September 21, 2018

The Oberlin Review September 21, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 3

Alumni Claim Censorship on Facebook Gabby Greene News Editor

Content Warning: This article contains brief mention of sexual assault.

wanted to make entrepreneurial resources more accessible to Oberlin students and the Oberlin community as a whole. So I think our goal is basically to bring entrepreneurs from all over the country, … to bring the resources to the students, so people who have ambitions or some interest in entrepreneurship would have the opportunity to do something with it.”

Although the weekend focuses on entrepreneurship, its organizers believe the skills acquired from such a competition are essential in preparing students for success beyond Oberlin.

“One of the directives I’ve been given is building the idea of entrepreneurial thinking as a skill set that permeates across the entire campus,” Watts said. “The idea of innovation and impact provides a way for the College as a whole to start thinking about it not from a venture perspective but from how — no matter if you’re a scientist, artist, a musician, [someone] thinking you might go into nonprofits or do lobbying, or social justice — that all of those are about impact. And that entrepreneurial skill set is, in fact, a key skill set to drive impact and create that ‘change in the world’ that we talk about here at Oberlin.”

Watts added that the event is not just intended for those interested in entrepreneurship.

“It’s not about having to start a company,” she said. “These are skills that are going to make anybody in any

Administrators of the “Oberlin Alumni Digital Community” Facebook group removed five alumni from the group last week for “abusive language” following the establishment of new community guidelines ratified Sept. 12.

“When the Alumni Association took over the Digital Community group last week, a number of alumni, myself included, began criticizing the move,” Robert Hayes, a former Oberlin student, said in an email to the Review.

Hayes is the creator of an alternative to the Facebook group, the “Uncensored Unofficial Oberlin Alumni Discussion Group,” and was one of five members banned the day the new guidelines were established.

A new page on the Oberlin College website is available detailing the new guidelines implemented by the Alumni Leadership Council, which are prefaced with, “This group is heavily monitored for adherence to a set of community guidelines adopted by the Oberlin Alumni Leadership Council in September 2018.”

Banned members cited the sixth guideline, “posts or comments that personally attack or demean a member of the community will be deleted without warning,” as the justification used by group administrators for the removals. Members like Rica Mendes, OC ’96, believe that the comments made were not severe enough to warrant removal. “[The removal of members] was hardly necessary.

Conversation gets heated — after all, it is online,” Mendes said. “But my suspicion is that [the removal] had 100% to do with optics, and the Office of Alumni Relations doesn’t know, nor has it ever known, how to address alumni concerns well.”

Group member Eileen Kay, OC ‘79, was not ejected but lost her position as group moderator.

According to Kay, she received notice of her removal shortly after she asked for clarification on the group’s moderator page about the sudden removal of members without preliminary warning.

Group administrator and Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations Marissa Evans cites a different reason for Kay’s demotion. “[Kay] was removed as part of the rollout,” Evans said. “Part of [the removal] was as a volunteer she wasn’t actively engaging with the group. We’ve had conversations about what to do with the group for quite some time, and so, because she wasn’t actively engaged in it, I didn’t think that she was capable of taking on what was expected of her as a moderator.”

According to Hayes, he and other banned members were told that warnings would precede comments being deleted or members being removed.

However, he reports that neither he nor former members Paul Wilczynski, and Ashley Roberts, OC ’10, received warning before their removal.

“I think the that the way they handled the matter of deleting posts overall and with me personally, however, was tone deaf, antagonistic, rude, and just

See Startup, page 4

See Facebook, page 3

College sophomore Eduardo Sienra Lempeke (left) and College senior Jessica Moskowitz table for Oberlin’s Entrepreneurship Club and Center for Innovation and Impact’s first Startup Weekend, a 54-hour competition beginning Friday.

Photo by Mallika Pandey

Oberlin Creates Opportunities for Entrepreneurs Sydney Allen Editor-in-Chief

Oberlin’s Entrepreneurship Club and Center for Innovation and Impact are launching their first Startup Weekend today, giving students and faculty members the opportunity to develop a project pitch in a fastpaced, three-day period.

The event kicked off this afternoon with a presentation from Rue Mapp, founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a non-profit organization that focuses on conservation and the celebration of African-American connection and participation with nature.

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour competition during which participants pitch startup ideas in the form of a demonstration, prototype, or presentation.

Participants will be split into fiveperson teams, where they will come up with an idea centered on the weekend’s theme: “Improving Oberlin.” The teams will begin developing their pitches tomorrow, including cost analysis, marketing strategies, a business model, and more.

Bryan Rubin, OC ’18, the Marketing Intern for the Center for Innovation and Impact, added that the event provides a unique opportunity for fixing problems within our community.

“People have expressed how DeCafé has gone downhill, or the fact that [Stevenson Dining Hall] is ridiculously crowded. This weekend is for action. For a team to say, ‘we can do better,’ and actually do it. Everyone has ideas. Startup Weekend is a place

for those ideas to actually become something.”

The teams will then have the opportunity Sunday to work with mentors — students, administrators, alumni, and professionals with entrepreneurship experience — who will provide guidance and feedback.

Organizers chose the team format in hopes of increasing the event’s flexibility, allowing participants to attend other obligations without hindering the project. The event is capped at 50 students, with a registration fee of $25 apiece.

“The good news about being part of a team is that — let’s say you’re somebody on a sports team, or you’ve got some big homework assignment,” said Bara Watts, the director of entrepreneurship for the Center for Innovation and Impact. “You can work with your team, and you don’t have to be there every minute of every day.

And you’re able to coordinate on timing and tasks, … this is really about getting to the results, and that’s the goal.”

Founded in May 2014, Oberlin’s Entrepreneurship Club was rechartered in February 2018 after a brief period of inactivity. The club organized the event with the help of their advisor, Watts, and funding provided by the Office of Sustainability, SSEG Law, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Stewart Kohl (OC ’77), and the Kutzen family, among other groups.

“Startup Weekend and our club have really similar goals,” said Spencer Tu, College sophomore and Entrepreneurship Club co-chair. “We

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

THIS WEEK

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

02 Janet Garett Gears up for Another Congressional Campaign

05 Hello Safety, Goodbye Security: An Unexpected Budget Cut

08 Reviews of Women’s and AllGender Restrooms in Oberlin

10 Art Rental Sets New Record, Sells out by 10 a.m.

15 From Varsity to Club: A Tale in Three Tees

03 Oberlin Portal Visits San Marcos

07 Cleveland Orchestra Fails to Provide Diversity in Repertoire

12 Students Bare Innermost Thoughts During Diary Reading

16 More Than Just ‘Sore’

The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

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

1

Ne w s

Alumni, Students Try Reversing Staff Cuts With Petition

Obies petition for the reinstatement of Tom Reid, OC ’80, former Associate Director of the Student Union and Instructor of Bowling I and Bowling II courses.

Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Roman Broszkowski Senior Staff Writer Alumni and current students are attempting to reverse the College’s decision to eliminate the position of Associate Director of the Student Union most recently held by Tom Reid, OC ’80. In an online petition that has garnered more than 1,000 signatures, supporters are demanding Reid’s reinstatement and criticizing the decision as an unwise cost-cutting measure.

“I was totally shocked that

Tom Reid was let go,” Johnnie Kallas, OC ’14, said. “This is a tremendous loss for the community.”

While neither Reid nor the College publicized his departure, news quickly spread among alumni through social media and online forums. After learning of the decision in August, Kallas and some of Reid’s other former students began to organize a response to what they felt was an unjust decision.

Savannah O’Meara, OC ’18, was among them.

“I was completely surprised,”

she said. “[The decision] had nothing to do with Tom or his behavior. The College just saw a cost, but they didn’t think of the value.”

Reid staffed the Wilder Hall front desk, managed the Oberlin College Lanes, and taught two popular bowling courses. He had been working for the College for nearly four decades at the time of his termination.

“I’ve been here for a total of 84 semesters,” Reid said. “It’s kind of heartbreaking to not be a part of that anymore.”

The Wilder Hall lobby redesign, pioneered by the Dean of Students Office, controversially removed the front desk in favor of a more open floor plan. Reid’s position, a second Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees position, and several student jobs were eliminated during the renovations.

Tracy Tucker, Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees President and Politics Department Administration Assistant, pointed out that despite the desk — and its jobs — being gone, a final room has not yet been demolished to complete the proposed design.

“Part of the reason why

[Wilder Hall lobby] hasn’t been finished is because the College architect is leaving,” said College senior and Student Senate Chair Kameron Dunbar. “This results in delays.”

According to Dunbar, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Student Union had long been weighing the usefulness of the front desk against other concerns.

“This wasn’t a secret ploy,” Dunbar said. “It was made under serious financial considerations and in an effort to bump up the space. Expenses are outpacing revenue and we need a better budget model.”

Some of those who oppose staff cuts have made the argument that remodeling spends money that could otherwise be used to retain jobs. Dunbar says this isn’t true.

“Most of the money for facilities comes from donations,” Dunbar added. The administration has argued that staff cuts are an effort to reduce spending and improve the College.

“As Oberlin seeks financial resiliency, we are reviewing all administrative structures to identify opportunities to reduce costs while investing in the core mission of the institution,” Vice

President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo said. “Many of functions at the desk could be accomplished in other ways, allowing investment in areas students have identified as high priorities.”

Kallas, on the other hand, disagrees.

“We don’t think that getting rid of someone so many alumni and students have been impacted by is how Oberlin should be dealing with the issue,” Kallas said.

For Reid’s advocates, the fight to reinstate him has just begun.

“We’re reaching out to the Review; we’re contacting the College this week,” O’Meara said.

“The primary goal is to show how important Tom is to us.”

Despite the outpouring of support for Reid, some question the sustainability of such a movement.

“If this happens again, are Obies going to keep doing this?”

Dunbar said. “I feel sometimes that people’s support for labor rights at Oberlin is often not followed by a good understanding of labor or the College’s needs.”

Raimondo and her office do not publicly comment on personnel decisions, and did not provide a statement on Reid’s departure.

Janet Garrett Gears up For Another Congressional Campaign Jenna Gyimesi News Editor Democratic Congressional candidate Janet Garrett visited Oberlin Sept. 14 to speak with members of the community and drum up support for the upcoming election. Oberlin students are encouraged to vote in this election in particular because of the potential for upset.

Garrett is running against Jim Jordan, who has represented Ohio’s 4th Congressional District since 2007. Jordan is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus — the farthest-right group in the Republican Party — and has recently announced his intention to run for Speaker of the House.

This campaign represents Garrett’s third run at Jordan’s seat.

College sophomore Ilana Foggle works on Garrett’s campaign and is confident that Garrett would better represent the district.

“A lot of the things that [Jim Jordan] cares a lot about are obstructing the rights of LGBTQ folks,” Foggle said. “He really cares a lot about the pro-life movement, and certain issues that I am against. [Garrett] cares about women’s issues, about LGBTQ issues, about gun reform; she’s really passionate about education, she’s a

retired school teacher, and she cares about environmental issues. These are all issues that Jim Jordan seems to be against.”

Similarly, Garrett feels that Jordan will continue to oppose legislation intended to protect and empower women.

“He is so right-wing that he voted against everything that has the word women in it,” Garrett said. “He voted against the Violence Against Women Act, and for the Equal Pay for Equal Work act.”

Garrett also believes that the time has come for the Democratic Party to change direction.

“It’s time for new leadership,” Garrett said. “I’m really happy that there are so many women running. It takes a group of women to clean up the mess that men made.”

If elected, Garrett hopes to take a fiscally conservative approach to policy.

“We have to have balance in our financial institutions,” she said. “I don’t believe in full-blown capitalism. There have to be checks on it. There has to be balance to protect people who have [a] small business, for example. They can’t be at the mercy of the big guys.”

College sophomore James Dryden attended the talk and was impressed by Garrett’s policy points.

“One issue that is very important to

The Oberlin R eview September 14, 2018 Volume 147, Number 2 (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

2

Editors-in-Chief

Sydney Allen Nathan Carpenter Managing Editor Ananya Gupta News Editors Gabby Greene

Jenna Gyimesi Opinions Editor Jackie Brant Cont. Opinions Editor Luce Nguyen This Week Editor Mikaela Fishman Arts Editors Kate Fishman

Katie Lucey Sports Editors Alexis Dill

Ify Ezimora Photo Editors Mallika Pandey Maria Turner

me is climate change,” Dryden said. “She came out strong and right away she said, ‘I think this is a serious threat to the country.’ She seemed confident and she was pretty quick to make clear the things that were most important to her like climate change, raising teachers’ salaries, and the betterment of education in general.”

Conversely, College junior Cole Sheridan felt that the talk did not thoroughly address pressing issues.

“It seemed like she was dwelling a lot on the negative aspects of the incumbent, which are significant, but it felt like a pretty weak tactic to get people excited to support her,” he said. “The assumption was that we would automatically be sympathetic to her as a candidate and that we would want to support her as a Democrat.”

Building on her two previous congressional campaigns, Garrett has made several updates to her strategy.

“This time is completely different because the first time I ran, I was a write-in candidate,” she said. “I jumped in late, did not really have any money, and was basically running it by myself.”

