The Oberlin Review Sept. 23, 2022

The Oberlin Review

AVI Implements

Dining Changes, Students Respond

Ava Miller Senior Staff Writer

AVI Foodsystems has made changes to dining services, such as implementing reusable “eco boxes” for students to take food to-go and kiosks to speed up the food ordering process at certain locations.

Reusable eco boxes can be initially purchased from Stevenson Dining Hall, Heritage Kosher Kitchen, or Clarity for $5 via credit card, Flex dollars, or ObieDollars. Eco boxes can be dropped off to be washed by AVI after use, and upon the box’s return, students will be given a card that can be exchanged for another eco box. This system provides a reusable to-go option for students, faculty, and staff to eat on their own schedule. AVI Foodsystems Resident Director Joe Jacobs said the eco boxes are intended to “help reduce the amount of single-use containers going into landfills.”

Midterm Election Candidates Speak to Oberlin College, Community

Isaac Imas Production Editor

The annual Oberlin Community Candidates Night was held this past Tuesday evening in Dye Lecture Hall. OCCN is an opportunity for individuals run ning for federal, state, and local office in the mid term elections to introduce themselves to Oberlin voters and answer their questions. This year was the first in its 30-year history that OCCN was held on campus and planned in collaboration with Oberlin College Students for Civic Engagement.

The OCCN Planning Committee was co-chaired by Alison Ricker, head of the Science Library and member of the League of Women Voters, and College third-year Myranda Montoye, conve nor of Oberlin SCE. The event was moderated by Chair and Associate Professor of Africana Studies Charles Peterson and timed to coincide with Na tional Voter Registration Day. The Planning Com mittee worked with a coalition of 15 local organi zations to host the event.

In the past, OCCN has been held at the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Oberlin, although organiz ers have experimented with venues and structure. This year, Ricker hoped the change of venue would lead to more student participation.

“Hopefully, there will be a lot of people there who are interested in asking questions, and they will be questions that reflect the concerns of peo ple who are 18 to 22 years old,” Ricker said.

This past summer, Montoye independently ar rived at the idea of a candidates night, not knowing the event was already an annual tradition.

“Over the summer, I wanted to be very careful because I knew that there were already a lot of people — community members — that were doing this kind of work already,” Montoye said. “And so I spent a lot of the summer connecting with those people and learning about what infrastructure

there already was for voter registration and oth er civic engagement in the community, and then learned about OCCN. I was like, ‘Oh, perfect! We already have this event.’”

While Candidates Night was designated as a nonpartisan community forum, the event featured 14 Democratic and two Republican candidates, though others were invited. The unequal represen tation of political parties would normally activate the LWV Empty Chair Policy. The Empty Chair Policy dictates that when multiple candidates are running for the same federal seat but only one appears at a LWV debate, the candidate that is present may not answer questions without their opposition present. If this policy had been imple mented, the skewed party representation would have meant that Democratic candidates running for U.S. Congress would have been barred from participating in the question and answer segment of the event. As a nonprofit, LWV could be held li able for not abiding by this policy. For this reason, OCCN organizers excluded the LWV from its offi cial list of collaborators — meaning the organizers didn’t need to abide by the Empty Chair Policy.

“It is not unique to our event — other events around the state and around the country have also reported a lack of interest or response from Re publican candidates,” Ricker said. “I can’t assume that there’s anything behind that other than, may be they just don’t feel it’s worth their time. Maybe they are in gerrymandered districts where they don’t feel they really need to reach out to people, because they’re in a safe seat.”

The Republican-controlled Ohio Redistrict ing Commission redrew its congressional district maps earlier this year. However, the new maps — and their two subsequent revisions — were ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court for

AVI has also implemented five digital ordering kiosks across different locations. Rathskeller, Biggs GoYeo, and the Dionysus Disco each have one kiosk, while Umami has two kiosks. Students are now able to order food from the ’Sco and pick it up in the Rathskeller.

Graciela Fernandez, College third-year and ’Sco attendant, spoke about this new system.

“Students can come in, put their order in, scan their ID, and once they get their receipt, they need to go to [The Rathskeller] and pick it up and are free to eat the food in the ’Sco or anywhere else,” Fernandez said.

Despite the kiosks, some students feel that the length of lines and wait times have not improved. College third-year Eve Samaha pointed out how lines were shorter a few years ago.

“I was a first-year when there were half the amount of people on campus, so I got used to no lines,” Samaha said. “Instead of getting dinner at 6 [p.m.], I have to come to Wilder at 5:30 [p.m.].”

In addition to longer lines, College third-year Alejandro Jorge notes that, in his experience, while the kiosks allow for more customization, they also increase ordering time.

“AVI has gotten progressively worse each year.,” Jorge said. “The changes they’ve brought have usually not been great.”

Last Tuesday night, candidates spoke to students and community members about their platforms and positions on a variety of issues.

Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Green EDGE Fund Installs Solar-Powered Outdoor Workstation

Adrienne Sato Senior Staff Writer

This summer, after more than a year of planning, the College’s Green EDGE Fund installed a solar-powered outdoor working station complete with charging ports, LED lights, and Wi-Fi connection that is now available to students, faculty, and community members.

Located outside the northern entrance to the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, the workstation is equipped with six 120V outlets, five dual-port USB/USB-C outlets, and two Qi Wireless Chargers. It also employs LED lighting for nighttime use and connects to the College’s public Wi-Fi to boost the signal for users.

The workstation project was originally proposed by Justin Lee, OC ’22, a former member of the Green EDGE Fund board. Over the summer semester of 2021, when students were on campus but primarily attending classes virtually, Lee noticed that many students faced difficulties doing online schoolwork outside.

“Ohio in the summer is beautiful, so I’d seen a lot of students outside doing work over the summer semester,” Lee said. “[There were] a lot of frustrations coming from the students, whether it be the lack of internet or really shoddy internet connections — especially in Wilder Bowl — and if you had to charge your laptop, you had to go back inside.”

Over the same summer semester, the Green EDGE Fund had also been working with community members to brainstorm potential new structures and spaces across campus that would serve as shared spaces where students and community members could interact in order to strengthen town-gown relations.

Lee’s workstation proposal served as a solution to both problems, and Lee worked with the Green EDGE Fund board as well as Facilities Operations to initiate the project.

“The Green EDGE Fund took it one step further and asked ‘How can we incorporate sustainability into this? How can we also tackle other problems that we’ve been having?’” Lee said.

Sionainn Rudek, College fourth-year and current chair of the Green EDGE Fund board, was involved with the approval and research process of the workstation project. They noted that the project proposal was wellreceived by students and College staff.

“I think that it was met with a lot of positivity with everyone involved, so it kind of got pushed along really fast, which was great,” Rudek said.

Ben Hobbs, AJLC facilities manager and community outreach coordinator, also participated in the planning of the workstation, particularly when it came to finalizing the station’s location.

“I worked with Becky Bode of Grounds [Service] to determine the best location that would also allow for delivery and enough sun to keep the batteries charged,” Hobbs wrote in an email to the Review. “Originally, I had hoped that somewhere with a wide open, south facing location on Wilder Bowl would be the best location, but those spaces would have impeded access and were rejected as initial sites.”

Lee mentioned wanting the location of the table to be more central to campus to increase accessibility. According to Rudek, however, the table is still getting plenty of use at its current location.

“I’ve only walked by it a couple times, but every time I’ve walked by, somebody’s been sitting at it,” Rudek said. “It’s been faculty members, a student and another

The Oberlin r eview

student, so it’s already been a group of different people using it, which is really amazing to me.”

In addition to serving as a functional workstation, Lee explained that the workstation is an important structure on campus to shape students’ view of sustainability at the College, especially when considered within the context of the four-year Sustainable Infrastructure Project.

“While the [SIP] is a great thing, it’s very underground,” Lee said. “Nothing that you see there is visible or tangible. We also wanted to provide something ... that you can interact with, something that is tangible for students to use, … and we decided to do that through a solar table. They can charge their devices on all renewable energy, which I think is pretty nifty.”

According to Hobbs, if the workstation is popular, there’s a chance that Facilities will install more across the campus.

“[Bode] … is evaluating their use as well as the ease of

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ordering, delivery, branding, and how they are received by the campus community to decide how many more to purchase and place around campus,” Hobbs said. “If it is popular, I’d expect to see more soon.”

Although Lee graduated before the workstation was officially installed, he emphasized how much he learned from working with the Green EDGE Fund Board in the project’s planning process.

“[Installing the table] was a great learning experience, and I hope that it inspires other students to realize that if they wanted to do a sustainable project, the Green EDGE Fund is a huge resource,” Lee said. “That table was just a dream of me and a community member, and we made it a reality.”

The Green EDGE Fund is currently accepting applications for future sustainability projects. In particular, the board is encouraging applications for non-traditional and interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability.

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Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Over the summer, the College assisted the Green EDGE Fund in creating a solar-powered charging and Wi-Fi station.

Allegra Kirkland, OC ’12, TeenVogue Politics Director Talks Journalism

Security Notebook

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022

Allegra Kirkland, OC ’12, is the politics director at Teen Vogue. During her time at Oberlin, Kirkland served as a News Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Review. Before joining the Teen Vogue staff, Kirkland worked as a reporter and Senior Editor for Talking Points Memo, an independent news organization dedicated to politics and public policy coverage.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell me about your role with Teen Vogue and how you got involved with it?

I started at Teen Vogue in the summer of 2019 as a Senior Politics Editor. Basically in that role and this one, I oversee everything that goes into the Politics section — everything from op-eds to breaking and daily news, to longer feature reporting and all of our franchises and columns. It’s a lot, and we’re a really tiny team, so it’s pretty full-on. I have basically been working in politics journalism since I left Oberlin, with a brief stint trying to figure out what the hell to do and working as a receptionist and not getting the journalism jobs I hoped for. Then I just moved through a series of internships and lower-level journalism jobs. And then I was at Talking Points Memo for five years in a whole bunch of different roles, from breaking news writer on the 6 a.m. shift to Senior Editor. And then I went from there to Teen Vogue

What does your day-to-day look like at Teen Vogue as the Politics Director?

You know, I feel like no one ever told me how much of being an editor is answering emails, which isn’t a really sexy answer, but it’s true. It’s a lot of moving parts — especially where we don’t have a print edition anymore and we’re still mostly remote. We mostly work with a team of freelancers. We don’t have any full-time staff writers, so there’s just so much coordinating with our fact-checking and copy teams and then with the writers. It’s a lot of just editing drafts and making sure other drafts are moving along. Again, because we’re such a small staff, I have to input all the stories into our content management system, write headlines, and pick art. It’s everything from the nitty-gritty to planning what we wanna have for the Politics cover three months out. A lot of Zoom meetings. Yeah, just a lot of managing little details.

I’d love to hear about your time at the Review as well.

I think I started working there in my sophomore year. I just came in and was like, “Can I start writing for you?” John Light, OC ’11, who was the Editor-inChief at the time, became a super close friend of mine — we worked together, actually, at Talking Points Memo. I helped him get his job there because the Oberlin network is small and very close-knit. I think my first assignment at the Review was to cover Dr. Seuss Day at the Oberlin Public Library or something very corny, but I still loved it. I was just like, “This is so fun and such a fun way to get to know the community — not just the school, but Oberlin as a town.” Then I was a news writer there for a while, and then I became News Editor at some point, maybe a year later. Then I was Editor-in-Chief my last year at Oberlin.

Do you feel like your work at the Review prepared you for your role now?

Yeah, I definitely do. I always tell writers who reach out to me about this kind of thing, like, “Write for your school paper. It’s a good way to just get a sense for what it’s like to be in a newsroom, to work collaboratively with other journalists.” Just get that sort of practice of, “Okay, I can turn things around on deadline. I can find good angles, find good story ideas.” And again, my friend John was a great editor who made my work a lot better.

