Oberlin City Schools Preschool Program Increases to Five Days a Week

Electric Carshare Program Fails to Generate Community Ridership

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errands or short drives, and users who damage the car or use the car past their scheduled time incur penalties.

For students, many of whom do not own cars, temporary access to a vehicle allows for the opportunity to run errands that fall outside of walking distance or explore northeastern Ohio, potentially explaining why so many students have used the carshare program. This service might be especially enticing for students since the College’s ride-sharing service shut down during the pandemic and has not reopened since. However, although a significant number of students have used the program, some have encountered issues with the service.

“We ended up getting to the car and [had] some difficulty trying to get into the car,” College firstyear Calvin McMurtrey said. “Once we got it finally set up and ready to go, it said that the car only had 45 miles left on it. … We were planning on taking it into Cleveland, which would’ve been a 55-mile round trip. [The car] just wasn’t provided with the charge to get where we needed to go.”

College second-year Emma Rekate also believes she suffered an unjust penalty when she used the carshare service.

“There was one time I rented it out ’cause me and my friends wanted to go thrifting for a couple hours,” she said. “When we got in the car, I noticed there was sand on the ground from whoever was there previously. I returned the car in the exact way [we found it] and they … charged me $50. They’re like, ‘Oh, you left this car dirty and everything.’ But I’m like, ‘We didn’t even go to a place where there was sand.’”

Given that the program does not appear to serve the Oberlin community holistically, Singleton believes that the City could make better use of its Sustainable Reserve Fund, which funds the carshare program, to improve transit options or decrease carbon emissions. Suggestions for redirecting these funds include funding programs like the Oberlin Connector, which provides transit services to Cleveland or replacing city vehicles with electric cars.

“The thing with Oberlin is yes, we’re a city, but we’re barely a city… it’s not a bustling metropolis, so yes… this to me seems like it’s a nice idea and it’d probably work in a bigger place,” Singleton. “We just don’t have the population to back a program like this.”

Even though the City has a five year agreement with SWAY, the contract renews every year, so the City has an option to end the program early if the Council agrees to reevaluate its involvement with SWAY. At this time there are no official plans to re-evaluate the program.

Oberlin City Schools Preschool Program Increases to Five Day Week

Juliana Gaspar

Senior Staff Writer

Last week, Oberlin City Schools announced that it will expand its preschool program from four days a week to five for the 2022–23 academic year. OCS officials hope this decision will grant children greater educational opportunities and offer parents increased time flexibility.

According to Oberlin Elementary School Principal Meisha Baker, when preschool registration for the 2021–22 school year began last year, some families questioned why OCS did not offer a five-day program. These concerns prompted OCS to reevaluate community needs regarding its preschool program.

“A few of the parents wanted to be part of our preschool program but they said that the schedule hindered that,” Baker said. “We are not a childcare facility — we’re a preschool. However, we have to realize that by being a preschool, [we] do allow for parents to be able to work. … So, we had to really start thinking about it this year.”

After reevaluating, OCS has decided to add an additional day of preschool to meet demand this year. According to Robert Rinehart, OCS treasurer and chief financial officer, OCS hopes that the additional day of preschool will better complement working parents’ schedules and make up for the in-person experiences students lost due to the pandemic.

“We just felt that it was the right thing to do to help out families,” Rinehart said.

OCS will offer two programs five days a week. The Integrated Preschool Program offers half day programs for students on Individualized Education Plans, and the Early Childhood Education Grant Program offers a full day program with class sizes of up to 20 students.

Baker echoed Rinehart, expressing hopes that the program’s increase to five days a week will offer OCS students greater educational and social opportunities and give children a better foundation to prepare for kindergarten.

“As we look at some of our students who are coming into kindergarten, some of them did not have preschool,” she said. “[This program] helps build that social-emotional part, the taking turns, and the schedule. So this [increase] will allow us to build a little bit of that stamina, like getting their schedule acclimated to that five days a week.”

According to Baker, OCS will continue to cover the majority of the preschool program’s cost for lowincome families who apply for the Early Childhood Education Grant, despite the additional day.

“[The ECE Grant will] probably stay the same,” she said. “We offer … the grants that parents need.”

Despite the increased cost associated with expanding the program, Rinehart also stated that he has no concerns for OCS financing the program’s increase.

“Currently, the district is doing well [financially],” he said. “The community has been very supported by renewing our income tax and our tech levy.”

The program’s additional day also will require OCS to hire more staff members, opening up the opportunity for OCS to hire full-time paraprofessionals and support staff. OCS Preschool currently only has parttime paraprofessionals, and according to Baker, the hiring of full-time paraprofessionals would provide more support for full-time teachers and more learning experiences for the children.

“We have two preschool teachers [and] we have part-time paraprofessionals,” Baker said. “So by doing this [new schedule], hopefully we’ll be able to have full-time paraprofessionals. They’ll be able to stay with the classrooms Monday through Friday for the full day.”