Garrett is hopeful that the timing of the election, along with her professional campaign team, will push her to victory to this time around.

Layout Editors

Anya Spector Tori Fisher Lila Michaels Lillian Jones Business Manager Jared Steinberg Ads Manager Jabree Hason Web Manager Mikaela Fishman Production Manager Giselle Glaspie Production Staff Olive Hwang Lior Krancer Leo Lasdun Devyn Malouf Katherine McPhail Madi Mettenburg Annie Schoonover Courtney Loeb

“This is the cycle that we are expecting a blue wave, but we are going to have to work really hard to make it happen,” Garrett said.

Zach Stepp, Garrett’s campaign manager, emphasized that Garrett’s race is of particular significance for the Democratic Party.

“Democrats are outnumbered 2:1 to Republicans here, but Republicans are outnumbered 2:1 by Independents,” said Stepp. “This is a majority independent district. The data they are looking at in Washington [D.C.], or wherever they are making these decisions about which races to target, are just looking at the raw numbers. Districts like this are winnable, but they are difficult.”

Third-year College student Ezra Andres-Tysch, who worked with the Democratic Party during Garrett’s 2016 campaign, believes that this run is similar to her previous attempts.

“She has more professional people working for her, but it’s still Janet,” they said. “She doesn’t change, she’s the same teacher’s union, semi-hippie that we all know and love. I wouldn’t put money on this race but it’s still important that Democrats go out and vote.”

See Students, page 3

Corrections:

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

Oberlin Portal Visits San Marcos

Security Notebook Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018 10:51 p.m. Campus Safety Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at the Apollo Theatre concessions area.

The alarm was located, replaced, and reset.

Friday, Sept. 14, 2018

11:00 a.m. A faculty member reported a computer adapter stolen from their work studio in the Allen Memorial Art Building.

11:44 a.m. A staff member reported a stepladder stolen from the porch of Wilder Hall. The ladder was located at approximately 4:58 p.m. in the firstfloor hallway of Wilder Hall. Facilities Operations was notified.

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018

College sophomore Sarah Goodstein video chats with students from a Portal at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. The Portal is currently operated by Texas State Galleries, an on-campus gallery within the university’s School of Art and Design. The discussion centered around innovative art methods and mediums.

Text by Sydney Allen, Editor-in-Chief Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Facebook Group Spurs Controversy Among Alum Continued from page 1

wrong,” Roberts said. Roberts was removed after asking whether the new guidelines had anything to do with previous comments she made that had been deleted.

In April 2018, Roberts shared a post made by an alleged victim of sexual assault to the Digital Community group. Roberts claims the post was deleted from the group even though it did not violate the guidelines then in place. According to Roberts, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving M. Danielle Young contacted her via Facebook messenger after the incident.

“The message was basically legal threats and demands,” Roberts said. Roberts shared a screenshot of the conversation with the Facebook group, which was promptly deleted.

Shortly after, her ability to post was suspended for one week.

Enter the Uncensored Unofficial Oberlin Alumni Discussion Group, created by

Hayes in response to Robert’s suspension from the original Digital Community group. The uncensored group is currently public and open to all who have a connection to Oberlin, and participation has climbed rapidly — the group currently has 1,152 members.

While many of the same administrators and moderators had been supervizing the Digital Community group for some time, it wasn’t until last week that they tightened their grip on content guidelines.

“At the time that I was hired and became an admin [of the Facebook group], it was understood that we were really hands-off with the moderation,” Evans said. “I think that with the activity of the group, we thought it was best to just leave it alone, and then we rolled out moderators in, I want to say, June 2016.”

According to Evans, some alumni requested stricter regulations in the group.

Not all members of the official group oppose the tighter guidelines. Volunteer

moderators like Carter Sligh, OC ’13, believe that the removal of members was in the best interest of the community.

“From what I know of the removal of those alums from the group, they were not decisions lightly taken, Sligh said. “We don’t remove folks for just anything, especially not just for disagreeing with us. I know I was personally harassed, I know my colleagues were, and I know that folks blatantly and repeatedly flouted rules not only of the Oberlin online community, but also basic internet etiquette.”

Members who are removed can request to rejoin the Facebook group in 90 days. To former members like Thomas Silverboerg, OC ’77, however, being removed was enough to encourage them to join the uncensored group instead.

“I joined the [uncensored] group because I believe censorship is tantamount to fascism and is a flagrant constitutional violation,” Silverboerg said. “I believe it

would behoove the College to take their alums seriously, especially if they want cash on the barrel to continue operating at a high level.”

Evans, on the other hand, argues that concerns about censorship among individuals who were removed from the Digital Community Facebook group are hypocritical.

“They can cry until they’re blue in the face about censorship, but here’s the thing: in not allowing other people to have a voice — not allowing them to have an opinion — you are, in a sense, censoring people,” Evans said.

Ultimately, Hayes hopes his Facebook group will provide a haven for transparency.

“It is my hope that the unofficial group we are building, where governance is transparent and open discussions are encouraged, will become a place for those necessary conversations as well as a place for all of us to share our memories of our days at Oberlin,” he said.

Students Encouraged to Vote in November Election Continued from page 2

Alison Ricker, head of the Science Library and member of the League of Women Voters, is engaging in bipartisan efforts to register students to vote on campus and to increase voter turnouts.

“The percentage of students who voted on campus was disappointingly low last year and the year before related to the average college-student nationwide, which is surprising for Oberlin,” she said.

In the previous two election cycles less than 35 percent of eligible students voted.

The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

Students living off-campus often lack the necessary paperwork to prove their local addresses in order to register.

“The easiest thing is getting an official government document, and a letter from an elected official,” Ricker said. “But it has to look like it is intended for you.”

She is working alongside Oberlin’s State Representative Dan Ramos to send letters to off-campus student homes, helping them to prove their addresses and register for the upcoming election.

Ricker has also organized a National Voter Registration Day Event in Wilder

Bowl Sept. 25 to increase the number of registered voters on campus and give students more information on the voting process.

She stressed the importance of voting in this race and all elections.

“If you don’t vote, you are allowing other people to make decisions for you — decisions that you may know nothing about,” she said. “Why give up that power and let the government make those decisions without your input?”

Jim Jordan did not respond to request for comment.

1:50 a.m. Campus Safety officers were requested to meet Oberlin police officers at Oberlin High School to assist with an intoxicated College student. Because of the student’s condition, an ambulance was requested, and the student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

11:34 a.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at East Hall. No smoke or flame was observed upon arrival. A dirty smoke detector caused the alarm. The detector was replaced, and the alarm was reset.

1:13 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from outside of Tank Hall. The bike is registered, and was locked to itself at the time of the theft.

4:50 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from the concrete bike racks outside of South Hall. The bike was locked to itself at the time of the theft.

5:52 p.m. Officers responded to an accident involving a bicycle and motor vehicle at the intersection of Professor Street and Lorain Street. The bicyclist sustained minor injuries, declined transport to the hospital, and was treated by paramedics on the scene. Officers from the Oberlin Police Department were also on scene.

11:57 p.m. Officers responded to a noise complaint at a Village Housing Unit on North Pleasant Street. Officers observed an estimated 300 or more individuals attending an unauthorized party. The party was shut down, and all attendees left the area.

Monday, Sept. 17, 2018

2:23 p.m. A staff member reported a broken window on the southwest corner of the Conservatory Library. The window is double-paned and was only broken on the exterior. A work order was filed for repair.

7:55 p.m. A student reported that their vehicle was struck by what appeared to be another vehicle while parked in the Union Street parking lot.

9:12 p.m. A Campus Dining Services staff member reported their vehicle was broken into while parked in the Stevenson parking lot. A Nine West book bag, work time cards, flyers, and a cell phone charger were taken. The vehicle was unlocked at the time of the theft.

10:08 p.m. Officers, members of the Oberlin Fire Department, and an electrician responded to students stuck in the elevator at South Hall. The power was turned off, the doors were opened, and students exited the elevator.

3

Ne w s

Startup Weekend Arrives to Oberlin Continued from page 1

career a success inside of their organizations.

Everybody is entering the innovation economy and everybody needs to have the skills to know how to understand who the customer is, understand the business, understand what the problems are, understand how to take an idea to execution to be successful.”

Tara Gilboa, OC ’11, who works at education management company Noodle Partners, is helping to facilitate the event and spoke about why she sees it as valuable to students.

“I am so excited to facilitate at my alma mater,” Gilboa said. “It’s going to be a beautiful event — it’s one of the most Obie-like events I’ve ever known. It’s all about how to change the world and make it a better place, and what are some of the skills in entrepreneurship you need in order to be able to accomplish that. It’s all about leaning on mentors and building that network and solving problems, and I’m honored and really excited to be involved and be coming back.”

The event’s keynote speaker will be Eric Schwarz, Senior Wealth Director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, who will speak on startup funding at noon on Saturday.

First-place winners will each win a GoPro camera, have the opportunity to pitch their idea to President Carmen Ambar over a dinner, and will have automatic entry into LaunchU Winter Term 2019, Oberlin’s large-scale pitch competition in which competitors spend the month of January refining their concept for the chance to win venture capital.

Each team member on the second-place teams will also receive automatic entry into this year’s LaunchU and each win a drone. Those in third place will win $25 Amazon gift cards. All participants will also receive a Certificate Of Excellence in Entrepreneurial Thinking.

“Startup weekend is what I would call ‘a gateway drug’ to LaunchU,” Rubin said. “The flagship program hosted by the Center for Innovation and Impact. I participated in LaunchU last year, where I met Tara and started a company with a friend, fifth-year Ben Steger. It was hard work, but everyone involved worked together and learned from one another. I can’t imagine trying to make a company by yourself.

You need to have different perspectives and skills you bring to the table. So, what’s Startup Weekend? That! Boiled down into a jampacked weekend.”

But for the students participating in the event, it’s about more than just the prizes.

For College first-year Alana Blumenstein, the weekend is an opportunity to build upon her nonprofit aspirations.

“I really fell in love with entrepreneurship in high school, when my siblings and I founded our nonprofit, KidsRead2Kids.com,” said Blumenstein. “It’s so inspiring that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can make a difference in the world. ... So, when I got to Oberlin, I knew it was something I wanted to continue to work on — both for my nonprofit and for future endeavors. When I heard about Startup Weekend, I thought it was such a cool opportunity to practice coming up with an idea and learning how to get that idea out into the world. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

OFF THE CUFF

Alan Jones, Fourth Meal Cashier Alan Jones, 56, is a Campus Dining Services employee who works as a cashier and server at Oberlin’s Fourth Meal from 10–11:30 p.m. in the Rathskeller. Better known as “DJ Al,” Jones is known around campus for his catchy playlists and welcoming attitude. For many students, Jones is a staple of Oberlin’s dining scene. Jones is from Lorain, Ohio, and has been working at Oberlin on and off for years. Last year, he had the opportunity to appear on Wheel of Fortune during the show’s Veterans Week. He spends his summers and early spring umpiring for Little League and youth baseball.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sydney Allen, Editor-in-Chief Maranda Phillips How long have you been working at Fourth Meal?

Now let’s see ... I kind of forgot; it’s been four years, maybe five years, maybe six years. When I came out here we was at [Dascomb Dining Hall] at the time. And, when I came out here, I didn’t know I was gonna get into it.

I never did anything like this before in my life, so I just needed a little extra money to help supplement.

And Fourth Meal, it had music, but it was just dull, man. So we changed all that. I started talking with the kids and playing with them and dancing, and then making the line happy and stuff.

And that’s how Fourth Meal went to the next level.

I worked for a couple years [as a temporary worker] and left, and then got hired again as a 20-hour worker.

As far as that, basically when it came to Fourth Meal, they didn’t have to worry ’cause they knew [they] had someone they could trust to keep everything going as far as that. I love you guys — y’all keep me young.

like, “You coming? You coming?” Yes! I try to catch their events, too. You know somebody’s doing something. But like I said, this is like my second half, my second home.

How do you choose what playlist you’re gonna play during Fourth Meal?

OK well, there’s certain things I like to do. So Monday I like a little light rock, a little classic rock. Tuesdays I leave open. We don’t have steady set-up with the food right now so still trying to figure that out. Wednesday it’s Pink Floyd. Then it’s always funk Thursday, it’s always my day. I like to play a mix on Sunday. I’m old school, I love music though! So that’s what I do.

What’s your experience in working at Fourth Meal and meeting students?

My experience with Fourth Meal has been wonderful. I love to hear the kids say that I make their day or that “I only come in for Fourth Meal because I know you’re gonna be here, and I’m having a bad day and it’s gonna be much brighter.” And there’s no greater feeling than hearing something like that.

I’m here to give an hour and a half of enjoyment and relaxation. Y’all study enough. Y’all put all that in, but when y’all come to Fourth Meal, y’all here to kick it. When y’all come to Fourth Meal, y’all here to relax and enjoy. And then y’all go back to that craziness. I’ve been through a couple graduations — my first class, I definitely went ’cause we had been together through the whole time and stuff.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself outside of Oberlin? Where are you from?

I’m from down the road here. I’m from Lorain. I lost my wife a couple years ago in July — July 15 or 16, and that was a big change. That kind of changed me a little bit.

