third world countries, and complaining about the “backward” ideals of developing nations are just some examples of ignorant behavior exhibited by Americans while traveling abroad. This ignorance stems from a lack of knowledge of the centuries of culture, struggle, and effort involved in building these countries. This gap in knowledge results in a general populace that is unprepared to respectfully navigate other countries.

Oberlin’s campus is also a site of disrespectful, unpleasant interactions between American and international students. Comments regarding international students’ language proficiency or generalizations based on incomplete facts about other countries severely limit the relationships formed between the two communities. On an institutional level, academic courses at Oberlin assume international students to possess the same degree of knowledge about American history as American students.

Faculty frequently expect international students to contribute to class discussions and include American historical and political narratives in assignments, often in courses without the support of TAs or tutors. With increased support for the ISRC, such academic and psychological chasms between international and American students can be bridged from both ends.

Simply adding international students, stirring, and then applauding ourselves for our diversity is not enough. Admitting more international students does not make Oberlin’s student body more globally competent on its own. While important, it is just the first step.

If Oberlin is truly committed to international diversity, it must not only provide its international student body adequate resources to thrive, but also teach its American students how to be respectful, well-informed global citizens.

Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Opinions Editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

5

Opi n ions

Disabled Student-Athletes Must Mercy Nurses Deserve More Respect, Thanks Have Accessibility Needs Met Jackie Brant Opinions Editor In light of the Academic and Administrative Program Review and financial stress at Oberlin College, there has been a lot of student concern surrounding physical accessibility. We know that there will be absolutely necessary cuts in order to secure the financial longevity of the institution.

However, one thing that cannot be sacrificed is accessibility for disabled students.

The resources for disabled students are already slim. Despite the genuine effort, care, and concern that Disability Resources staff provides, the department is drastically under-resourced. Some academic buildings and dormitories are not up to code, and others are entirely inaccessible to those with physical disabilities. Work orders are often not completed in a timely manner, which can be a serious threat to the well-being of all students, especially disabled students. Additionally, parking lots that are accessible to buildings — especially dorms — are almost completely nonexistent.

Because of the variety of these concerns, certain aspects of accessibility are often overlooked or ignored altogether. One group that often gets lost in this shuffle are disabled athletes. This not only includes varsity athletes but also club and intramural athletes, students who take athletic classes, and anyone who participates in athletics recreationally at Oberlin.

It is no secret that many current conceptions of disability and accessibility lack appropriate scope, nuance, and intersectionality. Many people — especially those not at Oberlin — have very specific pictures in mind when it comes to disabled people, most commonly involving some sort of visible physical impairment.

Sadly, these misconceptions are what keep some students, including disabled athletes, from receiving the accommodations they need to thrive on campus.

While many people at Oberlin do have a nuanced understanding of disability and accessibility, the vast majority of Americans have a very black-and-white view of the subjects. Many people do not believe that disabled people can be “real” athletes. Disabled bodies are commonly thought of as less than or unequal to abled bodies; this then feeds into the thought that disabled bodies simply cannot do the things — such as athletics — that abled bodies can.

When disabled athletes perform on the national stage — such as Shaquem Griffin, an NFL Seahawks linebacker with only one hand — it is thought to be a miracle or an enormous feat, despite the fact that there are plenty of highly successful disabled athletes. Because of this, not much thought goes into the accommodations and accessibility needs for disabled student-athletes which, unfortunately, can cause some disabled student-athletes to internalize the misconception that disabled people cannot be athletes.

After suffering from severe chronic back pain for eight years, I was finally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative arthritic condition affecting the spine. When I received the news,

I was immediately concerned about my ability to continue playing collegiate soccer. I have been playing the sport since I was four and did not want to give it up.

Ultimately, my doctor gave me the OK to continue playing; however, I was told that I could not lift weights in the same way as I had been, and I had to remove myself from play if I began to have a flareup. I continued to play with the knowledge that I am heavily susceptible to spinal fractures and spinal injuries.

While I acknowledged that my condition fit common definitions of disability, the fact that I continued to participate in athletics caused me to reject the idea that I was disabled. At the time, it did not matter that I frequently struggled to walk from my car to my dorm, or that I often woke up in the middle of the night due to pain.

It took me a while to accept that I am disabled and that I deserve accommodations regardless of my ability to participate in athletics. And while I acknowledge that there are times when lacking a visible disability gives me more control over how others perceive me, I still suffer from the condition that I have; I am justified in asking for accommodations that will make my life more manageable.

As it stands right now, however, student-athletes are not getting the accommodations they need.

Both the administration and students have failed to recognize the ways that athletics programs and facilities are not accessible for students. This is unacceptable for a number of reasons. Firstly, the introduction of YeoFit — a health initiative recently implemented by the College — is aimed at getting all Oberlin students involved in athletics; however, disabled students are left out of this program because many of the classes offered through Yeofit do not consider the needs of students with physical limitations. Secondly, working out is often key for many disabled people’s mobility and overall health.

For example, my arthritic conditions, including my own, require consistent, low impact activity in order to avoid stiffness and spinal immobility.

There are places in Philips gym that could certainly be more accessible. Currently, the weight room is highly inaccessible. It is often overcrowded — which can be intimidating for disabled athletes, especially ones that are not varsity athletes — and there is not much walking room. To solve this, priority hours for disabled students could be implemented.

There could also be athletic classes offered specifically for students with disabilities that not only accommodate their specific accessibility needs but aim to directly cater to them. Campus Dining Services should ensure that student-athletes with dietary restrictions related to disabilities have plenty of options to properly fuel their bodies.

There are plenty of accessibility concerns that must be addressed at Oberlin College. However, these things can only be addressed when students voice their dissatisfaction or concern. Developing a more comprehensive understanding of disability would not only help all student-athletes at Oberlin realize and ask for the accommodations they need, but also help ensure that Oberlin becomes adequately accessible for all disabled students.

Grande’s Queerness is Not An Excuse Continued from page 5

those same standards Princess Nokia rejects.

Outside of her music, Grande appropriates Black and Asian cultures in her daily life. Many videos have surfaced that reveal the evolution of Grande’s speaking voice over the last few years, and it’s clear she has incorporated Black vernacular and now uses it regularly. She has also been accused of using intense spray tans, which are so much darker than her naturally pale skin that she often gets mistaken for being Latinx, and some have even called her out for blackface.

Additionally, though Grande has learned the Japanese language, she has a tattoo in Japanese which is supposed to read “7 rings” that actually reads “small barbeque grill.” This is an appropriation of Japanese

6

aesthetics, without any appreciation for the actual culture.

These practices are an issue because they allow Grande to use aspects of Black or Asian culture, or even appear as someone who is not white, when it’s convenient for her. Yet, she still retains the privileges of a white woman. Grande does all of this without apologizing, even though she often knows better.

While we know now that Grande’s queerness is not just a marketing tactic, her appropriation of Black and Asian culture definitely is. Rather than using Grande’s professed sexual fluidity as a Band-Aid for her past mistakes, the white queer community should hold Grande accountable. After all, Grande’s “I want it/I got it” attitude toward identity can only maintain her popularity until her fans pull their support.

Jaimie Yue Contributing Writer

As I approached the doors to Stevenson Dining Hall on Wednesday, April 24, a man stopped me and introduced himself as James. Clipboard in hand, he explained how the nurses at Mercy Allen Hospital were negotiating with hospital administrators and were considering striking due to being overworked and underpaid.

Last week, the Ohio Nurses Association entered negotiations with Mercy administrators over issues concerning nurses’ pay. ONA also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the hospital. Meanwhile, Oberlin’s Student Labor Action Coalition — a labor solidarity group — has been working with representatives from ONA to gain support. James was outside Stevenson Dining Hall gathering student signatures in support of their cause as a representative of the Mercy nurses (“Ohio Nurses Association Enters Contract Negotiations With Mercy,” The Oberlin Review, April 26, 2019).

“Oh, I’d love to sign,” I said almost immediately, and I did.

However, I could not shake my discomfort about the idea of a strike being needed in the first place. The nurses’ reasons for striking mean they are still not being treated with the respect and fairness that they and all nurses deserve.

