September 16, 2017 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review September 15, 2017

established 1874

Volume 146 Number 3

College to Introduce Shuttle Service Lila Michaels

Hall Auditorium undergoing construction for a renovation and expansion. Oberlin’s Theater department is looking at a staff shortage, which could impede its ability to staff the theater. Photo by Christian Bolles, Editor-in-Chief

Staffing Shortage Creates Inequality Sydney Allen News Editor After Chair of the Board of Trustees Chris Canavan’s June email announcing this year’s budgetary deficit — including a drop in admissions, a five percent budgetary reduction, and a faculty salary freeze — many academic departments are preparing to weather another bout of budget restraints and staff shortages. In 2016, academic departments dealt with round after round of financial struggles, including a faculty salary freeze and the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program that encouraged early retirement for faculty, staff, and employees, resulting in the loss of 98 people, including 15 professors and 32 administrative assistants across campus. Even with last year’s sweeping changes, some departments have been unquestionably more affected by the College’s financial situation than others, with some feeling dehabilitated and fearful for the future and others remaining relatively unscathed. This is particularly resonant in the staff makeup of each department, as the College hesitates to permanently fill vacated positions left by professors who retired under VSIP. Some of Oberlin’s smaller and newer programs, such as Rhetoric and Composition, Hispanic Studies, and Cinema Studies, are among those hurting most under the increased pressure. And the Theater

department, a relatively mid-sized department with around 40 majors — not including the number of undeclared students or non-majors who use the department’s services — is already feeling the effects of the budget crisis. The Theater department may appear robust from the outside, having just begun construction on a $14 million Hall Annex renovation and expansion, but the renovation is almost entirely funded by outside fundraising and donations. The program faces a multi-pronged staffing problem after two losses this semester, prompted by Emeritus Professor of Theater Roger Copeland’s retirement and Assistant Professor of Theater Heather Anderson Bolle’s departure. Both had tenure, and neither have been permanently replaced. The department is now reduced to four tenured faculty positions, with only two full-time professors. Both of these positions are currently being filled by temporary professors, but there is no long-term plan to fill them after this year — a policy that Chair of the Theater Department Caroline Jackson Smith says could be a recurring theme in the coming months. “We just had a meeting with the dean’s office, and the policy is for now that many of these positions are not being approved — they’re not being denied, but they’re not being approved for financial reasons at this time,” Jackson Smith said. “It’s not to us specifically; it’s a decision not to fill faculty positions college-wide, which is

particularly disadvantaging us right now, because these are important positions that we will probably not get back as tenure-track positions now. That’s not to say never — but not now.” Jackson Smith added that the uncertainty could threaten the academic viability of the program. “Going forward, if we don’t replace additional acting classes, and if we don’t have theater history, it kind of jeopardizes our ability to be a liberal arts theater major,” she said. “The big difference between conservatories of acting and liberal arts is really the critical studies component.” The Rhetoric and Composition department also grapples with the budget cuts, particularly in staffing, as it is down to two full-time tenure positions with two oneyear professors stepping in, and a postdoctoral professor who teaches part-time. “Our challenge is that we are waiting to hear about replacement positions,” said Chair of the Rhetoric and Composition department Laurie McMillin. “We are waiting for final approval to replace a tenure-track slot. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Right now we have four and a half people teaching — will we have two next year? We do a lot of outreach to faculty and support the teaching of writing across the curriculum, and we’re not sure how we can carry this out without steady staffing.” Similarly, the Cinema Studies department is facing a staff shortage and has resorted to hiring advanced-level students

The Division of Student Life in the Dean of Students Office will offer a new shuttle service to various locations on and off campus this fall in an effort to create a more accessible campus and enhance the student experience. The service will launch Monday, Oct. 2, and will run from 8 a.m. to noon on weekdays. The shuttle will make several stops around campus, including the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center, as well as off-campus stops like CVS, Drug Mart, and neighboring cities. Students will be able to download an app to their smartphone, granting them the ability to track the shuttle with GPS. The app will also allow administrators to observe the data produced by it, such as popular stops and ride times, which they will then use to improve and hopefully expand the shuttle service during the spring semester. The primary purpose of the new shuttle service is to promote student health and wellness and to ease transportation to and from resources like Student Health Services. “The administrative staff in Student Life have been aware of student concerns about access to the Counseling Center and CVS, as well as challenges getting around campus for people with a range of mobility capacities,” Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo wrote in an email to the Review. Director of the Multicultural Resource Center and Assistant Dean of Students Toni Myers agrees that there has been an ongoing need for more convenient ways to navigate Oberlin. “It really surfaced from listening, a deep and active listening to the student concerns around greater accessibility of resources including the Student Health Center, Counseling Center, and local businesses such as CVS and Drug Mart, which are places where students get their medication and other types of health-related products,” Myers said. “We wanted to create an opportunity for students to easily access those resources.” For some students, the lack of convenient transportation to some of these crucial locations has been a serious problem and source of stress at Oberlin. College junior Francesca Ott said that the new service could help more students meet their needs. “It’ll be helpful for students that either need to go to CVS or Student Health but don’t end up going because it’s too difficult to have that accessibility,” she said. College junior Octavia Burgel has had previous difficulties trying to reach the Student Health Center and thinks the new program could prevent similar issues in the future. “There was one afternoon in particular

See College, page 3

See Shuttle, page 2

CONTENTS NEWS

Surveys Help Find Ways to Improve Student Life 02

Trustees Postpone Student Rep. Vote 03

OPINIONS

Editorial: Students Must Advocate for Departments, Programs 06 Harvey, Irma Highlight Need to Address Climate Change 05

The Oberlin Review | September 15, 2016

Oberlin Makes Progress in Diversifying Community THIS WEEK 08

First-Year Faculty

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

Concert Exemplifies Collaboration in Face of Disaster

On the Record: Robert Spano, OC ’84

16 Football Advances to 2–0

oberlinreview.org In the Locker Room: Timofacebook.com/oberlinreview thy Williams, Men’s Soccer Captain TWITTER @oberlinreview INSTAGRAM @ocreview

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Surveys Help Find Ways to Improve Student Life Kate Fishman