And then this past December, I had surgery, so I was out — I was away from y’all for awhile. So that’s why people were glad when I came back. But I got through all that. I lost four angels that year. I lost my wife, my mom, my two aunts all in a matter of two years. For almost a full two years, I went through a lot of sorrow.

But through that I managed to pick up another lady — another angel in my life — which is cool and stuff — and I still got you guys. When it first happened, coming here was a saving grace. ’Cause going home was a little rough — being alone was a little rough, so coming in here really, really made my day a lot better. And I told the kids that y’all keep me going and stuff. Other than that, I’m a serviceman. I was in the Air Force from ’80 to ’84; I was on Wheel of Fortune. It was for Veterans Week.

So you went to Commencement?

[Yeah, it’s] been a couple years since then, and that was my first one I went to. That was my class — they came in with me and so it was beautiful. So I plan to go if I can. ’Cause there’s always another class graduating and they’re

Can you tell me about that?

That was great! That was actually last year. They started the end of ’16.

Yeah, they had a tryout, and I went to the Cleveland tryout finals. I didn’t make it, but in the meantime, [I was put] into the veterans pool. In August

Oberlin Community News Bulletin Town-Gown Meet-Your-Neighbors Party My Town Oberlin, a local community organization, is hosting a block party Saturday, Sept. 22 from 2 – 6 p.m. in Downtown Oberlin. The event will feature local music, food, and games. People of all ages are welcome and encouraged to come for a day of fun with students, residents, and Oberlin visitors alike.

4

Scanning Saturday The Oberlin Heritage Center is offering 14 appointments for those interested in scanning and preserving personal photographs on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m – 2 p.m. Participants are encouraged to bring photographic memories and learn about how to properly store and label their collections. Visitors can scan up to 10 items, priced at $1 per scan, and will have access to a high-quality scanner that is capable of scanning images at up to 4,800 dots per inch.

Alan Jones Photo by Malcolm Brainerd

of last year, I got a call. And it was from the lady of Wheel of Fortune, and she said, “I left you an email; we want you to come be on the show.”

They told me in August. They said the taping was gonna be on Sept. 13.

“Sony Studios, in LA. Be there.” They don’t pay for anything — you have to provide your own way. They give you a time and a place and a date. So, I said, “Yep, I’m coming. I don’t know how I’m doing it yet, but I’m coming.” ’Cause I had no clue. I had no clue. And plus, I was going through my sickness back then, so, really not doing well.

But God is so good. A guy at work, him and his family, they took care of everything. They wanted to do something ’cause of me being who I am and after what I went through. You know, with my wife and everything. … They booked the plane, they booked the car rental, they booked me at the hotel, and everything. They said, “Do not even try to pay us back,” ’cause the only thing they wanted [me] to do is go and have a good time. [It was] a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was on my bucket list. It’s off the list now.

What do you enjoy doing with your time off, around here?

I’m a big Cleveland fan, so I love the Browns, [the Cleveland baseball team], Cavs, and Ohio State. In the summer, I’m an umpire. I umpire from May through the end of July or August.

Youth, high school, that’s my other love — I’m really good at it. Back in the day, I used to do all the high school and college games back in the day in the ’90s.

But once I changed jobs, I couldn’t do the high school no more. I was off for a while, but I got hooked back at the end of the summer. And I miss it. I’m glad I’m back now. So that’s my thing I do when I’m not with y’all. Y’all get me through ’til the summer when I’m umpiring. [And that] takes me ’til I get back to hanging out with you guys!

The Fracturing of America: A talk by author Eliza Griswold The Office of Environmental Sustainability and the First Church Green Team are sponsoring a talk by investigative reporter, translator, and poet Eliza Griswold. She has held fellowships at the Harvard Divinity School, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the New America Foundation. Additionally, she was awarded the 2015 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. The talk will discuss her new book, published earlier this year, titled Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, which explores corporate wrongdoing.

OPINIONS September 21, 2018

established 1874

Hello Safety, Goodbye Security: An Unexpected Budget Cut Madisyn Mettenburg Production Editor Like any first-year reluctant to abandon the air-conditioned luxury of their home, Campus Safety — formerly known as Safety and Security — has certainly been dragging its feet on its move to Dascomb Hall. While no one quite knows when they will move into Fourth Meal’s decrepit shell, even less is known about its sudden rebranding. Why the switch from Safety and Security to merely Campus Safety? Is it because now, in the midst of a budget crisis, “security” is the latest tenant to be sacrificed at the deficit’s jeweled altar? And what acronym can we possibly revere now, with the snappy “S’n’-S” struck down alongside it?

Students living in South Hall have been some of the first to feel the effects of this possible cut. As reported by the Review in its Sept. 14 issue, the College became aware of a missing master key at the end of last spring (The Oberlin Review, “ResEd Misplaces South Hall Master Key,” Sept. 14, 2018). The loss of the key lines up with the timeline of changes within the office, leading to the crucial question: Which came first? Was it the loss of the key that prompted the removal of security? Or was the key haphazardly tossed into a writhing Splitchers crowd as part of an effort to rebrand?

Director of Campus Safety Mike Martinsen would dispute both of these worthy and academic speculations.

“In preparation for our large incoming [first-year] class, we transitioned from the quintessential Campus Safety and

CARTOON OF THE WEEK

Security to the Office of Campus Safety to better align with best practices across the country,” he wrote in an email to the Review. “The distinction between these two titles may initially seem trivial, but …

I believe there is a distinction in the implication of our department’s renaming. … Our primary intent in changing and simplifying our name was to reflect the new direction of our department, which is to pursue a broader campus community outreach — where we work closely with our community partners [and] provide our students, faculty, and staff with the training to achieve and maintain the safest possible campus environment.”

Sure, this makes sense. But aren’t two words better than one? What can one word say that two words, following in rapid, drunken succession, can’t?

Students can feel secure in the fact that there will be no clear successor for their beloved and time-worn acronym.

Martinsen expressed his hope that, not unlike the current status of the missing key, there is no replacement.

“I have always personally felt a bit uncomfortable when hearing individuals refer to our department casually, as [‘S&S’],” he wrote. “I realize the shortened term is used innocently and done so to avoid the use of the long and somewhat cumbersome name Campus Safety and Security.”

In the meantime, I will be shouting “CS! CS!” at the fleet of white vehicles patrolling campus and hoping it catches on. If the department of Computer Science comes to my aid instead, we will know it hasn’t.

Dalia Silverstein

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

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

The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

Volume 147, Number 3

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief

Sydney Allen Nathan Carpenter

Managing Editor Ananya Gupta

Opinions Editors

Jackie Brant Luce Nguyen

Voting Crucial For Redistricting Goals There is a laundry list of reasons why Republican Congressman Jim Jordan is one of the worst that Washington has to offer. He is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, the most far-right group in the House of Representatives — a group that has faced harsh criticism even from within its own party.

Jordan has also recently been accused of ignoring credible allegations of sexual misconduct made against the Ohio State University’s wrestling team’s trainer during the time that Jordan was assistant coach.

The longer Jordan has been in Congress, the clearer his incompetence and negligence have become. He is routinely the target of national jokes and indignation.

He is, unfortunately, also Oberlin’s congressional representative. How did Jordan come to represent Oberlin, one of the most liberal areas in the state? The answer is simple; the solution is anything but. Oberlin voters have had their voice in Congress systematically silenced by gerrymandering, a process in which district lines are strategically drawn every 10 years (coinciding with the Census) to benefit one political party and disadvantage the other.

In Ohio, the scales have clearly been tipped in favor of Republicans. Of the 16 congresspeople from Ohio, 12 are Republican. In a traditional swing state, those numbers just don’t make sense. In the most recent congressional election, Republicans won 58 percent of the overall vote, and yet they hold 75 percent of the available seats.

Obama won Ohio twice. And, even when the state went for Trump in 2016, it was by a 51-43 margin — a far cry from the 75 — 25 congressional split.

Clearly, Ohio Republicans have leveraged the system’s loopholes effectively. Earlier this year, however, voters made it clear that they are fed up with conservatives consistently winning what would otherwise be competitive congressional seats year after year.

A massive statewide effort — fueled in large part by the Ohio League of Women Voters — led to a proposed amendment to the state constitution, which was approved by voters in May 2018. The amendment changed the way that congressional districts are drawn in Ohio, moving towards a more representative system that requires a greater level of approval from the Ohio General Assembly’s minority party.

Under the new redistricting process, which will be tested for the first time in 2021, the state legislature can only adopt a new 10-year map if three-fifths of the entire state legislature votes to approve it, including at least one-half of the minority party’s members.

However, if the legislature can’t reach an agreement — an outcome which, call us pessimistic, seems a little too likely — the decision falls to a seven-member redistricting commission, composed of the governor, state auditor, secretary of state, and four members of the state legislature, including at least two from the minority party.

If the commission fails to put forward a 10-year map that a majority of its members — including two from the minority party — support, the process returns again to the state legislature. During this second go-round, ratification of any 10-year plan requires threefifths support from the total assembly, but only one-third support from the minority party.

Finally, if all else fails, a majority of the redistricting commission’s seven members can approve a four-year map without any support from the minority party.

If you’re a little confused by the new system, you’re not alone. The important thing to understand is that the old system — the one that gave Oberlin Jim Jordan — has not been completely eliminated. Rather, it’s just become more difficult, but not impossible, for the seven-member commission to ram through a blatantly gerrymandered map.

It will be important, therefore, for Ohioans who care about fair and proportional congressional districts to follow up on their monumental May victory by electing a governor, state auditor, and secretary of state who are committed to equity in the districting process in the realistic scenario that the responsibility falls on their laps.

Ohio Republicans — who controlled the last three redistricting processes — have shown themselves unwilling to draw districts that are representative of voter desires. It is clear that Mike DeWine, Keith Faber, and Frank LaRose — Republican candidates for governor, state auditor, and secretary of state, respectively — are not the people who will guide our state to a more fair congressional map, and get Oberlin out of Jim Jordan’s district.

Even if for just this reason alone, Oberlin voters should strongly consider supporting Democrats Richard Cordray, Zack Space, and Kathleen Clyde for their respective statewide offices. The Democratic Party has many shortcomings, and these candidates, if elected, will likely show many of the same weaknesses.

It’s also important to remember that those three candidates could help draw district lines that would impact Ohio politics for at least a decade, likely longer. Ohioans won a decisive battle against gerrymandering in May, and should not lose sight of the cause now.

More representative district lines could reasonably shift the balance of power among the Ohio congressional delegation from 12­— 4 to 9 — ­­­­­7, for instance, and those extra three seats really matter.

Balancing the scales towards fairness in Ohio could not only get Oberlin out of Jordan’s district, but would also go a long way towards balancing the scales in Washington. After all, as Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

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.

5

Opi n ions

Low-Income Students Tokenized for Oberlin Students’ Benefits Laura Franco Zapata Contributing Writer

As my fourth and final year of college starts, I’ve been thinking about my time at Oberlin and how blessed I am to have made it this far, as what academia deems an “atrisk” student. Being a lowincome and first-generation college student has made my experience at Oberlin differ hugely from that of my affluent peers. Sadly, identities such as low-income are not often talked about, leaving students like myself feeling lonely and misunderstood in a school known to have a generally close-knit community.

Perhaps we don’t talk about these issues because the number of low-income students at Oberlin is ridiculously small, or maybe most students just don’t understand what it is like to go through life with worries about financial insecurity. Regardless of the reason, I find Oberlin — I am talking about the student body here, not the institution — to be extremely toxic to low-income folks. Now, I can only speak for myself, but here are some of the reasons why and how you — YES YOU — might be hurting low-income students, and how you

could be helpful in many ways you might not have thought about.

There are several discussions I have come across during my time at Oberlin where demands are made to the College and the well-being of low-income students is mentioned as a strong point for why the school should listen to the student body. The most recent I can think of is the discussion about dining changes. Every single time there has been a discussion of such sorts, I have noticed one or more of us intervene to clarify that Oberlin, in fact, offers us stellar aid. In my time at Oberlin, I have not had to buy any books with my hard-earned money, and I have been able to afford what little the school and government aid does not cover with a couple of jobs during the school year. So, whenever people write petitions and they mention the accessibility issues regarding low-income students, I can’t help but feel tokenized. Yes, the dining plan and many other issues can and do affect low-income students in very real ways, but let’s be honest. Do Obies really care about low-income students or are they using us to win a fight? To me, it

seems like the latter. So, what are real ways to be an ally to low-income folks at Oberlin?

Based on my own experiences and some conversations with other low-income peers both here and elsewhere, I’ve included examples of ways that you could help.

Stop trying to hide your class guilt in thrifted clothes.

Please just stop. Think of the resources you are taking away from people who depend on them. I have yet to find someone with a valid reason why they do this, especially when you all walk around with $3 shirts, $5 pants, and expensive shoes that cost more than my mother has in her bank account — anything more than $150.

Leave front row seats open in classrooms. Many of us have so many things to worry about daily that we need to be in the front to actually focus (Will my family be able to pay rent this month? Will my mom finally buy herself snow boots so her feet stop hurting in the winter?). Outside of that, we worry about how we’ll get home for breaks or if we’ll be able to afford the bills we help with at home. Every single semester on my first day of school, professors lose me as soon as they start talk-

ing about books, access codes, lab materials, and such. In my head, I am thinking of all the offices I’ll have to visit in order to get books while everyone else has moved on to thinking about the lecture.

