September 22, 2017 by The Oberlin Review

The Oberlin Review September 22, 2017

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 4

MRC Swaps Spaces, Upgrades with Move Anna Kozler Contributing Writer

College, these basic protections affect more than just members of the community. He expressed concern for students of the College, saying that there aren’t enough laws in place protecting their rights. Gwen Stembridge of Equality Ohio said it’s an important time to be considering these provisions. “Attention to this issue is especially needed right now, when rights are under threat at the state and national levels, and misunderstanding leads to ignorant and harmful words close to home,” Stembridge said. “In an age and particularly in a year where so many people in our country are being told that they don’t belong in certain spaces, [these provisions are especially important].” Co-Pastor of Peace Community Church Steve Hammond applauded the Human Relations Commission and City Council for what they have done thus far, but warned that there is still work to be done. “We’re moving the ball down the court, but there’s still a goal to be scored here, so keep up that good work,” Hammond said. Stembridge added that it falls on cities like Oberlin to make a statement to state legislature. “I urge [City Council] to add those sections of private employ-

The Multicultural Resource Center moved from its former space on the second floor of Wilder and into North Campus’ International House, previously occupied by the International Student Organization and Wilder Voice, along with other groups. An on-campus resource for marginalized and underrepresented students, the MRC defines itself in its mission statement as a “gathering place for the collaborative support of historically disenfranchised communities,” serving members of the College and the surrounding area. The new space is a significant upgrade in square footage from the MRC’s former home in Wilder 208, offering the MRC an entire building rather than one room. The MRC’s staff believes that the expanded space will aid them in carrying out this mission, and views the change optimistically. “It’s a blessing, definitely,” said Khalid Taylor, OC ’17, who was involved in the MRC as a student and is now one of the MRC’s student life program coordinators. “I think that this move creates a legitimate home, both metaphorically and physically, for a lot of people and communities to … not just exist, but to thrive and to come together for a lot of powerful work and social change that needs to happen.” The new space’s size and flexibility are major assets for the MRC, and emoloyees are excited about the possibilities that being in a house — complete with multiple levels, a kitchen, and a resident dog named Kota — will create. “There’s just a lot more space for student groups to do things here, which I think is so important,” said Taylor. “[A house] can be so many things, and it can be multiple things at the same time, but also it can change throughout the residency of whoever is creating the space within it. I think it has a very powerful opportunity to create and sustain history, but also to move forward and to be a focal point as it needs to be for the communities it’s serving.” While some have voiced concerns that the MRC’s move to the northernmost end of campus will decrease student accessibility, College sophomore Ehryn Ortega, an MRC student staff member, framed its less central location as a potential advantage. She said the relocation of the MRC could be an important step in reducing the cultural gap between North and South Campus. “With the MRC here, students have a reason to come to North Campus and maybe engage with people who they might not otherwise,” said Ortega, who

See City, page 3

See New, page 3

Oberlin City Council Clerk Belinda Anderson at Monday’s City Council meeting, where the council discussed a potential amendment to Oberlin’s City Codes that would give increased rights and protections to LGBTQ community members. Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor

Council Votes for LGBTQ Protections Alexis Dill News Editor Eliza Guinn Production Editor

Oberlin is en route to becoming the first city in Lorain County and 20th in the state of Ohio to make discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community illegal. Ohio is one of 28 states that has yet to do the same. In Oberlin, there are no laws in place to prevent employers from hiring or firing employees based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. Additionally, Oberlin has no tangible law preventing business owners from denying customers of the LGBTQ community service or access to housing. There are, however, laws that protect residents based upon ethnicity, national origin, sex, ancestry, physical and mental disabilities, and religious affiliation. A group of activists from Equality Ohio and the city’s Human Relations Commission have been pushing for City Council to make a change. On Monday, City Council unanimously voted to pass the first reading of amendments that will see anti-discrimination provisions include sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression in the city’s Equal Opportunity Employment Program and housing

ordinances. According to Councilwoman Sharon Soucy, the measures have been a long time coming. “Over time, this has been something that our city has been committed to,” she said. “I think it was [a few years] ago [when] we established a registry for samesex couples, and that was an indication of our commitment to this sort of concept. Even though at that time the registry had no legal status, it enabled people to come to City Hall to register. They could get a very formal-looking piece of paper, which might help if a samesex parent wanted to visit a child in the hospital or go to a school conference. I think [the provisions] continue our history, and I am certainly happy to support it.” Although it has taken several months, Chair of the Human Relations Commission Ray English expressed his satisfaction with the moves City Council is making. “The Human Relations Commission is fully supportive of these changes, and we believe that this moves us a step forward in implementing the comprehensive recommendations that we made to City Council last spring,” English said. According to Brian Wilbert, LGBTQ affiliate chaplain of Oberlin

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

Activists Launch Ballot Ini- 05 Editorial: Sensationalist tiative Against Gerrymandering Media Compromises Credibility for Click Bait 03 Board Proposes School 07 Gender Segregation in Consolidation 02

The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

Sports Should Be Reconsidered 10 Jimenez, Ambar Conduct Opening Oberlin Orchestra THIS WEEK Concert 08 Expanding Horizons 12 On the Record: Fabian ARTS & CULTURE Almazan

SPORTS

In the Locker Room: Football Captains 14

Volleyball Crushes Competition 16

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

Ne w s

First Church Celebrates 175 Years with Multi-Faith Anniversary Alex Davies Contributing Writer

Once one of the largest congregations in the United States, the First Church in Oberlin is celebrating its 175th anniversary Oct. 8. The event is open to members of all faiths and will commemorate the church’s decorated history. Throughout the years, the church has hosted notable speakers like Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Frederick Douglass. First Church, now the oldest building in the city, was home to a congregation comprised of the original settlers of the city back in 1833. Before the settlers had a building of their own, they met in Tappan Square, then owned solely by the College. After Charles Grandison Finney took over as second president of the College, he saw the congregation acquire an independent meeting space. Although student attendance at the church hasn’t been mandatory for decades thanks to the secularization of the College, Reverend David T. Hill, pastor of First Church, said connecting with the student body is something that means a lot to him. “I am delighted at any point to sit down with a student or a group of students over coffee,” he said. “I’ll pay for it.” This kind of inclusivity, Hill

said, is the focal point of the anniversary celebration. He hopes the event will draw a diverse crowd comprised of people from different faiths and backgrounds. First Church has invited Christ Episcopal, First United Methodist, Mount Zion Baptist, Peace Community, Rust United Methodist, Unitarian Universalists, and other representatives. Invitations have also been extended to politicians across the state. The event is also intended to recognize the placement of the cornerstone for the meetinghouse on June 17, 1842. First Church decided to wait until October for the celebration, when school would be in session. The Ohio Senate has officially recognized and commended First Church on its anniversary. The anniversary celebration will consist of song, worship, and a banquet. Nearly one thousand students used to occupy the church, but now the congregation only consists of 300 or so members. However, coordinator Rhys Price Jones hopes the church will be filled for the event. “The two institutions that were most segregated in this country were the bars and the churches, and that just isn’t right,” he said. “With any luck, we can work on fixing that.” The church has done more for the city than offer a place

First Church is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.

for worship. The building has hosted a number of services for the Oberlin community throughout the years, including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, fundraisers to raise awareness about Alzheimers, and events for the Lorain County Interfaith Hospitality Network. “We really take an active interest in the life and health of the community,” Hill said. “We are a prophetic voice that calls the community and the College to be its best self.”

Photo by Christian Bolles, Editor-in-Chief

He says that while the number of members of the church has decreased, the impact First Church makes in the Oberlin community has not declined. The church claims to take a great interest in starting dialogue with students and advocating for topics such as climate change, LGBTQ rights, and anti-racism. Hill says the media is partially to blame for the misconceptions that exist between the church and the College. “What [the students] see in

the media, at least from what I see, is not a good example of what the church is,” he said. “For most Oberlin College students, they probably think a lot of Christians are just mean, nasty people that think that gays are all going to hell, and [that Christians] are just conservative jerks. That’s not what we are.” All students of the college are welcome to attend the celebration on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 10:30 a.m., no matter their faith.

Activists Launch Ballot Initiative Against Gerrymandering Jack Brewster Staff Writer

Activist groups in Oberlin and across Ohio are banding together to fight the allegedly partisan drawing of congressional voting districts in the state. The Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio coalition aims to prevent partisanship in the voter map drawing process — better known as gerrymandering — through a ballot initiative. The group has spent the past few months gathering signatures for a petition to get legislation that will change voting district mapping strategy on the ballot in 2018. “Gerrymandering has made it no longer one person, one vote,” said Alison Ricker, president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Head of the Oberlin College Science Library. “Essentially, politicians are able to choose their voters, rather than voters getting to choose their politicians.”