I think the Review has a lot of really great journalists working there. I learned a lot just from my peers and also stayed in touch with a lot of them. A lot of them have gone on to careers in journalism, and I’ve crossed paths with them either at social events or in jobs I’ve had. So, definitely really, really helpful. It also really clicked for me when I was at the Review like, “Oh, s**t, this is a career. I can do this after college and I love this.” And it just made it seem like a real possibility.

More generally, what was your time at Oberlin like?

My time at Oberlin was good. I grew up in Manhattan and I went to Oberlin in part because I was like, “Oh, I’ll probably end up back in New York, so I should go try something new.” Then I was like, “Oh wait, so many students here are from New York and from the Bay Area.” But most of my best friends ended up being from the Midwest. I loved spending fall breaks and spring breaks going to different places around the Midwest, like Missouri and Detroit and Chicago.

I had amazing teachers — I was a History major and Art History minor — and just had really good relationships with them. They were incredibly smart and I learned a ton. Steve Volk — he was my advisor — was great. Yeah, I loved my time at the Review. Oh, and studying abroad. Everyone should study abroad and get off campus, ’cause it’s just too small to be there all the time. I went to Chile for six months and it was excellent.

What advice would you give to students at Oberlin or at the Review as they look to leave Oberlin?

I guess just don’t feel like you have to have it all figured out when you graduate. I mean, I was a History major, and I didn’t really end up doing anything specifically with that. But I think once you leave the kind of bubble of college, no one really cares what you majored in. You don’t have to check every little box. It’s more like you went to Oberlin, you got whatever you got out of that experience, and no choice you make is the wrong choice. It’s just a choice. Whatever job you got, you’re just building the story of your life. It doesn’t have to be exactly perfect and exactly what you wanted to do.

Staff reported graffiti on the door of a practice room in Robertson Hall.

Officers responded to an accident in the Talcott Hall parking lot. There were no injuries.

A student reported their laptop missing from a charging unit on the second floor of Mudd Center. The laptop was located.

A student reported their Electra Cruiser bicycle stolen from the north side of Johnson House.

A student reported an AirTag on their tablet. The Oberlin Police Department was notified.

Friday, Sept. 16, 2022

An officer discovered graffiti on the Clark Bandstand in Tappan Square.

A student with a foot injury was transported from Philips gym to the Student Health Center.

A student reported their blue scooter missing from outside of Stevenson Dining Hall.

A student reported the theft of their Huffy bicycle from the bike rack on the south side of Barnard House.

OPD informed Campus Safety about an intoxicated student at the corner of Cedar Street and Lorain Street.

Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022

A student, injured from a bicycle fall, was transported to Mercy Health - Allen Hospital.

Monday, Sept. 19, 2022

Officers responded to a report of a bat in the laundry room of Talcott Hall.

Officers responded to a faculty member’s report of a bat in the firstfloor restroom at Warner Center.

Officers responded to a student’s report of a bat in Talcott Hall.

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022

Officers transported a student who cut their finger from Talcott Hall to Mercy Health - Allen Hospital.

Staff reported graffiti on the southwest asphalt drive in Tappan Square.

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022

An officer on patrol located graffiti on the back of a practice room door in Robertson Hall.

Oberlin Hosts Annual Community Candidates Night

Continued from page 1

violating a 2018 amendment prohib iting partisan gerrymandering. The resulting confusion compelled Ohio election officials to hold two separate primaries.

“Gerrymandering is just a vile thing for democracy,” Ricker said. “If you’re in a safe seat, you’re not feeling pres sured to respond to the needs of all constituents, maybe just those that do nate to you. [You may] happen to be a lower-income constituent and you’re putting pressure on lenders, but the lenders aren’t putting that pressure on the elected official, because they’re all comfortable with how the status quo is.”

Ricker also mentioned that Repub lican candidates may feel their par

ticipation in a forum held in Oberlin would not garner them any votes and ultimately prove futile, considering the City’s solid Democratic lean.

Montoye, however, was encouraged by responses the OCCN planning com mittee received from candidates, even those who declined to attend.

“We talked to the current [Ohio] attorney general, and I talked to his scheduler on the phone,” Montoye said. “He said that they had already commit ted to an event in Toledo that night, but he had stressed that he thought this was a really, really important event and wanted to be there, and just couldn’t make it happen. I do think it was a well-received invitation.”

Allegra Kirkland

Photo courtesy of Allegra Kirkland

Alexa Stevens News Editor

Local candidates spoke in Dye Lecture Hall on Tuesday.

Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Mobile Senior Center Continues Operations in First Church, Expands to LaGrange

Sofia Tomasic Senior Staff Writer

The Oberlin Senior Center closed permanently in March 2020 due to financial hardship. In September 2021, The Neighborhood Alliance, a nonprofit organization that provides family support services to the Oberlin community, launched a test replacement program called the Mobile Senior Center in collaboration with the First Church in Oberlin. Though the test program was originally meant to run for 90 days, the Mobile Senior Center continues to meet weekly on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the First Church’s community room.

When the Senior Center first shut down, many former attendees expected it to reopen once the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic wore off. Unfortunately, the Senior Center had been losing money for several years before the pandemic began, in part due to the cost of building maintenance. The Mobile Senior Center aims to provide seniors with some of the services formerly offered by the Senior Center without the additional cost of maintaining the building. The original Senior Center building has since been sold.

During meetings, seniors have the opportunity to eat a free meal, socialize, participate in various activities such as games, movies, and exercise, listen to guest speakers, and access other important resources like medical screenings. This month, the Mobile Senior Center provided blood pressure

checks and glucose screenings, assisted with rent and utilities for people 60 and over, and hosted two guest speakers. As of Sept. 21, the program has expanded to an additional location in LaGrange, OH, meeting every third Wednesday.

Even seniors who don’t rely on the Mobile Senior Center for free meals or important support services are grateful for the opportunity to socialize. Jim and Jeanne Harris, for example, go to the Mobile Senior Center to play bridge with their friends and meet new people. Despite feeling like many of the services don’t apply to her and her husband, Jeanne Harris considers the meetings to be informative.

“There were several meetings where they gave information about how to get special services,” Harris said. “Somebody came on macular degeneration and somebody else came on how to get Lorain County services.”

Despite the popularity and success of the Mobile Senior Center, it has not replaced many of the services that the Senior Center provided and is limited to meeting only once a week.

When the original Senior Center closed, former member and volunteer Margaret Gueulette asked First Church Reverend David Hill about using church space for the Mobile Senior Center. Gueulette attends the Mobile Senior Center for a variety of services and activities, but mostly for the sense of community.

“I do the exercise class, we play bridge, and we are in a Scrabble group that plays,” Gueulette said.

“When the Senior Center first closed, we did it in my garage.”

She feels that meeting once a week is not a real replacement for the community and resources lost with the Senior Center. The Senior Center had also provided resources like weaving and quilting equipment, an extensive library, and reliable access to computers.

“I know that there were some elderly people that came almost every day for coffee and just to sit around and talk,” Gueulette said.

Hill doesn’t see the Mobile Senior Center expanding much more within the church’s space, as the space needs to be available other days of the week for other groups and services.

As a result, community members are looking for a more permanent replacement for the Senior Center. According to Hill, patrons of the Mobile Senior Center are hoping to move into the building that was formerly Prospect Elementary School; the school district is currently considering how the space will be used.

If that doesn’t pan out, Hill is happy to continue hosting the Mobile Senior Center at First Church for the foreseeable future. He is very proud of the program and loves seeing the church space being used for the community.

“We’re happy to see the church used,” Hill said. “Even a couple of additional seniors from our church have shown up because of the exercise part of it. I think it’s going really, really well.”

Presence Data Collection Altered Following Student Concerns

Alexa Stevens News Editor

At the start of this semester, the College began using Presence, a software program designed to organize campus events and track attendee data. Recently, students have expressed concerns over Presence’s data-tracking habits.

Presence describes its services as supporting colleges and universities in managing and automating processes, engaging more students, tracking and collecting engagement data, assessing behaviors and trends, and encouraging and measuring experiential learning and co-curricular opportunities. Modern Campus, the company that acquired Presence in 2021, works with more than 1,400 colleges and universities across North America.

“Presence is a student engagement and learning solution that powers universities to improve retention rates by tracking and learning about their students’ involvement patterns and behaviors,” a Modern Campus press release on the software reads. “Serving more than 250 higher education institutions across North America, Presence makes it easy to visualize and assess engagement efforts through data, streamline workflows for departments and student organizations, and map learning outcomes to opportunities for student success.”

Presence has two interfaces: the organizer view and the attendee view. Any student can use the Student Portal, GOberlin, to discover organizations they would like to join and events they would like to attend. Events students have attended — regardless of whether they signed up for them via the GOberlin portal — will appear on their profile. The organization pages display the organization’s email, website, whether it was active in 2021–22, a description of the organization, and a feed linked to the organization’s social media account,

as well as any upcoming events hosted by the organization.

According to Associate Dean of Students Thom Julian, the implementation of Presence is the result of a yearlong search for the software best suited to needs expressed by student organization leaders. The search was conducted in collaboration with the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement staff and the Center for Information Technology. Feedback was collected from focus groups with student organizations, the Vibrant Campus Task Force, and peer institutions. Presence was identified as the ideal software to streamline and digitize student organizations’ processes to improve understanding through data.

“We are quite early into the implementation of Presence, and our focus this semester is onboarding student organization leaders to organization management and event creation,” Julian wrote in an email to the Review

Earlier in the semester, shortly after Presence’s implementation, students expressed concerns about the nature of the data the software was tracking. Presence pulls data from Banner and tracks students’ involvement via various demographics, including GPA, race, gender, citizenship status, and national origin, which becomes accessible to event organizers. In response to this feedback, the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement has since altered its use of Presence so that it only tracks data on events with 50 attendees or more.

Julian discussed the anonymity of the data.

“All student demographic data is in an anonymous aggregate form,” Julian wrote. “The intention of this data is to ensure that we are equitably serving all populations on campus with our student involvement offerings.”

College second-year Tabitha Bird, a treasurer in training and the general manager at the Cat in the Cream, has spent some time understanding the new software and its use at Cat in the Cream events.

“The 50-person limit was to make it pretty much impossible … to figure out exactly which person matches which identifiers,” Bird said. “Then we cut down the limit of identifiers that would be accessible to general student [organizations].”

Students also expressed that they felt surveyed by the data collection and have identified that some of the data accessible to organizers may not always be accurate.

“One of the biggest problems we have is that unless students are taking it upon themselves to update gender markers and other such things with the offices, we don’t have control over that,” Bird said.

Cat in the Cream staff members use Presence to identify how many people

are attending their events and what parts of campus student attendees are coming from. They hope to get more information that will help them figure out how to increase the diversity of students at events.

“Last year, we had a lot of problems where people felt that … certain events were unintentionally segregated for various reasons, and that there was basically just a lack of diversity in groups on campus — we took that very seriously,” Bird said. “We have [found that] people who mostly live on North Campus [are] coming to our events, which makes a bit of sense because we’re located on North Campus, but it’s also really disappointing.”

According to Julian, Presence will continue to be updated in future semesters to provide more information and functions.

“We will introduce other features such as student finance tools, event feedback, organization elections, and much more,” Julian wrote.

Presence, a software implemented by the College this semester, tracks student event attendee data.

Photo by Abe Frato, Photo Editor

Professor Mahallati Should Condemn ’88 Iran Massacres

Editor’s note: Segments of this piece are reprinted from the author’s book review, “Nasser Mohajer, Voices of a Massacre: Un told Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988,” published on Oct. 27, 2020 in the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

The author served as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s first ambassador to the United Nations between 1979-80.