Parents interested in the five-day program can look on the OCS website or attend OCS family literacy night May 12 for more information. Parents can also register their children for the preschool program at this event.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

1:51 p.m. Campus Safety officers observed that the lettering on the “Welcome to Campus Safety” sign located in the lobby of the Campus Safety Office displayed profanity. Officers removed the profanity.

Sunday, April 24, 2022

12:09 a.m. Students walking on Elm Street near South Hall reported to Campus Safety that a suspicious vehicle possibly followed them before entering South Hall. An officer responded and met with the students while a second officer searched the area and located a vehicle matching the description belonging to a delivery person. The officers transported the students to their residence. 4:41 a.m. The Oberlin Police Department called Campus Safety, informing them of a request they received for an ambulance to South Hall. Officers responded and a student who was not feeling well was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. The student was later transported back to their dorm. 9:01 p.m. A custodial manager reported that four individuals in a white Nissan Versa were shouting obscenities and firing paintballs at the Kohl Building and Conservatory areas. The vehicle left the area and headed southbound from the parking lot. Officers and the Oberlin Police Department responded and searched the area, but could not locate the individuals. There were no injuries reported.

Monday, April 25, 2022

7:20 a.m. An officer unlocking the Wright Laboratory of Physics heard alarms sounding in the building, which were confirmed to be from an activated smoke detector. An employee working in the area activated the alarm from dust while working on a rusty metal pipe. Oberlin Fire Department members responded and the alarm was reset. 10:19 a.m. A student who was not feeling well requested transport from Bailey House to Mercy Allen Hospital. The student was later transported back to their dorm. 11:03 a.m. Mercy Allen Hospital staff requested a transport for a student from the hospital to their offcampus residence on Lorain Street. The student was transported back to their residence.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

8:02 p.m. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department members responded to a reported smell of smoke at Barnard House. Officers, Oberlin Fire Department members, and an electrician responded and detected an electrical burning smell, at which time the pull station was activated. The cause of the odor was found to be a melted electronic men’s shaving razor. The alarm was silenced and reset.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

11:05 a.m. A student reported the theft of the catalytic converter from their vehicle which was parked in Woodland Street parking lot. The Oberlin Police Department was informed.

Juliana Gaspar

Senior Staff Writer

Former Oberlin City Council President Heather Adelman joined Oberlin College as its new sustainability manager Monday. To avoid a conflict of interest, Adelman announced her resignation from City Council April 6 and formally left her role April 24. Last week, the council elected Bryan Burgess to assume the presidency and fulfill Adelman’s previous role.

Adelman had served as a member of the council since 2018 and as president of the council since January. Every two years, the City Council elects seven members who internally elect the Council’s leadership for that term. Adelman resigned in the middle of her two-year term, leaving the Council to find a new member and elect a new president. Traditionally, when the Council’s president resigns, the vice president serves as president until the next election. However, according to current City Council Vice President Kelley Singleton, he did not feel he had enough time to take on the position.

“Yes, traditionally or by rule, I would normally have taken that position, but I cannot,” Singleton said. “I don’t have the time to do it. I have a full-time job and a family, two young boys. I do not have the time that the City deserves and that the Council [deserves].”

Since Singleton could not fill the position, the council held an election during its meeting last week, unanimously electing former City Council President Bryan Burgess into the position. However, Burgess explained that he is uncertain how long he will remain in the role because he is running for the State House in the fall. He is set to compete in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 56th district’s house seat May 3.

“I’m running for the Ohio State House, and depending on how the mapping process goes … I may or may not be elected this fall,” Burgess said. “I couldn’t tell you if I’m going to be council president for the next eight months or the next 20. The City has lots of projects going on that I will gladly shepherd for the next few months.”

Burgess is already thinking about specific proposals to rezone properties in Oberlin based on recommendations from the Oberlin Planning Commission. He also mentioned proposals to rezone Eastwood Elementary School to allow Oberlin College to use the building for academic purposes.

Burgess is also optimistic about facilitating more interaction between College students and the Council.

“I’m hoping that we can get more public involvement again,” he said. “Prior to COVID-19, it was common to have a full audience in the council chambers. … It’s very helpful to have public feedback, and Council has had hardly any in the past two years.”

While Burgess has started his new position as president, Adelman has entered her new role as sustainability manager at the College.

Adelman obtained a B.A. in Environmental Studies at San Jose State University and has worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco, where she focused on waste management and building community. As she transitions into her new position, Adelman is looking forward to reentering the sustainability field.

Adelman has previously promoted sustainability at the College as the cofounder of The Oberlin Project, which focused on conservation and education in both the College and the community. With this knowledge of both Oberlin’s town and College communities, Adelman hopes to help College students create projects and pursue passions within sustainability that will benefit the larger community.

“My understanding is that I’ll be working with and mentoring a number of interns,” Adelman said. “I am really excited to work with students not just on what the Office of Environmental Sustainability wants, but what [the students themselves] want and how those two priorities can mesh together to really come up with some powerful projects.”