Every 10 years, the United States conducts a census report to determine the population of the country. After the census is completed, the state draws new voting districts based on the new population distribution. In many states, the process is controlled by the party in power. Often, the majority party will use their influence to draw voting districts to pick up more seats in upcoming elections. The advantage can be substantial. In 2010 — the last time the districts were drawn — Republicans were in the majority in Ohio, drawing districts that could skew election results in their favor. Ohio — a state that is typically considered politically balanced — has 12 and four congressional districts represented by Republicans and Democrats, respectively. “Things were just happening under the table,” said College sophomore Monica Dix, chair of the Oberlin College Democrats, regarding the district-

The Oberlin R eview September 22, 2017 Volume 146, Number 4 (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

Editors-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editors Opinions Editors This Week Editor Arts Editors Sports Editors Layout Editors

Photo Editors

Melissa Harris Christian Bolles Daniel Markus Sydney Allen Alexis Dill Jackie Brant Nathan Carpenter Lucy Martin Julia Peterson Ananya Gupta Alex McNicoll Julie Schreiber Anya Spector Amanda Tennant Parker Shatkin Elena Hartley Bryan Rubin Hugh Newcomb

drawing process in 2010. “It was really closed door. There were no public hearings. It’s just really frustrating to see that process go so poorly in 2010.” The ballot initiative would build off a similar constitutional amendment that passed by a large margin in 2015. Issue 1 created a new Ohio Redistricting Commission composed of the governor, the auditor, the secretary of state, and four representatives of the legislature — two from each party. It also made it possible for the minority party to effectively block a redistricting map if they felt it was unfair to require the votes of two minority party representatives to approve each map. However, Issue 1 applied only for state legislative districts. The 2018 ballot initiative would effectively extend Issue 1 to congressional districts. Although Democrats have recently been hurt more by the redistricting process in Ohio than Republicans, Dix and others involved in the Fair Con-

Business Manager Ads Manager Online Editor Production Manager Production Staff

Distributors

Monique Newton Madison Kimball Mikaela Fishman Victoria Albacete Gwennie Gardiner Giselle Glaspie Auden Granger Eliza Guinn Willa Hart Courtney Loeb Madi Mettenburg Kendall Mahavier Bryan Rubin Ben Steger Mason Boutis

gressional Districts for Ohio initiative maintain it is a bipartisan effort. “I think this is an issue that all of Ohio can get invested in,” Dix said. “It’s not about favoring one party over another. This petition just wants to get an even playing field for both parties.” To bring the ballot initiative to voters next November, the petition must have over 300,000 signatures. According to Ricker, over 200,000 have signed the petition already. However, Ricker says that the coalition still needs around 600,000 signatures to succeed because a large portion of the signatures will allegedly be declared “invalid” by the secretary of state. There’s also a possibility that the Ohio state legislature will put a reform measure on the ballot themselves. “If it comes from the legislature, it’s much easier to get it on the ballot,” Ricker said. “But we want to be sure that they fulfill all of the criteria that we had proposed.”

Corrections: The Review is not aware of any corrections this week. To submit a correction, email managingeditor@oberlinreview.org.

Board Proposes School Consolidation Jenna Gyimesi Staff Writer

The wear on Eastwood Elementary, Prospect Elementary, Langston Middle School, and Oberlin High School over the years has prompted the Oberlin Board of Education to propose the construction of a $36 million building to house the students of all four schools. The idea has been up in the air for nearly a decade, but it never became a real possibility until recently. The plan is partially incentivized by the prospect of long-term financial gain, both in maintenance and efficiency costs. “A study done about a decade ago explored the age of our current buildings and enrollment and proposed several suggested facility plans to consider,” Oberlin City School Board President Anne Schaum said. “Among other things, the analysis demonstrated that the buildings were likely to need significant repairs in upcoming years, and the district could save about $1 million per year if we built a new [pre-K to 12] facility.” Schaum added that much of the savings would come from a reduction in energy maintenance costs and that the expected costs of maintaining the four aging buildings would exceed the costs of constructing the new facility in the coming years. Langston was constructed in 1923, Eastwood in 1955, and Oberlin High and Prospect in 1960. Renovations, excluding the high school, are estimated

to cost between $15 million and $43 million to meet Ohio Facilities Construction Commission Standards. According to Superintendent David Hall, the new campus would cost approximately $36 million in total. The proposal has been a work in progress. “We were ready to move ahead years ago but found out that we were not going to get the funding we anticipated receiving from the state of Ohio as quickly as we had been told,” Shaum said. Many Oberlin residents fear the new facility’s price tag may raise taxes and discourage outsiders from moving into Oberlin. However, Hall said that he believes most community members think the educational benefits of a new building will outweigh the price of constructing it. “Community members are concerned about the financial aspect, but they want the best interests of our students as well,” Hall said. “I think we have their support. We just want to make sure it’s something we can afford to do as a community.” Hall added that the district would get upgraded technology and facilities, including larger, air-conditioned classrooms and additional technology centers. “We would be able to do more collaborative learning and have better classrooms and learning labs,” he said. Operations Manager Dan DeNicola agrees that it is time to say goodbye to the deteriorating schools. “The buildings are not un-

safe, but they are getting close to the end of their usable life,” he said. “Staff members have done a good job of maintaining them, but like your house, buildings start to age. They are safe and useful, but they need some work done. I am not sure exactly how much [work needs to be done] at this time.” Schaum said she thinks a new school would appeal to more than just current Oberlin students and families. “New facilities would not only allow us to operate more efficiently, but would also enable 21st-century educational practices in a more flexible setting,” she said. “It is our hope that the new space could be used by community groups. We hope that new facilities would help attract more families to the district.” Before the proposal becomes a reality, the school board is seeking more community input. “The board made a great decision by listening to the community before they made a decision,” Hall said. “We want to do the right thing and make sure it’s the right thing for our students and our community. We want to make sure that our students are ready for 21stcentury learning, and a new building may help equip them to become future professionals.” DeNicola has requested an updated study from Ohio state officials. The results of the study and state standards will be presented to the school board some time in November, when the discussion is expected to move forward.

City Law Bans LGBTQ Discrimination Continued from page 1

ment and public accommodations to have [their] code match the welcoming and inclusive culture I know already exists in Oberlin,” Stembridge said. “I look forward to proudly announcing soon that we’ll add Oberlin to the full list of welcoming communities.” City Council has been busy the past few months, ensuring that Oberlin is “on the right side of history,” Soucy said. “I think it started with our strengthening and reaffirming our sanctuary city ordinance, which we continued with our vote on the Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognition,” she said. “We passed a resolution that strongly objected to President Trump pulling out of the Paris Cli-

mate Accord, and we raised the minimum wage against the protests of our own state government.” The provisions to the discrimination laws will likely go through a second and third reading before officially being added to the lawbook but, Soucy says, they will ensure that Oberlin continues getting things done at the local level. “One thing I’ve realized in my time on Council is that the seven of us make these decisions, but the community makes the ultimate decisions,” Council President Ronnie Rimbert said. “We’ve always been on the right side of the history books in this community as far as I’ve ever seen when it comes to human rights.”

New Space Promises Opportunities for MRC Continued from page 1

worked in the MRC last semester as a social justice education student associate. “I feel like the MRC being on North Campus helps bridge that divide.” Taylor also commented on the move’s potential to lessen this physical and cultural gulf between the two ends of campus. Like Ortega, he believes that the presence of the MRC on North Campus will bring positive changes to the culture of the school. “I think [this house will be] really helpful in bridging the

The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

divide I’ve somewhat sensed between North and South Campus,” Taylor stated. “I think it’ll create a better sense of connection and communication around campus.” MRC Director Toni Myers said accessibility concerns could be further addressed when the new campus shuttle service officially begins. She hopes that the MRC could be a potential stop along the route. For Ortega, Taylor, and many others, the MRC creates an important space that allows

them to feel heard, validated, and supported in all of their identities and experiences. “It’s definitely been a place of grounding and healing and release,” Ortega said of the MRC. “I feel like, in that space, I am valid in all of my emotions, whatever they may be. It’s a place where I can just sit with them and be okay with that.” Wilder 208, the MRC’s old office space, now houses Oberlin’s International Student Resource Center.

Security Notebook Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 12:35 p.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from the front yard of their North Professor Village Housing Unit sometime during the night. The bicycle was registered. 6:55 p.m. Safety and Security officers assisted a student who fell off a skateboard and injured their knee in front of Bosworth Hall. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 12:11 a.m. Officers responded to a report of a strong odor of smoke, consistent with burnt marijuana, on the first floor of Langston Hall. Occupants of the room admitted to smoking marijuana. The smoke detector was found covered with a plastic bag and a hanger. The students were advised of the College’s no smoking policy and the potential danger of bagging a smoke detector. 9:15 a.m. Staff reported graffiti on the inner west stairwell and in the women’s restroom at the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. The graffiti was non-offensive. Custodial staff removed the graffiti. 10:30 a.m. Wilder Hall staff reported graffiti in the firstfloor women’s restroom. The graffiti was non-offensive. A work order was filed for cleanup. 7:18 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of South Hall. A student cleaning a lamp accidentally wiped the hot light bulb, causing it to burst and activate the smoke alarm. The alarm was reset. 11:36 p.m. Staff at DeCafé reported vandalism in the ground-floor men’s restroom of Wilder Hall. The paper towel dispenser was knocked off the wall, and a partition had been pulled out of the wall. A work order was filed.

Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017 5:40 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of Tank Hall. Smoke from burnt food caused the alarm. The area was cleared and the alarm reset. 6:14 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Police Department assisted an individual lying in the middle of East College Street. The student said they became dizzy and fell off their bicycle. The student was transported by ambulance to Mercy Allen Hospital. 7:35 p.m. Officers responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of Kahn Hall. A faulty smoke detector and base unit caused the alarm. An electrician responded, repairs were made, and the alarm reset.

Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017 12:12 a.m. An officer, while shutting down an authorized party at a Goldsmith Village Housing Unit, observed an intoxicated individual who had some difficulty walking. The student was able to answer all questions and was transported to their dorm. 10:11 a.m. A student reported an audible alarm sounding in the basement of a Lorain Street Village Housing Unit. Maintenance Tech responded and changed the smoke detector. The student also reported a problem with mice. Maintenance Tech set traps and said they would follow up on a work order that had been filed.

Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 11:09 a.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at a Goldsmith Village Housing Unit. Smoke from cooking caused the alarm, which was reset. 11:35 a.m. Officers assisted a student at Dascomb Hall who hit their head. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment.

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 11:04 a.m. A student reported the theft of their bicycle from the west side of Barrows Hall. The bicycle was locked at the time of theft.

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 10:15 a.m. Staff reported graffiti on the lower level of Peters Hall on an elevator panel. The markings were not legible. The graffiti was removed prior to the officer’s arrival.