Please lend your books to low-income students once you’re done with a class. I cannot stress this enough.

Ever since my second semester, I have offered my books to other low-income students to borrow for the semester. Most people sell their books to other people. Have you thought of lending them instead to people who won’t be able to afford them otherwise? And no, books on reserve aren’t always the best option.

If you have a friend who is low-income and is having a difficult financial time and if you or your parents can afford it, invite them for dinner to their favorite spot, or offer the option of financial assistance. But don’t think of yourself as a hero and please be extremely mindful of the way you approach these type of discussions.

Push the school and yourself to educate the student body about low-income struggles. I could honestly write for hours about my frustrations with most of you. Don’t

act like you can relate to our struggles. I’ve been hungry, and I’ve had light, water, gas, phone and other important services cut off throughout my life due to lack of payment.

I’ve been homeless, I’ve been humiliated, and my mom continues to be humiliated. So please understand that your “broke” struggles are not the same as low-income struggles. We do not have a safety net. We are the safety net.

Be proud of us. We are doing so much. Whether we finish school here, elsewhere, or if we don’t finish school, be extremely proud because this system is not made for us and we deserve praising.

We often need reminders that we belong here. Remind us that more than anybody, we belong. Lastly, share resources and connections that you grew up with. Advice on interviews, how to network, email writing, resume help, and other things like this are all new to many of us.

I hope this small list is something you take seriously.

There are many more things I have in mind, but I would end up writing a book. I will try to open conversations across campus about topics like this one soon. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Grape’s Editorial Reflects Dogmatism, Think One Vote Can Change Outrage Politics of Oberlin Students The World? So Do I. Jackson Zinn-Rowthorn Contributing Writer

Oberlin students, I’m glad to say, have retreated a few steps in recent years from the sort of divisive, outrage-fueled politics that would routinely erupt into conflagrations of bad discourse and unsolvable conflict on campus. This paradigm of activism flourished under Obama, but it doesn’t play as well in the current political era. The 2016 election offered something of a reality check. Suddenly our righteousness didn’t look so noble; our dogmatism didn’t look so pure. We are a little more open-minded now, and a little less reactionary. The campus feels calmer and more welcoming. It’s been a gratifying transformation to watch.

So, I was disheartened when last week The Grape chose to publish a flippant and brazenly misleading piece shoring up support among first-years for the now twoyear-old boycott of Gibson’s Food Market and Bakery. The Gibson’s controversy is complex, subjective, and highly personal.

The events were tragic and traumatizing. Newcomers to Oberlin ought to have a much fuller picture of the conflict than The Grape’s article offers before coming to any conclusions.

The author side-steps any substantive engagement with the facts of the case by suggesting that because of the lawsuit and because they once worked at Gibson’s, they must be careful to avoid “libeling” their

6

former employer. Their caution is reasonable on the surface, and yet, when the article gives an account of the origin of the boycott, it is reductive to the point of being deceitful.

I don’t think it was meant to deceive — more likely, it was just ill-considered and underinformed — but nonetheless, publishing a piece this lacking in context and nuance was irresponsible. Writers should feel obliged to discuss serious issues affecting our community honestly and in good faith.

I was especially disturbed by the line chosen as the pullquote by the editors: “I’m not going to tell you not to shop at Gibson’s, but I will tell you that the social implications of being seen at Gibson’s are much worse than most other freshman year faux pas I can imagine.” Is this really the sort of discourse we want to encourage? Threatening social blacklisting — a very real problem on this campus — to anyone who acts contrary to a prevailing set of ideas?

As the “Support Gibson’s” lawn signs sprouting up around Lorain County remind us, the Gibson’s boycott is not like the abstracted, at-a-distance activism typical of college campuses. Our actions on this front have a direct and dramatic impact on the lives and livelihoods of dozens of people in the greater Oberlin community. These people are not caricatures. They are not merely the sum of their worst inclinations. They are our hosts — when they push back against

us, we owe them our sincere consideration. As students, we inevitably leave Oberlin behind, and with it, the repercussions of the choices we made here. But the residents of the town remain.

They inherit our legacy.

I understand that dedicated proponents of the boycott like the author of the article in question are motivated by a genuine commitment to justice.

But if we want to continue down this path, we have to ask ourselves — what would justice look like? What are our longterm goals? Why did we enter a boycott in the first place? Trump was elected the day before the protests started — did shock and dismay affect our judgement?

And does an alleged history of racial profiling and the untoward violence of one angry young man justify shuttering a beloved small business that has served Oberlin since 1885? Because the chance that Gibson’s will have to close its doors for good is more significant than most of us seem to realize. Do we really want that, if it means alienating hundreds of our neighbors?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but they demand our engagement.

I encourage anyone so inclined, especially underclassmen, to talk to the Gibson family and its employees.

Ask them about their motivations for the lawsuit. Talk to students, and ask about their motivations for the boycott. Read the reports.

Read the coverage in The Grape and the Review. Then come to an informed decision.

Ilana Foggle Columnist

Leading up to the midterm election, Ilana Foggle will be writing articles for The Oberlin Review about the different candidates on the ballot to increase awareness of surrounding local and state politics.

When I first came to Oberlin more than one year ago, I made three assumptions about Oberlin’s politics. First, because the town of Oberlin is majority liberal, I thought that we would have liberal representatives.

Second, I assumed that being on a politically active campus would mean that every student who was capable of voting would do so. Third, I knew that being in a swing state like Ohio put me in a unique position to directly affect representation.

I was wrong about my first two assumptions.

To understand Oberlin’s political climate, it is crucial to analyze the context in which Oberlin is represented. In 2010, Ohio underwent a major redistricting process that led to extreme gerrymandering throughout the state. Two years later, Oberlin was added to Ohio Congressional District 4, a deep-red district represented by Congressman Jim Jordan, the most conservative congressman in Ohio and a founder of the Freedom Caucus. Jordan, who is currently running for

Speaker of the House, hopes to bring conservative reform to Congress by repealing the Affordable Care Act and increasing border security, among other things. This is our representative, whom we have been complicit in re-electing the past three terms.

For a student body that claims to be “woke,” voter complacency is rampant. In the 2014 midterm election, only 16.8% of eligible Oberlin students voted, and in 2016, only 36.9% of eligible Oberlin students did so, which is significantly less than the average turn out of 50.4 percent across all American colleges and universities, according to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement.

These statistics include voting by way of absentee ballots, early voting, and out-of-state voting. So, why aren’t many Oberlin students voting? Are they aware of the extreme gerrymandering of our district and feel as though their votes won’t count? Are they unaware of the political makeup of our district and believe that their votes are unnecessary? Or is it that they are apathetic and complacent in the current state of our country’s politics?

Since becoming an Oberlin student, I have witnessed the activism of our student body firsthand. I have seen students come together to rally behind particular issues, whether it be gun reform, climate change, or support for See Oberlin, page 7

Cleveland Orchestra Fails to Provide Oberlin Students Must Vote in Upcoming Midterm Diversity in Repertoire Matthew Bickett Contributing Writer James Oestreich of The New York Times says the Cleveland Orchestra “may (quietly) be America’s best.”

But what does it mean to be one of the best orchestras?

For the players on stage, it means performing with exquisite sensitivity and responding to the scores and conductors in front of them with unparalleled skill. For the artistic direction, it means leading the ensemble down the path to irrelevance and eventual obscurity.

Oestreich is wrong; the Cleveland Orchestra is not one of the best. In fact, they’re hardly an orchestra at all. Rather than an orchestra, I’d say they’re an ensemble specializing in the performance of music by European men. In much the same way that eighth blackbird plays only contemporary music, or that Apollo’s Fire focuses on baroque music, the Cleveland Orchestra chooses to interpret the music of white men, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries. And they do this very well.

Why would an ensemble choose to focus on such a limited repertoire, and what gives a prominent music critic the license to misidentify the ensemble? The tradition of classical music centers on performing pieces of music written down by composers. This seems harmless, until you consider that the majority of this tradition has been run almost exclusively

by European or Europeantrained white men.

Today, things are a bit different. The context and politics of music change how we understand what the orchestra does. Pop stars continue to recognize the importance of context for their music.

For example, the Rolling Stones issued multiple statements disapproving of the use of their music at Trump campaign rallies. The cam-

paign playing their music at rallies morphs the meaning of their music into support songs for the widely detested candidate. Classical music claims to be a more learned form of art, yet in Cleveland’s own concert hall, the ensemble continues to ignore an idea as basic as context.

I’m not the first person to question the trend of uncritically following tradition.

Online meme culture has caught on and criticized the Cleveland Orchestra’s artistic leadership. Other prominent U.S. orchestras offer a more American approach to programming; in Seattle or Los Angeles, concert-goers can hear their hometown orchestras play pieces by Americans, people of color, and women. Cleveland continues to ignore the existence of this repertoire.

Alex Ross, in the New Yorker article “Leonard Bernstein and the Perils of Hero Worship” from the Sept. 15 issue, decried the off-putting hero worship he sensed at Leonard Bernstein’s Tanglewood Centenial Celebration.

The misguided ideas that promote all-white-male concert programs also produce a culture of hero worship. An important man’s higher status — hero status — trivializes reports of his wrongdoings and dissuades victims from reporting. The #MeToo movement has taken the first steps to empower victims and dismantle the beliefs that prioritize the careers of men above the voices of victims. The Cleveland Orchestra proves that we still have a long way to go.

Sure, demanding the performance of music by women and people of color reeks of identity politics, but doesn’t playing music almost exclusively by white men rely on an even narrower identity politics? This is especially concerning when the identity of the white male is the only identity represented on a concert program. Maybe

you’re concerned about losing touch with what many may consider to be the great masterworks of the past.

Who told you that these were masterworks, anyway?

Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 sounds like stale bread tastes after getting to know Florence Price’s first. Johannes Brahms’ piano and orchestral music is full of intimacy and nuance; however, the intimacy and immediacy of Margaret Bonds’ nonorchestral music makes me long to hear how she wrote for orchestra. And Anna Þorvaldsdóttir captures the icy cold better than Hans Abrahamsen, despite his fondness of snow (but Abrahamsen’s orchestral works are still undeniably attractive).

I get why they stick with the familiar: the orchestra must appeal to the Cleveland classical music market to survive. However, an organization this influential has the power to shape the market as much as they must cater to it. Their continued rejection of non-white composers may exclude huge swaths of potential concertgoers. Maintaining an allwhite-male status quo raises eyebrows from thoughtful concert-goers; doing so might also reduce the orchestra’s potential audience from the outset.

In a place like Oberlin, with the rich history it treasures, the Cleveland Orchestra feels a bit out of place.

We should understand the Cleveland Orchestra’s visit as a way of opening dialogue with an ensemble that operates in contradiction to our core values, opening our ears to a different voice. The Artist Recital Series’ advertisements welcome the ensemble on their own terms, but students can take ownership to frame the performance as what it is: a performance by one of the world’s leading ensembles specializing in music by European white men.

Continued from page 6

undocumented students. My social media feeds have been flooded with #BlueWave and photos from protests with captions demanding the impeachment of President Trump. So why aren’t students voting? Tweeting about the state of our government or sharing a Facebook post from Bernie Sanders is not enough.

Performative activism is not enough. If you are eligible to vote — whether it be in Ohio or your home state — and choose not to, you are not “woke.”

Voting gives us the opportunity to have all of our voices heard in a time when people — especially those from minority communities — feel as though this country is only listening to the voices of those from a certain demographic.

Eligible students are privileged enough to have a say in the future of our government.

Apathy, complacency, and ignorance can no longer be excuses. We are Oberlin students, we are active, and we will be heard.

My last assumption that my vote would directly affect representation was correct.

Each and every vote has the power to determine an election result, elect new representatives, and change the trajectory of where politics in this country are going. It is time to step up. This is your community. This is your town.

This is your district. This is your country. This is your world.

Here is how to get registered in time for the midterm election: National Voter Registration Day is next Tuesday and there will be an event in the Wilder Bowl to register students. The Oberlin College Democrats hasvebeen registering students on campus outside of Stevenson Dining Hall, in Wilder Bowl, in Mudd Library, in the Science Library, and many other places around campus. Jasmine Mitchell, Gus Jaynes, Miriam Khanukaev, Barbara Turnbull, and I will be registering students at campus events as a part of Janet Garrett’s campaign for Congress against Jim Jordan.

Ohio has a thirty-day voter registration requirement. Make sure to register or update your address — which you must do every time you switch dorm buildings — by Oct. 9 in order to be able to vote in the Nov. 6 midterm election.

Letter to the Editors

Students Should Attend Eliza Griswold’s Fossil Fuel Presentation Combining a poet’s artistry, a translator’s empathy, and an investigative journalist’s persistence, Eliza Griswold makes the deeply divisive issue of fossil fuel extraction grippingly real.

We are very fortunate that the recipient of many prestigious awards is including Oberlin on her tour to talk about her rave-reviewed new book Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America.