Most egregious of all, the mistreatment motivating the strike is not an isolated incident. Recent media stories demonstrate that the mistreatment of nurses is alarmingly widespread. For example, Washington State Senator Maureen Walsh argued that SHB 1155 — a proposed bill that would ensure uninterrupted meal and rest periods for nurses — was unnecessary for small rural hospitals with lower demand.

“By putting these types of mandates on a critical access hospital that literally serves a handful of individuals, I would submit to you that those nurses probably do get breaks,” Walsh stated during a debate on the Washington state Senate floor on April 23. “They probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.”

Walsh’s argument reflects the toxic idea that workers contribute most to society only if they are working around the clock. Yet, the nurses at Mercy — likely the kind of facility that Walsh is targeting — already are. Even if Mercy only serves “a handful of individuals,” there is no overlooking the fact that the hospital only staffs 32 nurses.

“Each nurse is probably assigned to seven or eight patients.

This is way more than the average number, which is usually four, maybe five,” I recall James explaining.

Even worse, Walsh’s rhetoric about rural nurses seems to be invalid given that 13,000 nurses in New York City threatened to collectively strike if hospital management failed to negotiate with the New York State Nurses Association by April 2. These 13,000 nurses worked at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Montefiore Medical Center — three of New York City’s largest hospitals — and were threatening to strike over staff ratios deemed “unsafe,” according to the union.

As SLAC’s communications point and College junior Elsa Schlensker explained, giving nurses fairer working conditions benefits patients as well. Simply put, even in hospitals in the most densely populated city in America, nurses are still overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated; this ultimately means that patients suffer as a result, too. The nurses are simply demanding humane working conditions.

Throughout the dozens of doctors’ appointments I’ve had throughout my life, it is always the nurses who I remember providing the most ease and comfort in my experiences. First off, hospitals are scary places. Just the general atmosphere of the place can easily spark feelings of anxiety and discomfort.

Additionally, working with ill or injured people — from a child with cancer to an elder with a terminal illness — involves a deep level of interpersonal communication skills.

While nursing is far from a thankless job, it never lets up. A friend of my older sister, for example, is currently in the medical field. Last year at Thanksgiving, he and his wife had to miss my family’s holiday dinner because they were working.

A career like nursing not only involves putting aside one’s personal reluctance to work on a holiday, but requires that nurses actively and enthusiastically care for patients who may have to spend Thanksgiving and other holidays in the hospital.

The path to becoming a nurse is far from easy. Often, a nurse’s workplace is a hospital, a place in which people hope they never have to stay. Additionally, the patients whom nurses work with and the situations they are thrust into can be exhausting and emotionally taxing. For these reasons, the nurses at Mercy Allen Hospital and at hospitals everywhere should not have to strike in the first place. It cannot be more clear that nursing is a career path chosen out of a desire to create change and do good in the world.

Career Communities Represents Positive Change, But Funding Must Be Accessible Lior Krancer Production Editor My experience with the Career Communities Program was very valuable. As a member of the Nonprofit and Public Sector Career Community, I learned so much about career preparedness, networking, and interviewing. It really showed me how strong Oberlin’s alumni network is — there are so many Obies doing amazing things all over the country who are eager to talk to current students about their futures.

Since I want to work in a competitive field, having specialized training to improve résumé and interviewing skills was indispensable. After multiple rounds of interviews with several organizations, I accepted an internship with The Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence, an interest group in Washington, D.C. That process taught me a lot about how to appreciate my own worth as a member of the workforce and convey my value to employers.

Career Communities, now in its first year, represents a step in the right direction for Oberlin’s career resources. An Oberlin education is a wonderful, enriching experience, but, as the Review has previously noted, we rank among the worst interviewees compared to graduates of our peer institutions (“Students Should Prioritize Career Prep,” Nov. 16, 2018). Career Communities opens doors by guaranteeing positions in summer internships, but doesn’t just hand them to students with no strings; through a one-module course, we did workshops, performed mock interviews, used online tools to connect with and interview alumni, and focused on general career readiness.

For graduating seniors, Career Communities is especially attractive, because it opens up paths in our chosen fields. Just by working in the field for one summer, we can meet so many people and connect with future employers. The program is also open to international students, giving them more flexibility in career options in the United States, as so many opportunities in the United States are only open to citizens or green card holders. Furthermore, the program provides funding, which means many students who would not otherwise be able to do unpaid internships can take advantage of this opportunity. However, when the funding deposits for our summer internships came in this week, many of us were alarmed.

I was appalled to see that the amount deposited in my account was over 20 percent less than the amount specified in the contract I had previously signed. Yes, the contract did state that the figure was pre-tax, but I have worked multiple jobs in multiple states and have never been taxed anywhere close to this rate. It was a shock. Had we been informed of the post-tax amount instead, all of us could have budgeted for the financial support we would actually be receiving. For many students, this deduction is, in fact, prohibitive.

It is true that recipients can choose not to have their taxes withheld from paychecks and receive the full pre-tax at the time of payment. That said, I believe the Career Communities program did not provide adequate information on the choices before us when we filled out our forms. Legally, Oberlin College cannot give tax advice. However, information is not advice.

The Career Center cannot expect detailed tax literacy from 18-to-21-year-olds. It is unreasonable to expect students to be able to talk to their parents about tax issues, because their parents may not know the ins and outs of tax law — this is especially true of first- and second-generation families or non-English-speaking families.

Since the Career Communities is expanding next year and adding new sectors, I think it might be worth considering to either account for higher financial need, or to explore options to convert program funding into a grant or scholarship format. The program is so valuable and provides a really positive experience for Obies hoping to develop their professional skills. I hope that these are just bumps in the road typical of a pilot program, and that future students will have more clear information regarding the pre- and post-tax funding they will receive. It is critical to make sure the Career Communities program is accessible for all students.

The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

Current Facilities Don’t Meet Accessibility Needs Zoe Luh EmmaLia Mariner Contributing Writers 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.

Since publishing her article “Inadequate Facilities Unsafe, Inaccessible for Disabled Students,” (The Oberlin Review, April 19, 2019) firstyear Zoe Luh has been pursuing safe housing for next year. In her search to get necessary accommodations, she has spent the majority of her energy and time on research and meetings regarding housing. Luh’s search to get safe housing has taken a significant toll on her classwork as well as mental, physical, and social health.

The Oberlin administration needs to recognize the harm they inflict on disabled students by not giving us the accommodations we require.

By failing to meet our needs, they force students to use their energy to gain basic rights on top of, and often instead of, taking care of ourselves as students. Over the last few weeks, Luh has worked with Student Senate — particularly EmmaLia Mariner — to gather information about mold on campus. We wish to update our community with the information that we have gathered.

In many discussions about supporting disabled students in Oberlin, the Americans with Disabilities Act is generally accepted as the basis of all accommodations. However, the ADA is flawed, and protections from discrimination based on mold contaminants are not included in this act. Any accommodations in higher education have to pass the subjective measure of being a “reasonable accommodation,” which may justify Oberlin’s resistance to remedying accommodation requests. In fact, there are no federal standards for testing, analyzing, and remedying mold contamination despite their danger to all people and particularly people with auto-immune disorders, chronic illnesses, and asthma.

Instead, these protections are established at the state level and by the environmental consulting industry.

People who are denied accessible housing based on a mold-sensitive disability can appeal to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in a claim of housing discrimination.

Complications and barriers with disability accommodations for living spaces have been problematic for many years in Oberlin, and disabled students have been bringing these issues

to the forefront. An example is the article “ADA Compliance Necessary to Support Disabled Students” (The Oberlin Review, December 9, 2016)

by Taylorlyn Stephan, OC ’17.

There are at least 16 floors of residential dorms on campus that cannot be accessed without the use of stairs, which displays the most obvious and visible barriers on campus for physically disabled people. Under the ADA, it is legal for these spaces to exist as long as people who appeal for accommodations are given an accessible space to live. Otherwise, the school does not have any responsibility to ensure that they can get to their friends’ rooms or live in a themed or identity-based hall or dorm. A number of students decide to deal with the inaccessible buildings to be part of identity-affirming or themebased communities. However, that is not always an option because it is too dangerous or painful.