Ne w s OFF THE CUFF

Paul Sidhu, Dave’s Cosmic Subs Paul Sidhu, 29, is the owner of the Oberlin branch of Dave’s Cosmic Subs, a sandwich restaurant franchise founded in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, by Dave Lombardy in 1997. Sidhu, a Cleveland native, launched a “soft opening” of the restaurant last Saturday to a high influx of College and community members. The restaurant, located at 55 E. College Street, has a ’60s rock-n-roll theme, and is known for its sub sandwiches and craft beers. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sydney Allen News Editor Can you tell me a little about yourself? I went up to Bates College, a liberal arts college kinda like Oberlin, but not as good. So, I got a liberal arts education up there and came down here, and it just reminded me so much of school. ... I’m very familiar with the college students, having gone through it and experienced it myself. I spent some time up in New York, too. So, I went to Bates College, went to NYU, worked in investment banking and real estate for some time, then went a consulting route, and actually my primary occupation is real estate. Can you talk about the store’s operations? Both Mary Ann and Dave are the chief executive officers of Dave’s Cosmic Subs; they’re my franchisor. I’m technically the franchisee and owner and operator of this store in Oberlin. They have the responsibility as franchisors to train and prepare the franchisee to run the store. So, there’s some one-week training, and they have some vested interest in the collective benefit of the store, but overall, they’re very hands-on. When we came to this site, I was looking specifically for a college setting. Somewhere that would be close to campus, also where there’s a need, especially for a unique product. I’ve known Dave Lombardy for years, so going with something like Dave’s Cosmic Subs — which speaks to that message of equality and liberalism and the whole 1960s movement, and peace era — it really was a shoe-in for this type of a setting and I think for the end user, which happens to be largely college students like yourself. I’d been looking for a few months, looked at a number of different properties throughout the Cleveland area — Akron and so forth — and ultimately, this area was untapped. So I thought, “Maybe this could be a good opportunity for us.” I do know that there was a lot of rollover. Before we actually went into this space, I know

that there were a number of stores that didn’t have as good of experiences, so we were cognizant of that. But we thought both the experience and the product were going to really compensate for that. In addition, obviously the storefront, being a corner unit — you know, it’s almost 1,600 square feet, so it lends itself to great visibility. Can you talk about the ‘60s aesthetic? Again, Dave’s Cosmic Subs distinguishes itself from other brands, let’s say, especially sub shops. We do not like to be compared to Jimmy Johns or Subway. Directly, I will say that — and this goes without saying — we think that we are a unique product in ourself. Not only just with the products, but with the experience as well. So that’s what we bring to the table. We bring unique products, combined with a great experience. And our experience happens to be that 1960s classic rock era. That’s what you see … in there — from Van Halen to Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton — it’s just what we stand for, the classic rock theme, throughout all of our stores. It was a different era, and we try to continue that era. Have you spoken to Dave and his wife about why this experience appealed to them? Well, Dave had a rock band of his own. He played a number of stints in San Francisco. So, obviously they were very exposed, and Dave’s a singer, so ... it just worked. And they wanted to continue that concept ... and bring it into a sub shop. That was another thing — he lived in San Francisco, so he’s perfected his recipes over a long time, and it’s all about quality. And that’s what, ultimately, you’re going to taste every time you have a bite of our subs. Will you be staying in Oberlin? Yeah. I’m not living here, but I do commute from Cleveland, and I will continue to commute. So far I’ve been here every day. And I plan to be here continuously at least for the next few weeks until we get things into

a process where I can ensure that consistency. But ultimately, the goal is to divide my time between the store that I have here in Oberlin — which really is going to be my first store, it has sentimental meaning to me as well, so this is really my flagship not only in terms of size, but even the amount of money that I’ve invested into it. So it has a specific part of my heart, and a specific part of my sweat equity. It will continue to be my most important store right now. This is such a unique setting for me, one that I can relate to. Having every single customer come in there and let me know how they feel is really important. Don’t get me wrong, we are gonna have some times where we don’t fulfill the way that we want to, but ultimately the goal is to mitigate that, and to make sure that we are always satisfying and exceeding, really, the customer’s satisfaction. We take that very seriously. The suggestions, the messages, and the surveys that ultimately our customers provide. It’s really important to us that we listen to the end user. It’s been great. The feedback we’ve been getting so far has been very pleasant, and like I said, that’s been great for us. Very meaningful to me. How has business been going? Business is great. We are absolutely slammed. And it’s good to be slammed, and I’m so happy that that is the outcome, because realistically, when you invest so much time and energy and money into this store ... I’m glad that we’ve gotten some great feedback and it makes all the difference. Are you excited to be one of the few bars in town? When I first came back here, we were thinking, “OK, maybe we can put seats in the back,” but then I looked up and we had some water lines, we had pipes up there. And I thought, “Wait a second, maybe we can create something new here and put a bar in the back.” And, you know, not a full bar — we don’t adver-

Paul Sidhu.

Photo by Bryan Rubin, Photo editor

tise to be one, we have craft beers and that’s kind of our thing. You can have a great sub, or you can have great craft beers, or you can have them both. In whichever order you please. We generally are going to have a lot of local breweries on our menu, so that’s really important to us as well. In addition, I think having a bar in this type of setting, especially in a college town like this ... I hope it works. It’s sincerely my goal to make it work. That was ultimately the end use. And the visibility was another thing. The reason why we put it in the back ... It has great visibility, so hopefully people will recognize that ultimately we do sell beer. Because as yet, it’s a little bit of a learning curve. We do understand we haven’t completely advertised that, but we do hope to change that in the future. We’re very excited to be here with the bar and also our subs.

an ad there. We have plans to get onto radio in terms of publicly advertising. In addition, obviously, some of the press agencies like yourself, and we will try our best to continue to advertise perhaps even more on social media. We’re just doing it in stages as yet, as we open up... The ideal was to do a soft opening and then build it up, and that’s the goal.

Are you planning on doing much advertising? Yes. We’ve already advertised with the Oberlin Conservatory, they’re going to be printing out

How did the soft opening go? Well, I say “soft opening,” but it wasn’t that soft an opening. I wanted it to be soft, and actually we were so pleasantly surprised that it was so busy. It was great, it surprised us and got us moving, and that’s exactly what we needed in terms of the staff and in terms of the training. I’d love to have the students know that we are here, we listen to them, and to continue giving us suggestions. I’m fairly new to Oberlin — not to the whole experience, and not to the liberal arts college experience, but I really do want to tailor this store to the end user and that happens to be the college student. And also the local townspeople.

Oberlin Community News Bulletin

PNC Donates Computers to Local Seniors

City Council Stands for DACA

Emergency Measure Set to Replace Pipes

PNC Bank donated a $10,000 computer lab to Neighborhood Alliance’s Senior Enrichment Services of Oberlin Tuesday. Six Lenovo touch-screen monitors and computers were given, with the goal of teaching the seniors basic computer skills, like how to use Google, email, search Ancestry databases, and do online banking. The Neighborhood Alliance group is located on E. College Street and offers programs and activities that provide an enriching experience mentally and physically for seniors.

Oberlin City Council adopted a resolution Monday evening expressing opposition to President Donald Trump’s plan to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA protects young “Dreamers,” people who were brought into the U.S. as children and grants them temporary legal status. Five of seven members supported the resolution.

Oberlin City Council approved a bid of $444,299 by Buckeye Excavating and Construction of Norwalk for the Shipherd Circle water line project, which has been causing issues for months. The Monday emergency measure states that the construction starts this fall, and by the end of December duct iron pipes with cement mortar lining will replace the existing cast iron water mains on Shipherd Circle, Caskey Drive, and Stewart Court. The new pipes are expected to last for over a century.

OPINIONS September 22, 2017

established 1874

Letters to the editors

Voters Can Correct City Council’s Mistakes To the Editors:

Two issues related to the use of Oberlin’s renewable energy credits (RECs) will be on the ballot this November. Why? Because voters need the opportunity to correct two Oberlin City Council actions. In 2004 Oberlin College began seeking renewable energy, and in 2007 the City Council established by ordinance, with the College’s encouragement, a Sustainable Reserve Program “for the sole purpose” of depositing the revenue from the sale of what are now known as RECs for a Sustainable Reserve Fund “to provide funding opportunities for community-based, utility-related, environmentally-friendly initiatives demonstrating energy efficiency, energy conservation, greenhouse gas reductions and/or development of green power generation resources.”

Without prior public notice, council voted in June 2016 to credit to electric utility ratepayers 85 percent of that REC’s income. The bulk of the money would go to the major ratepayers. A typical homeowner would get only about $9 a month. Later, City Council passed an ordinance to enable ratepayers to donate these utility bill credits back to a “Community Choice Fund.” Council also hired a PR firm tasked, in part, to persuade ratepayers to donate the money back. But the ordinance included the previously-voted diversion of 85 percent of the REC’s income from its original purpose. “Yes” on Issue 16 will amend the original ordinance by inserting the word “all.” The members of City Council in 2007 intended ALL the REC’s net income to fund sustainability projects. “Yes” prevents diversion of this money. “No” on Issue 17 will rescind the “Community Choice Fund Ordinance,” which diverts 85 percent of the REC’s income to

the ratepayers. There is currently no way of assuring this money can be recouped for beneficial community projects. “YES on 16, NO on 17” will assure funding for programs to achieve savings for residents and businesses and help accomplish Oberlin’s Climate Action Plan goals. Through the Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly program, the REC’s income has already made many Oberlin homes more energy-efficient and comfortable, while reducing heattrapping gas emissions. POWER can be expanded. Many new programs have already been proposed. The best of these can be implemented. If you register to vote in Oberlin, vote to invest in Oberlin’s sustainable future.