The clerics who run the authoritarian the ocracy in Iran represent one of the predom inant anti-Enlightenment regimes of the modern world. That is to say they seeming ly reject the very idea of human rights and demand that citizens follow duties and obli gations dictated by the self-appointed “vice roys of God” on earth. The hostility of these characters toward gender equality has a certain barbarity in common with what Margaret Atwood describes in The Hand maid’s Tale. When supporters or represen tatives of Iran’s theocracy face Western au diences, they become sophists in answering questions or rationalizing their position.

An example of such behavior is illustrat ed in a recent Voice of America Persian News Network interview with the former Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, Oberlin College Professor Mohammad Jafar Ma hallati. The interviewer, Masih Alinejad, asked Mahallati about his response to the 1988 execution of an estimated 5,000 polit ical prisoners in Iran, pointing out Mahal lati’s position in the U.N. at the time of the massacre. Mahallati said he did not know about the executions — an unprecedented tragedy in Iranian history. Then, Alinejad asked Mahallati what he thought about the massacre now that he knew about it, to which Mahallati replied, “I strongly believe that killing one person is equal to killing the

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entire world.”

This absurd and demagogic answer to a specific question reveals the shameless hy pocrisy of Mahallati. Has there ever been a despot who admits to killing innocent people? All dictators consider their critics or opponents guilty. Mahallati, as an agent of Iran’s totalitarian theocracy, implicitly follows the same rule but uses the prepos terous words quoted above to hide his po sition.

Mahallati denies knowing about the massacre when it happened. He maintains that “One is responsible based on the infor mation they are aware of.” This is another example of his sophistry. The truth is that, shortly after the Iranian state started its criminal acts, Amnesty International and several news organizations, including the Associated Press, reported the crimes. The information was out there; Mahallati chose to continue the regime’s cover-up.

In 1988, then Supreme Leader of the Is lamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a secret fatwa (a religious edict) or dering judicial authorities to execute polit ical prisoners, resulting in between 4,500 and 5,000 killings. The inmates were men and women, young and old, who had been arrested over the previous 10 years for writ ing, speaking, or demonstrating against the regime. Some of them were teenagers at the time of their arrest. A tribunal that came to be known as the death commission carried out the order within three months. Bodies of the victims were buried in mass graves, and their families were kept in the dark for the following three months.

Since then, international human rights organizations have documented the massa cre and described it as a crime against hu manity. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have thoroughly documented

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OPINIONS EdItOrS Elle Giannandrea Emily Vaughan

Activism on Campus Must Be Revitalized

Oberlin has a national and historical reputation for its politically active student body and campus that is constantly abuzz with activism and protests. We have noticed, however, that besides a few gatherings in Tappan Square with chanting and posters, there have been few, if any, sustained protests or movements since the College shut down due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Observed from a dis tance, the trend of protests growing fewer and farther between reveals a discon certing pattern in the spirit of activism on campus.

Last fall, Nancy Schrom Dye Chair of Middle East and North African Stud ies Mohammad Jafar Mahallati was investigated by the College for alleged war crimes during his time as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in the late 1980s. When the College finished its investigation into his alleged wrongdo ing and concluded that the allegations were unsubstantiated, an activist group mostly consisting of members from outside the Oberlin community took to Tappan Square to express their discontent with this decision. Considering that the protest was organized by people outside Oberlin, College students needed only to educate themselves and show up. Still, very few students participated in these protests, despite the severity of the allegations and numerous disputes to the College’s investigations. The same activist group held two more protests against Mahallati — one in March and one over Commencement Weekend in June — both of which drew limited student involvement. In addition to the virtual absence of students from protests, there was scant, if any, conversation among students about the allegations against Mahallati during this period, and little conversation has occurred since. A prior Editorial Board commented on this lack of student engagement in “Evidence Against Mahallati Irrefutable,” The Oberlin Review, Nov. 5, 2021.

In the past year, we have continued to witness the lack of a campus response in the face of other massively consequential issues that directly affect students, contradicting Oberlin’s rich history of student activism. Thus far, there has been little organized activism against the College’s decision to contract with Harness Health Partners, despite HHP’s recent announcement that it will not provide students with certain essential reproductive and gender-affirming services. Many students will tell you that they are upset even though the College has since contracted with a new provider for reproductive and gender-affirming services. In our conversations with peers, we have heard lamentations about the injustice of HHP’s change in position; many believe that the College supporting a Catho lic health provider is problematic regardless of the quality of care they expected.

This widespread anger and concern, however, has yet to bring anything larger to fruition. There have been few public statements or actions from students on the situation, despite the fact that this change has deeply shaken and infuriated the student body. There have been no protests against HHP for going back on its agreement with the College, and even more surprisingly, there have not been any fliers or posters condemning HHP or the College distributed around campus.

When Ohio legislators introduced HB 454, a bill that required school officials to out transgender students to their parents and prohibited public funds from being given to organizations that provide gender-affirming care to minors, cam pus discourse was once again scarce. When the bill passed, there was no largescale response, save for people posting infographics on their Instagram stories about the bill and the damage it would cause. While this practice does educate viewers who are unaware of the issues at hand, it is hollow in the absence of continued action. Hosting information sessions, posting fliers around campus, and organizing in protest are just some of a variety of approaches we could have taken to gather momentum against this intrusive and problematic bill. Each of these actions produces media attention and demonstrates support that adds to the broader symposium of voices fighting against injustice.

The Review inherently plays the role of disseminating information on campus ,while also creating a platform for members of our community to comment and educate each other on the goings-on around campus. In the past year, the Edito rial Board has repeatedly used this column to comment on issues such as faculty pay, abortion restrictions, and the College’s failure to recognize its problematic history, but we also understand that there is more that every individual on this Editorial Board can do to promote positive change. We, along with the rest of the student body, must hold ourselves accountable and work with one another to revitalize campus activism. Actions speak louder than words, and in the past few years, Oberlin students have whispered at best.

5 OPINIONS The Oberlin Review | September 23, 2022 September 23, 2022 Established 1874 Volume 152, Number 3 OPINIONS LETTER TO THE EDITORS

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

College Seemingly Abandons COVID Mitigation Efforts

Oliver Niehaus

I started school at Oberlin last fall when there were signs all over campus that said, “masks required outdoors.” I was initially surprised because this was above and beyond CDC guidance at that time — in general, outdoor mask wearing was not necessary. Now, I’ll admit I was a bit annoyed by such a policy. Carry ing heavy boxes from my car and up the stairs while wearing a KN95 mask was not the most enjoyable experience, but at least it was an indication to me that the college I was attending truly cared about the health and safety of its students. I do believe at times those policies were over the top, whether that be making all din ing locations grab and go or the outdoor mask mandate, but I knew I’d rather be at an institution that went above and be yond recommended measures than one that was being cavalier.

However, as time went on, Oberlin’s image as an institution devoted to the health and safety of its students quickly disappeared. For one, as the Review re ported Aug. 13, 2021, the school would no longer recommend vaccinated indi viduals to get tested if exposed, so long as they were not displaying symptoms. For an institution that claimed to be going “above and beyond” CDC recommenda tions, this was a clear departure, as the CDC was clear that vaccinated individ uals can absolutely contract COVID-19 and be asymptomatic carriers, and should thus be tested when exposed. The College’s masking policy also faltered during a brief period when masks were not required in any athletic buildings. I can understand the option of remov ing masks while actively working out or practicing a sport, but why the whole building? Walking down the hall in the Athletic Center is no different from walking down the hall in King Building. Again, there didn’t seem to be any ratio nal reason why the policy should be dif ferent, and it appeared more as a double standard designed to privilege athletes, despite there being frequent COVID out breaks within sports teams.

The start of this academic year was no better. Despite making the correct deci sion in requiring masks for the beginning of the semester, the current quarantine and isolation policies are an abysmal failure and a complete slap in the face to anyone actively trying to avoid COVID.

The ObieSafe email sent out Aug. 18, which outlined COVID policies for this

semester, stated that The Hotel at Ober lin would no longer be used for isolation and that, “If only one roommate tests positive, healthy roommates should wear a mask and maintain social distance as much as possible.” The email does say, “Students (such as those who are im mune-compromised) who have a rele vant accommodation through the Office of Disability and Access whose room mate tests positive will be considered for temporary housing, if it is available.” No one should have to prove to the College that they are sufficiently immunocom promised in order to avoid exposure to a deadly virus, but if the College can avoid paying for a few overpriced hotel rooms, who cares if a few people get COVID from their roommates?

In more positive news, a new COVID booster was just made available to the general public. According to the CDC, Moderna and Pfizer’s new “bivalent” boosters replace the older “monovalent” booster that targeted only the original strain of coronavirus that arrived in the U.S. in 2020. The bivalent boosters are designed to offer protection against both that original strain and the latest circu lating Omicron variants.

Where is Oberlin when it comes to promoting these new boosters? The col lege that supposedly “goes above and beyond CDC guidance” has not provid ed students with any information on where to get the booster or even annual flu shots, which were mandated last year. It’s concerning that the school I once viewed as the pinnacle of student safety in terms of COVID protocols hasn’t said a word about the new boosters.

Going into the fall, it’s likely that we will see another resurgence of COVID, and getting a booster can help protect you and those around you from getting sick. Even if COVID won’t severely im pact someone’s health, missing class and other activities will put people at an ac ademic disadvantage. Getting updated vaccines is, and always has been, about protecting not just yourself but also those around you. Therefore, I strongly urge you to get the latest booster. You can schedule an appointment online to get yours at the CVS nearby when available. The College may be done promoting ways to mitigate the spread of COVID, but that doesn’t mean we as a communi ty shouldn’t be taking basic precautions.

To schedule your COVID-19 bivalent booster, visit tinyurl.com/bdhxz84a.

Students Should Give Mobile ID Cards Time

Henry Larson Columnist

When I got my Mobile ObieID on my first day at Oberlin, I was thrilled with the con venience of the new technology. The abil ity to get into my dorm, order meals, and check out books just by tapping my phone against a card reader sounded incredibly convenient. No keeping track of a thin little piece of plastic, and no fishing that plastic card out of the abysmal depths of my back right pocket (or was it my back left pock et?) whenever I need to buy some food or pick up my mail. Cut to me now, three weeks later, racing through the night and praying that my phone will cling to its one percent charge for just a little bit longer so that I won’t be locked out of my dorm. These digitized ID cards are no longer the immaculate innovation my starry eyes had originally gazed upon.

Despite the moment of terror I experi enced at the hands of Oberlin’s new mobile IDs, I firmly believe that their central flaw is not a deep-rooted one. In and of them selves, mobile IDs are not a bad idea. Most people with a smartphone carry it around with them at all times. Combined with the fact that so many young adults already keep important cards on digital wallets, it seems natural for mobile school IDs to be the next step. Moreover, it’s easier to keep track of a phone because of its physical size and weight, and because of the various apps that exist to help smartphone users locate their device (like Apple’s Find My iPhone or Samsung’s Find My Mobile ser vices). Students with a Mobile ObieID can also check the Transact app to immediate ly see how many meal swipes, Flex Points, and Obie Dollars they have left. Finally, the same environmental factors that have played into an increase in digitized syllabi and class resources are relevant with ID cards. Although the quantity of plastic used in the manufacturing of ID cards is not enormous, it isn’t negligible.