With a significant dip in student enrollment and retention this academic year, the administration began emailing students and faculty survey questions in an effort to holistically improve the Oberlin experience. The data from the surveys have indicated that housing, communication, and sexual consent awareness efforts are in need of much improvement and that a focus on student-faculty relationships should be reinforced. Oberlin, like many other schools, frequently uses surveys to make the college experience as convenient and favorable as possible for its community. Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research and Planning Ross Peacock conducts semi-regular surveys of incoming students, graduating seniors, alumni, and parents. “If there are parts of a survey that I think certain offices should take a special interest in, I’ll forward those parts to those offices,” Peacock said. “I’m kind of like the broker of the information — I look at it, I analyze it, and I come to my own conclusions, and then [I] just encourage other offices to look at it. … It’s up to them to see whether or not they’ll act on anything that the surveys might say.” Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo said that because Oberlin did not reach its target number of new students this year, she has been working to recover enrollment rates while also maintaining student retention. Raimondo added that she has done this by looking at student experiences and contemplating their consequent questions, satisfactions, and concerns. “Oberlin students are not that excited about our housing,” Raimondo said. “Not a surprise, right? … On the other hand, students are generally pretty

College junior Kira Findling working in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which recently sent out a survey assessing student satisfaction on campus with accessibility, equality, and other issues. Photo by Janet Wu

happy with their relationships with faculty. That’s really good to know, and that means we need to keep investing in that area.” As the College turns a new leaf with the arrival of President Carmen Twillie Ambar, the administration has emphasized that listening to student opinions is more crucial than ever. Ambar has noted that she will be holding office hours to allow students to voice their suggestions to the administration as well. Media Relations Director Scott Wargo said that the survey results have been varied so far. “We are still assessing the data, but one of the things we learned is that many members of the community desire more frequent communication/emails to stay informed about campus news, while others — students, for the most part — were generally not in favor of more frequent communications,” Wargo wrote in an email to the Review. Wargo said that the Communica-

tions Office will work with the Center for Information Technology to address concerns with communication. “To meet the needs of all community members we are working with CIT to explore technology solutions that will provide a greater level of individual customization for both content and frequency.” The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has found that the College needs to improve its sexual consent awareness efforts as well. “We are creating a year-long video and poster campaign to keep the conversation and education going,” Title IX Coordinator and Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Rebecca Mosley said. Peggy Orenstein, OC ’83, will be speaking as part of the campaign Oct. 9. “The responses from students were very helpful in letting us design education that speaks to the information they said,” Mosley added.

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tunity for us to be directly responsive and somewhat preemptive in planning a system that would allow student to have greater access to campus.” Though Safety and Security will continue to be available to students for rides in emergencies, Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards Thom Julian hopes that when students use the shuttle service rather than Safety and Security, it might lead to an all-around more efficient system of transportation. “The frequency of those rides is going to decrease, which means that [the officers’] response time is going to increase,” Julian said. Additionally, “an undercurrent of this plan is also increasing opportunities for students to gain employment on campus,” according to Myers.

The Oberlin R eview September 15, 2017 Volume 146, Number 3 (ISSN 297–256) Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as secondclass matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911. POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081. Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. Phone: (440) 775-8123

Graduate Accused of Quadruple Homicide Alexis Dill News Editor

Shuttle Service to Provide Campus Transportation where I was really sick and it was pouring, and I had to go to Student Health, and I was not properly prepared for the weather, so I just got more sick by going to Student Health in the rain,” she said, adding that the new shuttle service “just sounds like a pretty good idea.” In previous years, Safety and Security has been called to transport sick or injured students. But this took a toll on officers and resources and made it difficult for them to effectively carry out other parts of their job, according to Myers. “Following last semester’s influx of need in terms of one-to-one transportation for students, we understand that Safety and Security just didn’t have the capacity to meet the greater need of our student body’s transportation concerns,” Myers said. “This was an oppor-

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Myers added that the shuttle system will also provide on-campus employment opportunities for students. Myers and Julian are both hopeful that the shuttle service will launch successfully this October and achieve the financial success necessary to expand next semester. “We’ve had the hope that we can expand the shuttle service into the community so that students can access local area resources,” Myers said, referring to areas such as Lorain, Elyria, and Amherst, Crocker Park in Westlake, and downtown Cleveland. Students interested in becoming shuttle drivers can email Myers at tmyers@ oberlin.edu or Julian at tjulian@oberlin. edu. Myers and Julian are also accepting feedback, especially regarding requested shuttle stops.

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Editor’s Note: This article contains mentions of violent homicide. During business hours, students can contact the Counseling Center at (440) 775-8470, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at (440) 775-8103, the Dean of Students Office at (440) 7758462, and the Conservatory Dean’s Office at (440) 775-8200. Oberlin College Safety and Security can be reached at any time at (440) 775-8911 for emergencies, and the Lorain County 24/7 Emergency/Crisis Hotline can be found at (800) 888-6161. Oberlin students, faculty, and alumni received an email from the Office of Communications Saturday afternoon with news that a recent graduate of the Conservatory was arrested Friday after allegedly committing four homicides. Orion Krause, OC ’17, a native of Rockport, Maine, is suspected of fatally beating his mother, grandparents, and a caregiver in his grandparents’ home in Groton, MA. A neighbor of the grandparents told the Boston Globe that the 22-year-old man showed up on his back porch naked and covered in mud, calmly stating that he had “just murdered four people” and “needed” his sleeping pills. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters Monday that the four victims died from blunt force trauma and that a baseball bat found at the scene was possibly the murder weapon. According to Ryan, Krause began exhibiting unusual behavior Thursday evening, when he abruptly left his home in Rockport. His late mother, Elizabeth Krause, grew worried and called the police. Krause contacted his mother again Friday morning, informing her that he was in the Boston area and asking for a ride back to Maine. After being picked up, he and his mother visited his grandparents at their home in Groton, Ryan said. There, Krause made a phone call to someone he knew well. The unnamed recipient of the call became concerned and began contacting Krause’s family members. As the phone calls to family and police were being made, the four victims were beaten. The bodies of Krause’s relatives were found inside the home, while the caregiver’s body was found outdoors. Krause was taken to Bridgewater State Hospital Monday after being arraigned in Ayer District Court, where he was ordered to be held without bail. The doctors at Bridgewater will evaluate whether Krause is competent to stand trial. The motives for the attack remain unclear. Despite his comments to the neighbor, Krause has pleaded not guilty. The next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30. The joint statement from Dean Kalyn and President Ambar encouraged students to seek any support they need and to help others around them connect to resources. “We also offer a gentle reminder that respect for the privacy of those directly impacted is most appreciated in these moments,” the statement said. “Our thoughts are with all affected by this tragedy.”