National Book Award winner George Packer calls it “a morally complex and beautifully written story … about what binds and tears apart a community and

a country.” The Green Team of The First Church in Oberlin United Church of Christ invites you to attend her presentation this Sunday at 4 p.m. in the First Church Meeting House at the northwest corner of Main Street and Lorain Street.

This free event is co-hosted by the Oberlin College Office of Environmental Sustainability as part of the College-community Ecolympics.

John Elder, OC ’53 Member of the First Church Green Team

Anya Spector

The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

7

“Between the the potted plants all around the shower area — plus

“This bathroom ex

one growing in a bathtub — and the bull’s head made out of bottle

ing a plant to an o

caps mounted on the wall, Warner Center first-floor bathroom exists on some cosmic plane between heaven and earth. It’s beautiful,

The spider plant th makes it feel not lik

it’s all-gender, and it’s bizarre. The showers even function! Five-star bathroom.”

self in the small ro plant behind you, a

gling to learn a new

plants grow, the su pect of this bathroom is that the beautiful, inspiring graffit

“When you enter this bathroom, you’ll find yourself in a small vestibule with coat hooks and a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Across from you is yet another door, through which you’ll find the bathroom itself. The mysteries don’t end there, however. There’s a sign taped over one trash can that reads, “This is NOT a trash can!‼” There are also illustrated signs covering each menstrual product disposal that list items you can’t flush down the toilet. Lastly, there’s a sign over the tampon dispenser that reads “No longer in service” in about 15 different languages. While slightly perplexing, these signs are clear and accessible to people with different learning styles, so I give this bathroom four stars.”

“I came here regula

provided the reprie low water was uns in my nostrils long However, once I le was actually a pret the toilets and sink ing, known as the the toilets, creating

Calendar Friday, September 21

Saturday, September 22

Sunday, September 23

Monday, Septem

Observatory Open Hours Climb up to one of the highest places in Oberlin and view the autumn night sky through a telescope. Free and open to everyone.

Tim Hall Memorial Symposium In honor of late Associate Professor of Philosophy Tim Hall, the Oberlin Animal Rights Club and the Oberlin College Republicans and Libertarians are sponsoring a full day of philosophical discussion, complete with guest speakers and vegan food. See timhallsymposium.org for a complete schedule. Come for as many or as few sessions as you would like!

“The Fracturing of America”: A Talk by Eliza Griswold

Cinema Artists’ Cine Series: Expanded C View three 16mm film format and one short

by Andy Warhol, Pau Harris, and Jodie Mac and push boundarie and what film art can the public.

8 – 10 p.m.

Peters Hall, top floor

11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Dye Lecture Hall, Science Center

As part of the Ecolympics, investigative reporter, poet, and translator Eliza Griswold will speak about the impact of the fracking industry and her book, Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America.

4:30 – 6 p.m.

The First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ

6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Art Building, Room

xemplifies a central tenet of interior design — add-

“Aesthetically, the Wilder Hall first-floor bathroom is the peak of bath-

otherwise drab room transforms the space entirely.

room design and style. There’s a full-length mirror, a soft bench, a wall

hat sits on the windowsill illuminates the space and ke a bathroom, but a home. When you look at your-

of glass bricks, pentagonal mirrors, and a cohesive color scheme. It reflects the vibe of Wilder Hall and Oberlin College in general. Unfor-

ound mirror above the lone sink, you can see the and you may see yourself not as a student strug-

tunately, it’s completely inaccessible to someone in a wheelchair — using the toilets requires stepping onto a raised platform. Therefore,

w language, but as a dweller of the earth — where

I give this bathroom four stars.”

un shines, and all is well. The only disappointing asti once covering the stall walls has been removed.”

“I was really excited when I got the email last year from the Office of

arly when taking my first-year seminar, and it never

eve from class that I desired. Though clean, the yelsettling, and the faint smell of dampness lingered g after my departure from this cramped bathroom. earned about why the water is yellow, I thought it tty cool place to take a dump. The waste water from ks is used in an indoor ecosystem within the buildLiving Machine, and then filtered and put back in g the distinctive hue.”

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion announcing that King Building was getting all-gender bathrooms. However, the King Building secondfloor all-gender bathroom disappoints. First of all, it smells like pee.

This is a not a surprising smell for a bathroom, but it still isn’t pleasant. Second, it’s ugly — white tiles and blinds envelop the user in a cave of blank sterility. Third, while the bathroom does have both urinals and stalls, it doesn’t have a place within the stalls to dispose of menstrual products. I did, however, find a single unopened tampon by the trashcan, which I took. In summary, I appreciated the relative gender-inclusivity of this bathroom but was disappointed by its aesthetics.”

mber 24

Tuesday, September 25

Wednesday, September 26

Thursday, September 27

ema 16mm Film Cinema ms in dual projection t 3D film. These films ul Sharits, Christopher ck are rarely screened es of what cinema is n do. Free and open to

Comparative American Studies Keyword Discussion: Surveillance Hear professors from the Rhetoric and Composition, Politics, and Comparative American Studies departments discuss the concept of surveillance from different perspectives. Panelists include professors Lyndsey Beutin, Charmaine Chua, Wendy Kozol, and Danielle Skeehan.

Memorial Service: Ammar Mohamed Abo-El-Naga The memorial service for Ammar Mohamed Abo-El-Naga, OC ’21, will be led by students, friends, faculty, and staff. Ammar passed away August 21, 2018 at the age of 18. All are welcome to celebrate Ammar’s life, regardless of whether you knew him personally.

12:20 – 1:20 p.m.

Wilder Hall, Room 101

4:30 p.m.

Carnegie Building, Root Room

Lessons in Drag with LaWhore Vagistan Tufts University Assistant Professor of Drama & Dance and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Kareem Khubchandani, performing as LaWhore Vagistan, will give a performance and lead a discussion about drag, Bollywood, Islamophobia in nightclubs, intersectional feminism, and interracial desire. Free and open to anyone.

103

7:30 – 9 p.m.

Warner Main Space

A r t s & C u lt u r e

ARTS & CULTURE September 21, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 3

Art Rental Sets New Record, Sells Out by 10 a.m.

College seniors Brian James and Moses Riley hold their rented pieces, the last two available, from this year’s Art Rental event. Students who participate in one of Oberlin’s most noteworthy traditions can rent up to two pieces of art for the entire semester.

Photo Courtesy of Brian James her roommate decided not to attend Art son, and Art Rental happens on a firstAlice Koeninger Rental this year after being enthusiastic come, first-serve basis. Though it always Many students were discouraged from participants in the past. takes place on a Saturday, the sign-up list participating in the annual Art Rental at Oberlin promotes Art Rental as a ma- traditionally goes up Friday morning. the Allen Memorial Art Museum last Sat- jor selling point to prospectiåve students, Some students even camp out overnight urday when the sign-up list was posted as it’s one of the only programs of its kind on Thursday in order to be among the several days earlier than usual. in the country. Founded in 1940 by Pro- first to write their names on the list.

“I think it was annoying that it was put fessor of Modern Art Ellen Johnson, OC The Allen staff have nothing to do up so early, but the conventions around ’33, the program consists of 388 pieces with the organization of Art Rental — the whole system are so fuzzy. Since it’s that are available every semester for stu- they just put out the art for students to so casually student-run, itdoesn’t sur- dents to rent, at the cost of five dollars per look through. The students who post the prise me that someone did this,” College piece. list are in charge of the entire production. junior Della Copes-Finke said. She and There is a limit of two works per per- Since there is a tradition of posting late

Thursday night or Friday morning, students who camp out Thursday night do so hoping to secure a top spot on the list — usually, these students get a Picasso, Dalí, or a piece by a similarly well-known artist. Students who come later must sign up on this same list and tend to get lesserknown works.

This year, however, the list was posted on Wednesday morning. Since this was out of the ordinary, many students who had participated in the past missed signing up and weren’t aware of the posting until the list was already disappointingly long.

“I didn’t even know when Art Rental was. I only found out afterwards,” said College sophomore Mara Delta, who wanted to participate this year but was not able to. The program started at 8 a.m. and sold out by 10 a.m., the earliest in the event’s history.

“I didn’t know [the list] was going up early. I saw it [while] heading to class and put my name down,” said College senior and art history major Ashley Grauman, who participated for the first time this semester. “It was cool; I did it with my roommates and we got a good spot on the list, so we got some good art.” Though happy with her experience, she mentioned that she had friends who chose not to participate because they were discouraged after finding out that the list was put up early.

The early list-posting wasn’t the only change to the Art Rental process this semester. On Thursday night, there was a costume contest, where students competed for places 8, 9, and 10 in line. Shifting places in line in this manner is also out of the ordinary for Art Rental.

The College describes Art Rental as “one of Oberlin’s most cherished traditions.” Undoubtedly, this sentiment holds true. However, after this semester’s Art Rental, it’s safe to say that some traditions are subject to change.

Calcagno and Leva Shine in Off-Campus Performance

College junior Riley Calcagno and duet partner Vivian Leva performed at Riverdog last Saturday. The folk music duo each took a semester off this past academic year to go on tour and develop new music.

Photo Courtesy of Riley Calcagno Carson Dowhan

It’s not often that Oberlin students venture off campus for music, despite the multitude of local performances happening almost every day. Saturday, though, College junior Riley Calcagno and partner Vivian Leva made a sur-

10

prise appearance at Riverdog, a quaint outdoor venue a few miles outside campus.

Established only five years ago, Riverdog has hosted local and traveling Americana artists, welcoming folksy and acoustic performances. It has a

large light-strung canopy, extending above the tables and enhancing the familiar and welcoming atmosphere. It is built around a 150-year-old barn, often packed with regulars and first-time audience members alike. Its stage not only hosts performers, but also houses dogs that silently wander about the venue, weaving between the chairs.

“For me, it’s just exciting that people are coming out to listen and enjoy live folk and traditional music they might not always hear,” Calcagno said.

The age range at the show was interesting as well — older audience members outnumbered students.

“It’s a cool combination for the turnout, because this concert venue has a built-in audience, so there’s people [who] trust that they will bring in good music,” Leva added.

“What I found was a rustic, downto-earth place, emphasizing artistic talent, a relaxing atmosphere and a lack of commercialism for a performance venue,” Terry Parker wrote in a review on Riverdog’s website. “Things are done simply, yet incredibly well.

It’s all about visual and musical art, and restorative simplicity.”

These elements provide the basis for a relaxing night out in the countryside that performers can make their own.

The duo fit perfectly there. They performed traditional folk music and songs from Leva’s new album, Time is Everything, which gained attention from major publications upon its release in March.

Leva, a student at Lewis & Clark College, solidified her style at a young age and continues to experiment and be influenced by multiple genres.

“The new album I came out with is before I met Riley,” Leva said. “All the songs on that are my songs that I wrote from being fourteen through nineteen, except for one that we co-wrote with our friend [College senior] Sam Bailey.”

Calcagno and Leva were humble and genuine on-stage. Calcagno cracked jokes to buy time while tuning, while Leva smiled and rolled her eyes — one can guess she’s heard them all before.

They have an intimate musical dynamic, almost leaning on a sixth sense to See Folk, page 11

Palm, Julia Julian to Hit ’Sco Stage with Experimental Rock Kate Fishman Arts & Culture Editor The Philadelphia-based rock band Palm will be returning to Oberlin this weekend to perform at the ’Sco, with student band Julia Julian opening. The show, hosted by the Student Union Programming Committee, promises fresh and innovative music coming to the stage at 10 p.m. tomorrow night.

Bridget Conway, College sophomore and booker for the ’Sco, is excited about the eclectic nature of Palm. Regardless of whether students previously knew of the band, she thinks they will have an enjoyable night.

“They reached out to us, actually, wanting to play a show in Oberlin,” she explained. “They have a really unique sound that I think a lot of Oberlin students would be into, especially [Conservatory] kids, or just [given] the amount of students here who are into indie music.”

Conway doesn’t want people to be put off by the somewhat niche sound of experimental rock. “It’s been described to me as math rock for people who don’t like math rock,” she said. “I have a friend of mine who says it sounds like you’re listening to your dishwasher. But [they use] their instruments in really innovative ways, in ways that are unexpected but really catchy. You’ll get their songs stuck in your head pretty frequently.”

The uniqueness of the band seems a widely agreed upon point. “Palm plays rock music backwards,” reads their press page. “The band is firmly attached to the physicality of rock, but not as much its tone; their instruments tend to sound like any number of things at any given time.”

In a February review of Rock Island, an album Palm dropped in 2018, NPR reporter Marissa Lorusso said that after one listen to their work “it becomes clear that any passing resemblance to normality is purely accidental.”

The eclectic group is made up of guitarists/vocalists Eve Alpert and Kasra Kurt, with Gerasimos Livitsanos on bass and Hugo Stanley on drums. They visited Oberlin previously on the heels of their other full-length album, Trading Basics, released in 2015. The group also has several EPs in their discography, including the 2015 releases “Tokyo” and “Ostrich Vacation,” and the 2017 “Shadow Expert.”

Julia Julian saw the band perform on their Trading Basics tour and is thrilled by the opportunity to play a show with them. “I think we take a lot of influence from Palm,” the band said in an email to the Review. “[Julia Julian members] Max and Reuben both have the same Palm shirt, but it might be a little weird if [they] wore them onstage.”