With that being said, there are a host of valid reasons why many are still concerned about the potential ubiquity of electron ic IDs. If these are to be accepted cam puswide, one major fault is their discrim inatory nature. Obviously, having a mobile ID requires having a smartphone. While the vast majority of Americans do have smartphones — especially young Amer icans — not everyone has one. If you do have a smartphone, the convenience of us ing your mobile ID depends on which type of phone you have. At this point, the Mo bile ObieID technology seems to strongly

favor iPhones — and specific models of iPhones at that — which is a particularly big problem when it comes to using the ID after one’s phone has died. According to the Center for Information Technology, only students with an iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR have the capacity to continue to use their phone as an ID after it has lost all of its charge, meaning that Android users or iP hone users who don’t have these particular models are out of luck. Some people may also not have the storage space to get the app they need for the mobile IDs to work, and because smartphones are made slightly differently depending on the country, some international students may have trouble downloading the right version of the app. Of course, there’s also apprehension abour the potential for glitches that accompanies any new technology. The difficulty in this case is that any sort of malfunction would mean not being able to get back into one’s room or eat dinner.

These are some glaring issues, but as mentioned previously, this doesn’t neces sarily mean that as a whole, digital IDs are a bad idea. The main problem has been their implementation. At the beginning of this semester, Oberlin students had to give up their physical IDs or forgo the new Mobile ObieID, which is why so many have been against switching to this new technology. Oberlin is forcing people to put all their eggs in one basket, which is worrying giv en that there are so many things that could go wrong that no one can predict at this time. The students who have chosen to use mobile IDs are essentially guinea pigs, and there are real risks being taken with that decision because of how necessary it is to have a working ID on this campus. In these early stages, Oberlin and the ID Card Office should be less focused on phasing out the physical cards and more focused on ensur ing that the digital cards can successfully replace them. If they really want digital IDs to be part of Oberlin’s future, they should be focused on building trust in the software rather than forcing students to choose be tween the old and the new.

Ultimately, I would suggest allowing physical and mobile IDs to coexist, at least briefly. I understand that there could be security concerns if each student has two IDs, but it would allow the new technology to be tested and improved with fewer risks on the part of students, and it would make people that much less anxious about using the digital IDs. It’s not a perfect solution, but perfect solutions rarely exist, and for now, the College should at least somewhat adjust its current strategy.

Voices of Massacre Comments on Political Killings in Iran

from page 5

and exposed the crimes.

Several exiled Iranian writers, artists, and political an alysts have published articles and produced documenta ries about these atrocities. Ervand Abrahamian’s Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran and Geoffrey Robertson’s The Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran, 1988, published by Abdorrahman Borou mand Foundation in 2011, provided witness testimonies and official statements disclosing the crimes.

Some members of the death commission, including current Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, are still in posi tions of authority in Iran. Yet, mass media in the United States has hardly covered this unprecedented massacre.

In Voices of a Massacre: Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988, author and scholar of modern Iranian histo ry Nasser Mohajer gives a unique and creative portrayal of this tragic reality.

This new book provides a highly credible series of re flections, testimonies, eyewitness descriptions, and mem ories of the victims’ loved ones and friends during the

massacre. It reveals how the death commission executed Khomeini’s sociopathic fatwa in such detail that the Irani an regime’s denial of its crimes becomes a nihilistic absur dity. It provides eyewitness accounts by inmates of what happened to prison victims and how executions were car ried out in different cities.

The suffering of Iran’s prisoners in general, and those of the great massacre in particular, is most vividly illustrated by the activities and memoirs of the victims’ families and friends, for they played a central role in drawing interna tional attention to the plight of political prisoners in Iran. “The vanguard of this resistance and struggle was made up of women: the mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters of those who braved tyranny, aspiring for a better future for their country,” Mohajer wrote. These activists made a sig nificant contribution to the rise of the women’s movement in Iran, unprecedented in the Islamic world’s history.

The purpose of Voices of a Massacre, as Mohajer ex plains, is more than to expose the lies of Iran’s clerical rul ers. Instead, it “seeks to embody what Primo Levi defines

as the ‘Duty of Memory.’” That is to say, we need “to gain insight into the historical reality and portray the subtle details of the ‘policy of cruelty’ in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the author wrote. Lynn Novick, co-director with Ken Burns on the documentary The Vietnam War, bemoans the obvious lack of transparency. “It is a shortcoming and self-humiliating to say that they have lied constantly; there is no doubt that they have lied,” Novick said. “But what we really want to do is to show what has happened.”

Voices of a Massacre reveals the cruel nature of a the ocracy that rejects the idea of human rights politically, so cially, and in the private sphere of life. Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, whom we call upon to condemn these crimes against humanity, currently teaches Muslim Oral Culture: Persian Poetry in Translation, Music and Calligraphy at Oberlin College.

Dr. Mansour Farhang Professor of Politics at Bennington College

Co-op Dining Enhanced My Oberlin Experience

Zoey Birdsong Columnist

I’ve noticed that the narrative around the Oberlin Student Cooperative As sociation is often dominated by its most veteran, involved, and enthusi astic members. I’m well on my way to becoming one of those people, but I think it’s important that I share my perspective as someone who was an outsider not long ago. After many people assured me that physical dis ability wouldn’t be a barrier to my contributing to the co-op, I decided to join the OSCA lottery this year. I figured I could always bow out and get a meal plan if the co-ops didn’t work for me.

I thought I was going to regret joining Harkness. I was worried that two meals a day wouldn’t be enough, I would miss the flexibility of campus dining, and I wouldn’t be able to ad just to a vegetarian diet after 20 years of eating meat for nearly every meal. While I concede that these concerns may have been relatively trivial and privileged, I had more significant ones as well. Harkness is famous for its culture — I once heard someone say that Harkness people are to Ober lin students as Oberlin students are to the rest of the world — and I thought I might not be able to fit in or keep up. Most importantly, though, I was worried a lot about not being able to equally contribute to my co-op due to physical disability. Instead of cooking and cleaning, I serve as one of Hark ness’ Accessibility Coordinators, a job that allows me to contribute equita bly to the co-op and help make OSCA a place where everyone can reap the benefits of the work they put in.

In spite of the nerves, I was excit ed. I had always heard great things about OSCA, and my friends in co-ops always seemed to value the commu nities they were a part of. Whenever I ate in a co-op last year, I was struck by how welcoming and friendly the environment was. It called attention to the corporate coldness of campus dining. Co-ops don’t require students to swipe in or limit themselves to one side dish — or two sides after 4:30 p.m. I love almost everything about

being in a co-op: the people, the dis cussions, the food I thought I’d hate, the jellyfish parades (don’t ask), and the high-pressure sink that gets all the food residue off my dish in a few seconds. Now, I get to eat a good meal with people I care about twice a day.

A couple weeks into the semes ter, Harkness’ industrial dishwasher broke, which meant that we had to stop serving meals and were given meal swipes instead. Having to re turn to campus dining made me real ize how much I’d grown used to the co-op and how inaccurate my appre hensions were. I noticed a drop in the quality of food I was eating, as well as the absence of the social atmosphere I’d come to associate with mealtimes. However, it’s important to acknowl edge that for students who rely on OSCA for financial or dietary reasons, this Hark-less period was more of an

issue for them than it was for me.

Being in a co-op helps me practice skills that I’ll use for the rest of my life, such as taking initiative and con sideration of the people around me. OSCA emphasizes mutual responsi bility. The co-op’s failure or success depends on everyone showing up and taking part; there will only be food if we cook it, and the kitchen will only be clean if we clean it. It’s like re learning the lessons in cooperation that most of us learned in childhood, but with higher stakes (and no steak). If a ball gets dropped, that means negative consequences for everyone. This is true for life in general, but liv ing in a co-op really trains you to ad just your mindset.

The co-op model also makes me think about what a better world might look like. I’m so used to struc tures and organizations that don’t

Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor work for their members, so it’s re freshing to be a part of one that does. In OSCA, members receive direct return on their contributions, as op posed to corporations, where the people in charge often get most of the profit at the expense of laborers and consumers. OSCA gives co-opers the opportunity to decide what’s best for ourselves, rather than having that decided for us. Through consensus, a method of community listening and decision making, we all have the pow er to shape co-op policy and impact the well-being of our peers. In my ex perience so far, this system has been effective in ensuring that the co-op remains functional and that every one’s needs are being met. It makes me wish that more people had chanc es like this to directly shape the orga nizations that provide for them.

Administrator-Student Communication Needs Improvement

Aurora Hegarty

As it stands, there is no clear, easi ly accessible avenue through which students can relay their grievances to the administration in a manner that encourages constructive change. Conversely, it seems like the admin istration often doesn’t communicate its decisions to students in a time ly or entirely transparent manner. Students and the administration ap parently suffer from a fundamental inability to communicate with each other. The fact that I have, on multi ple occasions, heard about important changes to this institution through YikYak rather than through official channels should be an embarrass ment.

Students have a right to know what large-scale changes the College is making, or planning on making, be fore they are made. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to feel like we have a voice or that we are heard. Shutting students out of major decisions iso lates them and, as a result, makes the

decision more contentious. I imagine that people who might otherwise like a decision may be less pleased when said decision is sprung on them by surprise — particularly when there is no explanation for why the change was made. From a student’s perspec tive, it feels like President Carmen Twillie Ambar sits in an ivory tower, occasionally making decisions that affect every single Oberlin student without so much as a word from her on the matter.

The change to Bon Secours Mer cy Health is a prime example of this problem. Students who could have raised concerns about the change in health care provider before the fact were instead informed through a Campus Digest email on June 8. In a move that many students felt was predictable in hindsight, Bon Secours walked back numerous reproductive and gender-affirming health care pro cedures it had apparently assured the College it would provide. If students had known about this change soon er, they might have been able to raise

concerns in time; if they had been educated on why it was happening, they might have been able to under stand why the College’s previous con tract was unsatisfactory and what the new contract improved. In this case, knowing ahead of time would not, in my mind, have made the change it self any better. Still, at least students would have been able to comprehend the administration’s thinking.

I’m not saying there are no avenues of direct communication between students and administrators. If you, dear reader, know of one: congratula tions! You know more than the aver age Obie. And that right there is the problem: even if avenues of commu nication do currently exist, there is a lack of awareness of them that, in the end, negates their existence. The Col lege should rethink how it communi cates with students currently, as it is clearly failing to do so.

The solution I would like to sug gest is simple: the College should host town-hall-type events. These events would be great opportunities to cre

ate student awareness of big issues and changes, and for administrators to receive students’ feedback. Doing this would not only give students like me a voice, but it would also allow the College to actually know how their new programs will be received. It might lead to programs that are satis factory to both parties that can be im plemented without confusion. Even if the College did not solicit questions from students or hold conversations with them, such town hall events would present opportunities for ad ministrators to explain their choices and why they are important, positive changes for our community.

I would also argue that this prob lem can and does go both ways: the administration may not know what its students are thinking if they are too isolated to hear our general chat ter. Town hall events would be a great opportunity for them to hear from us, too. At the end of the day, though, I just want to know what Oberlin is planning on doing on a large scale. I deserve to know — it’s my life.

Members of Harkness co-op share a meal outdoors.

How do I register to vote?

It’s easiest to register to vote or change your address in Ohio using paper forms – you’ll only need the last four digits of your Social Security number instead of a form of Ohio ID, which is re quired to register to vote online.

In the weeks leading up to elec tions, representatives from the League of Women Voters and Students for Civic Engagement are available to help students fill out voter registration forms inside the Science Center and outside various dining halls.

If you’ve moved dorms since you first registered to vote in Oberlin, you’ll need to update your voter address to match the address on your utility bill.

Important dates:

- Register to vote or change your address by Oct. 11.

- Early in-person voting is available at the Lorain County Board of Elections (1985 North Ridge Rd, Lorain, OH) weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Oct. 12. Starting Oct. 29, early voting is also available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Nov. 6 and 7, early voting is available from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., respectively.

- Forms to request an absentee ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 5 at noon.

- Absentee voting by mail begins Oct. 12 and mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 7.

- Absentee ballots may be returned in person Nov. 8 before 7:30 p.m.