Campus Energy & Resource Manager Joel Baetens is looking forward to the new perspectives that Adelman, along with other future hires, will bring.

“Heather will be filling the position that was last held by Bridget Flynn — Campus Sustainability Manager,” Baetens wrote in an email to the Review. “Structurally, not much is changing. However, with fresh faces and new perspectives, there are great benefits.”

After Adelman’s arrival, OES will have one remaining vacancy in the assistant vice president of energy management and sustainability role last held by Meghan Riesterer.

Sundance on Indigenous Historical Narratives, Cleveland Baseball Name Change, and Future Activism

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cover the founding of the College do not mention that. I mean, that’s typical. I found this fact in two places. One was in Historical Collections of Ohio, written by Henry Howe in 1847. The book quoted a Cleveland newspaper clipping which mentioned the Indian encampment in Oberlin. The only other place that I have found it in the histories I have read is in a footnote. So it seems to me that it is likely not apocryphal, as so many stories happen to be — including some about Oberlin — especially because John Keep was very specific about where everything was.

It raises some questions as to why the people involved early on would go so far as to cover it up. And perhaps that’s too strong of a word. Perhaps they weren’t covering up — perhaps they just didn’t care. Nothing to cover up if you don’t care. Easy enough not to mention if you don’t really put any credence in the fact that there is evidence here.

Another thing that I find interesting is that they use the phrase “unbroken wilderness” repeatedly, and in almost all their accounts. To me, that always raised suspicions. When historians choose a term that they all just repeat ad nauseam, that’s another indication that maybe there’s a little cover-up going on here.

I compare that to the Paiute prophet Wovoka, who invented the ghost dance back in the 1800s. He had grown up in some respects with a white family and had a lot of peers who were settlers when he was in his teen years, who knew him into his adulthood. What I found when I was looking at the notes taken by the author of the biography of Wovoka was that the people who “knew” him were trying to defame him. They all used basically the same words; these common phrases keep popping out. And to me, that marked a concerted effort to construct a narrative that might not otherwise exist, or perhaps to reinforce a narrative that does exist. When a person wants to reinforce a narrative that does exist, in my experience, they tend to do that in their own words. When they are trying to construct a narrative that does not exist, you pick up on the knee-jerk phrases. So, you know, “unbroken forest” is not a knee-jerk phrase, but it is a phrase that was used repeatedly by people describing Oberlin and its founding, which in my mind raises some questions at the very least.

Are there any upcoming demonstrations or events that people should know about?

We are discussing whether or not to have a demonstration down at Progressive Field on opening day. The Cleveland baseball team is no longer the Indians; they are officially the Guardians. The question is whether or not people want to continue that as sort of a bully pulpit, to inform people of issues that Indigenous people face, or whether we should focus on other avenues. On our website, there is a letter that people can sign to send to their state representative or state senator asking them to support legislation to remove Indigenous sports mascots from the school systems. We’re beginning to prepare for Indigenous People’s day, but that’s not for another few months. I’m talking at the Massillon Museum April 28, which is in tandem with poet laureate Joy Harjo’s visit.

COVID-19 Update

Kayla Kim Production Editor Ella Moxley News Editor

Ohio Updates

COVID-19 cases are slowly rising again in Ohio. Between April 1 and April 28, the state recorded 20,759 new cases, 585 hospitalizations, and 55 deaths. There has been a daily average of 1,247 cases. Lorain County has reported 808 cases, 17 hospitalizations, and no deaths. More Ohioans are getting vaccinated — 63 percent of residents have received their first dose and 58 percent are fully vaccinated.

On March 10, the Ohio Department of Health announced that it would end daily reporting of COVID-19 cases and move to weekly reporting every Thursday. On April 15, Governor Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19. DeWine experienced mild symptoms and was treated with a monoclonal antibody treatment.

Moderna announced Thursday that it was seeking emergency authorization for a vaccine for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. There is currently no COVID-19 vaccine available for this age group. If approved by the FDA, 18 million children would become eligible for a vaccine.

Oberlin College Updates

Between April 10 and April 28, the College administered 950 PCR tests and 170 rapid tests. There were two positive PCR tests, 49 positive rapid tests, and 134 positive self-reported tests.

On April 21, ObieSafe removed the mask mandate in residence halls. One day later, they reinstated the mask mandate due to a rise in cases following spring break trips and “at least one social event hosted in a student apartment.” Under the revised guidelines, indoor dining is still allowed and student-athletes can practice as a team without masks.

On April 27, ObieSafe announced that due to “dramatically fewer cases being reported,” it would provide two exemptions from the mask mandates. Conservatory brass and wind instrument players can use performance masks with daily rapid testing, and Theater students can perform maskless, also with daily rapid testing.

As of April 19, 95.5 percent of students, 97 percent of faculty, and 91.1 percent of staff have received their booster.