Corrections: In “DeCafé Changes Provide Increased Options, Longer Wait,” (Sep. 8, 2017), Jack Rockwell was incorrectly described as a College junior. He is a senior. “In the Locker Room with Yago Colás,” (Sep. 8, 2017), incorrectly stated that Colás is an associate professor. He is in fact a professor. In “Oberlin Community News Bulletin: Land of surplus,” (Sep. 8, 2017), Sal Talarico was incorrectly described as the head of the Oberlin City Improvement Corporation. He is in fact the organization’s finance director. The OCIC’s current president is Kristin Peterson. To submit a correction, email managingeditor@oberlinreview.org.

Trustees Postpone Student Rep. Vote

Security Notebook Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 12:19 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle July 10 from an unknown location on campus. The bicycle is registered, and valued at $200. 6:37 p.m. Safety and Security officers assisted a student who fell off their bike in front of the King Building. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 7:52 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at a Goldsmith Village Housing Unit. The residents said they were burning a candle, which activated the alarm. However, officers checking the building located a bagged detector in one room, along with a glass pipe, a metal grinder containing a substance consistent with marijuana, and three rolled cigarettes consistent with either marijuana or tobacco. The items were confiscated and turned over to the Oberlin Police Department. The alarm was reset. 10:21 p.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption at Harkness House. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. The remaining alcohol was confiscated and disposed of.

Student Senate at their first Plenary meeting. The board tabled a vote on adding a student to the Board of Trustees during its June quarterly meeting. Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor Sydney Allen News Editor

Student senators are facing an uncertain start to the fall semester as they persist in their battle to get a student representative on the Board of Trustees. The board tabled the vote over potential student trustees during their June quarterly board meeting, postponing the vote to their Oct. 5–7 meeting period. Last March, Senate submitted a proposal asking the board to create a task force to look into the possibility of adding a student to the Board of Trustees. This was the second proposal Senate had submitted the board, as the first — a proposal asking directly for a student representative on the board — was denied in Dec. 2016. After months of protests, negotiations, and petitions, Senate appeared to catch a break as the board approved this second proposal, agreeing to create a collaborative task force with board representatives and student senators to look into the possibility of student representatives. The task force consisted of College senior and Senate Chair Thobeka Mnisi, College senior and former Student Senator Josh Koller, and three trustees: Jacob Gayle, OC ’79, Anne Chege, OC ’16, and Ed Helms, OC ’96. The group corresponded from March to June, emailing and

holding conference calls to discuss the issue. Details of the proposal are still confidential as negotiations continue. While senators are still hopeful, they are concerned the postponement indicates some undisclosed qualms within the board. “I think this is a new idea that, for reasons beyond me, Oberlin never considered seriously enough,” Mnisi said. “People are resistant to change, and the board as a governance structure tends to be quite rigid. I think they are trying to find a way to incorporate what might be a significant structural change without capsizing the existing structure of the board. To me, this is very simple and obvious — it makes no sense why we have no student representation on the board. But to some of senior board members, this seems too radical, and I think while everyone seems warm to the idea, some people are worried about proper implementation of it.” Although the postponement produced some anxiety within Senate, students are remaining optimistic that a compromise can be found, since the board didn’t outrightly reject the proposal. “I think they don’t want a student in the way that we proposed,” Mnisi said. “They could have said no, but they didn’t. While I’m frustrated with the rate of progress on this, I do think that they are trying to find a way that

works. If not, it would be very deplorable of them to lengthen this process so much, then say no after so much of our efforts have been spent.” Interim General Counsel and Secretary Donica Varner, who acts as the spokesperson for the trustees, said that the board is still considering the proposal. “The board is thoughtfully considering the most appropriate ways to engage with students on college governance matters,” she said. “Board membership or participation comes with significant legal and fiduciary responsibilities for anyone serving on the board. While students are just as capable of respecting confidentiality, there are several aspects of student membership or participation on the Board of Trustees that must be carefully considered. The TrusteeStudent Senate Collaborative Task Force has provided valuable insights on how do that work well.” The push to add student representatives to the board comes after years of student complaints regarding opaque decision-making processes within the board and poor communication with students and faculty, including on issues such as last year’s tuition hikes, the response to and dismissal of Professor Joy Karega, the renewal of business relations with Gibson’s Bakery, the board’s response to the ABUSUA demands, and divestment requests.

College Financial Troubles Felt Unequally Continued from page 1

to do the work that former graduates and professors have done. These disparities stem from a long history of institutional wealth and its historical distribution, several faculty members said. This means older, more esteemed departments have endowments and alumni bases that regularly donate for specific department-related events, scholarships, and other programs. The Chemistry department, one of Oberlin’s most widely-used programs, as it attracts students from most STEM and pre-med fields, has an endowment that allows it to fund student research and send students to conferences and networking events. “We are fortunate to have a number of endowed funds,” Chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry departments Rebecca Whelan said. “Several of which have been established for many, many years. And we also have a set of — pretty much every month — alums or friends of the department that will make donations. And some of that The Oberlin Review | September 15, 2017

money is used for bringing seminar speakers to campus.” Smaller departments like Cinema Studies, which was developed in 2002, struggle to offer the same opportunities without a larger donation base that subsidizes College funds. “None of our graduates have gone off and gotten rich and given us a huge endowment like some departments,” Associate Professor of Cinema Studies Jeffrey Pence said. As small colleges nationally experience decreased enrollment and a renewed focus on the profitability of a liberal arts degree, Oberlin is not the exception in feeling the consequential financial impacts. Though the departmental disparities might be minimal on a larger scale, students, particularly in the niche programs that make Oberlin unique, could be feeling the effects for years to come. Director of Media Relations Scott Wargo said that the College could not provide any budgetary data for this article, as it is its policy to withhold such information from the media.

Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 8:52 p.m. A resident of Saunders House reported that an unknown person had placed a stick of incense in a small hole in the elevator door, another on the stairway railing, and a third in a light fixture. An officer responded, removed the incense, and disposed of it. 11:41 p.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption in the basement bathroom of Wilder Hall. The student was able to answer all questions asked and declined medical treatment. The student was transported to their dorm.

Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 12:08 a.m. Officers assisted a student ill from alcohol consumption at Kahn Hall. The student said that they had smoked marijuana and drank alcohol at a party on Woodland Street. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 12:42 a.m. Staff at the ’Sco reported a suspicious male, approximately 40 years old, who tried to enter the ’Sco two times and became belligerent when turned away a second time. Officers responded and checked the area but did not find the man. 1:24 a.m. Officers responded to an unauthorized party at a Woodland Street Village Housing Unit after observing a large group of people on the porch and hearing loud music. All attendees were cleared from the area. Officers also found a glass bong in plain view on the kitchen floor. The bong was confiscated and turned over to the Oberlin Police Department.

Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 8:37 a.m. A student reported the theft of a PlayStation 4 from their Goldsmith Village Housing Unit. The PlayStation was last seen at approximately midnight Sept. 10. The theft is under investigation. 3:02 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the second floor of South Hall. Smoke from an e-cigarette caused the alarm, which was reset.

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 10:17 a.m. Staff reported a smell of smoke in a wiring closet on the third floor of South Hall. Members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded and checked the entire area, but did not find anything. 12:33 p.m. Officers assisted a student who had injured their ankle after falling off a skateboard in Tappan Square. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 12:47 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of South Hall. Smoke from cooking caused the alarm. The area was ventilated and the alarm was reset.

Ne w s OFF THE CUFF

Melvin Briggs, León Pescador, New Student Senators León Pescador and Melvin Briggs were recently elected as student senators, winning in a pool of 23 candidates. They are entering Senate as the Board of Trustees is considering incorporating a student trustee, the College faces a financial crisis, and a new president takes over. Briggs is a sophomore from Holly Springs, NC. He will serve as the Treasurer and Chartering Liaison this academic year. He decided to run for Student Senate after recognizing a clear divide between athletes and non-athletes at Oberlin. A running back on the football team, Briggs hopes to serve as a mediator to bring people together and erase the “North-South divide.” He wants to assure that everyone feels included, while bringing the College and local community together. Pescador, a senior, said he is motivated by the strategic planning regarding financial accessibility and updates made to Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, which is a student-run, non-profit corporation that provides inexpensive, healthy, and environmentally-wise foods to a quarter of the student body. He also finds minority enrollment a concern and wants to ensure that resources for students of color on campus are maintained and that Oberlin’s commitment to social justice is upheld. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sydney Allen News Editor

Can you tell me about yourselves? Melvin Briggs: My name is Melvin Briggs II, and I use he/him/his. I’m a sophomore Psychology major, with a planned minor in Philosophy and a concentration in Cognitive Science. I’m from Holly Springs, NC. I’m the son of a mother from Costa Rica and a father from North Carolina. As fate would have it,

my mother — whose name is Melvania — would eventually meet my father Melvin. Don’t ask me how that happened. I also have a little brother named Christian who’s 12 now. I know it’s a bit of a difference than Melvania, Melvin, and Melvin, but we had enough “Mels” in the house. I went to a small private preparatory high school called St. David’s School. I’m currently a running back on the football team, but outside of athletics I’m an avid fisher.

León Pescador: My name is León Pescador. I’m a College fourth year. I use he/ him/his, and I’m a Politics and East Asian Studies major. I’m from Ann Arbor, MI. I play club soccer and make different kinds of pasta. I’m really interested in policy making, which makes Student Senate a good fit. How are you feeling about being elected to Senate? MB: First and foremost, I’m extremely honored to have been elected by my peers to serve on Senate this year. I’m excited to represent such passionate and intelligent individuals and advocate for their needs and desires to continue making Oberlin College a pleasurable experience. LP: I’m excited by the record turnout this election had and the results have made me more optimistic that accomplishing progress with the administration will be achievable. What are your goals for the year? What issues are you passionate about? MB: I’m very passionate about several things. First, I truly wish to advocate on behalf of the voice for the students of this campus. I believe that despite the small student population, there are many unheard voices that deserve acknowledgement past simple peer-to-peer interactions. I hope to increase transparency between the College and its students. Secondly, and equally as important, I hope to break down the tangible borders between student-athletes and the rest of student population. Though I am only a

Melvin Briggs and León Pescador.

Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo Editor

sophomore, I have quickly noticed a clear divide of athletes and students, and honestly, it’s kind of painful to see. Coming from a background where the only difference between an athlete [and non-athlete] was nothing more than practice and games, it was quite a culture change. Now I see separation not only in social settings but also in academic settings, where classes sometimes are either athlete-dominated or one or two athletes, if any, in a class of non-athletes. I hope to help aid in encouraging athletes to branch out and take classes without another athlete or encourage nonathletes to not be hesitant to take classes that are historically athlete-dominated or even seemed centered around athletics — [like] the English class, Thirteen Ways of Looking at Sports. Especially socially, I want to see more athletes and non-athletes integrate more and enjoy being Obies and everything that comes with that experience. Oberlin College is worldwide known for inclusion after all. LP: I’m committed to making significant change on issues of financial accessibility, strategic planning, and minority enrollment. I’d like to work with the President and certain deans to ensure Oberlin’s financial accessibility isn’t further imperiled, hopefully reversing the OSCA-related changes from last year, as well

as working with the Office of Financial Aid and Dean of Admissions to increase admissions for students of color. I’m passionate about the Strategic Plan announcements regarding cuts to OSCA’s financial accessibility, [which] galvanized me to run. I’ve been a co-op member since my second year, and OSCA’s central draw is its affordability. By reducing aid for students’ dining as well as living in OSCA, Oberlin has eroded one of its strongest, student-run institutions and damaged an amazing, talented community. To me, last year’s decisions were unacceptable. What experience do you have in student government or other leadership positions? MB: I personally do not have any experience in student government, but I do have a team of other wellexperienced Senate members that are behind me on my passions and what I want to accomplish this year. This past summer I had the pleasure of working with Grassroots Campaigns, which an Oberlin alumnus is the Vice President of and served as a lead field manager and staff development and logistical manager. LP: Unless you count being a head cook, Student Senate is my first experience with meaningful leadership at the college level.

Oberlin Community News Bulletin

Library Hosts Fiesta en la Biblioteca

Program Provides Career Training for Women

College Organizes Apple Picking Event

Fiesta en la Biblioteca and Smithsonian Museum Day will be held at the Oberlin Public Library from 3 to 5 p.m. next Saturday. The gathering will include food and music, and it will be open to the public. The selfguided, 90-minute bilingual Spanish and English “Upstairs/Downstairs” tours will be at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and will take place in Oberlin Heritage Center’s Monroe House. Register online at oberlinheritage.org.

The Women in Sustainable Employment Program will be holding sessions to help women explore nontraditional careers from Sept. 12 through Oct. 14 at Oberlin Community Services. Representatives will provide peer support while offering tips on resume writing and holding mock interviews. The organization provides training that can lead to a new career or improve the quality and pay of a current job.