Julia Julian, self-labelled as existing somewhere at the intersection of “bedroom pop” and “new wave,” is comprised of College seniors Max Ripps, Cena Loffredo, Joanna Quinn, and College junior Reuben Gifford. They came together through a combination of high school connections and first-year meetings, and lived in a quad during their sophomore year, which they described as the height of their work together. While they’ve taken some time off since then, all of them are heavily involved in the Oberlin music scene through other bands and work with WOBC. They’re excited to be able to spend their last year

making music on campus as a group.

“We have a funny habit of nitpicking and revising older songs during practice,” they said of their process. “We’re [going to] write and record a bunch of new stuff now that we’re all back together for senior year.”

While he’s not very familiar with Palm, ’Sco staffer and College sophomore Will Hagan has enjoyed a couple performances by Julia Julian in the past.

“Their sound is really unique,” Hagan said in an email to the Review. “They put on a great live show that doesn’t really sound like anything else on campus.”

Conway agrees. “They’re all really really super talented,” she said. “I know they want people to come out … before they graduate and we lose the opportunity to see them as an Oberlin band.”

The ’Sco is also a fun venue for groups that bring more experimental vibes — there’s room to dance, and the openness of the space creates an interactive and energetic atmosphere.

“I’ve always liked how there really isn’t much of a backstage or anything,” Hagan said. “There doesn’t seem to be much of a barrier of artificiality or showmanship between the audience and performers.”

Unlike some ’Sco events, Saturday’s show will be totally free.

“I would recommend coming, even if you don’t know who [either of the bands] are,” Conway said.

With the exciting and experimental nature of both of the bands, it should be a memorable evening.

A Little Bit is Better Than None: Teaching Self-Care in Ella Causer’s ExCo, “How to Be David Sedaris Himself”

Second-year Ella Causer facilitates discussion in her “How to Be David Sedaris Himself” ExCo, meeting in Peters Hall. Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor Gabriella Spielberg

A love of barn owls shared with a well-known humorist led College sophomore Ella Causer to develop and teach the ExCo “How to Be David Sedaris Himself.”

“He’s one of the authors that can make me laugh out loud,” said Causer.

She became exposed to Sedaris’ work relatively recently and has developed a

strong appreciation for it. Causer once sent Sedaris fan mail, and he responded by complimenting the collage she’d sent along with her letter, as well as providing her with a list of authors to read. Her admiration of Sedaris has only grown since, culminating in the development of her ExCo. Sedaris, a bestselling author known for his reliably hilarious storytelling abilities,

delivered Oberlin’s commencement address this past May. His speech, poignant in some places and brash in others, certainly left an impact on the audience.

“When it comes to scented candles, you really need to watch it,” Sedaris said during his speech. He also offered the simple advice to “Be yourself. Unless yourself is an asshole.” His ability to balance frank honesty with lighthearted humor when writing and speaking about his own life is a quality Causer hopes to channel and share in her class.

The ExCo focuses on Sedaris’ writing style and aims to provide a comfortable space for students to try and apply the techniques to their own writing. Causer hopes that her class will encourage healthy self-care techniques like journaling, which Sedaris does quite a bit of.

Causer wants to drive home that we are worth the effort of caring for ourselves — a sentiment she learned from Sedaris and hopes to share with others. Students in the class are expected to journal with the intention to positively impact themselves and others. Causer envisions the journals as a tool for self-care; students in the class can work through their own experiences and challenges or simply use them in moments of creative inspiration.

“A little bit of exercise is better than no exercise; a little bit of journaling is so much better than no journaling, ” she said.

She is also invested in creating a tightknit community, which she plans to do by facilitating writing workshops where students feel comfortable sharing their work.

“Another thing we’ll be focusing on is physical maintenance,” Causer said. “I noticed that David Sedaris has very strong calves, so we’re going to be doing calf raises at the beginning of each class.”

So far, her students seem to love it.

“I had never heard of David Sedaris before the ExCo fair,” first-year Gwen Gemmell said in an email to the Review.

“I thought that Ella’s way of explaining the class was so compelling, so I decided to take it!”

Causer’s insistence on treating yourself well through journaling is admirable. She doesn’t focus on having a “good” product or being particularly funny. Instead, she is committed to helping her students find forms of reflection and self-expression that work for them.

Causer, who has never taught before, has enjoyed the beginning of her class and is eager to continuing sharing David Sedaris’ wisdom and wit. Above all, Causer encourages her students to write for themselves and not others, and to embrace and be proud of their work. In the words of David Sedaris himself, “There’s a lot to be said for not getting it out there.”

Folk Concert Featuring Calcagno, Levi Enchants Audience

Continued from page 10

know how to share space in a song. Leva provided the melody and rhythmic chords, while Calcagno weaved around her on the fiddle, guitar, and banjo. It was a pleasure to see how Calcagno worked his way through Leva’s compositions, and this balance was executed brilliantly throughout the performance.

“You can hear the confidence,” double-degree senior Camie Vogley-Howes, a friend of Calcagno, pointed out. “He’s really grown into himself as a musician and a person.”

Leva and Calcagno’s roots shaped their sound, and their dynamic came about naturally when bonding at a folk music camp in Fort Townsend, WA. The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

“I was teaching the next week at a fiddle week, and we ended up playing tunes all night and just hanging out and gradually started playing music together,” Calcagno said. “It started out as an excuse to just hang out and get to play with each other, and it kind of ended up turning into something else when we took a semester off [from] school and traveled all over.”

While their work sounds similar to traditional folk music, Leva pointed out, “We differ from that because we use that as inspiration and create new music.”

In their performance, there was no noticeable straying from the genre, and their consistency left audience members clapping along and tapping their

feet to even more somber tunes.

The duo’s authenticity behind their work is everpresent.

“There’s something about old-time music and country music that’s very genuine and authentic and just an honest sharing of emotions,” Leva added.

“I think regardless of what else we are listening to, that’s our main goal — to be direct.”

Leva and Calcagno plan on picking up shows on their breaks from school and putting together a collaborative album. It’s refreshing to see artists work together purely for the sake of creating music.

“We’re kind of trying to get an excuse to get together to hang out and play music together,” Calcagno said.

11

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

Emily Barton and Thomas Israel Hopkins, Oberlin’s Newest Creative Writing Faculty Professors Emily Barton and Tom Hopkins are the two newest faculty members of Oberlin’s Creative Writing department. Barton is currently an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing — one of the two recently hired tenure-track faculty, the other of whom is Chanda Feldman, who was hired as a visiting assistant professor last year. Hopkins is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. The professors are married with two children. Both Barton and Hopkins graduated from Harvard College. Barton went on to receive her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, while Hopkins received his from New York University.

Both professors specialize in fiction writing.

Interview by Kate Fishman, Arts & Culture Editor This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Professors Emily Barton and Tom Hopkins, new staff in the Creative Writing department, are quite proficient in the art of the selfie and taking family portraits around Oberlin.

Photo Courtesy of Emily Barton and Tom Hopkins What classes are you both What made you decide to teaching this semester and come to Oberlin, and how do next semester? you like it so far?

EB: I have the great fortune Emily Barton: One of the to be teaching [CRWR] 120 right first things that I knew about now, Intro to Writing Fiction, Oberlin is that in my adult life, which is a total delight. I’m also if I meet an interesting person, teaching a class that I devised, there is a very strong likelihood which is CRWR 234, Research that person went to Oberlin. and Imagination. This is a The graduates that you churn 200-level fiction class designed out are creative and intelligent to help students understand and thoughtful people, and how you can research a work coming here and meeting un- of fiction separately from the dergraduates — that has very way that you would research an much been true. I was so im- academic essay. So that’s pretty pressed when I came for my fun. In the spring, I’m teaching interview with the students a 300-level advanced fiction who showed up for the sample workshop and then also a capclass that I taught. They had stone. Part of my desire and the turned in incredibly diverse department’s desire this year, and interesting work in fiction in the first year of my appointand poetry, and they showed ment, is that I get to meet and up for that sample class with work with students across all of both a willingness to learn and the levels. I wanted to have the a willingness to contribute and opportunity to work with some participate. So far, the students of the more advanced students that I have are super engaged before they graduate, but I also and quite earnest in a way that I really wanted to be involved at find impressive and wonderful. the ground level with students Tom Hopkins: I would add who I’ll have the chance to that I’ve had a very similar expe- work with for the [rest] of their rience to what Emily described, college education. in meeting new people and TH: I’m teaching a 200-level not being at all surprised that fiction workshop, which is less they’re Oberlin alums when specialized than Research and they are creative and interest- Imagination and less specialing and fascinating people. … ized than Professor [Abbey] I’ve also worked previously in Chung’s speculative fiction development and alumni re- class. Although, I share both lations [at Vassar College and of their interests in ... students SUNY New Paltz], so I have writing stories that [go] far besome professional experience yond the limits and facts of the with thinking about alumni and lived experiences of the stuthinking about a college’s rela- dents in the class. I’m very haptionship to alumni. The groups py when my students bring in of alumni that are the most pas- work that’s set both in realistic sionate and enthusiastic and suburbs and work that’s set in dedicated to their alma maters space submarines in the oceans are graduates of Princeton [Uni- of Europa [Jupiter’s ice moon]. versity], Amherst [College], and I’m trying to develop a class Oberlin … in my highly subjec- that’s tentatively titled Writtive experience. I say that also ing for Performance [to run in] as someone who is, in the words the spring, which will cover of Ben Jones, [OC ’96], the vice playwriting but also go beyond president of Communications, that. It will be a class that tries an “accepted Obie.” That is to to tackle the need at times for say that in high school I applied actors to write their own monoand got in. It had been my first logues, as well as the need for choice! So, personally, [it feels poets and fiction writers to be a bit like fate] having wanted to better able to stand up in front come here a long time ago, and of other people and read their having made it here quite a bit own work. I’m [also] going to later. try to cover other areas where people need to stand up in front

12

of other people and try to persuade them of things — which is to say, everybody. So I’m hoping that podcasts or debate or radio or something will also be part of it.

This is something that [Emily and I] sit around talking about — how literary readings are kind of the worst form of theater, the least entertaining form of theater, as a general rule. It’s a form of theater in which the performers [often] don’t like to think of themselves as performers and don’t take the time to rehearse.

EB: It’s the only form of theater in which rehearsal is somehow understood as not being necessary or important. Improv comedy, which seems so spontaneous to its viewing audience, is set up on a rigorous background of rehearsal.

TH: This doesn’t describe all readings obviously, and some brilliant reading curators have taken great pains to try and reinvigorate the reading as a form of performance, but it is very painful to go to a reading and see someone get up onstage who seems like they’ve never been under lights before, who has no idea how to adjust a mic stand, and who didn’t take any time beforehand to figure out the difference between 40 minutes of material and seven minutes of material.

EB: Teaching writers how to use mic stands! This is a great interest of mine as well.

What are you excited about right now in terms of scholarship?

TH: I’m currently trying to finish a novel, which I’m hoping I’ll be able to do in the coming year. So I’m excited about that.

EB: I guess I could say I’m starting a new novel right now.

This is a scholarship interest for sure — there are writers of fiction in Japan, contemporary writers and earlier 20th-century writers, who write novels of the everyday, that are very detailed and specific. There just aren’t novels of this kind being written in English with the same prevalence. I just read a really wonderful mid-to-late 20th-century Japanese novel called The Guest Cat [by Takashi Hiraide] that’s really only about visits that a neighborhood cat pays [to a couple who are writers]. I’m not really sure what exact structural relationship [this type of book] bears to the novel I’m working on, but there’s something of interest

that I would like to explore.

TH: I’m also the new lead guitarist in the faculty and staff dad band. Which is not exactly scholarly, but I’m excited about that.

EB: One of our kids is super eager to be in the band. He plays trombone.

Do you have any books or writers or anyone that you like to teach in particular?

TH: The writer who springs to mind first for me would be George Saunders, who’s one of my favorite writers. I think Saunders resonates with readers of all ages as somebody whose funny, dystopian vision of our current moment gets at something that few other writers are able to articulate. He writes work that you might call speculative, but barely so. He exaggerates things in a way that I think captures something poignant about humanity, but with a sense of something that’s gone wrong in our current world. He, as a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, has such an extraordinary sense of empathy, and sense of the need to teach empathy. There’s this deeply spiritual quality to his work.

EB: Saunders is also on my 100-level syllabus. He’s a great writer to teach.

TH: I hesitate to say this, and I don’t want to jinx it, but I think that he’ll get the Nobel [Prize in Literature] sometime in the next 25 years.

EB: Well maybe it’s good to have that prognostication written down somewhere. … Right now, the classes that I’m teaching mean that [with 234], I’m interested in getting students exposed to really ambitious research-based and imaginative work, and then on the syllabus for 120, my goal is really just to introduce students to contemporary writers of the greatest possible diversity. Diversity of aesthetic style, diversity of background, gender diversity …

Professor Chung and I share an interest in a Canadian-Caribbean queer [speculative fiction] writer named Nalo Hopkinson, and she’s on both of our syllabi.

She’s a super cool writer who I want my students to know is out there. This is a really great moment for fiction in America; … there are a lot of great writers [who] I’m excited about and I’m excited to introduce my students to.