– Steve Hammond President, Communities for Safe and Sustainable Energy – John Elder OC ’53 Vice President, Communities for Safe and Sustainable Energy

Pillich Offers Pragmatic Choice for Ohio Voters Ezra Andres-Tysch Harris Walker Contributing Writers

Although it seems that the last election cycle only just ended, it is already time to start thinking about the upcoming races this academic year. While smaller in scale than the presidential race we all just endured, these elections are incredibly important — especially in such a politically fragile time. This is why the Oberlin College Democrats, in partnership with local grassroots activist group Lorain County Rising, have invited every candidate for the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination to speak at Oberlin leading up to this spring’s primary. These forums are an opportunity for Oberlin students and community members to engage with candidates for governor in a race that will not feature current Governor John Kasich for

the first time since 2010. The first candidate in the series, former Cincinnati-area State Representative Connie Pillich, spoke and answered audience questions in Dye Lecture Hall last Thursday. Pillich — a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, a former public defender, and a three-term Ohio House Representative for the 28th district — sold herself as a strong leader ready to fight President Donald Trump’s policies on a state level. “With [everything] that’s going on up in Washington, it’s apparent it’s up to the states to protect the people and issues we care about,” Pillich argued. Pillich discussed how she plans to prevent Trump’s agenda from taking hold in Ohio. In response to the United States’ exit from the Paris Climate Accord, she proposed entering Ohio into the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of states attempting to meet the requirements of the See Ohio, page 7

Submissions Policy

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and op-ed submissions. All submissions are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. All submissions must be received by Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at opinions@oberlinreview.org or Wilder Box 90 for inclusion in that week’s issue. Letters may not exceed 600 words and op-eds may not exceed 800 words, except with consent of the Editorial Board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names and any relevant titles, for all signers. All writers must individually confirm authorship on electronic submissions. Op-eds may not have more than two authors. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length, grammar, accuracy, strength of argument and in consultation with Review style. Editors will work with contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. Headlines are printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in editorials, letters, op-eds, columns, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to a contributor. The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

Volume 146, Number 4

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Melissa Harris

Christian Bolles

Managing Editor Daniel Markus

Opinions Editors

Nathan Carpenter

Jackie Brant

Sensationalist Media Compromises Credibility for Click Bait In the past, the College has been a target for outside news sources that cherry-pick the Review’s pieces on topics ranging from the cultural appropriation of food in the dining halls to the contentious dismissal of former professor Joy Karega. Their goal is to malign the credibility of colleges like ours. Last week, The Washington Times marked another chapter in the ongoing manipulation of our reporting by twisting our story on Chair of the Board of Trustees Chris Canavan’s email revealing the deficit and consequent declaration of financial cuts (“Enrollment Drop Creates Financial Shortfall,” Sept. 8, 2017) to argue that the College’s underenrollment results from a reputation fostered by its students. The piece relied mainly on a sensationalist soundbite courtesy of William A. Jacobson, clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School. He is quoted as saying that Oberlin’s drop in admissions is largely attributed to a phenomenon he calls “social justice warfare” — an evocative framing device, to be sure. Yet, to approach the climate of change sweeping campuses nationwide, words like “warfare” act only as agitative descriptors meant to fuel etic perceptions of student-initiated violence which simply does not exist. If Oberlin students are engaging in “warfare,” then who are they fighting? Certainly not the proprietors of Gibson’s, whose premises were subject to a strong but completely peaceful series of protests. And neither are students waging war on the administration, whose refusal to respond to their demands was met with still more peaceful protests and — better yet — an effort to constructively work with administrators to resolve campus problems. Is it fair, therefore, to call diplomacy “warfare?” Even at their most agitated, students resort to demonstration and discussion rather than aggression. Why, then, has the narrative of discourse on liberal arts campuses strayed so far from reality? Precisely because publications like The Washington Times have traded the truth for clicks. The Washington Times’ rhetoric stems largely from recent right-wing condemnation of the rising, militant anti-fascist movement, known as “antifa,” and the consequent subjective conflation of antifa and liberal arts student activism. Conservative logic associates the two since there are overlaps in their social justice values. However, to suggest that the value of a liberal arts education itself should be pulled into question because students are employing their interdisciplinary education to speak out against the issues immediately impacting them is both inflammatory and harmful. By emboldening those who lampoon a multivariable education, The Washington Times reinforces and empowers that kind of thinking. That is the work of bias, a journalistic crime alltoo-readily embraced for the sake of site traffic. Unfortunately for The Washington Times, there will always be a publication with more integrity to take them to task. With the advent of social media creating an increasingly connected world, for every new subscriber they aggregate, many more flood to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. These publications accumulate a readership willing to subscribe and pay for journalistic content because they are reliable, analytical, and bring a multitude of voices into their reporting, unlike The Washington Times, which had the audacity to publish a piece sensationalizing Oberlin with a blatantly single-voiced attack on liberal communities to gain viewership. Frankly, The Washington Times needs journalism like ours to survive; how can one twist stories if no one reports them in the first place? Such publications are parasitical, whiling away their fleeting lifetimes by leeching the reporting of better journalists in service of an agenda of agitation and bluster. To remedy the reputation they attack, subjective journalists need to stop treating liberal arts students like violent, volatile reactionaries and recognize that the sensationalization of their actions does not expose the fragility of college campuses, but rather the fragility of the writer. Editorials are the responsibility of the Review Editorial Board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Opinions Editors — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.

Opi n ions

Student Representation Imperative for Long-Term Change Kameron Dunbar Contributing Writer

This article is part of the Review’s Student Senate column. In an effort to increase communication and transparency, Student Senators will provide personal perspectives on recent events on campus and in the community. “What does Student Senate even do?” is a question I am asked quite frequently. In short, we do a lot, but much of our work is behind the scenes. We appoint students to institutional committees and act as an official liaison between students and the general administration, among other responsibilities. We even feed students over fall break — a task the administration never took up as its responsibility. While most of our work is done outside of the spotlight, we’ve been engaged in a very

public fight for student agency and input within Oberlin’s administrative decision making. While some of Senate’s day-today business may be boring to some, what we’re doing now is actually important — and it’s time for everyone to understand that they have a dog in the fight. In May 2016, Senate wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees advocating for student presence in critical decision-making. Since then, the board has very slowly considered this request and various proposals along the same line. Even though the board initially denied our request, Senate has since been able to secure a student-trustee task force dedicated to exploring this idea — all thanks to sustained student organizing last spring. A recommendation has been made, but the board postponed voting on the matter this summer. The board will return to campus in two

weeks, and this time around we are expecting a vote. Student representation on the board isn’t the only fight Senate has been engaged in. Last semester, Senate introduced a measure to the General Faculty advocating for a Central Budgeting Committee — a group that would be responsible for holding Oberlin accountable to its philosophy of shared governance. People from all of Oberlin’s various constituencies would sit on the committee — students, faculty, administrators, union and non-union staff — to develop a budget that is financially responsible and inclusive of the needs of Oberlin’s diverse communities. Importantly, it would operationalize Oberlin’s shared governance model from one of ideals to one of practice. Something has to give. The board has a fiduciary responsibility to Oberlin as an institution. While many of Oberlin’s chal-

lenges couldn’t have been foreseen, many of them arose from financial irresponsibility. They arose from the continued neglect of student knowledge. Student Senate submitted a unanimous vote of no confidence to the strategic plan. We knew the implementation groups had wide gaps — mainly a lack of power to implement anything. Our foresight, as has been the case on several other issues, proved to be true. Why does this all matter? Senate wants substantive student engagement in Oberlin’s institutional decision-making processes. Confusing? A little bit. But it’s also simple. Oberlin’s not broke, but our current financial model is unsustainable. This isn’t the only option on the table; the elephant in the room is that more cuts are all but inevitable. Things are already being cut. Departments across the board were informed of a cumulative

budget cut of at least five percent over the next decade. Your favorite department is at risk of losing funding; wouldn’t you prefer that students be in the room to vouch for it? We, as a community, are at a point where we must determine what is of value to us. We have to engage in the hard work of prioritizing, making hard judgements, and picking what may often be the lesser of two evils. In all of this it’s the “we” that’s important. It’s being at the table. Before Solange sang about A Seat at the Table, there was Shirley Chisholm. The first Black woman elected to U.S. Congress and the first Black candidate to run for a major party’s presidential nomination, Chisholm once said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Well, it’s time to bring out our folding chairs — the moment has never been so ripe.

Parking Policy Threatens Student Safety Harvard Picks Politics over Truth Jackie Brant Opinions Editor

Upon my arrival to Oberlin as a first-year, I was told that the only designated parking areas for first-years are located next to Mercy Allen Hospital. First-years who park their cars anywhere else are subject to fines of up to $80, plus towing expenses. The fact that the only designated parking for newbies on campus is the farthest lot from campus and most first-year dorms is extremely disadvantageous to first-years. The justification I was given by Safety and Security regarding the inconvenience of first-year parking was that it might discourage first-years from bringing cars to campus. For a college that is so focused on the environment and has limited parking, this would have been an acceptable justification — had I been informed of this policy before I arrived on campus for my first year. By the time the policy was made known to me, it was too late to discourage me from bringing a car — I could not simply bring my car back home to Houston. The lot near Mercy Allen Hospital — far west from the main campus — is half a mile away from two of the three first-year dorms. The lot is also about half a mile from the Afrikan Heritage House and Burton Hall, two dorms that house a significant number of first-years as well. It is counterintuitive to put first-years so far away from their new homes on a campus with which they are just getting familiar with. When I was a firstyear, I started out so disoriented that I couldn’t make

my way from the Knowlton Athletics Complex to Dascomb Hall, let alone a location so far away from any major campus buildings. These problems are only exacerbated once the sun sets. On top of the outof-the-way location, the street that takes you back to campus from the parking lot does not have adequate lighting. Oftentimes, I would worry about the trip I would have to take at night going to and from my car. I was so concerned that sometimes I would have a friend come with me because I did not want to be by myself in the dark. If I couldn’t find a friend, I would call one of my parents while I walked. This situation poses a very real threat to students. Students walking to South Campus must cross the street from the parking lot to the other sidewalk. In the dark, this could be dangerous. The conditions make it difficult for drivers to see students crossing the street, which could lead to an accident. In the city of Oberlin, there are many instances of collisions involving cars and pedestrians or cars and bikers every year. These accidents show that a comparable incident could very easily occur on campus. Furthermore, the lot’s location exposes students to the possibility of theft or sexual assault. On my walks to and from that lot, I rarely ran into anyone on the path. If I did, it was usually just a passing car. If something were to happen to a student on that walk, chances are that no one would be around to help them. I felt so strongly about this issue as a first-year

that I often parked in other lots, at the risk of accruing fines. After I did receive several tickets, I voiced my concerns to the College. The only answer I really received was that if I ever felt unsafe, I should call Safety and Security for a ride back to my dorm. Using Safety and Security as a long-term solution presents a number of difficulties. Right off the bat, it is contradictory to the environmental protection efforts that Oberlin’s parking policy is supposedly aiming to enforce by using more gas to needlessly bus students around. Furthermore, being told to call Safety and Security for a ride if I feel unsafe is wrong for the same reasons that telling women to wear longer skirts to avoid sexual harassment is wrong. Why should I, a new student at an unfamiliar place, have had to take extra measures simply to protect myself while doing a routine activity like walking back to my room? Is student safety not worth a proactive approach to potentially dangerous situations? I admit, solving this problem seems to be a difficult task. It does not appear that much land remains near central campus with which to make a new first-year parking lot. I also understand that parking regulations are in place to comply with agreements by the city and College, environmental sustainability policies, to manage the College’s existing lots. Despite these challenges, I urge the College to make the effort to reevaluate the parking situation for first-years in order to better prioritize their safety.