There are many reasons why Oberlin’s dorms are inaccessible. The first is financial, the second is age, and the third is neglect. It is no secret that Oberlin College is contending with an uncertain future, including the projection that if no actions are taken the budget deficit would reach $52 million by 2024. Even as Oberlin’s annual expenditures include $6.1 million dedicated to facilities maintenance, spaces on campus remain unsafe for students. This has incredible implications on Oberlin’s substantial level of deferred maintenance.

Furthermore, many buildings — such as Johnson House and Talcott Hall — are too old for accessibility features, such as elevators or personal AC units, to be viable architecturally. Finally, for access needs such as auto-immune disorders, chronic illness, and asthma, lack of consistent maintenance of a dorm — such as swift response to a leak — can cause even some of the newest dorms to become inaccessible throughout the year.

The first draft of the AAPR recommendations does not include any language about prioritizing disability access. Mariner has reached out to AAPR to point out this gap and has been told that they will include disability access explicitly alongside their other priorities of environmental sustainability and reduction of long-term costs.

The AAPR steering committee agreed that “it is certainly appropriate and worthwhile for the report to explicitly integrate goals related to accessibility within the report and we will certainly do so.” On behalf of disabled Oberlin community members and guests, we hope that the implementation process will take disability access as seriously as we do. Disability is not optional, so accessibility shouldn’t be either.

Athina Apazidis

7

Comics

Layout by Lucy Martin Art and text by the Comix Collective and the Making Comics ExCo

Comix Collective Who we are:

Our mission is to foster appreciation for comics arts at Oberlin and support student artists with resources, materials, training, printing equipment, and community. We place an emphasis on DIY and encourage people to make things whether or not they have prior experience. We train students to use our Risograph printers and help them plan, publish, and distribute their work. We also have an archive of comics made by students in the past.

Art by Paige Wilsie

Our history:

Art by Paige Wilsie

What are we up to next year?

So much! We’re hoping to work with artists to facilitate the making and printing of new books, in addition to organizing more anthologies. We’re also really excited to be organizing a trip to Genghis Con in Lakewood, Ohio, on Dec. 1 of this year, where we will be exhibiting our books. We will also organize meetings and workshops for people to make zines, patches, pins, stickers, as well as collaborate on drawings and comics.

The Comix Collective has been around for thousands of years. Comics carved in the walls of the Comix Dungeon (our space in the basement of Noah Hall) indicate that early humans were making comics in Oberlin far before the founding of the College. In our more recent history, the Comix Collective used to organize trips to conventions, and we apparently once had a subscription service. A lot of great comics artists went to Oberlin, including Alison Bechdel. To my knowledge, she was never involved in the Comix Collective, but she did make some sweet comics about Oberlin while she was here. One comics artist who was involved in the Comix Collective is Liz Suburbia, artist and writer of Sacred Heart from Fantagraphics.

Comix Collective leaders: Art by Clair Wang

Clair Wang

Undeclared, 2022, he/she/ they. Relatively new to the comic-making scene; staff cartoonist for The Oberlin Review. Big Classical literature nerd interested in the natural sciences for the sake of world lore.

Roger Ort

Art by Jacob Butler

Jacob Butcher

Studio Art, 2020, he/him, from Pleasantville, NY. I transferred from an art school in Boston and I make comics about movies and I really like drawing.

Biology and Environmental Studies, ’cause art is for nerds! Class of 2021, he/ him. I came here for a Studio Art major, but the sensual allure of STEM swept me Art away; that’s why I make comics that double as love letters to science.

by roger Ort

Making Comics ExCo The Making Comics ExCo is a spiritual sister to the Comix Collective. It’s part lecture, part studio class taught by Shea Sion and Roger Ort where we learn how to make good, effective comics, and then actually make them! Not only do you get the experience of talking, chatting, and drawing with other people interested in making their own comic work, but you can also get two entire credits for it!

Calendar FRIDAY, MAY 3

Final Senior Studio Show The third and last senior art show featuring the work of the Studio and Visual Art majors.

Come experience immersive art installations, as well as complimentary beverages and snacks.

Baron Gallery • 7—9 p.m. • Fisher Gallery • 8—10 p.m.

FRIDAY—SATURDAY, MAY 3–4

Art by Isabelle Moore

Art by Alexandra Prat Art by Sophie Collier Art by Isabelle Moore

What are we up to next year?

Didn’t get in this year, or didn’t have enough time in your schedule to take it? Don’t fret, we’ll be teaching it again in the fall 2019 semester! This spring was our first time teaching, and now that we’re getting the hang of things, we can guarantee it’ll be even better next year.

Oberlin Dance Company: Tracing Our Roots This year, the Oberlin Dance Company performance features Djapo Cultural Arts Institute, a Cleveland-based West African dance company, as well as Oberlin student dancers. The show examines the history of Black dancers in the United States and is choreographed

by Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance and Africana Studies Talise Campbell, as well as Grammynominated percussionist Weedie Braimah.

Hall Auditorium • 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, MAY 4

OUI Annual Banquet: Voices from the Borderlands with Reyna Grande, Obies for Undocumented Inclusion’s annual fundraising banquet, will include great food, student performances, and a keynote address by award-winning writer Reyna Grande.

Carnegie Building, Root Room • 6–8 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 7

The Intersections of Class and Race: Khiara Bridges Professor of Law and Anthropology at Boston University Khiara M. Bridges, Ph.D., will speak about class, race, and reproductive rights in her lecture titled “The Intersections of Class and Race: Imagining an Ethnography of the Reproductive Lives of ClassPrivileged Women of Color.” A pizza lunch and meet-and-greet will occur before the event at 12:00 p.m. in Wilder 215.

Science Center, Craig Lecture Hall • 5–7 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 9

Tiny Ref Desk Concert - Tonality in Early Music Associate Professor of Music Theory Megan Kaes Long’s MUTH 316 class will play works for voices and viols composed by Wilbye, Monteverdi, and Hume, among others. Come out to learn about the diversity of Renaissance tonal structure!

Conservatory Library Reference Desk • 12–12:30 p.m.

A r t s & C u ltu r e

May 3, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE established 1874

Volume 147, Number 22

OMTA’s Spamalot Presents Hilarious Monty Python Adaptation

College sophomore Gina Fontanesi sings in this weekend’s production of Spamalot.

Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Kabir Karamchandani Staff Writer A student production of Spamalot, a musical based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, opens this Friday, May 3 in Wilder Main Space.

I was able to watch one of the final rehearsals of the show, and found it a thoroughly enjoyable experience with a talented cast and ensemble that engaged the audience in some lighthearted and escapist fun.

Holy Grail is a comedic parody of King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail, and Spamalot follows the same path.

“There is a lot maintained from the movie, and something that’s really great about the show is how much of that it retains, but also how original it is,” said College junior, cast member, and music director Miranda Purcell. “It’s not just a carbon copy of the movie.”

This relationship to the film makes the show enjoyable to watch both for folks familiar with the cult classic and for those who are not. The theater production also adds the charming element of musical numbers.

The humor of Spamalot is as varied as it is prevalent, not hesitating to poke fun at many subject matters in Monty Py-

thon’s irreverent style. The show is also uniquely shaped by its cast and ensemble, as the style of musical lends itself to updates and additions in script based on ad-libs in rehearsals.

“The cast members and the ensemble got to make a lot of choices — they made a lot of side-jokes that made it in,” said College first-year and ensemble member Clair Wang. This tenor is an enjoyable part of the production, making certain moments different even for past viewers of the musical.

They pointed out that cast ad-libs were not the only changes made to the original script.

“There were a couple of jokes that were outdated, and working with that was interesting,” Wang said. “We tried to cast things in less of an offensive light.”

While Spamalot still has some material that may be considered controversial, this has been toned down a little by making a few changes to the script when needed. Yet here too, the director and cast have done an excellent job maintaining the show’s integrity, as the changes are few and far between, and little is missed from the original.

The show lacks the movie’s ability to use special and visual effects, and makes up for this with the array of musical numbers. While some of the classic gags from Holy Grail are sorely missed, the show does a good job of filling in for them with catchy and silly songs, giving actors space to display their abilities

while poking fun at many of the conventions of musical theater.

Spamalot comes at an opportune time, with finals just around the corner.