Students are invited to celebrate Rosh Hashanah by apple picking with students of Case Western University. Attendees are asked to meet in the Finney Chapel parking lot Sunday at 10:45 a.m. Students can expect to return to campus around 1:45 p.m. Contact Talia Rodwin at (301) 801-8263.

OPINIONS September 15, 2017

established 1874

Letters to the editors

Review Comes to Senses on Oxford Comma To the Editors:

Let me begin by admitting that, like my esteemed former colleague Sami Mericle, I harbor a certain amount of resentment that the Oxford comma was implemented only after I was forced to remove it from countless articles during my time at the Review. This objectionable comma convention was indeed a favorite target for complaint, but still I rejoice at its end despite the longstanding nature of the tradition. On the matter of such breaks with Review tradition being inherently negative developments, I would also remind everyone that my own Arts and Culture section used to rate the films it reviewed not in stars or on a scale but with distinctly rabid-looking white squirrel icons. The tradition was thankfully dispensed with before my time at the Review, and as far as I know this change wasn’t a dealbreaker for the section’s vast and dedicated readership. Nor was tradition invoked as a reason to preserve aesthetically questionable elements of the Review’s layout during the planning phase of its spring 2017 redesign. Consistency is certainly important, but it shouldn’t be the mallet used to arbitrarily quash measured, timely improvements. I understand the urge to religiously uphold the standards set forth by venerable bodies like the Associated Press. As a recovering prescriptivist, I feel it myself. The AP stylebook is an invaluable resource, but one that understandably responds to many changes in linguistic usage with blimplike ponderousness.

Generations grew up largely using the singular “they” instead of the generic masculine before the AP recognized its validity in early 2017, after sanctioning the lowercase “internet” and the use of “chickpea” over “garbanzo bean” in 2016. Forget strippers; the ambiguous phrase “the campaign manager, a lobbyist and a foreign agent” used to have only one plausible reading, but times have changed, and journalistic style must keep pace. This is not to say that the AP stylebook should be disregarded, as Sami put it, “willy-nilly” — merely that not all of its sacred tenets were created equal for every circumstance, though I fully expect to be struck by lightning for saying so (“Review Breaks Tradition with Oxford Comma,” Sept. 8, 2017). Hold my garbanzo bean-spread sandwich. – Victoria Garber OC ’17

United States Must Lead in Avoiding War To the Editors: A view holds that we should use our superior nuclear power to “Make America Great Again.” In any nuclear war, even against Russia, China, or both combined, America would likely win. Another view is that such a victory would be a Pyrrhic one at best. For while we could destroy all of those nations, perhaps no more than a fraction of ours would remain, and those few remaining cities would present a life worse than those we witnessed at the heights of Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Irma all together, but with no help from the outside world ever arriving. In effect, virtually the entire

world would be on fire rather than submerged in water, with the earth’s environment being almost totally destroyed by radiation. Of course, there’s the hope that there are enough people in our government who are sufficiently smart, creative, and humane to come up with options that will give our children and those in North Korea a chance to continue to search for answers that will unite the world rather than divide it, or worse, pulverize it. But those in government may not act with the urgency and reasonableness needed unless far more ordinary people voice their concerns that our nation should probably not preemptively unleash our nuclear bombs; we did preemptively attack Iraq with conventional weapons, believing that that nation possessed weapons of mass destruction. That position proved to be so tragically wrong that it cost us almost five thousand lives, and a much greater number of Iraqis perished. Sadly, in North Korea, China, and even in Russia, almost two billion people can’t debate publicly with their officials as freely as we can with ours. We can say, not arrogantly or thoughtlessly, that the use of nuclear weapons should not cavalierly be on the table, if ever at all. We are in a somewhat enviable position. First, we do possess superior nuclear power. Second, we are the world’s only nation to have used nuclear weapons against another nation, which we did in World War II against Japan. And third, no matter the cost and pain, we can perhaps survive and prevail no matter what comes our way. We, the strongest nation in the world, do not have to strike preemptively to have a fighting chance to surSee Letters, page 7

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and op-ed submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in that week’s issue. Letters may not exceed 600 words and op-eds may not exceed 800 words, except with consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names and any relevant titles, for all signers. All writers must individually confirm authorship on electronic submissions. Op-eds may not have more than two authors. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length, grammar, accuracy, strength of argument and in consultation with Review style. Editors will work with contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. Headlines are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in editorials, letters, op-eds, columns, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to a contributor. The Oberlin Review | September 15, 2017

Volume 146, Number 3

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Melissa Harris

Christian Bolles

Managing Editor Daniel Markus

Opinions Editors

Nathan Carpenter

Jackie Brant

Students Must Advocate for Departments, Programs In the throes of a budgetary crisis, it’s time for Oberlin students to rally behind their academic departments. With some tenure-track positions only temporarily replaced by visiting faculty, facilities set for understaffing, and the threat of more cuts in the future, it is vital that students voice which positions and programs matter to them. We have the ability to hold Oberlin accountable to its values by reinforcing what the College means to us, but we can only define our experience if we take the initiative to do so. Last September, the Review published the article “Program Cuts Leave Film Students With Questions,” (Sept. 16, 2016), concerning the woeful understaffing of the Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Cinema Studies Center for Media Education and Production that sits above the Apollo Theatre. The piece — which juxtaposes the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren and Cinema Studies Professor Geoff Pingree’s significantly differing perspectives on the state of the Cinema Studies program — was the first instance of communication between the department and the administration on the issue whatsoever. The ensuing tension echoed larger concerns regarding a stoic, detached administration and raised questions about the efficacy of faculty committees in granting tenure-track positions to departments in need, as well as the role of the College in funding staff members for departmental facilities. Ultimately, it was the voices of students that raised the issue of understaffing to a deafening pitch; the passion Cinema Studies majors displayed in compensating for their program’s deficiencies was, as Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and French Grace An then mentioned in her official statement to the Review, admirable. Without a large well of donors from which to draw, programs like Cinema Studies are forced to set their sights lower than departments with an endowment, a discrepancy that fosters, for example, a far less robust film community on campus. “If you build it, they will come,” mused the cult classic film Field of Dreams; barring the means to expand their educational purview, disadvantaged programs will remain just that: disadvantaged. Yet to “build it” is not enough. The understaffing of the DeVito and Perlman Center does not bode well for the Theater department’s upcoming third theater, currently being erected between Hall Auditorium and The Hotel at Oberlin. Theater department chair Caroline Jackson Smith told the Review that there is no funding guarantee for the positions necessary to adequately staff the facility; its construction was the result of a concerted fundraising effort specifically for that purpose. The excitement she described among Theater majors at the prospect of a new space was palpable. In a reluctant budgetspending climate, students — able to sidestep the traditional decorum with which professors approach the administration — should champion a push for a staff position to fill an otherwise inevitable void. This kind of foresight will be vital among the student body if the College is to grow at all during this period of restriction. Students may not realize the flexibility with which cuts are going to be made. Despite Chair of the Board of Trustees Chris Canavan, OC ’84, calling for an overall five percent decrease in spending, the implementation of those measures remains remarkably unclear, even though the decision was communicated over three months ago. The College will be looking for student feedback regarding what can and cannot go. Take direct action, then, by making full use of President Ambar’s office hours Sept. 22 and 28, Oct. 11, Nov. 2 and 8, and Dec. 12. We urge students to show up with a clear vision of Oberlin’s crucial elements, as those conversations may well define the College’s course, both in the immediate and distant future. We need to be optimistic about the administration’s intentions when it comes to student feedback. Where the administration has previously failed, though, faculty are capable of picking up their slack. Don’t underestimate the power of faculty committees — among other things, they make recommendations regarding which departments are granted tenure-track positions — and make an effort to express your concerns directly to the chairs of your departments. As ever, communication is the most direct solution to the most pressing problems facing our community, and by utilizing the unique power we have as students of Oberlin College, we can play a hand in the institution’s uncertain future. For the sake of our peers, our departments, and the school as a whole, we must hold Oberlin to its mission. How can one person change the world if they can’t change their college? Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Opinions Editors — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Opi n ions