Throughout the year when volunteers from the League of Women Voters or Students for Civic Engagement are not available, Alison Ricker, head of the Science Library, is available with voter reg istration forms. She delivers forms every week to the Lorain County Board of Elections, which will process your registration.

“I’ve trained our student staff to help [students] fill out forms completely,” she said. “I’ve always thought it would be a good idea to help all the off-campus students vote by absentee ... because what you put on the external envelope is extremely important – that you fill out the required fields ... they will discount your ballot if you don’t sign it where it should be signed and put your last four digits of your social security number and birth date.”

If you live on campus, print and bring a phys ical copy of the utility bill Oberlin emailed to you.

If you live off campus, bring a bank statement or bill that has your Ohio address and name on it.

If you do not have a bank statement or bill under your name in Ohio, fill out a paper appli cation for absentee voting with the Students for Civic Engagement or Alison Ricker.

To find out about candidates and issues on the ballot, read Midterm Election Candidates Speak to Oberlin College, Community article in The Oberlin Review News section this week.

Most candidates will have a personal website, but in smaller local elections that may not be the case.

Vote411.org provides voter guides in which can didates respond to a series of questions on their positions on various issues. It also outlines issues on the ballot in easy-to-understand language.

You can also check out local papers, including The Morning Journal and The Chronicle-Tele gram, for coverage on specific races and ballot items.

- The general election is on Nov. 8 Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

All students living in traditional dorms, except Old Barrows, vote in Phillips gym. Residents of Old Barrows vote at the House of Zion Fel lowship Center located at 81 Locust St., across from Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Community members and students living in apartments or off campus can check their pre cinct at voteohio.gov. See the voting precinct map (below).

“You can reach out to candi dates you are interested in or have questions about – often candidates at the local level have the capacity to engage more because they aren’t representing as many total constituents and receiving thousands of emails a day,” Elliot Davey, treasurer of Students for Civic Engage ment, said.

Where can I find out what local candidates stand for?

Where do I vote? Do I need to bring anything to the polling place?

Photo by Abe Frato

Courtesy of City of Oberlin

Courtesy of Tanya Rosen-Jones

Photo by Abe Frato

Cal Ransom

Editor

ARTS & CULTURE

History of Oppression: Dressing for Rich White Majority

Malcolm Bamba Arts & Culture Editor

Dressing for success goes beyond col loquialism — it’s a term of deep cultur al significance. Watershed moments for students historically underrepresented in academic institutions are underscored by the legacy of knowing that success is how you choose to show up.

Oberlin’s relationship with Black ex cellence started in 1835, with Black stu dents being admitted. Scholars and artists were afforded the opportunity to pursue

academia at what was then known as the Oberlin Collegiate Institute. Black and Brown folks who were allowed to occupy previously segregated spaces of research and creative discipline were now faced with the question: what does it mean to show up Black when Blackness has been seen as the enemy of excellence?

In Oberlin’s class photo of 1947, student Carl T. Rowan is seated among his fellow classmates. He is the single Black face in a cohort of white men who represent an expectation of upholding the appropri ate aesthetic, which is evident in the sea of blazers and buttons which remove any trace of a cultural presentation that might subvert the visual legacy of white suprem acy he’s now been allowed admission into.

Fashion, in this respect, is not pure ly the choice of repurposing a blazer or wearing a different color of high-top Nike — it’s a means of assimilation into the dominant culture. The barrier to entry for Black and Brown folks has been held upon the ability to uphold a level of visual uni formity within whiteness.

Systematic policies around the appro priateness of ethnic hair and body types associated with women and men of col or have been socially normalized within universities and workplace environments, as well as within film and television. The erasure of cultural fashions has led to clothing being used as a tool for blending into oppressive spaces — which means dressing the part.

College fourth-year Saint Franqui spent most of his childhood living with his mom and grandmother in majority-Lati no Section 8 housing.

“Growing up, a common phrase was thrown around in my household: ‘Puedes ser pobre, pero no sucio,’ which translates to, ‘You can be poor, but not dirty,’” Fran qui said. “Showing up to school in cloth ing with rips, tears, or holes would signal to people that you were poor, which gave them a reason to treat you badly because of it.”

Oberlin’s relationship with fashion has always been one of obvious importance and timelessness. There is no space at this institution that has not seen the power of clothing used as a form of counterculture and protest. However, this fashion for wardness contrasts the privileges of those afforded the financial flexibility to move in and out of a “poor” aesthetic.

“Since being at Oberlin, I’ve noticed an interesting pattern of students of color being well dressed and put together of

Photo courtesy of Oberlin College Archives ten,” Franqui said. “In contrast, wealthy and white students rave about their ratty thrift-store finds and go to class in stained, dirty, and tattered clothes.”

The legacy of Black and Brown stu dents at institutions such as Oberlin has been one of proving the value of occupan cy. A part of this unspoken exchange has asked for the families of these individu als to teach their children how to dress for the success they’ve been unilaterally denied. This process of looking the part is also paramount in understanding how culture can act as a superseding force in weaponizing presentation for upward mobility.

Oberlin’s institutional history of excel lence is a credit to its legacy of Black stu dents, who illustrated the ability to suc ceed beyond the stereotypes of racialized aesthetics — and look great while doing it.

Basement of Hales Home to Third-Year Studio Art Majors

Leela Miller Senior Staff Writer Juliana Gaspar Arts & Culture Editor

Studio Art majors enrolled in Ober lin’s Advanced 2D Projects course are excited to have art-making spac es all to themselves in the basement of Hales Gymnasium. College thirdyears Clea Gunn and Martina Taylor show off the original work on their walls and the beautiful clutter that blankets their in-use workspaces. The walls of Taylor’s space, where all their pieces are pinned, show off their experimentation with textile art. Tay

lor’s pieces range from smaller ex plorations of colors and patterns to larger pieces focused on human facial expressions. One of Taylor’s pieces experiments with fashion garments, specifically cargo shorts decorated with the alphabet. A range of mate rials, from maps to hammers, can be seen throughout Taylor’s space, each important to their creative process. Gunn also uses a range of materials, such as fabric and ceramic, in their work — however, they focus mostly on print. Their pieces are also displayed on the walls. Both artists use vibrant colors, and the formerly blank walls come alive as each student makes the space their own.

Class photos spanning Oberlin’s over-200-year history illustrate Blackness in the context of Pres byterian whiteness.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Oberlin in 1965 to receive an honorary degree and speak at Commencement.

Photo courtesy of Oberlin College Archives

Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet Performs at Cat in the Cream

Maeve Woltring

This past Tuesday, a brigade of College students, Jazz Studies department members, and Oberlin community members could be found grooving in the dimly lit confines of the jam-packed Cat in the Cream. Thanks to the efforts of the Oberlin Jazz Society, the Cat’s stage was host to the iconic Kurt Rosenwinkel and his star-studded quartet. Their electric, experimental melodies sent a thrill of awe across the enthralled, head-bobbing crowd. Rosen winkel returned some of the sheer admiration coming from within his audience — about midway through the set, he offered props to the concert’s student facilitators. He noted that he had not ex pected his Oberlin debut to be solely student-facili tated and produced.

“It was just such a wonderful scene to be in volved [in],” Rosenwinkel said. “Deep in the stu dents’ layer, hanging out with everybody and being a part of the generation that you guys are coming up in, to be able to visit and have a great time with everybody was absolutely wonderful.”

This kind of recognition coming from Rosenwin kel is no small thing. Often credited as the preem inent jazz guitarist of his generation, Rosenwinkel could be heard dispensing casual and succinct slic es of wisdom to a winding single-file line of student musicians hoping for the chance to get in a quick chat with him after the show. But the aftershow fer vor was not the only setting in which Rosenwinkel offered up his expertise; earlier that day, he taught a masterclass in which Conservatory Jazz Studies majors and jazz aficionados could observe his cre

ative process.

“I think every day there’s lessons to be learned,” Rosenwinkel said. “And I think today … I saw peo ple learning things about how to mix and how to produce. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity that the kids have to do this, because this is professional stuff.”

Conservatory third-year and Oberlin Jazz So ciety Board Member Noah Nelson not only at tended Rosenwinkel’s masterclass and concert, he also buzzed around behind the scenes for a full nine hours on Tuesday, installing and uninstalling equipment, situating gear, and hanging out with Rosenwinkel and his quartet. As a transfer student and recent electee to the position of Gear and Set up Manager on the OJS board, Nelson was thrown into a process that was already in full swing. There were some hiccups along the way; the piano at the Cat in the Cream had not been played all summer, and most of the OJS members working to put on the concert were new to the board and unaware that they needed to put in a request to get the pia no tuned ahead of time. The quartet’s pianist, Aar on Parks, ended up playing the set on an electric Rhodes keyboard.

“It was 7 p.m., no piano tuner or anybody with any knowhow as far as tuning a piano goes … and so Aaron Parks ended up playing the Rhodes,” Nelson said. “I thought it was pretty cool. That’s a really beautiful-sounding instrument, and he’s a beauti ful-sounding musician; they just wanted to do their job and do it well.”

For Nelson, some of the most indispensable knowledge to be extracted from the whole expe

rience came from the originality that Rosenwinkel brought to the performance and masterclass.

“Kurt’s visit here, his masterclass, and his con cert were really important because he’s been, for 30 years, kind of at the forefront of modern jazz move ments,” Nelson said. “He didn’t play the standards, he didn’t play the usual repertoire. He played all original music in an original styling … a lot of the grooves that were used were kind of derived from hip hop and soul.”

Nelson also gave appreciated Rosenwinkel’s use of improvisation.

“I’m really into free music, free improvisation, free jazz,” Nelson said. “He was just talking about how you can learn so much about yourself through free improvisation … he kind of got philosophical with it and was drawing this direct line between mu sical improvisation and life improvisation, which I thought was kind of beautiful and not something I had thought tremendously about myself.”

Even though the day was taxing, Nelson left the show feeling inspired and went straight into an af ter-hours jam session with a handful of his Conser vatory peers.The Rosenwinkel Quartet’s esteemed drummer, Gregory Hutchinson, believes that the excitement the show elicited in Nelson and his peers is exactly the goal.

“I remember a long time ago, this was me in this same position,” Hutchinson said. “So it’s always good to help the students out, to evolve, to get bet ter, to think about leaving school, you know? I think that’s the thing. Once you’re in school and you see some people come through who are doing what you want to do, it gives you inspiration, too.”

Kurt Rosenwinkel and his band play at the Cat in the Cream.

Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor

Kurt Rosenwinkel improvises on his guitar.

Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor

Eric Revis plucks away at the bass. Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor

Students Revel in Absurdity of Annual FireFish Festival

Leela Miller Senior Staff Writer

The annual Lorain FireFish Festival took place in Downtown Lorain last Saturday. The festival is a lively celebration of art, culture, and community that culminates in the ceremonial burning of a giant fish sculpture. Programming included glassblow ing demonstrations, a New Orleans-style jazz band, stilt walkers, puppeteers from the eerie-yet-magi cal Bread and Puppet Theater, and a performance from Oberlin’s own steelpan band, OSteel. Several students attended the festival.

The FireFish Festival has been a Lorain tradi tion since 2015, but this was the first time that OS teel was included in the event. College fourth-year Charlotte Connamacher is the current administra tive director of OSteel and has been involved with the group since taking the steelpan ExCo during her first year at Oberlin. According to Connamach er, OSteel was first approached about participating in the FireFish Festival after performing in Ober lin’s Big Parade this past spring.

At Big Parade, Joan Perch, executive director of the Lorain-based non-profit FireFish Arts, sported a colorful butterfly costume when she approached the band to compliment the musicianship of the pan players. She then pitched her own event: an other parade, but this one with a whimsical proces sion and a dramatic display of fire and fireworks. That description alone was enough to get OSteel on board.