TH: We’re both teaching Professor Chung’s work this semester, because she has a

new book out [Alien Virus Love Disaster] and she’s an alumnus, [OC ’11.] She will be doing a reading as an alum, with another alum, Thisbe Nissen, [OC ’94.] What we’re both excited about, by teaching her work and then having students go to that reading, is the opportunity to teach the value of being a member of a community of writers.

Writing creative work isn’t just a solitary act. It’s participation in a community. So we’re excited about that chance to read the work [with students] and study the work and talk about [it] in class, and then have the opportunity to ask these writers questions and hear them perform.

We’re looking forward to that.

Is there anything else you want students to know, or anything you want to add?

EB: Something that I would really want Oberlin students to know about me as a teacher is how excited I am to [work with Creative Writing majors, but also] to have the opportunity to work with students who don’t want to be Creative Writing majors, or don’t know if they want to be Creative Writing majors, or are just interested in something else entirely but want to try it. I think that sometimes students feel very shy about not being serious writers or not being only committed to writing, [but] nothing could be farther from my pedagogical interests than only wanting to work with the people who always wanted to be writers. The study of writing is something that can help any student, regardless of what career path they’re interested in or what area of study. I’m just excited to meet all of them, no matter where they’re starting from.

TH: Part of what is so exciting and wonderful about Oberlin, as probably every student knows, is the serious encouragement of interdisciplinary study, work, scholarship, and conversation. [During new faculty orientation], regardless of our discipline, we were introduced to the Science Library, the [Clarence Ward] Art Library, the [Conservatory] Library, the Conservatory itself, [and] the [Allen Memorial] Art Museum. We were encouraged to figure out ways for disciplines to talk to each other and draw on each other as resources. It’s that interest across disciplines that I think is so marvelous … which is probably why I was an accepted Obie.

Students Bare Innermost Thoughts During Diary Reading Open Mic Night Sophie Macaulay College sophomore When I went home this summer, I found a box of old journals from my elementary school years. I wrote this story, which is heavily autobiographical, when I was 10, and when I found it over the summer I showed it to everyone I knew for a week.

The original copy is around 15 pages long, and it foreshadows so much of my life to come — my parents’ divorce, my sexual awakening. It’s [fascinating how intuitive young kids can be. Anyway, when I heard about the open mic, I knew I had to read it — it’s so funny and has so many good oneliners.

Conservatory senior Zoe Heuser writes in her diary. She is one of the many students who read their inner thoughts aloud during last Friday’s Diary Reading Open Mic at the Cat in the Cream.

Photo by Maria Turner, Photo Editor Text by Kate Fishman Arts & Culture Editor I went down to the water again and Brave students recited their diary en- felt a great wonder and thankfulness for tries aloud to the audience of the Cat in life because it is so beautiful and magical the Cream at the Diary Reading Open Mic and there is so much to do and learn and last Friday night. The excerpts could be explore and I felt this way in particular from any time period in their life. Some for my life because not everyone is able to entries were funny, others emotional; still do what I can do. I have been so incredothers were deeply poetic or revealing. ibly fortunate to be born into my life, my Each one was a window into how exactly family, my community, my body. I have self-reflection works when we don’t par- two legs that can carry me and hop from ticularly believe anyone will see. rock to rock. I have two parents who offer unconditional love and support. I have a Izzy Rosenstein mind that can think, and the things it can College junior think! Eons of time, generations of coincidences, countless seconds and events I have since edited it, but I wrote the have conspired to bring me here, to this original version of this journal entry in the moment, next to this river, so completely mountains of Northern California, where and unbelievably free — can someone get I have spent a portion of every year of my any luckier? “I am free!” I said out loud life. I was about to embark for Colorado to and repeated it until I began to believe it. spend the rest of the summer in a new place, Free to be whoever and do whatever I’d doing something I had never done with like. Free! It is my mind that makes me people I had never met before. To say the free; my mind, my body and my unbelievleast, I was nervous. The day I wrote this, able fortune. And what an incredible way I felt deeply grateful for the journey that is to be. my life and had some important revelations which I hope to carry with me always .

OK, you don’t know much, so here’s my life: My mom is a horse freak. I love horses too, but never as much as her. Anyways, my name is Preston. I know, it’s a boy’s name. As far as I know, NO popular girls have boy’s names. But that’s okay. I’m 10 years old, and I’m pretty popular in school, but my name isn’t helping. I talk back, I don’t stand up straight, and NEVER in my life would I EVER have a crush on a BOY. Or ANYONE. Although … I sort of like my BFF Natalee. But don’t EVER tell ANYONE that or you’ll suffer the consequences! I mean it!

My mom is making me do the English Classics Horse Show, but I want to ride Western. She likes me doing English because its “sophisticated.” I’ve got three words for you: BLAH BLAH BLAH. So there. That’s my life.

I was very proud of myself. I had been practicing hard all summer. Then, finally, the first day of school came. I made it to the bus stop just in time, and plopped down next to Natalee, my absolute BFF since Kindergarten. We got to school and walked into homeroom where we were greeted by a too-smiley woman with brown hair.

Hello class!” Ugh. Already too enthusiastic.

“I’m Miss Kelly, your homeroom teacher. This is going to be such a fun year! I hope you’re as excited as I am, because I love teaching sixth grade! We’re going to

get along great!”

Umm … second grade much? This was going to be a LONG year.

After school, I got off the bus and walked into my house. I yelled, “Hey mom, I’m home!”

She responded: “Go to the stairs, Preston, and sit there for ten minutes. I will not tolerate being shrieked at!”

Oh my gosh. Really? Cause last time I checked, time outs were for babies, and I called, not shrieked. I stomped over to the stairs and luckily found my GameBoy lying at the top. I was being quiet … om never said anything about a GameBoy being quiet.

“Preston?!”

“Yes, Mom?” “Why do I hear beeping noises?”

“I dunno, maybe it’s your imagination.”

“Don’t you talk to me like that! It’s your GameBoy! I want you to sit there and think about what you’ve done.”

“Jeez. Who knew mothers could be so uptight?” I said under my breath.

“You know what Preston, you cannot back talk like that. No riding for two weeks,” she said.

TWO WEEKS?!?! I ran up the stairs and slammed the door. No riding for two weeks meant no practicing for two weeks which meant two weeks behind on being good which meant it would take two weeks longer to be as good as I would have been which means … ugh. I’m confusing you, aren’t I? OK, long story short, if I miss two weeks of practicing, I’ll take longer to be good. Which isn’t all that great.

The next day, after school, I was supposed to ride, but of course I couldn’t. So I took my saddle up to my room and put it on a saddle rack. I mounted on top, adjusted the position, and pretended to ride, moving my hips back and forth. It actually felt like riding, because after a couple of hours of it, I was sore. My muscles tightened, but it didn’t feel so bad.

Anyway, this is the story of my life.

Ugh. My whole family is so paranoid. I mean, who names their child after a boy and won’t let them ride their own horse?

See? My life is mixed up and wrong.

POCKET HAMLET Claire Wang

The Oberlin Review | September 21, 2018

13

Sp ort s

In The Locker Room with Michael Candelori, Men’s Soccer Player and Filmmaker When College sophomore Michael Candelori arrived at Oberlin last fall, his intentions were to focus on soccer and graduate with a degree in Economics. After three classes in economics and one in the math department, Candelori decided to shift gears. The Vienna, VA, native now plans on declaring a double-major in Cinema Studies and Theater. His interest in film began in high school when he had the opportunity to shadow a friend’s dad who was working on a documentary that ended up on Netflix. Candelori currently has a couple projects of his own in the works and dreams of one day becoming a movie director in Hollywood.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview by Alexis Dill, Sports Editor What did you do this summer?

I was here this summer with [College sophomore Jack Miller, who was on the men’s soccer team last year,] while he was [in the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival], so I got to see some of his plays.

I was working for [Campus Dining Services] this summer and stayed in Oberlin just because I didn’t really feel like going back home. I felt very comfortable here, having my freedom. I got to live with three friends: Tim Williams, [OC ’18]; my friend [College sophomore] Grace [Brennan], who was on the women’s soccer team [last year]; and Jack. Jack and I got to talk a lot about this longer film we’re working on, and I just trained for soccer and kind of relaxed and explored Oberlin. I got to know Oberlin a lot more [over the summer] than I did during the school year.

One of the projects you’re working on is a short film. What is it about?

There’s no dialogue in the film. It originally was going to be paired with the instrumentals to two different songs, but because one of them was a Kanye [West] song, and because of copyright issues, we had to scrap that. Now Jack is talking with one of his friends from the [Conservatory] to create a completely original soundtrack for it. It’s a four to six-minute short film about a guy whose mom recently passed away, and it’s called

Picnic with Mom. He and his mom used to always go on a picnic, and he’s kind of going through the motions but with a clear absence since his mom is no longer there. It’s showing a certain early stage of mourning. It’s a really emotional short film. There’s only one actor — it’s just Jack. It’s just a little project Jack came up with last semester, and we decided to do it so that he could have something to show people with his acting, and I could have something to show people with directing and different cinematography skills.

Will the showing of the film be open to the public?

We’ll probably do a small showing with all the people who helped out — our friends who lent us their car or their bikes or let us film in their house. We’ll probably have a small screening with them, and then just maybe put it on YouTube or different social media so everyone can see it.

How do you balance classes, soccer, and all of the projects you work on?

[Theater] is a lot. You have to be very committed to it. It’s nice because it gives you a little bit of a sense of what it’s going to be like out of college when you’re struggling. I’m probably going to have to work another job just to support myself and make some sort of income.

I usually will have a full day of classes

and then practice, and sometimes I’ll have a screening after practice, so I’ll have to leave practice 15 minutes early or something to shower — not even eat.

You have to figure out and plan when you’re going to eat throughout the day.

Every day I have a list of the different things I’m going to do and how my day is going to go. It’s a lot to balance, but it’s something I’m really passionate about.

Are you the same person on the soccer field as you are behind the camera?

I definitely think I’m the same person, and I think that is part of what makes our team so special. Every single person on our team is very different and brings their own flavor to the team. One of my teammates, [College junior] Jack McMillin, is a Creative Writing major, but he also had an art exhibition last semester which was super cool. Guys on the team are just doing a bunch of different things like that — completely unrelated to sports. All of us remain the same in soccer and what we do outside of soccer. It’s nice because we all feed off of each other; it’s a very creative team. I was hanging with my friends Jack [Miller] and Jack McMillin and [College senior] Noah Binford last night, and Noah makes beats and wants to do sound editing for our short film.

I can just have a conversation with my teammates about stuff that isn’t related

College Sophomore Michael Candelori Photo courtesy of Michael Candelori

to soccer, and we start collaborating on it.

It helps build chemistry. We’re building it off the field, but it carries over onto the field. Noah and I are closer now ’cause we’re working on something together outside of soccer.

How do your teammates support the work you do outside of soccer?

Our team is really supportive of everything we each do outside of soccer.

Everyone has already told me that they want to come see the short film that we’re doing, and it’s really cool. Guys are genuinely interested in it. Even the guys who know nothing about Cinema Studies or Theater want to hear about the class I’m taking or the small project I’m working on. We’ll have a 45-minute conversation about it just because they want to learn. We feed off of each other in the creative things we’re involved in outside of soccer, and it helps us collaborate on the field.

Swimming and Diving to the Beat of a New Pool

After nearly two years of construction, the newly-renovated Carr Pool opened Wednesday, Sept. 19. The new space covers 15,315 square feet and offers 10 swimming lanes, a pair of one-meter and three-meter springboards, a giant television screen/scoreboard, a wet classroom, a meet-management area, and a hot tub. The Oberlin College swimming and diving team — which practiced at the Splash Zone Aquatic Center during the 2017-2018 season — is relieved to have the familiarity and convenience of Carr Pool back.

“Last year, we had practice until 8:30 p.m. some nights and then had to get up at 5:30 a.m. that next morning for practice again because those were the only times we could get at Splash Zone, and it just wasn’t really practical or healthy,” College senior and breaststroker Rachel Poyle said. “Now, with our own pool again, we’re practicing at times that make sense and in a place that we are comfortable and able to train to the best of our abilities.”

Text by Alexis Dill, Sports Editor Photo by Maria Turner, Photo Editor

14

SAAC to Connect Across the Divide Hannah Rasmussen

The club golf team is open to anyone who loves to golf or wants to learn the sport. The team brings together athletes from a variety of backgrounds, such as men’s lacrosse, baseball, and swimming and diving, as well as non-athletes with a passion for golf.

Photo courtesy of Jay Messina

From Varsity to Club: A Tale in Three Tees Ify Ezimora, Sports Editor Jay Messina Three years ago, two guys with a little too much free time and a passion for golf had an idea.

In fall 2016, Jay Messina — College senior and varsity men’s lacrosse player — and John Sutherland, OC ’18, started Oberlin’s co-ed club golf team. Many of the founding members were teammates from the men’s lacrosse team, but as word spread throughout campus, others joined as well.

What began with two students is now at over 20, with six new players coming in this year.