The show gives Obies a much-needed break from their studies. College senior and director Keifer Ludwig is quick to point out the role this sort of comedy plays.

“We — both on this campus and in the time that we’re living in generally — tend to take ourselves and the world really seriously,” he said. “This musical … isn’t just escapism, but directly points out the absurdity of everything, and allows people to have a good time thinking about true-to-life, sometimes scary things. We hope everyone comes and gets into this space of absurdity and hilarity together.”

The show has stellar casting — students capture their various characters wonderfully and do an excellent job riffing off of one another’s jokes. Spamalot provides plenty of quippy humor and wordplay, yet never takes itself too seriously, with ample slapstick gags. Monty Python’s humor is iconic, having shaped much of comedy today as we know it, and that humor, in all its ridiculousness, is on full display here.

Too often in people’s lives, things seem to be going off-script. Spamalot helps us see the humor in these situations, and at the very least, have a laugh, while reminding us to always look on the bright side of life.

Audience Fills Birenbaum for Moonlight, My Heart Yan Jin Editor’s Note: The interviews in this article were conducted in Chinese and translated into English.

The Chinese Music Showcase, Moonlight, My Heart, hosted by the Chinese Students Association, drew an impressive turnout last Sunday for an evening of singing, musical performances, and celebration. Despite the fact that it was late in the week, and that the event saw sparse responses on Facebook, the audience almost filled the Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space, a bar on the lower level of The Hotel at Oberlin. The event featured performances that varied from traditional and contemporary Chinese music to songs from the West.

As the lights dimmed, College firstyears Xenia Wei and Rachel Fang, the hosts for the evening, greeted the audience and introduced the first act. The band Lyre ’n Laurel opened the night with a jazz version of “Seven Nation Army,” the hit single from the rock band The White Stripes. It was not until the second performance that the audience heard a song in Chinese: a song called “姗姗来迟的你,”or “Sincerely Yours,” sung by a vocal duo to a playback. The next act introduced the audience to another musical tradition. Third-year Piano Performance major Fanye Yuan played “N. Kapustin Variations,” which the hosts described as “an improvisational fantasia-like jazz style piece in a not strict variation form.”

These songs were just a segment of the program, which featured a rather broad range of performances from dif-

10

ferent traditions, times, and styles; following a vocal duo’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” a violin and piano duo played Joe Hisaishi’s piece “Merry-Go-Round of Life,” the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki’s anime film Howl’s Moving Castle. This was followed by the Chinese A Capella Team’s cover of “夜来香 Ye lai xiang,” a song from the 1940s. First-year Jazz Studies major Yizhe Jiang played percussion accompaniment to “改革春风 满地吹 Gai ge chun feng man di chui,” a meme song that went viral on the Chinese video-sharing website Bilibili, and Lily Xie, a senior Flute major and experienced singer who once sang at the prestigious Diaoyutai State Guest House, performed “喜欢你 Xi huan ni.”

There were 16 performances in total, presented by students from both the College and the Conservatory. The program was split into two parts with a brief intermission in between. While the all-encompassing scope of performances continued into the second half, the audience was treated to some more “traditional” Chinese performances.

First-year Piano major Xiang Su accompanied first-year Economics major Wenting Gao on the piano as she sang“茉莉花 Mo li hua,” or “Jasmine Flower,” which the emcees described as “a piece of traditional Chinese music that dates to the 18th century … [and] delivers the compliment and love toward jasmine’s pureness and elegance.”

Kumo Shao, a second-year Computer Science and Psychology major, sang an excerpt from the famous Pingju “乾坤 带 Qian kun dai.” According to Wei and Fang, “Pingju is a kind of traditional Chinese opera among over 300 types of

College first-year Isabella Lai performing at the Chinese Music Showcase last Sunday.

Photo by Yvonne Hsing

operas in China.” The excerpt tells the story in which a princess, by alluding to a historical story, persuades her father to grant mercy upon a general and allow him to compensate for his faults through services to the Tang dynasty.

The showcase offered an assortment of appetizers, such as shrimp cocktail shooters, vegetable spring rolls, and pita chips with hummus, as well as pastries such as eclairs, lemon bars, and cannolis, all prepared by hotel staff.

The dress code for the activities was semi-formal.

“We want to create a semi-formal event so that people can dress up and enjoy great music, food, and time with friends in such a nice environment,” Wendy Li, a College sophomore and the CSA’s event coordinator explained in an email to the Review.

Fang founded the Chinese A Capella Team and collaborated with the Chinese Students Association in designing

this event.

“The purpose of the activity is many-folded: firstly, the activity seeks to build a stronger bond within Chinese students’ community,” Fang said. “Secondly, it tries to connect Chinese students who are interested in music, as well as those who are interested in Chinese music. Thirdly, it aims to spread Chinese culture to people with other backgrounds, as well as to showcase the music that influenced Chinese students and their identities. … We would also love to see more non-Chinese students in the audience, or even to perform, as long as there is a Chinese element in their performances.”

This willingness to welcome students from various backgrounds was echoed by Li. “The concert will be held annually,” she said. “In the future, we will definitely try different strategies to attract a wider student body.”

Drag Ball: A Photo Essay Professional drag queens and students took the stage at the ’Sco last Friday for the annual Drag Ball, titled Oberlin is Burning.

Drag Ball is an Oberlin favorite that celebrates queer history and creative expression. The stars of the night this year included The Vixen, Miss Toto, Chi Chi DeVayne, and Shea Couleé.

The following artists’ statements are from two students who documented the night.

Brian James, College senior: I brought my camera to Drag Ball because I knew everyone would want their picture taken. … Obies were trying new, glamorous looks and defying gender norms. … Compliments were flying and people were feeling themselves. That energy was perfect for photographing. Almost every person I photographed was wearing clothes completely different from their daily Oberlin fits, but pulling them off with total confidence. Shooting was easy and fun and it felt good to capture how stunning everyone was.

Matthew Antezzo, College junior: It’s difficult to present the full story of the night through a series of snapshots. Showing beauty and glamour is important, but I wanted to share the amazing performances through photos. A choice I made early on proved to be key in having fun and getting the pictures I wanted: get close. On the way into the ’Sco, I followed the performers while taking Polaroids. Since I was right in front of them, they focused on me and were already performing for the camera. … It was a transformative experience to be able to Chi Chi DeVayne performing at Drag Ball.

Photo by Matthew Antezzo watch the show and capture the spirit and life of the night.

College senior Juan Contreras and College junior Matthew Antezzo at Drag Ball last weekend.

Photo by Brian James

Drag queen Shea Couleé performs at Drag Ball last weekend.

Photo by Matthew Antezzo

Drag queen Chi Chi DeVayne, one of last weekend’s performers, at Drag Ball.

Photo by Matthew Antezzo

Alum Film CRSHD Screens at Apollo Theater Next Thursday Carson Dowhan Senior Staff Writer Emily Cohn, OC ’17, will present a free screening of her first full-length film, CRSHD, at the Apollo Theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 9. The event is sponsored by the Cinema Studies department and Alumni Office. CRSHD’s world premiere was April 30 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York; the film’s portrayal of female sexuality was lauded by festival representatives.

Though CRSHD is Cohn’s longest project yet, clocking in at 80 minutes, Cohn has years of experience creating short films. The film speaks to a younger, millennial audience through its awkward college humor and social media antics, complete with sequences of fantasy and engaging physical interpretations of the apps Instagram, Tinder, and Facebook.

Described as “irrepressibly inventive and often impulsively unrestrained,” by The Hollywood Reporter, CRSHD tells the story of three college students, Izzy Alden (Isabelle Barbier), Anuka Deshpande (Deeksha Ketkar), and Fiona Newman (Sadie Scott) trying to lose their virginity before they leave college at a “Crush Party” hosted by their friend Elise (College junior Isabelle Kenet).

The only way for the trio to get into the party is to be “crushed,” by a secret admirer. The plot follows the friends as they chase their crushes online and in real life, with Izzy losing control of her moral compass in the process.

Cohn came up with the idea as a project for a The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

Creative Writing class during her senior year and quickly recruited a cast to film CRSHD through the summer of 2017 after she graduated. The movie was shot on Oberlin’s campus, so most of the set will be familiar to students, including locations such as the Oberlin College Lanes and Slow Train Café.