With the FireFish Festival scheduled to take place less than a month into the school year, OSteel didn’t have long to prepare for the performance, but they were able to pull together an exciting con cert nonetheless. The quality of the show was a tes tament to the dedication of the band.

OSteel’s main point person for involvement in the festival was multimedia artist and FireFish Festival Creative Director Daniel McNamara, who directs the parade and “burning pageant” and has built the giant fish multiple times in past years. Ac

cording to Connamacher, McNamara described the festival as a big buildup to a moment of intentional chaos — chaos that facilitates creativity. This con cept of “intentional chaos” took the form of mul tiple musical groups all playing at once on close ly-situated stages during the hours leading up to the burning of the fish.

“The idea behind the burning fish was that you can create art, and you can destroy art, but the cre ative energy involved in the process can’t be de stroyed,” Connamacher said.

“It can’t be dampened.”

The frenetic, artistic energy of the all-day event made a lasting impression on attendees. College

Magic Fosters Community, Encourages Creativity

Throughout its nearly 200-year history, Oberlin College and Conservatory has been a mainstage for worldclass musicians, comedians, dancers, studio artists, and more. However, there is one artistic tradition that has yet to find its time in the Oberlin spotlight: magic. Magic was the cause of some truly transformative experiences for me in high school. I was known as “MagicMan,” spending my free time in the halls showing card tricks and also performing alongside my closest friends for hundreds of audience members. Magic is more than a skill to showcase; it is something that can be used to invoke a unique enthusiasm in one’s community, and I am excited to now bring it to Oberlin.

Magic is about friendship, unity, creativity, and engagement within a community. There is no better way to start an interaction with someone than by blowing their mind with a simple card trick. College third-year Rohan Gold likes the interactivity and intimacy of magic in comparison to other performing arts offered at Oberlin.

“Magic inherently requires more engagement from the audience,” Gold said.

I was able to demonstrate my magic skills earlier this month during Oberlin’s annual Variety Showcase, hosted by the Obertones. For me, as a first-year at Oberlin who has been performing magic for over five years, the opportunity to showcase magic as artistic expression in Finney Chapel was extraordinary.

While magic is certainly a means of self-expression, magic enthusiasts like Professor of Jewish Studies Matthew Berkman are equally invested in the art of designing a quality trick.

“As a writer, I appreciate the design of a good magic trick,” Berkman said. “Performing magic well is like crafting a compelling written argument. Good magicians, like persuasive writers, leave you no alternative but to believe in the reality they’re constructing for

you ... imagine walking across Wilder Bowl and people are just pulling rabbits out of hats left and right.

A practicing [magic community] would certainly bring a greater sense of childlike wonder to campus. Sure, we’d soon have a massive rabbit infestation, but I think it’d be worth it.”

Having students, professors, and Oberlin community members learn the ins and outs of a few tricks can go a long way in normalizing magic as a form of artistic expression. With any luck, and a rabbit or two, the creativity and wonder of magic will hopefully soon conjure its way into Oberlin.

Shawn Lisann

The FireFish sculpture goes up in flames.

Photo by Lanie Cheatham

Annual, page

Holly Yelton, Staff Cartoonist

Annual FireFish Festival Showcases Explosive Creativity

from page 11

Second-year Danny Folger Walls, a member of OS teel, traveled to the festival to perform. They de scribed the whole experience as “unexpected.”

“I didn’t imagine there were events like this so close to Oberlin,” Folger Walls said. “It was a dif ferent side of Ohio than I’d seen before. There was such a diversity of cultural representation and food and ages and … everything. Plus, the huge burning fish part was so dramatic. I felt like I was in the danger zone right next to it while it was spitting fire. Luckily, I made it back in one piece.”

College third-years Lanie Cheatham and Aidan Sweney heard about FireFish when a fellow stu dent announced OSteel’s scheduled performance during a meal at Third World Co-op, and they were so intrigued by the idea of the fish-burning pageant

that they wrangled a group of friends into spending the whole day at the festival.

“A lot of the ‘scales’ had things painted on them like ‘hate,’ ‘racism,’ ‘discrimination,’ ‘police brutal ity,’ ‘homophobia,’” Cheatham said. “The idea was that, with the burning of the fish, you’re also purg ing all of those painful things.”

Sweney admitted that, at first, he expected the event to be barbecue-esque.

“Turns out, the fish was made of paper,” Sweney said. “That’s probably for the best, though. I think a real fish would’ve smelled bad.”

According to Cheatham and Sweney, the festival was fun and unusual — in spite of the lack of giant, barbecued seafood — and it was a great opportuni ty for Oberlin students to make connections with

creatively-minded people across the greater Lorain county.

“It was a very exciting moment, watching the puppeteering and listening to the music and seeing it all come together,” Connamacher said. “[OSteel] definitely made some wonderful connections. Dan iel [McNamara] and Joan [Perch] were so gracious with their time and so excited for us to be involved. I really do feel more connected to the area now. There’s a lot more creative stuff going on than I was initially aware of. You just have to look close ly and make an effort to meet interesting people in order to find out about it. Overall, it was a hectic experience, but it was so fulfilling. I would love to go back again next year.”

College Experience Inspires Student Produced Music

Emma Benardete Editor-in-Chief

It’s no secret that Oberlin is a very musical place. Between the Conservatory, the Arts and Sciences Orchestra, and various a capella groups, there are always plenty of music performances on campus. However, there is another side of the Oberlin musi cal scene that doesn’t get nearly as much attention: its extensive arrangement of music producers and engineers.

There are a number of talented students on cam pus who, in addition to performing onstage, record and edit their own songs and then release them on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. College sec ond-year Megan Beehler, who goes by the artist name lavendink, started playing around with pro ducing during her sophomore year of high school. She started taking it seriously during the pandem ic, and soon was responsible for mixing the record ing of her high school choir’s entire virtual perfor mance.

“I was a choir kid, we had wanted to do some vir tual choirs, and I had a lot of film experience, but not a ton of audio experience,” Beehler said. “So I was really confident that I was able to do the vid eo part and was just kind of figuring out the audio. That was kind of my first experience with trying to put together a bunch of voices or putting together a bunch of tracks that were really audio-based.”

Beehler has since released two albums, The Let ters I Couldn’t Write in July 2021 and The College Exp this month. She described the genre of her music as “bedroom indie pop,” though she said she was also categorized as alternative folk by the algo rithm of streaming platforms.

College second-year Ella Harrington, who is currently taking a semester off, has released five singles under the artist name Ella Faye. She has been passionate about music her entire life, having started Suzuki violin at the age of three. She first started writing songs when she was 12 years old.

“When I was four, my family started singing with an intergenerational folk chorus in the Boston area,” Harrington said. “So that really opened my musical world up to a really wide range of artists.”

She wrote her first two songs when she was 12 years old. One, called “Memories” honored her late grandfather. She wrote the other, titled “I Remem ber,” with her best friend Charlotte.

“It was about us coming into our friendship to gether and a platonic love song.”

Both Beehler and Harrington tell personal sto ries in their songs, and they noted that it can be in timidating, with Harrington’s record “I Can See the Rain” being about a boy she liked when she was 16.

“The songs that are about people ... are not nec essarily painting them in the best light,” Beehler said. “It’s ‘this is how I felt at a moment in time’ and it’s not necessarily reflective of how I feel now. And so sometimes I worry that people might feel like I’m exposing them or making them feel like they’re a bad person ... Nothing bad [has happened] yet, but it is a little scary.”

Harrington doesn’t like to categorize her mu sic into a particular genre, as she is inspired by a variety of genres including folk, pop, and soul.

Double-degree third-year Brock Bierly shares Har rington’s reluctance to categorize their music into a specific genre.

“I think I’d want to walk into oncoming traffic if I had to give my music genres in front of some body,” Bierly said.

Bierly, a TIMARA student, first developed an interest in music production at a young age be cause of their interest in robotics. Bierly has also been drumming since they were three years old — their babysitter became fed up with their banging on pots and pans and suggested they actually get a drum set.

“I liked that Megazords came apart and came back together, and I thought it was cool that they were electronic or something,” Bierly said. “And so I got really into the idea of liking techno. I didn’t really listen to much techno, but I was like, ‘Yeah, my favorite genre is techno music.’”

College second-year Lawrence Wright, who pro duces music under the artist name Comprehensi ble, started composing music in high school using MuseScore. During his senior year, he had the op portunity to participate in “Game Jam,” which gave him the chance to connect with video game com posers working within the industry.

“He was like, ‘Hey, have you heard of this thing called not using MuseScore and moving on to a bigger digital workstation?’ and he showed me the ropes,” Wright said.

Wright has since produced a few songs which have been released on his YouTube channel, includ ing “Nonna’s Song” and “Breestep.” He described his music as “vaguely video game inspired, some what classical but not really because the classical people eat me alive for calling it classical.” While Wright does sing and play some clarinet and piano, most of his music is produced digitally.

While Oberlin’s musicians may seem to focus on more serious projects, they also know the impor tance of letting loose and having some fun. Beehler has produced songs, such as “Rats on Crack” and “Premarital Handholding,” that exist on her You Tube channel.

“My roommate and I did basically improv songs, which is where I start playing some chords and we make up a song together,” Beehler said. “We have basically an improv EP, if you will.”

All four artists said that Oberlin had been in tegral to their music-making process, whether that’s Wrights’ theory and composition classes in the Conservatory, Bierly’s on-campus collabora tions, Beehler’s self-produced single titled “I Cried in Tappan Square,’’ or Harrington’s attendance of Oberlin’s music performances on campus. All of these have acted as sources of inspiration, show casing the various talents at Oberlin College and Conservatory.

The album Cover for The Letters I Couldn’t Write

Photo courtesy of Megan Beehler

The album cover of The College Exp by lavendink

Photo courtesy of Megan Beehler

Ella Harrington poses against wall, holding guitar. Photo courtesy of Ella Harrington

CONSERVATORY

Solomon Leonard: Jazz and Hip-Hop Violist

Gracie McFalls Senior Staff Writer

Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, second-year Viola Performance major Solomon Leonard engages with a variety of musical genres inside and outside of the Conservatory. Leonard studies and performs in both the Classical and Jazz divisions at Oberlin, and participates in one of the Performance and Improvisation Ensembles, which play music genres from around the world in an improvisatory style.

In addition to his college studies, Solomon has also released a hip-hop, viola-centric extended play titled “The Freshman Experience.” His latest EP “The Sophomore Experience,” will be released May 14, 2023.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Could you start by telling me about your decision to do both musical genres? What’s it like to navigate the two musical worlds?

I am not technically a Jazz Performance major, but I act like one. I started by learning jazz jury tunes. Every jazz first- and second-year student is given a PDF of 50-something tunes at the beginning of the year. So I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna do that.” I started to do jazz toward the end of high school, but I wish I had started at the beginning. So, coming into Oberlin, I wanted to do both right from the start.

And then, in addition to that, I just made friends in the department. I was in Kohl Building, just hanging out and seeing the culture and going to jam sessions. As time moved along, I started doing different bands and just growing along with my peers. I learn a lot from them.

It’s not easy. I definitely do a few all-nighters a week to keep up with the workload, but I’m very passionate about this, so it’s all good work.

Do you think that one style influences the way you play the other?

Definitely. In jazz, you always have to be ready to be creative. Nowadays, when I play classical music, I always leave room for creativity. I look at Bach’s harmonic structure differently now. I can look at it more isolated in terms of each moment rather than as a whole phrase.

I think Bach was also a jazz musician in that he used textures, harmonies, and melodies that just keep going and going. There are so many small moments in a piece that get ignored when played in the traditional way. But if you look at that moment and ask, “What can I really do with this moment?” that’s really profound.