Daniel Markus Managing Editor

Harvard University’s coat of arms is perhaps one of the most recognizable in the world today — bold, yet simple, a plain crimson shield with three books in the foreground, across them inscribed in bold serif a single Latin word: “veritas,” meaning “truth.” I remember being in awe of the Harvard shield when I was younger. It seemed remarkable to me that any institution could be so prominent as to have “truth,” unbridled by any other words, as its motto. It also seemed noble — pursuit of the truth, regardless of the political consequences — something only suited to the most prominent educational institution in America, if not the world. I wonder if Douglas Elmendorf, dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, had that seal — likely emblazoned all over the school’s promotional materials — in mind when he disinvited leaker Chelsea Manning from a visiting fellowship last week. Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst who leaked a massive trove of State and Defense Department documents to WikiLeaks, was recently released from a 35-year prison term after former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence at the end of his term. Last Wednesday, she was announced as a visiting fellow at the invitation of the school’s Institute of Politics. The backlash was swift and severe. The next day, Michael Morell, a deputy director of the CIA in the Obama administration, resigned his fellowship in protest, and current CIA Director Mike Pompeo pulled out of a scheduled speaking engagement at the school. Within a scant few hours, Elmendorf had informed Manning that she would be stripped of her fellow title. As Trevor Timm of The New York Times pointed out, almost no one has done more to inform the public about foreign policy around the world, ever. The documents she leaked have proved critical for reporting on international affairs, and revealed — to list just a few — that the U.S. military had killed far more than it disclosed in Iraq; that the military had covered up killing of Iraqi civilians by American troops;

and, perhaps most notoriously, a video of an Apache helicopter opening fire on a group of men — among them two war correspondents for Reuters, one of whom was killed in the strike. Just a few days earlier, too, Harvard administrators made the rare move of overturning a recommendation of admission from its history department for Michelle Jones, also recently released from prison. Jones was convicted of the murder of her four-year-old son. While in prison, Jones got a bachelor’s degree and began auditing graduate level courses, and in 2012 made a research discovery that would eventually win the project for best prize from the Indiana State Historical Society. That’s not best amongst prisoners in the state — it was best in the state, period. Both committed crimes, both served their time and were released, and both have made tremendous contributions to public discourse and academic knowledge. Isn’t that enough? To Harvard, the answer seems to be a resounding “No,” and the university should be ashamed. “Frankly, we knew that anyone could just punch her crime into Google, and Fox News would probably say that P.C. liberal Harvard gave 200 grand of funding to a child murderer, who also happened to be a minority,” said John Stauffer, one of the two professors that flagged Jones’ application, ultimately leading to her rejection. “I mean, c’mon.” Harvard could have done the right thing. Instead, administrators decided that its reputation with Fox News is more important than the students it purports to serve and the values it claims to embody. In doing so, Harvard has staked its claim on the wrong side of history, failing to support the prisoner reintegration that the professors Jones wanted to study with have written so much about. With these decisions, Harvard has shown that maintaining its guarded old boys’ club and appeasing the wealthy and powerful is far more important than the actual truth. After all, how else could Sean Spicer, the President’s noted former lie-monger of a Press Secretary, and Corey Lewandowski be fellows while Chelsea Manning is disinvited? Forget “veritas.” It’s not much of a motto if you don’t live up to it.

Gender Segregation in Sports Should Be Reconsidered Brittany Mendez Contributing Writer

Last week, at the recommendation of my Philosophy professor, I attended a lecture by Dr. Rachel McKinnon titled “Including Trans Athletes in Sports.” I’m glad I went, because it challenged me to think more deeply about why we segregate sports by gender. Historically, Black athletes have performed better in sports, but if we split sports by race, most would consider this to be absurd. If this is true, why do we accept segregation of sports by gender? McKinnon is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy department at the College of Charleston and an international cyclist hoping to compete in the next Olympic Games. As a trans female athlete, she has faced many challenges in competing in organized athletic competitions and currently devotes her time to helping other athletes in similar positions by applying her background in philosophy and law. During her lecture, McKinnon mentioned the story of Dutee Chand, an intersex female sprinter who desired to compete in the women’s league. Chand, a native of India, faced significant barriers to competing in her home country, which is, according to McKinnon, often less progressive with regard to gender identity than many other countries. This case quickly grew from a local issue in India to an international issue. As awareness of gender issues grows worldwide, some countries remain less accepting than others. This is a growing problem for international competitions which may not be resolved by the next

Olympics. Indian law deemed Chand an “ineligible female” due to her high testosterone levels. This disqualified her from the women’s division, yet she was also prohibited from competing in the men’s league. On Chand’s behalf, McKinnon and a team of lawyers successfully brought the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland. Chand’s story highlights several of the key points that McKinnon brought up during her lecture. McKinnon explained that “fair discrimination” — such as that based on weight classes, age groups, and other distinguishing factors — exists to create fair competition; however, there are not competition classes separated by testosterone levels. McKinnon argued that such classes do not exist because performance is not dependent on testosterone. McKinnon also pointed out that more skill-based sports — like chess, archery, shooting, and pool — are gender segregated, even though testosterone plays no role in performance. She noted that after a Chinese woman won gold in Olympic skeet shooting, the event was split by gender at the following Olympics, revealing that gender segregation in sports is not necessarily about innate gender differences. She also commented that it is more widely accepted when a trans man competes in a men’s league than when a trans woman competes in a women’s league — an example of how the regulations of gendered sports leagues can become hazy. Toward the end of McKinnon’s lecture, I was still confused

CARTOON OF THE WEEK

about her stance on whether gender segregation in sports is “fair discrimination.” When I asked for clarification, she responded that she could not truly answer the question. She argued that various societies raise men and women differently, and that these circumstances could account for the physical differences between men and women. According to McKinnon, if men and women were raised the same, women could be just as tall or taller than men. I don’t buy this argument because, in my experience, men are generally stronger and bigger, and testosterone does have an effect on performance. This point is emphasized by a case earlier this year in which Texas law compelled Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old trans boy, to unwillingly compete in the girls wrestling division. Beggs was taking testosterone as part of his gender transition, but since his birth certificate designated him

as female, he was not allowed to compete in the boys’ division. Beggs went on to have an undefeated season, routinely destroying his opponents. He said that he would have preferred the chance to wrestle boys. With this situation in mind, I find it hard to believe that testosterone has no effect on athletic performance. Gender segregation in sports is a complicated issue. When I was about eight years old, I began playing on gender-segregated teams, and never questioned it. When I became a teenager, I began to wonder why all of the boys had an edge over me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not really compete with them. Initially, I did not understand how this was possible, since we trained in the same way. But as I got older, I began to realize that I could not compete against men because my body is just built differently. As much as I wanted to compete with boys, I learned to accept that I was physically not able to

Liz Amber

and that if I tried, the competition would not be fair — which defeats the purpose of competition. Trans athletes should absolutely have the same opportunities to compete in sports as cis athletes. However, it is important that we also weigh the fairness of competition for everyone. Finding a fair way to strike this balance is a new issue, and demands a solution that respects all identities while also upholding a fair and competitive atmosphere. For the time being, hormone tests are necessary in order to maintain fair competition, specifically in cases of trans women competing in women’s leagues, but this is clearly not a permanent solution as it potentially invalidates many individuals’ gender identities. Neither McKinnon nor I have a solution, and I doubt we will find the perfect one on the first try, but I believe that we will eventually develop regulations that are fair to all athletes.

Ohio Voters Find Electable Candidate in Pillich Continued from page 5

Accord without the assistance of the federal government. She proposed writing equal pay protections into state law to counter Trump’s rollback on such measures. As the battle over health care heats up in Washington once again, Pillich also came out in support of a public option and Medicaid for all in Ohio. While Pillich clearly has a strong vision for how she wants to see Ohio shift direction under a Democratic governor, some of her responses to questions were disappointing. Ohio is among the states hardest hit by the opioid epidemic — in 2016, 86 percent of overdose deaths in the state were caused by opioids. Therefore, any gubernatorial candidate in Ohio must be prepared with a comprehensive plan for keeping illegal drugs out of the state, and ensuring prescription opioids are not disseminated at unnecessary rates. However, when Pillich was asked how she plans to tackle this issue, she responded by saying that if she knew what to do, “she would be God.” She emphasized her desire to proThe Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

vide law enforcement with effective tools to combat drug cartels, but offered few solutions for those who suffer from prescription drug addiction. Additionally, when faced with a question about tax breaks for the Cleveland Clinic, it was unclear if Pillich is focused on the issues that the neighbors of the Cleveland Clinic — the state’s second-largest employer — face. As a hospital, the Clinic is taxexempt, but the sprawling medical complex is far more extensive than the typical hospital. It covers 165 acres of land and saves over $35 billion per year by not paying taxes. This exemption has taken a serious toll on the surrounding community, which does not receive taxes from a business that takes up so much space. Pillich promised that she will not raise taxes and will instead focus on closing tax loopholes, but did not show much desire to take on big businesses at a time when taking on Wall Street is a major discussion point in Washington. All that being said, Pillich is a compelling candidate for governor, particularly considering the

Democrats’ imperative of putting forward electable candidates. Pillich was able to flip Ohio’s 28th State House district — a seat that has historically been held by Republicans. In 2014, a disastrous year for Ohio Democrats, Pillich ran for state treasurer, and although she fell short, she outperformed nearly every other Democrat in the race. Pillich’s appeal to moderates and voters in southern Ohio, the traditionally more conservative region of the state, makes her a candidate to be reckoned with. Despite providing some less than satisfactory responses during her event at Oberlin, she is one of the more progressive voices in Ohio politics, has a strong reputation as an advocate for liberal policies, and is a leading voice for Ohio’s veterans. Over the course of the fall semester, three other Democratic gubernatorial candidates will be speaking on campus. Hopefully, students will take advantage of the opportunity to engage with these events to make an informed decision come the spring primary.