Cohn has a broad background in filmmaking. She studied abroad at Prague Film School for a year and has interned at multiple film-related firms. In an interview with Office of Communications Editorial Fellow Erin Ulrich, OC ’18, Cohn talked about how Oberlin’s Creative Writing program taught her important aspects of professionalism beyond writing.

“The workshop-style classes taught me how to tackle the often grueling revision process,” she explained in the interview. “I use those tools every day: reading other people’s scripts, writing pitches, and answering emails. It all begins and ends with a story.”

Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and English Geoff Pingree, who taught Cohn, elaborated on the tools that Oberlin gives students like Cohn. “[Cohn’s] film embodies the unique opportunities for filmmaking at Oberlin because it draws on the talents of students in different disciplines at the College and at the Conservatory,” he wrote in an email to the Review. “We require our students to study and think hard about what stories are and what makes them work, and we demand that they work collaboratively. It makes sense to me, then, that their work stands out and is recognized at the top film festivals.”

This isn’t the first time Cohn’s work has caught the attention of major outlets. Her first short film, Pierced, was funded by the Tribeca Film Institute and won Best Drama at the 2012 All American High School Film Festival, and her web series “The Do Not Enter Diaries” has been featured in The New York Times. The web series spotlights teenagers telling stories in their bedrooms and delves into the meaning behind how their rooms are organized and decorated. CRSHD’s refreshing subject matter and impressive reception seem par for Cohn’s course.

“I’m so proud of the positive reaction we’ve gotten,” Kenet wrote in an email to the Review. “Everyone, especially [Cohn], put a lot of heart into this project, and it’s so gratifying that people can see that.”

The cast showed impressive dedication to this project from the start.

“Once I knew I was the lead, I felt like I wanted to uphold the beautiful and thoughtful script [Cohn] had written,” Barbier wrote, commenting on the challenges of filming CRSHD. Kenet described the filming process and the relationships the process fostered.

“The cast and crew all lived together in a house on East Lorain [Street], right by the laundromat.

We would work all day, sometimes until 1 or 2 in the morning, then come home and hang out — then we’d do it again the next day,” she wrote. “We had a lot of fun.”

See CRSHD, page 12

11

A r t s & C u lt u r e ON THE RECORD

Talise Campbell, Director of Dance Show Tracing Our Roots Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Dance Talise Campbell is the director of this weekend’s Oberlin Dance Company show, Tracing Our Roots: A Look Into the Past As We Move Into the Future. The show, which will also includes work from her two other classes this semester, features the Djapo Cultural Arts Institute, a Cleveland-based organization where Campbell is the artistic director and founder. Djapo is a Wolof word meaning “come together.” Campbell has had an impressive career as a choreographer and educator. She has worked as a founding member of the Imani African American Dance Company, a choreographer and lead dancer for the Iroko Drum and Dance Society, and was a full-time faculty member teaching students with learning disabilities in an arts-integrated curriculum at the Cleveland School of the Arts. For her doctoral degree, Campbell is researching the effects of arts integration in Senegal schools and urban schools in America.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Kate Fishman, Arts & Culture Editor

Talise Campbell Photo courtesy of Talise Campbell

Can you tell me about your inspiration for this show’s choreography?

My inspiration always comes from learning more about history. I’m always the one to go back to fetch everything that was lost so that we learn more about ourselves so that we can continue to move forward, and have some knowledge of the past as we’re moving forward. So my inspiration was to create that atmosphere for my students, for them to actually gain or have that passion of going back and grabbing some part of history and learning about it, and taking it with them into the future.

Was this particular performance created with one class or with an auditioned group of students?

It was initially created just with Oberlin Dance Company.

All of my other classes were doing so wonderful with different works, and it just all came together by itself. All three of my classes are doing pieces. West African Dance II is doing a piece in here, and also Choreography and Cultural Traditions is doing a piece as well, along with my company Djapo [Cultural] Arts Institute.

Can you tell me about your work with Djapo Cultural Art Institute, both generally as the artistic director and then with this performance specifically?

Oh, wonderful. Djapo Cultural Arts Institute is celebrating its 10-year anniversary,

we’re based out of Cleveland, and our mission is to preserve the culture, the music, the dance, and art of Africa throughout the diaspora. So that’s our goal. We take trips every year where we take families and children to different parts of Africa to study folklore, history, and culture and to bring it back here to the states so that we can preserve it. Our goal is to preserve culture so that it doesn’t get lost.

It’s maintained and it’s continual, meaning that our children and all those coming afterward can get a piece of it.

So that’s what Djapo Cultural Arts is all about, and I wanted my students to be able to experience working alongside professionals in music and dance and theater. It’s been an amazing opportunity for them to work with Grammy-nominated musicians and performers from around the world who’ve been working in theaters for many, many years.

So they’ve got a really, really great experience.

Can you tell me about the process of teaching your choreography in classes and then melding that with working with professional artists to put the show together?

It was a process, and it always starts with research — especially for the theme of this show, Tracing Our Roots.

We worked a lot in the archives, I mean we spent endless hours looking at videos of footage from past dance performances and from things that happened in the past here at Oberlin, and also with me bringing in different artists for research. One of my classes, Cultural Traditions and Choreography, is doing a lot of orisha pieces. So they were able to speak with priests, initiated priests of this culture and tradition, and learn hands-on about various aspects of those different orishas — and how to present it onstage as well. And

also, if they in the future ever wanted to present any type of choreographic work that was based in a cultural tradition, how do you do it? How do you go about that when you’re not of that culture? How do you represent it, and maintain its authenticity in making sure that you’re presenting historic works correctly, that you’re able to speak about it effectively?

Looking at work that you’ve done in the past, I noticed that your choreography has been used in theater productions and that this show is described as theatrical dance. Can you speak a little about what you see as the relationship between theater and dance, both in your own work and in choreography in general?

Most definitely. I believe that dance is basically telling a story with your body. My process, especially with my choreographic works, has a story to it. There’s some storyline. There’s no one just getting onstage and improvising — which is beautiful as well — but I like to preserve some space in time and in history and I love to retell that. So I always have some griots present in my choreographic works.

There’s always, of course, music, live music from ancient drums that have been around for centuries. My inspiration to create works is for audiences to leave with new information, inspired to create works of their own — and maybe not in the theatrical or dance realm, but maybe even on the curriculum side within their classrooms and academia.

So all of those things inspire me — the audience and my students. All of this is guided from them. I don’t just walk into a space and say, “This is what I want to do.” I don’t preplan my works. They’re all derived from my students. It’s all from me looking at their bodies and seeing how they move.

It all stems from them.

You have taken on many different roles and projects as a dance educator. I’m curious to hear from you about that passion and about how you go about doing that.

One thing is to always stay a student. I’m forever going to different places in Africa and across America to learn about various ways to deliver and differentiate instruction. And also in the final culminating presentations as well. So I’m forever a student in learning about those things and trying to be as creative as possible so that I can also leave audiences with questions. When we have that final talkback on Sunday, I want the audience to ask questions. For example, “In the beginning of the show, when we had all these bodies represented and all these images, where were you going with that? What was your inspiration for that?” I love questions; I love intrigue, things of that nature. So that’s what it is: let’s raise some feathers, let’s talk about some things that are very rarely talked about. Sometimes we think about things among ourselves, and we never talk about it, so I’m hoping that when people do view this presentation, we can have conversations about it. Real conversations about what they saw, how they felt, and if it inspired [them] to want to make change in the future.

Do you have ideas of where you see those conversations going, or is that based on what you hear from the audience?

This is Oberlin. So these conversations can go left, right, up, or down but you know what, they’re all relevant. They’re all relevant. But we have those conversations in here, in classes, and they’re all around, so I can just imagine when we have audience members that come in it’s go-

ing to be the same. But at the end of the day, it’s art, and it’s through the individual lenses of the producer. I tell my students the same thing: When you go see a movie at a theater or cinema, when you leave you may say, “Well I didn’t like that movie. Because in this part I would have done this — I would have just hidden the whole beginning, or the end,” and that’s wonderful.

It’s great to be able to critique.