It’s because of jazz and because of my experience performing jazz and performing with the PI Ensemble that I get the confidence to be creative in the moment. Now, I have full confidence to try an idea regardless of whether it’ll work out or not. It’s 2022, you know. We have to experiment.

What do you think has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from doing that?

I guess that I’m just a musician. This is something I learned from Wheatie Brimer yesterday. He said that musicians are only focused on one thing: music.

I love so many different kinds of music. I don’t like to just say I’m a classical, jazz, or hip-hop musician. I’m just a musician and all of these kinds play into each other naturally.

But it’s not about us, it’s about the listeners. Whether we think a performance is our best or our worst, it’s always about the listener.

I try to have that mindset because college starts you in a million different directions. For instance, you might have an assignment due on Thursday, so you pull an all-nighter, and then you have a concert on Friday, and you have to do it with no sleep. But if there’s a crowd, it doesn’t matter. It’s not about you.

Do you think Oberlin facilitates this kind of fu-sion between different musical genres?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I see the Conservatory as being split in three ways: the classical department, the Jazz department, andTIMARA. I don’t think any of them know what the other two are doing at any given point.

I think there are seeds that the Conservato-ry has planted, like the PI Ensemble, but I think there’s a way to come up with more ways to unite more of the departments, which can spark more creativity and give students a better worldview. Right now, each department is really separate. In the classical program, you have juries your first two years, then your junior and senior recitals. Most other solo opportunities happen only in studio class, so that means students may come through here and they may never be exposed to the amazing artistry in PI or the jazz building, or the Conservatory in general. That exposure should be built into the program.

What is it that draws you to music, generally?

I love that even when I think I’ve performed the worst performance of my life, another person in the audience has gotten something out of it. I love how music — and not just music, but art in general — is supposed to enhance life by its ability to inspire and connect people. I can put my best self out there in whatever kind of music I’m playing and can be assured that a listener can walk away feeling something really meaningful.

Is there else that you want to add about your-self, your life, music, or what inspires you?

I guess you could say that I’m trying to be like water — when it’s calm, it’s beautiful; when it’s excited or enraged, it’s a force to be reckoned with. That’s a Bruce Lee reference.

Jazz language is all over classical music. Kurt Rosenwinkel released a Chopin album that arranged Chopin for jazz quartet, and it was incredible. That’s exactly what I mean in terms of the different styles influencing one another.

Students Self Promote Performances Outside Conservatory

Nikki Keating News Editor

The Oberlin Conservatory, with over 540 students and 42 pri vate areas of study has trained many notable alumni. With over 500 performances a year, Conservatory students have frequent chances to perform throughout their years here at Oberlin, but many students also perform independently and promote their own music to make connections in the professional world.

Double-degree fifth-year Kamran Curlin, who is majoring in Double Bass Performance, believes a musician’s way of pro moting themselves is how they set themselves apart within the industry. Exploring different ways of showcasing and promot ing art builds a musician’s resume and matures them as an art ist as it gives them the experience they need to set themselves apart from competitors.

“I think those initial years after you graduate music school are the most consequential and foundational for building the other half of being a professional musician, which is the pro fessional part, not the musician part,” Curlin said. “There are tons of great professionals who can’t play but are really suc cessful. And there’s a ton of great, great musicians that are just super unprofessional and don’t know how to do that side of things.”

Conservatory fourth-year Kurton Harrison III echoed Curl in’s thoughts on self promotion.

“I self promote myself through posting my instrumental beats from [Logic Pro X] to my SoundCloud” Harrison said. “I also promote myself through social media, as well. I’m trying to expand my horizon, not just as a jazz composer, but just as a music composer in general. I can learn more about things like recording, mixing, mastering asset sound engineer, you know, … just growing as a musician and music producer and compos er.”

Self promotion is an opportunity for musicians to showcase their music publicly and likely increase their success in the long run. Though students have Conservatory-run opportuni ties to perform throughout the year, self promotion for perfor mances in events or venues not sponsored by the Conservatory allows students to gain access to connections and opportuni ties outside of Oberlin.

“I have a little gig in front … of Ben Franklin’s every Satur day,” Nash McBride, third-year Conservatory pianist, said. “[It] is a connection in town, an Oberlin alum. So I’m trying to do more work outside of the Conservatory to try and find just a place to start.”

MNGLW, pronounced “moon glow,” is another example of a group of Conservatory students promoting themselves outside of their own programs. MNGLW has promoted itself by per forming at spaces in and outside of the College. The group re cently performed at the jazz club Nublu in New York City and has an upcoming performance at the Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Delaware.

“In terms of promotion, a lot of it is kind of like a dou ble-edged sword, and in some ways it’s hard because you have no idea what you’re doing,” double-degree third-year Nathan iel Coben, a member of MNGLW, said. “I’m just trying random stuff out, but it’s also fun because at this point, you can just experiment and just try stuff out. So it’s all word of mouth and maybe a few things with social media here and there.”

While studying at the Conservatory, students are able to train with alumni and make connections through their pro fessors and other ensembles, but a lot of the work is student driven when it comes to getting the word out about their own music and finding opportunities to pursue it.

“Opportunities exist, but it is really up to the initiative of the individual student to go seek them out,” Curlin said. “And to some extent, the reality of a professional setting is differ ent than that of an institution where you learn music and how to be a musician. I think the Conservatory does a good job of making great musicians, but to be a professional is something that takes a lot of individualized will and drive to seek out.”

Students in the Conservatory are able to train to become musicians and to hone their intellectual and artistic passions. Self promotion helps students develop their careers and use the skills they acquire to become leaders in their field and to express their musicianship during and after their time at Oberlin.

Solomon Leonard

Photo by Erin Koo, Photo Editor

Chess World Unpacks Carlsen, Niemann Scandal

Niemann stumbled during his post-game inter view against Firouzja. Online, chess fans said he didn’t know what he was talking about and specu lated that he wasn’t that great of a player. He sug gested bad moves and ideas about what should be played, and his explanation for playing QG3 made little sense.

Niemann’s next game ended in a draw, and in his post-game interview, he finally addressed the cheating controversy. According to Niemann, he studied a different game from Carlsen than what he originally said in his first interview. He also explained his QG3 move, saying that it was meant to scare Firouzja and was not necessarily the best move. He also admitted to cheating twice in online chess, but when he was 12 and 16 years old.

Later that day, Chess.com, which is partly owned by Carlsen, banned Niemann from its website and events. In a statement, they claimed there was more information regarding his online cheating than Niemann had let on.

Andrea Nguyen Sports Editor Zach Marshall

Imagine Naomi Osaka hitting the ball once and walking off the court, or Tom Brady throwing a football to a teammate and leaving with no expla nation. This is exactly what happened in the chess world recently, creating its largest scandal in years.

On Sept. 5, 31-year-old Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, MO after losing a game against 19-yearold Hans Niemann, giving up the chance to win $100,000.

According to the International Chess Federation, Carlsen has held the highest chess ranking for the past 11 years. He is known for his unbeaten streaks — earlier in his career, he had a 125-game unbeat en streak, the longest ever on record. Prior to the Sept. 5 game, Carlsen held a 53-game unbeaten streak. Earlier this year, however, he voluntarily relinquished his title as world chess champion, one which he held for the last nine years. When Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup, it was the first time he had ever quit while in the middle of a tournament.

Niemann, on the other hand, is an up-and-coming chess player. His rating has skyrocketed over the past two years, demonstrating rapid improvement in his game. Chess streaming on websites such as Chess.com — the most popular chess website where people can virtually play with others of similar rank — gives visibility to younger up-and-coming players, which is how Niemann gained a fanbase.

Originally, Niemann wasn’t even supposed to play in the Sinquefield Cup, a competition for some of the best players in the world. He had been a wild

card candidate for another player, Richárd Rapport, who could not attend. Niemann came in with the lowest rating by far. He drew his first game and won his second. His next game — the one against Carlsen — wasn’t the first match between the two. In February they played a series of five games in a rapid chess tournament: Niemann won the first, then Carlsen squashed him in the next four.

This time, however, Niemann won his game against Carlsen. He won while playing with the black pieces, a rarity at the highest levels because white has the advantage of making the first move. In the post-game interview, Niemann claimed he scouted out some of Carlsen’s moves and then used an AI engine to analyze them. However, Niemann mentioned a move from a match that Carlsen never played, drawing speculation of how he really won.

The next day, Carlsen withdrew and posted a video clip on Twitter of Portuguese soccer manager José Mourinho saying, “I prefer really not to speak. If I speak I’m in big trouble, and I don’t want to be in big trouble.” Players in the tournament were offline and had no connection to the outside world during the tournament, so they could not see the video.

Niemann won his next game against Alireza Firouzja. At one point, he played queen to G3, a move that is near impossible to predict without a computer, which prompted many chess fans to back up Carlsen. Some people, including Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, speculated that Carlsen dropped out because he believed Niemann cheated. For the remainder of the tournament, more anti-cheating measures were taken, but the chief arbiter said there was no evidence of cheat ing. In the recent past, chess players have cheated by looking at a phone during a bathroom break or having a bluetooth device in their ear.

On Sept. 19, Carlsen and Niemann played an online rematch at the Julius Baer Generation Cup for preliminaries. On his second move, Carlsen resigned and turned off his camera as a form of pro test, which confirmed that Niemann was the reason he quit the tournament. Carlsen hasn’t discussed the scandal since the tweet. He may have requested an official investigation, and during that time the player cannot address the situation.

Oberlin’s former chess club sponsor and Head Women’s Tennis Coach Constantine Ananiadis thinks that Carlsen handled the situation poorly.

“Especially for someone of his stature, influ ence, and platform, [Carlsen] should know bet ter,” Ananiadis wrote in an email to the Review “Everything he does and says is scrutinized and taken seriously. Even his decision not to play the world championship is disrespectful to the game of chess. Not sure if [the] game has gotten to him, but he’s acting strangely for sure. On one hand, it does bring publicity to chess. On the other, it’s negative.”

Conservatory second-year Evan Beachy believes Carlsen has a duty to speak out if he has evidence of foul play.

“I think Hans got good after quitting chess online, and the media is looking over the fact that it’s incredibly difficult to cheat — it’s not like they’re letting people get on their phones at this tour nament,” Beachy said. “Magnus has a duty to say something. If he has good evidence to support it, he should come forward with it.”

There could be yet another Carlsen-Niemann rematch in the near future. Carlsen secured a spot in the Generation Cup’s knockout stage, and there’s a chance Niemann will qualify as well. They may face each other once more in the quarterfinals. But these players will not be looked at the same as they had been before the Sept. 5 game. Even if this isn’t a cheating scandal, both players will have their names attached to the controversy for the rest of their careers.

Minor League Baseball Players Unionize on Sept. 14

Continued from page 16

and respect — on the job and on the field.”

The unionization effort comes af ter a decade of pay cuts and labor exploitation in MiLB. In 2014, MiLB players filed a lawsuit against the MLB for exploitation of its workers. Specific complaints included that the MLB paid MiLB players below min imum wage and did not provide pay for spring training ( Senne v. MLB, 2014 ). In January 2020, MLB tried to appeal this case to the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled in favor of the MiLB players, but the appeal was denied. Two and a half years later, the MLB and MiLB players reached a set tlement of $185 million, which will be paid out as early as next year. This money will be divided among law yers representing MiLB and roughly

23,000 current and former players.

“Every MLB organization will soon have the option to pay Minor Leaguers outside of the ‘championship playing season,’” Harry Marino, the execu tive director of the nonprofit Advo cates for Minor Leaguers, wrote in an issued statement following Senne v. MLB . “[We] will hold accountable each and every Major League organi zation that fails to adjust its compen sation of Minor Leaguers according ly. Ultimately, we will not be satisfied until Minor Leaguers have a seat at the table to negotiate fair wages and working conditions, as is the norm across professional sports.”