While the team is predominantly composed of men’s lacrosse athletes, members also come from the men’s baseball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, football, and women’s soccer teams. Through the club sports fair and word of mouth, the team has added members who don’t play varsity sports at all.

“I’ve been into golf all my life and was hoping there would be a way to continue playing at Oberlin,” said College sophomore Thomas Kumar, a non-varsity athlete. “My roommate, who’s on the lacrosse team, mentioned his teammate runs the team and connected me. I was welcomed right away and am so happy that I have friends to golf with now,” Part of the golf team’s goal is to provide opportunities for students with varying levels of familiarity with the sport. Some members shoot in the 80s and break into the 70s from time-to-time; others don’t keep score and are there to enjoy the outdoors with a group of friends.

Before the club team allowed students to compete in such a relaxed environment, Oberlin had a varsity golf team. However, due to low participation over several years, the school decided to conserve resources and shut the team down in 2013.

Because of the high level of interest in the new club team, many have discussed the idea of golf being reinstated as a varsity sport at Oberlin. However, members fear The Oberlin Review | Septermber 21, 2018

that transitioning to a more competitive environment would be detrimental to the club team’s relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

Additionally, the commitment level would increase — currently, the team plays just once or twice a week at the Forest Hills Golf Club down the street in Elyria, and members value the club as an outlet for the stresses of school.

“Lacrosse is a very physically demanding and competitive sport, so golf is a nice compliment,” Sutherland said. “Golf is really versatile and can be as competitive or relaxed as you want it to be. If you want to go out and try to set a personal record, you still get a similar type of competitive experience as lacrosse. Or if you just want to go blow off steam and relax, you can shoot a 100 and still have fun.”

Don’t be fooled by its status as a club, though — the golf team still competes. As a member of the National Collegiate Club Golf Association, which hosts tournaments for colleges all over the United States, Oberlin’s team plays schools throughout the Midwest. Past opponents have included schools like the University of Pittsburgh, Robert Morris University, Cleveland State University, Pennsylvania State University, and many more. In less than four weeks, the team will head up to the Hawk Hollow Golf Course in Michigan to play in a tournament Oct. 13–14.

“The best thing I’ve done since I got on campus was join the club golf team,” said College first-year Ryan Petraco. “The team consists of an awesome group of people, and I couldn’t be more excited heading into my first tournament with the club.”

If players perform well enough in the competition, they could qualify for nationals, which will be held at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this year. While no one from Oberlin’s club team has ever qualified, some believe this year’s new talent could change that.

While many club sports on campus have long histories of dedicated student leadership, this

one in particular wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of current Oberlin students like College seniors Jacques Forbes, Jack McGowan, and Elie Small.

Forbes, who has been the club’s treasurer multiple times, has spent countless hours with president Messina handling paperwork and logistics to provide golf outings with a suitable atmosphere for all skill sets. “The ball eventually goes in the hole,” Forbes jokes throughout rounds.

McGowan has also been a treasurer in the past, and has played an important role in atracting new members. His genuine, welcoming personality and great ideas for outreach have really pushed the club to expand every year.

For his part, Small finds his niche in tournament play and helps coordinate player participation in various matches. Much like Sutherland, he is always eager to get in a round of golf and is a pleasure to play with.

While the golf team will say goodbye to many senior leaders this spring, a very eager group of students are ready to rise up and take the club to new heights. College junior and student-athlete Tyler Hartman holds rank as one of the team’s strongest players, and he spends summers working on a golf course in New York.

“I want to continue building upon what Jay has created,” Hartman said. “I’ll be putting in effort to keep expanding the club with outreach for new members.

I would also like to start exploring new courses in the Ohio area to help prepare us for the courses we’ll see in tournament play.”

The team has high hopes for College first-years like Petraco and Mike Muldoon, who have demonstrated their commitment by coming to every outing thus far.

While the seniors’ Oberlin golf journey will end in the spring, the club will continue on and hopes to grow for years to come.

Students who are looking to join or would like more information are highly encouraged to contact club president Jay Messina ( jmessin2@oberlin.edu).

Sitting down to a full room, I took a deep breath and welcomed faces old and new to the first Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meeting of the year. I was pleased to see so many student-athletes in one room, ready to listen, share ideas, and create a community.

According to its website, SAAC is a national organization with a mission “to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare, and fostering a positive student-athlete image.” SAAC is the main athletics-focused student organization on Oberlin’s campus.

I have attended the group’s monthly meetings since the beginning of my sophomore year. I can remember how my first filled me with a sense of responsibility, hope, and pride for what my position as a SAAC representative would mean not only for myself, but for my softball team as well. Last Sunday, I reached a milestone that I set for myself after my very first SAAC meeting — I led the meeting as cochair for the organization.

SAAC members on any campus have the opportunity to address issues affecting studentathletes, from mental health to gender and racial inclusivity; additionally, members have the opportunity to offer input on national issues. We have attempted to fully explore our organization’s potential by focusing on being a listening body for student-athletes with concerns, opinions, and ideas, as well as being a supportive force within the student-athlete community at Oberlin.

This year, SAAC plans on having larger, more collaborative programs in an effort to better utilize our budget and connect with other student organizations on campus.

The first large-scale program will take place the weekend of Oct. 5 and will include activities focused around President Ambar’s inauguration, the dedication of the Patricia ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center, and Homecoming Weekend.

Events include an Oct. 5 watch party of President Ambar’s inauguration ceremony in the Knowlton Center at 4:30 p.m., multiple athletic competitions supporting a toiletry drive for Genesis House (Lorain County’s only domestic violence shelter) and a Power Panel in which women student-athlete alumni will speak about their experiences at and after Oberlin. Leading up to the Power Panel, SAAC will participate in a National Collegiate Athletic Association initiative to explore diversity and inclusion within the athletics community.

The initiative includes highlighting different identities of student-athletes, debunking athletics-related stereotypes, sharing facts and statistics about diversity, explaining what diversity and inclusion mean to the athletic community, and committing to a plan for inclusion. This initiative will be posted and shared on our social media pages: @oberlinsaac on Instagram and @OberlinSAAC on Twitter.

We urge all students to follow our social media to stay updated on the many campuswide events we organize throughout the year, while also supporting all of the great work student-athletes do.

This year, SAAC is committed to contributing to the betterment of our campus and improving the perception of student-athletes on campus — the more voices, the better! We hope to see students out supporting their classmates over Homecoming Weekend as well as the rest of the academic year. Our student-athletes are doing amazing things on their sports teams and around campus and deserve recognition, and the rest of the student body deserves to feel included in all of the fun.

We all have a role in creating the communities in which we wish to live.

15

SPORTS September 21, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 3

The Brotherhood Needs to Step Up Khalid McCalla

After eight years of chronic back pain, junior midfielder Jackie Brant was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis last spring. After months away from the game, she scored her first goal of the season Sept. 12 against Geneva College — her first game back in nearly a year.

Photo courtesy of Mallika Panduy, Photo Editor

More Than Just ‘Sore’ Jackie Brant Opinions Editor I have been dealing with chronic back pain since I was 12. It started as an annoying pinching feeling that I’d notice every once in a while. Eventually, this developed into a constant stabbing pain and extreme stiffness; it would wake me up at night and make sitting for long periods of time unbearable. Oddly enough, the pain was worse after long periods of inactivity — this often made sitting through class and getting up in the morning extremely painful.

During this time, I continued playing club soccer. In the beginning, I could deal with the pain with Advil; eventually though, Advil started to have no effect. I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old, so I was determined to push through whatever was wrong with my back. The various doctors I saw simply chalked my symptoms up to intense physical activity and gave me the same series of useless exercises and stretches. I knew that something was wrong with my body, but no one could come up with any answers for me. Chronic back pain was just a reality I was forced to accept at that point.

I reached a breaking point in my second year of college. The pain had me routinely in tears; some days it was unbearable. I could see my performance in soccer starting to slip, and I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it. I continued my exercises and stretches to no avail. Finally, in the spring, I scheduled an appointment with a rheumatologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

Eight years after my first symptoms arose, I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called ankylosing spondylitis. AS is a progressive form of arthritis, in which spinal joints become inflamed, causing pain and discomfort that worsens over time. If left untreated, the inflammation can

16

lead to spinal fusion and complete spinal immobility. Although AS is a fairly common disease, it often goes undiagnosed for long periods of time. In fact, the average length of time it takes people to get diagnosed starting from the first sign of symptoms is six years.

In some ways, I was relieved to finally have an answer. After all these years, all my random, seemingly unconnected symptoms made sense, and I finally had a doctor who believed that my back pain was serious and not just normal back pain resulting from competitive sports.

However, sadness quickly set it. I was worried about what this would mean for my future mobility, and what it would mean for my soccer career at Oberlin. My doctor told me that he would not tell me I could not continue playing soccer, nor would he even recommend that I stop. However, he did say that if it were his child with AS, he would strongly discourage them from playing competitive sports. I did some further research online, and it was equally discouraging. One person even commented, “I would forget about competitive sports, as you will be totally frustrated with your not being at a level remotely competitive.”

Despite this, I decided I would do my best to continue playing soccer at Oberlin. After taking the spring season off, I began a treatment over the summer that was supposed to alleviate most of my symptoms in about three months — just in time for the start of my junior year preseason. However, I knew that despite the new medication, there was still a very real possibility that my back could keep me from being as competitive as I wanted to be, and that it could stop me from playing altogether.

After a bumpy first couple weeks of preseason and regular season, last week I finally played in my first competitive match since last October.

Stepping onto the field again when I thought I might never be able to has

been one of my biggest achievements at Oberlin so far. I have a renewed sense of appreciation for this sport that I have loved for 16 years. I have learned to appreciate and be proud of what my body can do and accept the things that it can’t. Every time I set foot onto the field, whether in practice or in a game, I now know that I am always capable of putting my best effort in for myself and for my team — something that I haven’t been able to say since my back pain started.

I am eternally grateful for my parents who believed in me when no one else did, and who have supported all the decisions I’ve made surrounding my health. Though they may worry about me playing soccer with AS, they still watch every game they can, and I know they are happy to see me continuing to pursue my passion.

I am also extremely lucky to have such a strong support system in my athletic family. My coaches and athletic trainers have been the most understanding and supportive group I could have hoped for. They push me to play to the best of my ability while also making sure that I listen to my body when it needs a break. Most importantly, when my future as a player was in question, they made sure that I felt like a valued member of the team, whether I was able to physically play or not.

And finally, this whole process has shown me how lucky I am to be a part of the women’s soccer family. Playing collegiate soccer is rewarding in a lot of different ways, but one of the most special things about it is that we learn to support and rely on each other, both on and off the field. My teammates have been involved in this whole process since the beginning, whether it be offering to go to doctor appointments with me, checking up on my progress in the summer, or running the fitness test with me. I know that I would not be the person or the player that I am today without them.

“Rub some dirt on it.”

As a young football player, every bump, scrape, and bruise was met with this response or one similar to it.

“Shake it off and get back out there,” was the message, and, in a sport like football, this sentiment is sometimes inevitable. You’re going to get hurt. It’s part of the game. You’re expected to take it in stride and continue to help the team. You’re expected to rub some dirt on it.

But what happens when the pain you’re feeling can’t be reached by a handful of dirt or pushed aside for the sake of the team?

Football finds pride in its masculinity. Every year, teams across the country are filled with only the biggest, strongest, and fastest young men in their area.

The violence of the game is what attracts many players to it in the first place. From day one, every young football player is ingrained with one harmful and unassailable truth of the sport: “Men play this game. Not boys, not girls. Men.” One of modern-day masculinity’s most toxic qualities is emotional repression, and while the rest of the world has begun to acknowledge this, the football community remains painfully behind.

Information on mental health is already not nearly as widespread as it should be, and this is especially true in the football community.

This deficiency puts us at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to seeking help and managing mental health challenges. As a player, how am I supposed to explain to my coach what is going on with me when I haven’t been given the tools to fully understand it myself?

Recently, discussions about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy have highlighted the issue of mental health in football, but the problem is that these conversations always come too late. Since it can only be confirmed through an autopsy, CTE diagnoses come after death, sometimes by suicide and almost always tragically early.

Current and former players — and not just the professionals — suffer through depression, cognitive impairment, memory loss, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other symptoms for years as a result of their football careers. As a community, we know these facts, yet no one ever seems to speak up until it’s too late.

Football’s desire to maintain its status as a man’s sport has crippled its ability to create support systems for those struggling with mental health.

True or false, there is a belief within the community that non-physical pain isn’t real pain — even among those who deal with mental health issues.

Despite the fact that football teams across the country claim to be a brotherhood, players remain uncomfortable bringing their issues to teammates and coaches.

Men do cry. That’s OK. Men can feel sadness.

Men can feel lost. Men can be depressed. That’s all OK. What’s not OK is how the football community ignores the needs of their young men. As a community, we need to honestly assess where our priorities lie when it comes to the health of our players. Health extends beyond the physical, and this is a long-overdue realization in football.

Honestly, it’s simple: There is no reason that anyone in a community of millions should ever feel that they have to suffer alone.

Rest in peace Evan Hansen, and condolences to his family, friends, and the entire Wabash College football community.

If you or someone you know ever needs help, please visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-273-8255. Take care of yourself. We love you.