It’s great to be able to look at shows and see what you would have done. But I want audience members to actually respect the artist and what’s coming from their cultural background, what’s coming through their lens, to see the art that’s being presented and to actually enjoy it. And still ask questions. There’s nothing wrong with questions — “Where are you coming from with this?” — it’s all relevant.

But [it’s important to] be able to truly appreciate artistic expression.

Is there anything else you want to share either about your own work or about the show?

This is going to be phenomenal. It really is. This is my first large-scale production — I’ve done small shows here at Oberlin — but this is going to be the first fully produced show that I’ve done here at Oberlin, and I’m really excited. I’m really excited for the students — some of them have never performed before in their lives, so I have a lot of hats. I have the hat of the choreographer, and I also have to keep inspiring my students and motivating them to get toward the performance. It’s a lot. But I’m really, really excited to see the final product.

I’m very rarely in the audience to be able to watch a show, so this year I’m going to be able to sit in the audience and watch a piece of work that I’ve created. And I’m really, really excited about that.

CRSHD Receives Positive Reviews, Impressive Accolades Continued from page 11

A lot of the enthusiasm built around this project can be attributed to Cohn’s creative leadership. “[Cohn] is an incredibly ambitious, driven, organized person,” Kenet said. “She had a clear creative vision and knew how to execute it. She’s diplomatic, a great leader, and a lovely, funny, sweet person.”

The stars of CRSHD are no strangers to acting.

Barbier studied improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and graduated from the Atlantic Acting School.

“UCB taught me comedy is all about letting go

12

of control and leaning into surprises — I felt like I really tried to do that with CRSHD,” wrote Barbier. Her credits include writing and acting in her original shows Those Girls and It’s Chill at the Dixon Place and the Fringe Festival in New York, and playing the lead role Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank at Playhouse on Park in Connecticut.

Ketkar graduated from The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and was in the off-Broadway production of A Muslim in the Midst. She’s also featured in commercials for Venmo and Polaroid.

Scott was in the finale of the 16th season of Law & Order SVU and had an off-Broadway debut in The

New Group’s Downtown Race Riot.

The cast is overjoyed to witness the buzz that has grown around this project.

“Most of the time I have to beg people to pay attention to the projects I’m involved in, but CRSHD has always had this magical momentum,” Barbier wrote.

Who knows what’s next for Cohn and her lead actors? Oberlin students should be looking forward to upcoming projects, as they are sure to be equally ambitious and thought-provoking. For now, you don’t want to miss the free screening of CRSHD next Thursday at the Apollo.

Avengers: Endgame Rocks the Box Office

CROSSWORD ANSWERS

Alex Metz

Kabir Karamchandani Staff Writer Editor’s Note: This review contains major spoilers for the movie Avengers: Endgame.

With a $1.5 billion worldwide gross in its opening week, Avengers: Endgame is undeniably one of the biggest cinematic events in recent history — and perhaps the biggest of all time.

To start, I have to confess to being a Marvel fan.

I have watched every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and am deeply invested in the characters and world. As the culminating moment of the series, Endgame has little in the way of emotional stakes for viewers new to the franchise, but excels as a finale.

It has no small amount of crowd-pleasing moments and spotlights several touching new developments in character relationships established in previous movies.

From Captain America wielding Thor’s hammer, to Tony Starks’s final “I am Iron Man,” Endgame features moments that call back to emotional climaxes from previous films, pulling on audience’s heartstrings with a sense of nostalgia. This allows the film to evoke strong emotion without putting in much work in terms of actual character development, as they have already done the heavy lifting in the previous movies.

The callbacks are not limited to crowd-pleasers, though; they are also used to elicit sorrow at the passing of familiar characters. We see this in full effect with the death of Black Widow in a scene mirroring Gamora’s death in Infinity War, with a similar shot of her corpse on the ground of the planet Vormir set to the same musical motifs. The attachment the audience feels to the characters exceeds that which can be built in a stand-alone movie, and many got teary-eyed at the passing of characters they had come to know and love.

While Infinity War was a must-see movie in its own right, Endgame went one step further by putting beloved characters together in never-before-seen contexts. Further, Endgame pulled out all the stops and included almost every character still alive in the MCU, not restricting itself to just the frontliners. Watching this in a full theater surrounded by people who were also invested in the franchise made for a truly unique movie-going experience; nearly the entire theater erupted into cheers when Captain America called, “Avengers, assemble.”

All films in the franchise take full advantage of these satisfying, crowd-pleasing moments. Their careful execution highlights the foresight that went into making the MCU. Creators chose to hold that line until this moment, in this film, rather than give it to us in 2012 with the first Avengers movie.

As much as I loved Endgame, it is not without flaws. Any movie that deals with time travel veers into dangerous territory with regards to plot consistency — and Endgame is no exception. At times the character’s decisions didn’t quite feel believable within the stakes, creating tension that felt artificial.

The area in which the film does best, however, is closure. While Infinity War left the MCU and its fans in chaos, Endgame provides a gratifying end to this arc, wrapping up both its main characters’ stories wonderfully. Tony makes the “sacrifice play” of risking himself for someone else that Captain America once claimed the Iron Man never would, and Captain America gets the life Tony was always telling him to.

The film has more plot resolutions than any film since Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but these don’t feel out of place and satisfactorily wrap all the loose ends.

All in all, I liked Endgame — a lot. If you watched it and have seen previous MCU movies, you are likely, if not guaranteed, to have enjoyed it as well. The movie has hundreds of little moments I loved but didn’t have space to mention: Pepper donning the Rescue armor, Bucky’s line “You’re taking all the stupid with you,” and so much more. In the end, though, there is little to be said save that Endgame was a truly unique cinematic experience and an excellent end to this arc of the MCU.

The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

Christ Episcopal Church Replaces Old Rose Window

Oberlin’s Christ Episcopal Church has replaced its old rose window after providing 65 years of light. The old window, which was designed and created by Oberlin alumna Margaret Kennedy in 1955, had deteriorated beyond the point of possible restoration, and the church opted for a complete replacement.

Kennedy created the old window in the basement of the church, where she set up her studio during her time at Oberlin. Kennedy created all the windows except for the courage window, which was made by New York artist Kenyon Cox. Her windows were installed in 1961.

The new rose window was created by Peter Billington of the Whitney Stained Glass Studio, based in Cleveland. The window was dedicated on April 28 and depicts the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The new window’s design greatly differs from the old window; however, there are hints of Kennedy’s original design incorporated into the new window.

“We based it on traditional medieval glaziers,” Billington said.

Reverend Brian Wilbert explained that the new window was made possible by a gift given by Jane Baker Nord, an active member of the congregation, and her children.

“We have a long history of community outreach,” Wilbert said. “Mrs. Nord and her children gifted the funds in honor of Eric Nord and the Nord family legacy at Christ Church.”

Text by Gwen Cappel-McCoy Photo by Devin Cowan, Photo Editor

13

Sp ort s

Katie Ryan-O’Flaherty, Senior Field Hockey Player and Religion Major IN THE LOCKER ROOM

College senior, field hockey player, and Religion major Katie Ryan-O’Flaherty was recently named Oberlin’s first recipient of the $25,000 Jacob’s Prize for the Study of Religion. Her submitted essay describes her experiences growing up as a church-goer with two gay parents and explore the ways in which both secular and religious cultures can be analyzed through a similar lense. She is also currently wrapping up her senior capstone, titled “Saints of the Amazigh: The Historical and Cultural Origins of the Rural Urban Divide in Moroccan Walis.” She is from Vermont, but has also lived in New Zealand and Rwanda. After graduation, Ryan-O’Flaherty will travel to the Middle East to pursue an internship.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sydney Allen, Editor-in-Chief Tell us about the award you just won.

It’s called the Jacob’s Prize [for the Study of Religion].

It’s the first year that it’s being given. I actually don’t know that much about the [alumna] who decided to start the gift, but she is a children’s book author, and for the next five years she is going to give $25,000 to the Religion major who writes the best essay about why the academic study of religion is important.

What did you write about?

I talked about myself a fair amount because I have gay parents. As an anecdote, I used the fact that I grew up going to church and talked about how the first church [my parents] took me to get baptized at refused to baptize me. Primarily, my overarching point was that it’s impossible to understand

even secular cultures without understanding their religious background, so I used that as a lens with which to look at my life and academic study.