MiLB players faced further finan cial difficulties in 2018 when Con gress passed the Save America’s Pas time Act. The MLB lobbied millions of dollars for Congress to ratify this

law, which allowed the MLB to be ex empt from paying its workers at fed eral minimum wage and from paying overtime hours.

40 MiLB teams were also cut from the MLB due to funding problems in 2020. The MLB’s revenue is approx imately $10 billion a year, the largest in any American professional sport.

In recent years, grassroots organi zations have raised awareness about issues faced by MiLB players. A cou ple years ago, Advocates for Minor Leaguers started publicizing difficul ties in players’ working conditions.

In response, the MLB raised MiLB weekly wages last year to a range of $400–700, providing increased com pensation for MiLB players’ up to 70hour work weeks.

More Than Baseball, a nonprof it founded by a former MiLB player,

split its donations between supply ing food for MiLB players, purchas ing basic necessities for their houses, buying new baseball equipment, and providing career and financial ser vices for players retiring from base ball. Due to similar activism, the MLB also began providing housing for mi nor league players last season.

Many consider this a historic mo ment for Minor League Baseball: more than half of the current 5,500 players signed a union authorization card during the 17 days leading up to the official formation of the union, presenting MLBPA as their bargain ing representative for negotiations with the MLB. Now, the MLBPA is working toward bargaining for play ers in the offseason and including the Dominican Summer League in its union.

Magnus Carlsen competes in a chess tournament.

Courtesy of Eric Rosen

Cross Country Team Competes in Rochester Invitational

Kayla Kim Contributing Sports Editor

Last Saturday, the cross country team participated in the Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational, hosted by the University of Rochester. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed 14 out of 25 in their respec tive categories. Oberlin’s fastest finishers in the 6-kilometer race were second-year Sage Reddish, fourth-year Sunniva Sheffield, and third-year Eliza Medearis, with each finishing in the top 100 overall. In the 8K, second-years Walter Moak and Danny Markey, along with third-years Jerry Ach termann and Aidan Duffield, also finished in the top 100.

Moak was declared the North Coast Athletic Conference Ath lete of the Week for Sept. 6. He was the first finisher for Oberlin; a continuation of his success at the Wooster Invitational where he fin ished second overall in the 4-mile race. Although he primarily ran shorter events, such as the 1500m and the 3K steeplechase during last year’s winter and spring track season, Moak is beginning to ad just to the longer events he’s com peting in this year.

“I was pleased with how I moved up through the pack at Rochester; while I was in 76th place at the 2k split, I finished 23rd,” Moak wrote in an email to the Review . “All five of our scoring runners had similar

progressions over the middle miles.”

Head Coach Ray Appenheimer is excited for this season after com ing off a successful spring track and field season, where he was named one of the Coaches of the Year for the women’s division. Appenheimer is continuing to focus on fostering a positive team environment while en couraging growth and improvement.

“This year, we’ve been talking a lot about the energy we bring to our spac es and the effect we have on building a positive, fun, goal-oriented communi ty for ourselves and the people around us,” Appenheimer wrote in an email to the Review . “We talk about how we are all responsible for the collective ener gy at practice, at meets, in the weight room, everywhere we go. When ev

eryone understands and is engaged in the effect they have on the peo ple and spaces in their lives, then you’re going to have a positive cul ture. … The challenge is always bal ancing getting in the most work at the most effective intensity while keeping the focus on the entire sea son, knowing that with training, consistency is everything.”

Jon Schafer, Soccer Captain and Musician

Andrea Nguyen Sports Editor Kayla Kim Contributing Sports Editor Zoe Kuzbari

Contributing Sports Editor

After missing multiple seasons due to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, fourth-year midfielder Jon Schafer is finally playing his first full season of soccer, leading as one of the team captains alongside fourth-year Zack Butter and second-year Anthony Pacewicz. Off the field, Schafer is a Politics major and sings in Pitch Please, an a cappella group; last semester, he soloed Taylor Swift’s “Death By A Thousand Cuts” in a concert. He also enjoys golfing with his friends and teammates.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

When did you start playing soccer?

I started playing as early as I can remember. My dad was a soccer coach for a long time in his life. It’s an important game for my whole family. I have two older sisters who both played in high school, and then one of them wound up playing in college, too.

Why did you choose to go Division III, and why Oberlin?

I chose to go Division III because I figured it was a way to play the sport that I love at a good level, but not in a super competitive way. I would be in an envi ronment where a lot of people are also dedicated to academics and music. I thought Oberlin in particular would be a nice, well-rounded place for me to be.

Do you participate in music at Oberlin?

I do, actually. I’m in an a cappella group here at Oberlin — Pitch Please. That’s been a lot of fun. I did a lot more singing in high school, though. It was a very small school, so it was easier to find those opportuni ties. But at Oberlin, there are still plenty of opportuni ties. I just don’t always take them.

What does being team captain mean to you? What responsibilities do you feel like you have as a cap tain, especially to first-years here?

First and foremost, for the first-years, I feel like I have an obligation to be a role model. In college, you kind of have the freedom to determine what kind of role model you’re gonna be. Obviously, when we are at training and in games, I try to be as serious as possible. Personally, I’m someone who enjoys every aspect of soccer, mostly social. So for me, taking things seriously sometimes still involves joking around. One thing that I’ve been hoping to instill in the first-years is that soccer, even when it is business, is also so much fun. There’s a reason we play it still, and there’s a reason we love it.

How has the soccer team impacted your time here?

From day one, my best friends have been on the soccer team. Unfortunately many of my closest friends

were always the grade above, so they’re not here this year, but they’ll be visiting this weekend for the men’s soccer alumni game. It’s been sad sometimes without them, but also refreshing. I’m getting closer with other people and living with other guys in my grade on the team. They are great, and I’m very thankful to be able to call them friends. In my four years here, there’s hardly any instances of real beef or qualms, and we always had a pretty good social environment.

What advice do you have for first-years?

Try to do a cost-benefit analysis and figure out a way that you can enjoy your time while not shooting yourself in the foot academically, socially, and mentally. Who knows — there might be a global pandemic that comes in and cuts it short and makes it look a lot differ ent from what you would expect.

Cross country athletes compete in last year’s Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational.

Jon Schafer dribbles a ball at a men’s soccer game against Grove City College.

Courtesy of Oberlin Athletics

Courtesy of Oberlin Athletics

IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Sisters Compete Against Each Other

MiLB Unionizes, Joins MLBPA

Andrea Nguyen Sports Editor

Minor League Baseball joined the Major League Baseball Players Association after the MLB volun tarily accepted its union earlier this month. While the formal unionization took less than a month, players have put forth efforts to increase pay and improve working conditions for decades. Since its inception in 1968, the MLBPA has unionized major league players, and now minor league players will be entitled to the same protections.

The effort to unionize started on Aug. 28, 2022, when MiLB representatives and the MLBPA Exec utive Director Tony Clark started communicating with one another. MiLB organized and formed a union within the next 17 days.

“Through collective bargaining, [MLB players] were given a forum in which to use [the union],” Clark wrote in an email to individual players’ agents. “What resulted was the establishment and advancement of rights and working conditions for the entire player fraternity, benefits we still en joy today. Minor League players have found a col lective voice in recent years. But a voice without meaningful organization is not enough. Unionizing will give this voice true purpose, and the MLBPA will support these efforts from start to finish.”

Zoe Kuzbari Contributing Sports Editor

This past weekend, the volleyball team hosted the Oberlin Invitational Tournament in Philips gym. The teams participating included John Carroll University, Chatham University, and Haverford College — where my younger sister Téa attends and also plays volleyball. The Oberlin vs. Haverford game marked the first time my sister and I have ever played competitive volleyball against each other; her team won.

When I was younger, I was a competitive figure skater, but the sport grew extremely isolating. I knew I wanted to experience playing a team sport in high school, so I started playing volleyball when I was 15. My sister took up the sport shortly after I did.

Every older sister knows what it feels like to have their younger sister “copy” them. This was some thing I would complain about constantly. I was always annoyed at how everything I did, she did, or how everything I wore, she wore. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve learned to appreciate the things we have in common — even the fact that we look so alike. In fact, people often think we’re twins, although I’m three years older.

After a year of playing, we joined the same vol leyball club in New York City and traveled to all the same tournaments. I watched every game of hers that I could. She got really good, really fast. Soon, she was able to play on my team, and we would practice together often. It was nice to have some one who I could always pass the ball with, even at home. Eventually, she became even better than me.

Any older sibling knows how hard that can be to admit. Younger me would have been embarrassed to confess that my little sister was better at any thing than me, but it’s so special seeing your sibling surpass you at something. I know just how hard she’s worked to get to where she is because I had to work that hard too, and I am unbelievably proud of her for getting to where she is.

Some of my other teammates have had a similar experience. Second-year Natalie Dufour also has a younger sister who plays volleyball.

“My sister Sophie is three years younger than me and has played volleyball since she was six,” Dufour said. “I was busy with ballet and basketball, and volleyball wasn’t my thing when I was young er. Freshman year of high school I started playing

too, and my sister instantly became my coach and always told me everything I was doing wrong. It’s made me so much better.”

Dufour admits that her sister is better than her at the sport, and she loves being able to say that. She said that volleyball is Sophie’s life and that she’s never met someone so dedicated.

“I am incredibly proud of her commitment to vol leyball,” Dufour said. “She’s put in more work than anyone else I know and keeps getting better every day. Her hard work is paying off — she’s probably going to play Division I. I love seeing her do so well and am so proud of her.”

Third-year setter Taylor Gwynne also has a younger sister who just started her first year at Kenyon College and is playing volleyball there.

“I think Becca’s always been better than me,” Gwynne said. “We play different positions on the court, but I can always count on the fact that she’ll outhustle me.”

Gwynne is unbelievably proud to be Becca’s older sister. She said that she can always count on her sis ter to push her further than she thinks she can go.

“I’m super proud of how positive and caring Becca is,” Gwynne said. “She always puts others before herself, and I learn from her every day how I can be kinder to my teammates and to myself.”

When I asked my sister to reflect on this week end, it was heartwarming to be reminded that I introduced her to a sport that she loves so much.

“I really enjoyed being able to play against you during your senior season,” she said. “The whole reason I started playing volleyball is because of you. I remember watching you play as a kid and seeing the joy it brought to your life, and I wanted to be just like my big sister and follow in your foot steps. I’m so happy that we shared the love of the same sport. I really wish we could play each other again.”

Playing against my sister this weekend and get ting to see her on the court sparked a new level of my pride in her. This was the first time I’ve seen her play in person in three years and the first opportunity I’ve had to watch her play collegiate volleyball. Especially now, as I wrap up my last col legiate season of volleyball knowing that November will probably be the last time I play the sport, it’s so exciting to think that I still have two more years to watch her compete, get better, and grow. I’m incredibly proud of her and the person she’s becoming.

On average, MLB players earn around $4 million a year, while MiLB players usually earn $8,000–$14,000, with many working a second or third job to make ends meet. In response to MiLB players’ demands for more pay, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, whose annual salary is $17.5 million, ex pressed his belief that the MiLB players earned sufficient salaries.

President Joe Biden recognized the unionization via his Twitter account.

“Congratulations to our country’s Minor League Baseball players on a historic, swift, and overdue organizing victory, and to @MLB and @MLBPA for taking this critical step,” President Biden tweeted. “Every worker is entitled to be treated with dignity

Courtesy of Getty Images

Drew Parrish, a Minor League Baseball player, prepares to throw a pitch.

Zoe and Téa Kuzbari smile for a photo taken by their mom at the Haverford vs. Oberlin game. Courtesy of Zoe Kuzbari