Friday the 22nd at 7 p.m.: The Cat in the Cream is showing Over the Garden Wall, a whimsical animated adventure about two half brothers who get lost in the woods.

Later Friday night, at 11:59 p.m., wander over to Finney Chapel for the Friday Night Organ Pump. Join other students as you lie on the floor and feel the vibrations.

In Oberlin on Baird Road is Common Ground, an organization that offers canopy tours via seven different zip lines, 13 platforms, and three aerial bridges.

Sunday Sept. 24th at 11 a.m: The Dead South plays at the Space Jam is at the Apollo On Friday, attend the The women’s basketball team is Cat in the Cream on the 27th Theatre on Thursday the 28th Translating Science Symposium hosting a 3-on-3 tournament at 8 p.m. Their signature blend at 10 p.m. This cult classic is a TED Talk Hour and learn about for $5 per person. The deadline of bluegrass and folk music will good way to end the week, with science communicators and to register a team is today. keep you dancing all night. Jordan and the toons’ crazy the role of science in policy at Email ocanning@oberlin.edu. schemes sure to elicit a laugh. 12 p.m. in Craig Lecture Hall.

In Elyria, experience geo-caching on the Back Roads and Beaches Geo Trail, which offers 15 caches along their bike and multi-sport route.

If you’re looking for a bit of a ride or have access to a car, Jamie’s Flea Market in Amherst has two buildings full of more than 200 vendors— plus lots of food!

Take a trip to the Carlisle Reservation. It is the largest of the Lorain County Metro Parks at 1,917 acres and is accessible from the North Coast Inland Trail path. Walk around campus and go places you don’t normally travel to. If you live on North Campus, visit South Studios or walk to the Arb — meet new people!

Go to Oberlin’s very own Allen Memorial Art Museum, musical performances from the Conservatory, and plays put on by the Theater department.

Ride a bike down the Don J. Pease Memorial Bike Path. It is 3.1 miles long and is part of the larger 13.1 mile North Coast Inland Trail between Kipton and Elyria.

Photo courtesy of Christian Bolles, Editor-in-Chief

Treat your taste buds to something other than CDS and experience the many different restaurants that downtown Oberlin has to offer.

Take advantage of the Oberlin shuttle buses to the Cleveland airport for $15. From there, you can grab a bus or cab to downtown Cleveland.

expanding horizons

Layout and Text by This Week Editor Lucy Martin

Friday the 22nd at 7 p.m.: The Cat in the Cream is showing Over the Garden Wall, a whimsical animated adventure about two half brothers who get lost in the woods.

Later Friday night, at 11:59 p.m., wander over to Finney Chapel for the Friday Night Organ Pump. Join other students as you lie on the floor and feel the vibrations.

In Oberlin on Baird Road is Common Ground, an organization that offers canopy tours via seven different zip lines, 13 platforms, and three aerial bridges.

In Elyria, experience geo-caching on the Back Roads and Beaches Geo Trail, which offers 15 caches along their bike and multi-sport route.

If you’re looking for a bit of a ride or have access to a car, Jamie’s Flea Market in Amherst has two buildings full of more than 200 vendors— plus lots of food!

Go to Oberlin’s very own Allen Memorial Art Museum, musical performances from the Conservatory, and plays put on by the Theater department.

Ride a bike down the Don J. Pease Memorial Bike Path. It is 3.1 miles long and is part of the larger 13.1 mile North Coast Inland Trail between Kipton and Elyria.

Photo courtesy of Christian Bolles, Editor-in-Chief

Treat your taste buds to something other than CDS and experience the many different restaurants that downtown Oberlin has to offer.

Take advantage of the Oberlin shuttle buses to the Cleveland airport for $15. From there, you can grab a bus or cab to downtown Cleveland.

expanding horizons

Layout and Text by This Week Editor Lucy Martin

A r t s & C u lt u r e

ARTS & CULTURE September 22, 2017

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 4

Xavier Jara Plays Wide-Ranging Classical Guitar Program Kate Fishman

Classical guitarist and winner of the Guitar Foundation of America’s Rose Augustine Grand Prize Xavier Jara, who performed in Kulas Recital Hall Wednesday night, not only demonstrated his instrument’s impressive timeand genre-crossing capacities, but also shed light on the community of classical guitarists and enthusiasts in Oberlin. Jara’s performance was in fact sponsored by the Oberlin Classical Guitar Association. After Jara gave a masterclass on Monday, he was joined by members of the OCGA — social media coordinator and double-degree senior Mohit Dubey; treasurer and double-degree senior Brian King; and OCGA member and doubledegree sophomore Aidan Wiley Lippke — who talked about the poetic names their instrument has been assigned. “Someone once called [the guitar] a tiny orchestra … who said that?” Dubey asked. “It was God,” King replied, to general amusement. Though the phrase was actually coined by guitarist Andrés Segovia, King’s joke wouldn’t have seemed off-base to the audience who attended Jara’s Wednesday night performance. The award-winning guitarist, not much older than the many Conservatory guitar majors in the audience, sat with his left foot suspended on a footrest, his instrument propped on his knee and nearly vertical. His left fingers jumped up and down the guitar’s neck while his right hand shimmered across the strings to produce a sound that was nothing short of orchestral. “What the classical guitar actually is known for is the tone of the instrument just being so special,” Jara said. “Whereas a lot of steel strings or electric guitars will

often be for accompaniment, just sort of back up music … polyphonic music on guitar is something we do a lot, which is several voices at once.” The guitar is one of the few instruments that has a firm standing in the culture of classical music, yet remains a keystone of popular music. Professor of Classical Guitar Stephen Aron, who has been the faculty advisor for the OCGA since its inception in 1993, elaborated in an email to the Review. “Many people attend classical guitar concerts [who] might not normally attend other classical concerts, even though the music may be every bit as sophisticated, complex, or opaque as one might find at a contemporary chamber music concert or symphonic program,” Aron wrote. The primary work of the OCGA is to build on that accessibility, and to provide a voice and funding for a department that did not have the same level of institutional funding as others for a long time. “The main thing we do is just concerts and masterclasses,” King said. “The concerts are obviously geared towards everyone. The masterclasses — I mean, anyone’s invited, of course, but the only people that play are the student members of the guitar studio.” While the OCGA focuses exclusively on classical music — though not just guitar, as they will be bringing a flutist in as a guest judge for the James Stroud AllOhio Classical Guitar Competition and Festival in the spring — many classical guitarists, including Jara, got their start playing popular music. “I heard a mariachi band and I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do. Play mariachi music,’” he said. “And then my teacher happened to give me classical, and it just sort of stuck … It’s a physical sensation, which I really attached myself to. I mean,

I was playing metal music, I was playing country music, I was playing bluegrass, I was playing classical, and all this different stuff. And then at a certain point, when I was 15, my dad died, actually. And I decided just to play classical for a while to sort of try and live off of this as a musician as best I could. So, at 15, I got really serious about classical guitar.” When he was 14, renowned guitarist Judicaël Perroy came to his hometown in Minnesota for a concert. “I was so annoying. I was writing him on Facebook like, ‘Can we meet for a lesson, is that okay?’” Eventually, Jara ended up at Perroy’s hotel at 8 a.m. on the day after the concert. “He’s like ... brushing his teeth and putting in his contact lenses,” Jara said. “And he gave me a great lesson, which was actually three hours, and he wouldn’t even charge me a cent for it. He said, ‘Hey, if you ever want to come to France I’ll help you out, I’ll help you get the visa, I’ll help you get a place to stay,’ and he did.” The day he turned 18, Jara moved to France, where he lived for six years with Perroy as his mentor. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris and began participating in competitions, after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree. He has earned prizes at competitions including the 2014 Boston Guitarfest, the 2015 Gargano, Italy competition, and the 2016 Tokyo International Competition. After winning the Guitar Foundation of America’s highest prize, he did what he had been desperately wanting to do: stop competing. Since then, he has recorded his first album, acquired an upcoming book publication deal, and is now in the midst of a 60-concert tour that will span the United States as well as venues in Canada, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, and possibly China.

“It’s really a nice life,” he said. “Playing concerts is so freeing, in the way that I can play what I want to play, and I don’t always have to play imposed music, I don’t have to think about what’s strategically best for a certain jury. I can just structure a concert in an artistic way, which is what I’ve always wanted to do. So I’m pretty happy with that.” Jara’s emotion and artistry shone in even his first moments on stage. His eight-piece show at the Oberlin Conservatory began with a piece by 16th-century composer John Dowland, then jumped “about 200 years into the future,” and finally arrived at the 21st century compositions of Ohio native Jeremy Collins. Throughout the show, there was emphasis on classical guitar repertoire’s collaborative and interwoven nature — for example, Bach’s Concerto No. 1 in D Major, BWV 972 was an arrangement of Vivaldi’s work — and later, that arrangement was arranged for the guitar by Perroy, Jara’s mentor. Such collaboration lies at the heart of the OCGA as well — it is made of people who are excited about what they love, love being excited about it, and endeavor to share it. As the OCGA members watched Jara’s performance, they turned to smile at one another, snapped their fingers, and bobbed their heads and shoulders along with tunes they knew well. It was pure, unadulterated musical excitement — and it will be repeated with performances later this year by Jorge Caballero, Benjamin Verdery, Matthew McAllister, Nigel North, the Cavatina Duo (Denis Azabagic and Eugenia Moliner), and James Piorkowski. At the end of their interview, Dubey added, “We’re the best instrument. You should end the article with that.” Jara laughed in agreement “And therefore, we’re the best.”