How did field hockey help your academic pursuits?

It’s funny because I joined field hockey my sophomore year. I don’t want this to sound conceited, but I found myself a little under-challenged [during my first] year because I didn’t have that much to do. I joined a couple clubs, but I didn’t feel like it was too much of a challenge to balance my schoolwork.

But as soon as I joined athletics, it was like, “Oh, gotta get to it, folks.” I guess it really challenged me to figure out how to balance things better and how to deal with things that were interfering with academics in a way that they hadn’t [first] year.

Photo courtesy of Katie Ryan-O’Flaherty

Katie Ryan-O’Flaherty.

What was your parents’ reaction to you winning?

They’re pretty excited. I called them both pretty much as soon as I found out. One was in surgery and the other one was in school, so I didn’t get any answer from either of them until later in the day.

Then they were both pretty excited. My brother and sister were really excited too.

It’s [wild] because this is unmarked money, so I really get to decide how I use it and whether I just blow it or kind of use it to further my career.

I’m kind of doing a mix of both, because I’m using it for

an internship abroad.

What are your plans for next year?

I’m working with a [nonprofit organization] for interfaith water justice in the Middle East. That’s what I’ll be using the [prize] money for.

I think the institution is really cool. Before I won this, I was really stressed out about how I was going to pay for it, because the internship is unpaid. But now I don’t have to worry about it, so that’s really exciting.

Congratulations! What inspired you to work on water justice issues?

It was more so [that] I found the internship, basically from the Harvard pluralism website. But it’s an overarching institution based out of the divinity school there.

They have a section of their website in which they compile lists of NGOs and various programs that they’ve vetted for people seeking internships in interfaith work.

That’s how I found this particular place. I applied to a bunch of them. They re-

sponded pretty quickly and said they were interested in me, so that’s how I ended up going there.

What has the experience of being a senior and applying to jobs and grants been — and watching your teammates and peers do the same?

I live with field hockey senior Julie Schreiber, and she has been really lucky to have found a position for all of next year through Avodah, [a Jewish fellowship program].

A lot of my teammates don’t know exactly what they’re doing next year, but the field hockey team, especially the seniors, [are] a really supportive community. It’s been really nice to talk with each other about our concerns and what we’re doing and [to] celebrate each other.

Are they aware that you won this award?

Some of them [are]. I’m waiting to tell more people in person, because it’s [my teammate] Meg [Parker]’s birthday. I’ve been kind of keeping it on the DL.

Previously Illegal, Hammer Throw Taken Up at Oberlin Continued from page 16

sonal record, but that’s my goal every weekend,” Sinn said.

“But ever since hammer became my favorite event, it’s been my goal to set the conference meet record.”

The record, set in 2014 by current Denison Assistant Track and Field Coach Mike Petro, sits at 56.54 meters. Sinn’s chances of trumping this record are high, as he threw 14 centimeters past the record mark last weekend.

English is also hoping for a personal record, which would be somewhere near the 50-meter mark. She threw over 50 meters earlier in the season but was disqualified after accidentally stepping out of bounds, so she is hoping to redeem herself this weekend.

But, of course, while an individual team sport requires that each athlete performs their very best on their very own, Sinn and English are just as excited for the potential success of their teammates as they are for their own.

14

IM Softball Builds Community and Competitive Spirit Alexis Dill Sports Editor Every year shortly after spring break, students emerge from their dorm rooms and fill Wilder Bowl,Tappan Square, and the Arb with hammocks, frisbees, and picnic blankets.

However, for intramural softball enthusiasts from all corners of campus, the surest sign that spring has sprung is the crack of a bat and loud cheers coming from North Fields, where the intramural league plays its games.

The league, which kicks its season off at the start of spring second module, brings together varsity athletes, former athletes, non-athletes, and even faculty members looking for an excuse to get in the sun and compete in a friendly and fun environment. The only registration restrictions are that varsity athletes must wait until they are out of season to participate, and no current varsity baseball or softball players can join, in order to keep the league fair.

Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach David Wilson manages the league and keeps track of team registrations, team records, game results, and scheduling.

Teams play once or twice a week, often on weekdays after 4:30 p.m. or on weekends around 1 p.m. The league consists of 12 teams and is organized in a round-robin fashion, where every team plays each other until the end of the season, when teams with similar records are matched up.

Intramural softball is made up of many non-athletes looking for a way to stay active and have fun on a team that doesn’t require the same time commitment as a varsity sport. However, especially this year, many current varsity athletes and former varsity athletes have found the value in prioritizing fun over results.

Members of the track and field team can’t compete in the IM league until after the Outdoor Track and Field North Coast Athletic Conference Championships at Kenyon College this weekend, which, for many of them, will mark the end of the season.

In fact, some of the team’s members

have a chance to qualify for nationals, and, therefore won’t be able to officially compete in the IM league this year.

However, according to College senior and javelin thrower Millie Cavicchio, that won’t stop the team from making their own fun.

“We’re a big enough team that we can honestly just compete against ourselves,” said Cavicchio, who competed with Oberlin’s varsity softball team for three years before joining the track and field team. “We’ve already held some batting and fielding practices. I still had my equipment here, and I missed the game — and knew that many of my track teammates used to play baseball or softball and also missed it — so we decided to make our own team.”

Along with Cavicchio, track and field’s IM softball team roster includes College seniors Grant Sheely and Hank Sinn, College juniors Grace Finney and Maya English, College sophomores Adriano Atallah and Cam MacIntyre, and College first-year Maggie Allen — with a number of others interested in joining.

Sheely, who has been a member of the track and field team’s IM softball team for three years now, said he was encouraged by teammates to join.

“I never played baseball when I was younger for fear of not being good, but when my friends told me they were going to play intramural, it sounded like a stress-free, fun adventure,” he said.

The first track and field IM team was founded by Erin Ford, OC ’18, in 2016, and Sheely said he has had a blast ever since.

“While there is a technical winner of it all, it’s mostly for fun, and nobody pays enough attention to notice,” Ford said. “Being that the game is for fun, your own team pitches to you, there are no strikeouts, and pop-flies are a do-over. It’s a super good time and very much just for fun.”

There aren’t any umpires in this league, and the rules are relaxed: Play fair and respect yourself, your teammates, and your opponents.

Another of the league’s teams is called That Athlete Team, as it is made up of several retired baseball and soft-

The intramural softball league provides an opportunity for non-varsity athletes to stay active and engage in a low-commitment afternoon activity, but many varsity athletes and retired student-athletes also take advantage of the relaxed yet competitive atmosphere this spring.

Photo by Meg Parker, Photo Editor

ball players, as well as current and former varsity athletes from men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s basketball. The team’s captains, men’s tennis captain Stephen Gruppuso and former softball player Dalia Silverstein — both College juniors — don’t believe they have a competitive advantage over other teams despite the team’s athletecism.

“I wouldn’t say we have an advantage with them on the team,” Gruppuso explained. “Honestly, the best part about IM softball is that it is a beer league. It keeps things relaxed as finals approach.”

College sophomore Addi Laros, who was a member of the varsity softball team before taking a step back to focus on academics, said she appreciates the low level of commitment the IM softball league requires and the relaxed atmosphere it provides.

“It’s a nice change of pace from varsity athletics because it’s so laid back and more centered around having fun than achieving results,” Laros said.

Shanks’ MindSpa Centers Mental Health

Every year, employees of the ’Sco — many of whom are or were varsity athletes — play for a team called Shirley’s Angels, for ’Sco Monitor Shirley Sikora, or, as many refer to her, “Mama ’Sco.” “Shirley does not care one bit and never comes to games, but we always try to win for her,” College senior Julie Schreiber said. “In addition to the softball league being a fun outdoor activity in the springtime, it’s a really good opportunity for the staff to bond and spend time together in a nonwork environment. I think this year has been a really positive year for ’Sco staff morale, and a lot of that is due to the excitement of the softball league.”

Shirley’s Angels are currently 3–1 and have managed to make it into the playoffs, which will take place this month. However, in the spirit of the league, Shirley’s Angels aren’t looking to be crowned champion of the league.