Harvey, Irma Highlight Need to Address Climate Change Nathan Carpenter Opinions Editor

Over the past weeks, evidence has mounted that the future of the world with respect to climate change is bleak. In the United States alone, Houston and Florida have been leveled at the hands of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, respectively. Other tropical storms have veered off at the last moment, barely missing land. While avoiding these additional disasters has doubtlessly saved lives, there is still little cause for hope. The reality is that the state of the environment is declining sharply and rapidly, and the consequences of that deterioration are severe. If effective action is going to be taken on climate change, it must be taken now — assuming that our window has not already closed. It was terrifying, then, when Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt said last Thursday that the time in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s landfall was not an appropriate moment to talk about climate change. “To have any kind of focus on the

cause and effect of the storm versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced,” Pruitt said in an interview. Pruitt’s hypocrisy was immediately apparent. Unless the causes of tropical storms like Hurricane Irma are addressed with clarity and strength, then the needs of the people displaced, hurt, or killed by natural disasters will gradually become impossible to meet, and death tolls will continue to rise. This is the harsh reality of climate change, and it is a reality that more and more people in the U.S. and around the world are coming to terms with every day. However, even as awareness ever so gradually climbs among the general population, our leaders continue to freeze. They do so for a variety of reasons — from being paid off by the fossil fuel industry to plain ignorance — but, ultimately, the reason for their inaction is less devastatingly consequential than their inaction itself. There is no longer any time to debate climate change, if there ever was. There is no room for false equivalencies, for claims that we should hear both sides.

There is a very real danger that meaningful progress on climate change will go the way of gun control reform in the United States: those in government, particularly Republicans, becoming apparently content to suffer greater and greater outrages until no tragedy could be so great as to spur change. They choose the interests of businesses and industries over the needs of people who need clean air more than they need another dollar in a billionaire’s pocket. Legislators decided that the ability to own a gun was more compelling than the murder of 20 children in a school in Newtown, CT. Now the possibility of gun control reform in the U.S. seems nearly dead. The question of the hour, then, is what event — if any — will be significant enough to compel action on climate change? What will it take for us to acknowledge all together that the threat of climate change is one of the most immediate and pressing of our time? Scott Pruitt — the man who is supposed to be leading the effort to keep our environment clean and sustainable, the man who refuses to answer the question

above — is dangerous. It is truly pernicious to suggest that the causes of a disaster like Hurricane Irma should not be discussed immediately in its wake. Evidence continues to mount that, as more of these increasingly devastating storms tear apart countries across the world, deaths at the hands of “natural” disasters are, more than anything else, the fault of unsustainable human civilization. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep track of how many people have been killed by climate change — at least with the tools currently available to us. It is likely that the hundreds of people killed by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma alone would be on that list. Any discussion of the needs of the survivors must include a clear and effective plan to combat climate change, not falsely compassionate platitudes about caring for those in need. We are all in need of help right now, some to a greater degree than others, because we all live in this world together. Shame on Scott Pruitt and anybody else who intentionally stands in the way of creating a sustainable future.

Finding Community Reduces Oberlin Must Protect Diverse Opinions able or lewd speech, what the new administration that Stress, Improves Mental Health policy should be followed it must defend Oberlin’s statDuncan Reid Contributing Writer

Melissa Harris Editor-in-Chief

One endemic problem I see constantly in college students — a problem I’m guilty of feeding into myself — is the pressure to push yourself everyday, treating each semester like a marathon that you have to run on your own. Some lock themselves in their rooms, spending hours on endless problem sets while others find themselves buried in Mudd’s eerily silent corners, reading stacks of assigned articles and books. This experience has been all too familiar to me throughout my time at Oberlin and, as I kick off my senior year with a capstone and honors project to tackle this semester, I’ve been isolating myself more than I would like. In getting wrapped up in my research and personal stress, I sometimes forget that so many people around me are also taking on similar challenges. This hit home for me the other day when my best friend, who goes to school in New Jersey, reached out to me about the obstacles she’s facing. She is applying to graduate programs, working as a teaching assistant in labs, and heading her school’s greenhouse — all while working toward finishing a draft of her honors thesis, due this November. She has told me that she feels pressure to do well, to live up to the expectations of her professor and the people around her at school. We spent a long time talking to each other about the demands of school, connecting and leaning on each other as we’ve always done. Despite the burdens we both face, the opportunity to break free from our isolation and share our struggles with each other was cathartic. Talking to my friend reminded me of the importance of community to my mental well-being. Taking the time to both connect with people I care about and to