Jiménez, Ambar Conduct Opening Oberlin Orchestra Concert Julia Peterson Arts & Culture Editor

To new listeners, orchestral music can seem foreboding, with complex elements and a long history. But last Friday night, the Oberlin Orchestra invited the community to “So may I introduce to you,” an informal, celebratory show to open the year of orchestral performances and demonstrate that orchestral music is for everyone, not just those in the know. An hour before the event’s posted start time, the plaza outside Finney Chapel was already packed with people who had come to enjoy complimentary donuts and cider on offer, or listen to the large trombone choir that performed for the crowd of early-comers. The moment the audience walked into Finney Chapel and saw the orchestra making their final preparations on stage, it was clear that this event was much less formal than an ordinary orchestra concert — the performers were in their street clothes, and conductor Raphael Jiménez was chatting with the musicians, at one point even taking a selfie with the orchestra.

President Carmen Twillie Ambar made her conducting debut last Friday night, leading the Oberlin Orchestra in Johann Strauss’ Radetzky March. Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor

“I loved the energy before the concert,” Jiménez said. “It was a festive environment. And that was the idea — to have a kick-off performance to the year, so everybody gets into performance mode. … The idea was to make it … light, fun, and casual, [and to] create an energetic, interactive event to attract more people to our performances.” The event was emceed by Conservatory seniors Jesse Mashburn and Cory McGee, the

hosts of “Making CONnections,” the official WOBC radio station for Conservatory news and music. Throughout the event, they spotlighted various musicians on stage, teasing one for their ostentatious shirt and asking another to demonstrate a piccolo trill. “Maestro Jiménez wanted to talk about the orchestra itself, but he didn’t want it to be like a lecture,” Mashburn said. “We’re college students — that’s all we get while we’re here. He

wanted to make it a little more interactive, and then wanted to bring us on to cut up the lecture parts. … He couldn’t just walk around and give little comments about the orchestra players that we know because he’s their professor, but it’s perfectly fine for me to [do that].” The event wasn’t quite a concert; over the 45-minute show, the orchestra played relatively little music. Instead, the time was mostly used to break down one of the two works on the programme — Sensemayá, by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas — into its component parts, introducing musical novices in the audience to how a piece of music is built. This piece was an especially interesting choice because, as Jiménez explained, the music is closely based on a poem of the same name, by Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén. Jiménez led the audience in rhythm exercises, drawing out patterns that would later appear in the composition. He read the poem aloud, highlighting the musicality and repetitions of the phrases. Then, he showed how these components appear in the overall piece by having individual instruments or sections play small segments. Finally, the orchestra played

Sensemayá through. Jiménez conducted as much for the audience’s benefit as for the orchestra’s, deliberately pointing out the moments where familiar rhythms and melodies entered the piece. Although a great deal of the evening focused on education, Jiménez made clear that one does not need to have extensive background knowledge to enjoy and appreciate orchestral music. “I think it’s important for people to validate their reaction to music,” he said. “When they listen to music, whatever they are feeling at that point is absolutely valid, and they need to embrace that. … Of course, the more familiar you are with a piece, the more you know about it will enrich your experience somehow, but that doesn’t make it better. It’s just a different kind of experience. We need to make very clear that people should just come, sit, and enjoy. Period.” Conservatory senior Alexandra Sophocleus, who played the viola, was pleased with how the event reached out to a wider audience with a more detailed exploration of how an orchestra works and how this particular piece was shaped. “A lot of orchestras will do See Oberlin, page 13

Xenia Rubinos, Bémbe Deliver Standout Performances

Victoria Albacete Production Manager

Forget casually strolling in at 8 p.m. — if you arrived any later than 7:40 p.m. to the Cat in the Cream last Saturday, you had to follow the line of over 100 people down the hall, around the corner, down a flight of stairs, and straight into the bathroom spaces. Eager Xenia Rubinos fans began lining up at the doors as early as 7:20 p.m. and flooded the space when it finally opened, filling it to capacity within minutes. Energetic conversations made for a bright ambience to start off what would be a night of great music and musicians. Student band Bémbe opened the concert, taking the stage to excited shouts and enthusiastic applause. College senior and frontman Justin Jiménez introduced the members of the group after their first number: College seniors Tom Morrison on vocals, Daniel Thin on bass, Daniel Gonzales on trombone, and Andrés González on electric guitar; College junior Joanna Quinn on drums; and Conservatory senior Jane Lincoln on keyboard. With a blend of easygoing and upbeat rhythms, led by a powerful opening sound from González on electric guitar, the second song in

Student band Bémbe opens for Xenia Rubinos, who played an energetic, powerful show at the Cat in the Cream Saturday night. Photo by Devin Cowan

their set, “Move-In Day,” had the audience nodding their heads and jumping around the cleared space in front of the stage. “I think they did a great job; I think they set it up really well,” said College junior Hanne Williams-Baron, the manager at the Cat in the Cream who booked the concert. “I think that they’re a little jumpier band, which was really good.” Rubinos chose Bémbe to open the show from a pool of several other student bands, which González said felt very affirming. “We’ve worked on this music for such a long time — for two years at least — so to have someone to kind of validate it

in that way, or confirm what we think about it was really, really exciting and we were really happy about how it went,” González said. “I think that Xenia Rubinos is … someone with so much force, and personality, and passion, and excitement, and that’s totally, I think, a lot of what Bémbe is about too.” After a pause between bands, Rubinos took the stage, immediately launching into the mellow opening chords of “Lonely Lover,” from her 2016 album Black Terry Cat. A Brooklyn-based artist of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage with a powerful voice, Rubinos resists labels for her music — especially

the label of “Latin” music — and for good reason. “The reason why I get upset by this [labeling] is because it leads people to assume things about me and it also ... really cuts me short and makes me feel like someone is exclusively looking at my face and my name and saying, ‘Oh, she makes Latin music,’ — like all Latinas make Latin music, that’s all you do,” Rubinos said. “That’s infuriating on many levels.” It’s an understandable frustration, especially since her music isn’t particularly based in Latin rhythms. Williams-Baron personally described Rubinos’ sound as “Afro-Caribbean punk R&B,” which is how she advertised the event. Regardless of genre labels, it is undeniable that Rubinos’ vibrant energy was hard to resist as she bounced around the stage, launching into piece after piece almost nonstop for the duration of her hour-long set. “I’m here to dance with you,” she enthused, at one point coming down off of the raised platform to join the willing and eager audience on the floor. “She has a ton of energy, and I think her stage presence is really special — I watched and admired [that] a lot in her videos of her shows before and I knew that we could really benefit from

that because some people still have the idea that the Cat in the Cream is a calm, quiet, folksy space, … and we can be that, but also we can have really energetic ‘jumping around and dancing in the audience’ shows, too,” Williams-Baron said. Rubinos has said that she is not a fan of the terms “protest” or “political artist” to describe her work or musicianship either, explaining, “I’m just talking about real shit that’s happening around us.” Williams-Baron echoed a similar sentiment. “It’s going to be resistance,” Williams-Baron added. “She’s going to be labeled that just by virtue of the spaces that she’s dominating or that she’s interrupting — but I think her music is joyous and silly and sexy and all these other things, in addition to being really powerful and resistant.” As Rubinos picked up the bass and ended her set on a blazing note with the pointed lyrics of “Mexican Chef” — “Brown breaks his back, brown takes the flack, brown gets cut ‘cos his papers are whack / … Brown has not, brown gets shot, brown got what he deserved ‘cos he fought” — it is clear that those who put Rubinos in a limiting box, whether “Latin” or “protest,” are mistaken in doing so. Her music is entirely and fiercely her own.

Nintendo Delivers The First Console That Can Go Wherever You Do

Avi Vogel Columnist

In October of last year, Nintendo finally announced their long-anticipated console, the Nintendo Switch. With it, they promised a home console that could be played on the go. They also demonstrated ease in local multiplayer, something that almost every platform has struggled with since long before the console generation. Since its launch in March, the Switch has exceeded expectations and brought about a revolution in the gaming industry, despite the classic Nintendo issues that persist. Before purchase, it’s important to know the two pieces that comprise any console: the hardware (the console itself ) and the software (the games available at launch). As a piece of hardware, the Switch is a marvel. While the commercial — which showcased gamers playing a game on a television and then undocking it to play on the go — looked hokey at best, the Switch turned out to be a success and perfect for traveling. Nintendo promised a console that could go wherever you did, and they delivered.

The only downsides to the hardware are the appalling prices charged for accessories and the ridiculous level of scarcity that consumers face to even get a hold of the Switch. Both the controllers and the extra set of Joy-Cons cost $80. The Pro Controller, the closest accessory they have to a typical controller, is $70, which is around $20 more than the current Xbox and PlayStation controllers. With consumers still struggling to find locations that have it in stock at all, buying the Switch at all is a harrowing task. It is absurd that six months after launch, people are still resorting to alert systems to find out when shops in their area will stock up on the console. Although this is standard behavior for Nintendo and is less egregious than what they are doing with their Classic Edition now, it’s still a big inconvenience and a frustrating ordeal for players. However, if one can overlook these shortcomings and is satisfied with the base unit of a Switch, then this is an ideal buy. Beyond the console itself, Nintendo has attempted to create a system for their game releases. They release a high

production value, highly promoted AAA game every month, and fill in the gaps with smaller-scale independent games. For the AAA games, Nintendo seems to have stuck to their plan so far. They released Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in March, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in April, Arms in June, Splatoon 2 in July, and Mario + Rabids: Kingdom Battle in August. These games have provided enough variety to cater to a wide array of gamers. Even though some of these games have proven to be less than stellar, others have found substantial critical and financial success. Initially, the Switch catered to a limited range of gamers. The first month and a half of the Switch’s launch was marked by few indie games, and the ones released at launch didn’t provide the depth that the public was expecting. It wasn’t until a month and a half afterward that developers started to correct their course. Games like Tumbleseed, which has players roll a seed up an increasingly hostile mountain; Severed, which now has touch controls mapped perfectly to the Switch screen; and Graceful Explosion Machine, a score-based bullet hell game,

are all games that fill the initial gap in independently-developed content. The Switch would not be as popular as it is without a stand-out game of its own. What Wii Sports was for the Wii and Super Mario World was for the SNES, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been for the Switch. Breath of the Wild is a near-flawless experience. The game innovates the ‘open world’ genre that had been searching for new hooks, and can provide hundreds of hours of bliss. To discuss the game adequately is a topic for another article entirely, but suffice to say it has had a major impact on the Switch’s popularity. Despite some of the more questionable business practices and pricing decisions that Nintendo has made, I still wholeheartedly recommend the Nintendo Switch. It succeeds at providing a console that is excellent for both mobile and home use. Developers are delivering on the independent front, and Nintendo provides enough first party game support to satisfy fans of most game genres. If you want a Switch, I hope you manage to find one.