They’re just grateful for the opportunity to get outside and play the game in good company.

Racism in English Soccer Must Be Addressed Continued from page 16

The MindSpa in Shanks Health and Wellness Center, located in room H111, was opened to students two weeks ago. The MindSpa, a room filled with various resources for students to unwind and take a step back from their hectic lives, is part of the new expansion added to Philips gym this past year. Available resources include stress balls, couches with fluffy pillows, guided meditations, nature sounds, a rakeable Zen garden, books on mindfulness, and much more. In order to access the space, the YeoFit website allows any student to reserve a 30-minute session. This space will be especially helpful as students approach final exam week and stress levels are high.

Text by Jane Agler, Sports Editor Photo by Meg Parker, Photo Editor

The Oberlin Review | May 3, 2019

should band together is as follows: A player of color on the pitch is being harassed by his own fans, as was the case with Son Heung-min.

Other teammates of color come to his aid; for example, Dele Alli and Danny Rose, two Black Tottenham players. I would like to think the fans would recognize that their actions are harmful after seeing a group of their favorite players reacting negatively to their abuse.

However, some fans who shout racial abuse at their own players might not consider players like Son, Alli, or Rose as their favorite players on the team. Rather, they probably adore their white counterparts like Harry Kane or Christian Eriksen. As a result, the group effort to combat racism is lost on the perpetrators unless the whole team, regardless of ethnic background or nationality, collectively and publicly disapproves of the abuse target-

ed toward their teammates.

The Premier League launched their No Room for Racism campaign a little over a month ago, but I don’t anticipate the treatment of players of color improving through this effort alone. I encourage all individual team members, coaches, and members of management to publicly hold each and every fan accountable to further the conversation about racism, instead of simply addressing individual perpetrators. Only then can I foresee a potential improvement in stadium etiquette and, maybe, a realization of the magnitude of these overt forms of discrimination.

Unfortunately, though, racism is obviously bigger than sports and will persist on the pitch for as long as it exists off the pitch. With this generation of players of color bringing these issues to light, perhaps the most we can do is hope that the next generation will be even more empowered.

15

May 3, 2019

SPORTS established 1874

Volume 147, Number 22

Son Heung-min Weighs in on England’s Race Debate Jane Agler Sports Editor

time for a field athlete to acquire a new skill.

But the hammer athletes have been trained by Associate Head Track and Field Coach John Hepp, who, according to Sinn, really helped build a foundation for their throws.

“Hammer is so individual and so different from other events we were familiar with,” Sinn said. “[Coach] Hepp showed us the importance of footwork, and the other movements that help you throw.”

When Sinn started training to throw the hammer, he found that Olympic lifts, like hang cleans and hang snatches, proved most effective for competitions.

“That similar motion translates,” he said.

“If you’re better at those Olympic movements, you’re gonna be better at hammer and weight.”

For an event as technical as the hammer throw, the mental preparation is just as important as the physical. Hammer throwers tend to develop physical cues they focus on when they enter the circle, as a way to clock in and focus on how they like to throw.

“People have stylistic elements to their throw,” said English, who explained that she likes to tap her foot while rotating to remind herself to build momentum.

Sinn, on the other hand, prefers to take his first wind slowly, and then build momentum by sinking into his hips and pushing through — hard — on his big toe.

No matter the logic behind Sinn and English’s individual cues, they are working. Both Sinn and English, as well as other qualifying members of the Oberlin Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Team, will compete today and tomorrow at the Outdoor Track and Field North Coast Athletic Conference Championships at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.

“My goal for this weekend is to have a per-

If you are familiar with my previous sports columns, then you are well aware that I am a huge fan of Tottenham Hotspur winger Son Heung-min — in spite of my die-hard allegiance to Arsenal FC. My affinity for Son is controversial, to say the least, but makes sense given my own South Korean identity.

As a Korean-American viewer, it is exciting to watch a Korean athlete succeed on the pitch. But in some ways, his success is equally as disheartening due to the negative — and racist — attention it receives.

On January 14, Tottenham launched an investigation after a fan tweeted that other Tottenham fans had acted “hideous[ly]” during a match, directing racist comments and chants toward their very own Korean winger. Nearly a year before that, Millwall FC. fans were investigated for chanting “DVD” and “He’s selling three for a fiver” at Son during a game between the two clubs, in reference to the stereotype that Asians go door-todoor selling cheap, bootleg copies of movies. The chants were in reaction to Son’s hat trick in that match.

At an April 8 press conference, Son was asked about the racism he has experienced since moving to London. He explained that he was in England to play soccer and felt it best to ignore the racism being directed toward him when he performs on the pitch. He also explained that other players of color in the English Premier League should feel they can rise against racism together.

Son’s responses left me feeling a bit uneasy. After all, it was only last December that a Tottenham fan threw a banana peel at French-Gabonese Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Earlier this season, West Ham fans yelled anti-Muslim abuse at Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, who was later targeted by Chelsea fans shouting that the Egyptian national was a “bomber” and “terrorist.” Southampton fans chanted about the Holocaust during a match against Tottenham, a club with a historically large fanbase of Jewish Londoners.

Can this aggressive and constant discrimination really be ignored? In November, the soccer anti-discrimination organization Kick It Out stated that there was an 11 percent increase in reported discriminatory abuse this Premier League season compared to last. With racism seemingly on the rise, the latter part of Son’s statement — his reference to players of color banding together to combat abuse — seems far more useful than any notions of simply brushing it off.

Raheem Sterling, the 24-year-old English striker for Manchester City, has taken to social media to speak out publicly against racism. He has posted sobering examples of how the media fuels racist thinking in the way they describe white and non-white players, has called for the English Football Association to take action when Black English players were subject to monkey chants during an international match in Montenegro, and has become the face of English players’ campaign against racism. I would like to think that the conversation around abuse in professional soccer is becoming more frequent because of players like Sterling, who are speaking up after years of being silenced.

In combination with his prowess on the pitch, Sterling was publicly recognized for his efforts to combat discrimination when he won the Footballer of the Year Award last week.

But even with the media attention and recognition, the 11 percent increase reported by Kick It Out is impossible to ignore. I can only imagine how many other instances of racism have gone unreported and are not reflected in that figure.

In other words, this battle seems unfruitful and I don’t believe that discrimination in soccer will ever be completely dismantled. However, if players of color cannot advocate for themselves with some kind of result — and clubs cannot ban or fine everyone responsible for acts of discrimination — then what other available options to decrease racist incidences exist?

The way I imagine Son’s suggestion that players of color

See Previously, page 14

See Racism, page 15

Because the hammer throw is banned at most high schools across the country, many of Oberlin’s throwers were first introduced to the event when they arrived on campus. After years of hard work, College senior Hank Sinn and College junior Maya English have a chance to qualify for nationals in the event.

Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

Oberlin’s Hammer Throwers Compete With Passion, Win Big, Despite Dangers Julie Schreiber Senior Staff Writer The hammer throw might be the most dangerous event in the sport of track and field.

It injures, and occasionally kills, more athletes and spectators per year than any other track and field event. Because of its inherent danger, it has been banned from most high school programs across the country. Ironically enough, for many Oberlin field athletes who participate in the hammer throw along with shot put, javelin, and weight throw, the hammer remains their favorite event.

“Yeah, there’s an element of danger,” shrugged College junior and thrower Maya English. “But we know the rules — when someone’s in the ring, we watch where they throw.”

Senior thrower Hank Sinn agreed.

“Of course, in any sport, you have to be on edge,” said Sinn. “But we know our boundaries and rules to ward off danger.”

Because hammer-throwing is not allowed in most high school track and field programs, many athletes are first introduced to the event at the collegiate level. The hammer toss is similar to the shot put, according to Sinn, because it is also thrown from a metal court, and the movement of the throw is a rotational one, so the thrower spins in a circle to gain momentum before they release the hammer into the air. Sinn was unable to learn the hammer toss in high school, and English only learned it on the side, as her main events were the javelin and shot-put.

“I didn’t know a single person in high school who threw the hammer,” Sinn said.

Sinn and English, as well as the other Oberlin hammer throwers, had to develop both the physical skills and the mental comprehension of the event simultaneously during their first year of college — an uncharacteristically late

16