consciously set aside time to engage with the other campus communities to which I belong has grounded me throughout my time at Oberlin. Being a part of friend groups and student organizations has allowed me to remember that my time in college isn’t just about relentlessly researching, reading, and writing around the clock by myself. It’s about learning, both in and out of the academic arena, and growing in a multiplicity of ways. The growth I’ve experienced from being a part of different communities on campus at different times — as a student-athlete, a co-oper, a musician, a member of cultural organizations, and a member of the Review staff — has enriched my well-being mentally and spiritually. It has allowed me to connect with different people at Oberlin and to realize and appreciate the unique but overlapping obstacles we all face as students. But struggling and enduring together and taking time to nurture meaningful friendships and do worthwhile activities — whether producing weekly issues of the Review or cooking dinner with fellow Filipinx students — makes me remember that a college experience is much bigger than just fretting about assignments. The semester is still young. As it keeps rolling, the work will continue piling up and the marathon you’re running to keep up with your academic obligations will wear at you. But remember that you aren’t running this marathon alone and that the people around you are there to support you every step of the way. They are there to share the trials of this journey with you and to remind you that it’s okay to take a break every now and then to keep yourself holistically fulfilled. Oberlin can be an incredibly demanding and daunting place, but the solidarity we’re capable of fostering is one of the greatest tools we have for tackling everything that comes our way.

Across college campuses nationwide, the right to free expression is endangered. In the past three years alone, one lawmaker in Wisconsin threatened to withhold funding from University of Wisconsin Madison because they were offended by a course dealing with race and ethnicity, Tennessee passed a law prohibiting universities from using public funds for a “sex week,” or to “promote the use of gender neutral pronouns,” South Carolina lawmakers voted to cut funding to two colleges that assigned LGBTQthemed books as required reading for first-year students, and a Michigan Senate subcommittee threatened to fine universities for “any instructional activity that encourages or discourages union organizing of employees.” Universities have also rejected the formation of certain student groups based on political beliefs or viewpoints, including Students for Justice in Palestine at Fordham University, an NAACP chapter at Catholic University, and pro-life groups at Johns Hopkins and Gonzaga University. Currently, Oberlin policies that protect speech are not being enforced — like the censorship of professors’ out-of-class speech and posters for the Oberlin College Republicans and Libertarians being torn down — and the vagueness of harassment and “moral” policies leave those policies vulnerable to administrative abuse. If there is one policy that says that speech should be protected and another that allows administrators to prohibit what they perceive to be question-

when difficult decisions have to be made? The selective nature of Oberlin’s policy enforcement leaves the College just one incident away from joining the list of institutions that value campus placidity over meaningful discourse. Oberlin is talking the talk, but not walking the walk. What is the point of making the “diversity of thought” a value if nothing is done to advance the exchange of ideas? While schools like the University of Chicago have come out with statements that give their students “the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn” and have conducted policy reviews, Oberlin has been silent. If Oberlin seeks to continue to lay claim to being a truly liberal campus, where diversity of thought is not just allowed, but desired, we need a campus-wide conversation and a thorough review of student conduct policies to ensure that our rights to free speech are not abridged. Across the nation, as schools have tightened up speech codes and rejected speakers on political premises, a group of diverse students has come together to make the case for free expression on their campuses. From Arizona to Vermont, Students for Free Expression, a non-partisan student activism group, are advocating for their administrations to create environments where discourse is uninhibited by fear of censorship or intimidation. As the Oberlin campus representative of SFE and as a student senator, I will be introducing a bill to the Senate that will reaffirm our commitment to the most essential of liberties and signal to

ed value of being “tolerant of divergent views.” We must signal to the world of higher education that schools of all sizes, affiliations, and political backgrounds should value all types of diversity. In order to craft the leaders of tomorrow, we must allow students to debate ideas that some might find dangerous. Oberlin College has long been the arena in which ideas that would have been curtailed elsewhere have flourished because of our school’s commitment to allowing a free exchange of opinions. When students on other campuses have had discussions barred, Oberlin students have been allowed to debate. When slavery was a taboo across national campuses, Oberlin hosted the Lane Debates. When divestment was unheard of, Oberlin had a discussion. If Oberlin succumbs to popular trends that squash students’ ability to speak freely, we will no longer be that arena for change. It is easy to allow ideas to go unchallenged and to dismiss outright those ideas that students find wrong or offensive. It is easy for an administration to reject a speaker because students will protest. It is easy to shun classmates who might take a different view on an issue than the majority. When we take that route, we lose our ability to defend what we value and to point out what we find wrong in opposing arguments. We lose the marketplace of ideas, and with it, we lose progress. Oberlin’s marketing slogan as of late has been, “Think one person can change the world? So do we.” God help anyone who tries to change the world without hearing out the other side.

Oberlin Makes Progress in Diversifying Community Brittany Mendez Contributing Writer

Have you ever been lured by statistics claiming that an institution is significantly more diverse than its competitors? If you attend Oberlin or any other college, you likely have. Many workplaces advertise themselves in a similar manner, which I experienced first-hand at an internship this past summer. For my senior project last year, I interned in the Office of the Attorney General in Washington, D.C., shadowing attorneys in the public interest division. As a student considering a career in law, I hoped the internship would give me an accurate understanding of what life as an attorney would be like. After my project officially ended, I was asked to continue interning over the summer and I happily accepted. The staff ’s diversity immediately caught my eye during orientation. The woman that coordinated my internship was a POC, the person who presented the guidelines and regulations to the interns was a POC, and the attorney I was assigned to shadow was also a POC. Beyond these positions, the attorney general was the first POC to be elected as attorney general in D.C. history. The position immediately underneath the attorney general was held by a POC as well. On the surface, this level of diversity impressed me. However, a few weeks into my internship I began to notice that most of the office’s diversity was reflected in the supporting staff, like the maintenance workers and receptionists. While the two highest positions in the office were held by POC, I realized that this was not representative of the office leadership as a whole. I greatly appreciated the effort to promote and maintain a diverse office, regardless of whether or not the effort was the result of an initiative by the new attorney general. While hiring a diverse staff is a great step toward promoting institutional inclusion, the work should not stop there. My initially skewed perception of the office’s diversity prompted me to consider the distribution of diversity in other spaces as well. I realized that I was the only African-American intern in my section. There were a few other POC interns, but the majority of interns were not POC. Internships are a great way for people to get their foot in the door; however, they are less accessible to POC, which may contribute to a lack of diversity in leadership positions down the road. Institutions are increasingly emphasizing diversity by putting POC in high positions, which supposedly creates more The Oberlin Review | September 15, 2017

opportunities for minority groups. Oberlin is also engaging in this strategy of hiring POC in leadership positions in an effort to create a more diverse and inclusive community. The most publicized of these hires is President Carmen Ambar, Oberlin’s first AfricanAmerican president in its 184year history. While everyone is aware of Ambar’s appointment, she is not Oberlin’s first or only highlevel POC hire. According to Director of Media Relations Scott Wargo, Oberlin has recently filled several high-level positions with POC. Currently, Oberlin’s Director of Libraries, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, and General Counsel are all POC. Wargo noted that these are all recent hires, which demonstrates that Oberlin is only now beginning to focus on hiring POC in high-level positions. Additionally, Wargo explained that these positions do not open often, as they pay well and provide good benefits. Thus, any transition in hiring strategies will be slow. While it is easy to quantify the POC faculty population, it is difficult to measure the significance of the College’s actions when students are not aware of the process through which these individuals were hired. Regardless, these hires indicate a meaningful change, as the institution is clearly making a deliberate effort to bring historically marginalized people to leadership positions in an attempt to foster a more accepting educational environment. Like most colleges that I considered, Oberlin advertised itself as “diverse,” and it appears that the overall student population is indeed diverse. While the College is still clearly a predominantly white institution, I do encounter students of color frequently around campus. However, Oberlin’s diversity seems to exist only in certain areas of my day-today activities. Choosing to be a resident of Afrikan Heritage House has allowed me to interact with more POC. My firstyear seminar course is also a fairly diverse group. However, this is not the case in my other courses, as there seem to be proportionately fewer POC. Furthermore, as a member of Oberlin’s women’s soccer team, I spend a lot of time with the players and I very quickly noticed that I am one of the few POC on the team. In my experience so far, I tend to be in the minority as a POC at Oberlin. Still, the College’s diversity seems to be at the level advertised. I am reassured that I chose to attend an institution that appears to be taking the initiative to create a truly diverse community among students, faculty, and staff alike.

CARTOON OF THE WEEK

Brian Tom

Students Must Engage Administration, Ambar Meg Parker Contributing Writer

This article is part of the Review’s Student Senate column. In an effort to increase communication and transparency, student senators will provide personal perspectives on recent events on campus and in the community. On the morning of Monday, Sept. 11, I left my room early, meandered through South Bowl, crossed the dewy grass, and entered President Carmen Ambar’s home at 8 a.m. sharp. The President’s residence is, as many would guess, fancier than The Local Coffee & Tea, my typical breakfast location. On the dining room table was an array of fruit, bagels, and teacups that looked too fragile for me to want to hold. However, suffering from the early stages of the Obie Plague, like many of us right now, I made myself of a cup of lemon tea — forgoing my fears of breaking the porcelain. I was there for the first of what will be Student Senate’s many monthly breakfasts with President Ambar. Recently re-elected, I had officially been on Senate for a total of three days of my new

term, most of which had been spent in training and getting acclimated to the new group. Every group of senators is distinct, and the first two to three weeks of every semester is generally spent learning about each other and how we will work together to tackle the issues facing Oberlin. This semester, we dove straight in during our first week on the job and asked President Ambar about her goals and vision for the College moving forward. Highly concerned with our current fiscal model and lack of transparency, we listened as President Ambar, beginning the first weeks of her administration, discussed her priorities for Oberlin. President Ambar is emphasizing student enrollment and retention; diversity, equity, and inclusion; stabilizing our fiscal future; and balancing the demands of all of Oberlin’s constituencies. Needless to say, she has her hands full. Because she is still so new, she didn’t have an answer to every question. However, her willingness to collaborate and listen to students gave me hope for what is to come. Senate is continuing to advocate for student representation on the Board of Trustees,

to explore a participatory budgetary process, and to maintain our efforts to include student voices in administrative decisions at Oberlin. Hearing how excited President Ambar is for students to serve on general faculty committees and have involvement in decisions thrilled me. There are so many institutional opportunities for students to participate in governance at Oberlin and to have our voices included. It’s important that, as Oberlin looks to make governance more nimble and to reduce expenditures, students engage with the system and assert themselves in the process. This can take many forms and will require students to take advantage of opportunities to make their voices heard. Decisions regarding Oberlin’s long-term direction will affect students and our abilities to exist in different capacities on campus. As I left our breakfast Monday, thinking about what was to come, I went to get a second cup of tea with fellow Senators Kameron Dunbar and Thobeka Mnisi. As we talked and reflected on our conversation, I felt reinvigorated about what could be possible for this year.

Letters to the editors, cont. Continued from page 5

vive. Without displaying any braggadocio or threats, we do need to make sure that weaker nations know our history and facts very well, while remaining wary of leaders who may act irrationally — never mind our awesome power to retaliate. America’s paramount action must be to exhaust all the possibilities for lasting peace by stretching and straining every muscle and

lever available to our State Department. We Americans must make known to our leaders that the most open, candid, and spirited debates must occur, making it abundantly clear to all what the consequences are for the actions we take or do not take as a nation. – Booker C. Peek Emeritus Associate Professor of Africana Studies

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I am an Oberlin alumnus interested in understanding the way practical human concerns, such as strategic user behavior and privacy, impact the way computation systems should make decisions.

I teach general and organic chemistry courses and my research involves the development of chemical probes to study enzyme function.

I study the intellectual history of work in 19th century Latin America. I also write novels, and was recently included in Hay Festival’s Bogotá39, a list of Latin America’s best writers under 40.

I’m a professor in the English department, where I teach and write about sports as creative performance, culture generator, social practice, and equipment for living.

I work on the politics of global circulation. My current book project is about the rise of logistics and its economies of violence along the U.S.–China maritime supply chain.

I teach in Comparative American Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Oberlin. My research interests include asexuality, trauma studies, queer theory, and transgender studies.

I conduct research in labor and public economics, and economics of education. My current research examines the extent to which federal spending affects foster care placement and adoption.

I recently graduated from the University of Michigan with my PhD in Economics. My research focuses on issues in energy and environmental economics.

My research considers how people’s interpretations of religious texts inform and are informed by intimate negotiations of the family and the self and by changing class, regional, and gender identities.

Originally from Iceland, I began playing violin at the age of six and performed over 90 concerts a year with the Pacifica Quartet from 2000–2017.

I was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and have garnered notable successes in music competitions, including the gold medal at the XI Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001.

I am trained as a Latin Americanist, and my research focuses on pop music in the urban Amazon of Peru, where I investigate identity politics in the changing Peruvian economy. Photos courtesy of respective professors and Oberlin College