Russell Jaffe Staff Writer

and Thesis’ goal of equipping majors with the skills they need to begin a professional life, the Pathways 2017 series is intended to provide a glimpse of what could be expected post-graduation. Studio Art Professor Nanette Yannuzzi-Macias, one of the event’s organizers, was hopeful that bringing Art department alumni to campus would help students realize that an Oberlin Art degree can lead to many different life and career outcomes, as well as answer some of their questions. “We’re hoping that the insights from our alums help current students

towards the same kind of trajectories,” Yannuzzi-Macias said. “How did they take their first steps? What was helpful, as an artist? Most [graduating seniors] are not actually walking out into a job — they’re doing residencies, they’re writing grants, they’re going to certain cities. [Students] are trying to figure out how that works and what happens when you leave Oberlin.” Participating in Pathways 2017 was an especially interesting experience for the returning alumni, as they did not have any comparable events or series during their undergraduate years.

New Series Explores Pathways in Past and Future Artistic Careers

Lucas Briffa, OC ’12, returned to Oberlin to give a film screening on Sunday and a talk on Monday as part of the Pathways 2017 series. Photo by Daniel Firebanks

The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

The Pathways 2017 series, which the Art department debuted this year to bring recent alumni back to campus to speak to current art students about the trajectories that their lives and careers have taken since graduation, had a strong launch. Last Sunday and Monday, two recent Art department alumni returned to campus and gave firsthand accounts of what they have done post-college, and more alumni will be giving talks later in the year. In conjunction with the Art department’s Senior Studio

See Opportunities, page 13

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

On the Record with Fabian Almazan Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Fabian Almazan performed at the Cat in the Cream Thursday night with his band Rhizome, featuring Camila Meza on voice and guitar, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Henry Cole on drums. Almazan, originally from Cuba and currently based in New York City, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and was voted “#1 Rising Piano Star” by the Downbeat Magazine critics’ poll in 2014. Almazan has also composed several film scores for directors including Spike Lee and George Lucas. He frequently collaborates with acclaimed jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Fabian Almazan played a show Thursday night at the Cat in the Cream with his band, Rhizome.

Photo courtesy of Fabian Almazan

Interview by Julia Peterson and Ananya Gupta Arts & Culture Editors

As a musician, what drew you to jazz? I started off in classical music but, when I was in high school, some of my peers were jazz musicians. I remember specifically walking in after school one day and seeing them improvising and [that] really really appealed to me because as much as I like classical music, I could just tell that the music they were creating was them directly. Being able to express their own experiences, that completely drew me towards it. Other than that, my dad was a bassist and he listened to a lot of jazz, so I was aware of it. But it really hit me when I saw other people doing it and how free they seemed. Artists often work with very little recognition — how does the recognition that come with a Grammy nomination impact you? It’s nice, and I’m very thankful for it, but awards are stupid. I think all artists do it because they’re helpful to society. ... I’m very grateful for the opportunity, but you don’t need an award [to create] art. Studying or becoming a professional musician can often be a luxury or for people who can afford it. What do you say to people from social or cultural backgrounds who can’t necessarily afford the level of training, equipment, and practice required to pursue music as a career? Honestly, I feel like I am one of those people. I was born in Cuba. [My family and I] entered the U.S. through the Mexican border and we claimed political asylum. We had no money. I had no piano. I feel very fortunate in that I have very caring parents. I think generational trauma is a very real thing that a lot of children from our generation experience, and it’s very difficult to break that pattern. But, as I said, I feel very grateful that my parents are caring people and they always instilled in me a sense that a lack of money doesn’t mean a lack of curiosity or intelligence. All human beings define themselves. They’re not defined by other people. I was lucky; in Miami ... there was a teacher who gave [me] lessons for free for three years. … Although I didn’t believe in myself, she believed in me. Her name was Conchita Betancourt, and I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for her. We got a really cheap piano. My parents both worked three jobs; we lived in a trailer home, and little by little we kept working. There was a public arts high school in Miami called New World School of the Arts where I auditioned and got in, and I just kept trying to improve as a musician

and pianist. I auditioned for the Brubeck Institute in California. I still didn’t have a piano of my own. It was about seven years ago that I was finally able to buy an upright piano. I’m not saying that what I did is possible for everybody. I think a crucial element is to have good-hearted people around like Conchita, my parents, people that try to help each other. But for children who come from families that have experienced generational trauma, … it’s very difficult to get out that cycle. I will say this — there are always public libraries that people can go to [and] educate themselves about things. It’s not easy by any means, but the harder you work at it, the higher the possibilities and probabilities are. How do you go about tackling a job like composing a film score? Preparation involves just listening to as many different types of music as possible. Different folkloric music helps a lot, orchestral music, marching music, all of it. Essentially, in a film, what you’re doing is trying to convey every end of the spectrum of human emotion, so you should really try to check out as many musical traditions as possible. Then you have to let go of your ego because you’re not writing music as an artist, but ... you’re trying to help the story. If you write music that you think is perfect and great, but the director says it’s completely wrong, most likely it is completely wrong. You’re a musician, so you have a certain clout in talking about why you think it works, but if it doesn’t you just have to let it go. In the tours you’ve done across several continents, what encounters have you had with local music in the places you’ve been to, and what has stayed with you about it? I feel like when most people travel, what they want to do is get to know the locals and partake in what ‘tourists’ wouldn’t. I feel the same way. A place that I’ve been to that had a huge impact on me is Brazil. We went to one of the favelas on Wednesday night at one o’clock in the morning, and I saw 12-year-old children with rifles [riding] motorcycles. They were rehearsing for the carnival, and the way that it works there is the mafia, or whatever they call it, works outside of the government. They run their own town. The [mafia] bosses’ samba schools were rehearsing, and their people were all playing some musical instrument, and I’ve never heard a viola sound like that. Everybody’s dancing, everybody knows the songs, and you can just tell it’s been going for decades. That was a beautiful experience. I’ve seen things similar to that in Istanbul and Japan. I’m Cuban, you see it in Cuba on every corner. I saw it with tango in Argentina. If you’ve ever been to a tango ballroom where there’s 100 couples dancing, it’s intimidating because they’re all dead serious about romance. By the same token, western classical music in Europe, when you go to somewhere like Vienna, [is] still very much alive. In Italy, opera is revered. You might not think of it as a folkloric music, but it was very much a part of their everyday lives.

Tell me a bit about Rhizome. What’s it like to perform with this group in particular? How did you all come to work together and what’s the story behind the name? The band originated around 2008, and I wanted to have a sonority that was reflective of me. Just because I was a jazz musician, I didn’t feel like my identity was the typical structure of what you usually have; a trumpet, saxophone, rhythm section, guitar, sometimes trombone, things like that. I just felt like I wanted a sound that had more to do with what … my personality was. So I experimented. I had a band before Rhizome that had a tuba, bassoon, oboe, clarinet, and flute. I was definitely experimenting, and I recorded an album with a trio. But then afterwards I felt like it was missing something, and I started asking around for string players because I had also listened to a lot of Stravinsky and Ravel and Brahms. Eventually I met these string players in New York who I just clicked with and I started writing music. The name Rhizome comes from a Carl Jung book that I read. ... He discussed the idea of the rhizome — [you can have] a forest that seems like a bunch of different trees but they’re actually all from the same rhizome, which is a kind of a root system that keeps … everything connected. The rhizome is the part of the plant that’s able to keep it alive if there’s an extreme winter or something. That rhizome remains alive even though it seems like the trees are dead. [They] come back. From a rhizome comes a bunch of different plants that ... are genetically identical. While this band was coming to be, a lot of horrible things were happening in the world, and I wish that I could say that has changed but it hasn’t, so the idea of it is to bring the world [together]. We’re all from the same rhizome of humans; we’re all big extended members of the animal kingdom. How would you say the music you play reflects you and your experiences? I hope the music answers that question. I think that’s the beauty of the music — that everybody can interpret it however they do and it’s all valid. Music is such an abstract form. It does reflect it. However that’s interpreted by people, I welcome it. Your debut album Personalities — how did you come to call it that? I was young. I think I was 21 or something when I was working on it. I’d only been living in New York a couple years at that point, and there are a lot of personalities that you come across. Just trying to find my way and take the good in people and avoid the bad. My world was becoming bigger and there were a lot of personalities. You often seem to work in collaboration with others. What draws you to these sorts of collaborations? I think they’re very unique musicians, and I think jazz in itself is a collaborative art form. I mean film-making definitely is. But when you’re playing with people — and don’t get me wrong, it definitely happens in classical music — but in jazz, it’s really a democratic process. Everybody’s got their own unique voice that they choose to bring in and out. Let’s say we’re playing in a trio — if it feels like

the music is becoming stagnant or it’s getting out of control, simultaneously all three members are followers and leaders at the same time. It’s the people who have the courage to step up and potentially be ‘disrespectful’ towards the other musicians by disagreeing musically but having a valid statement to make. … I respect that, and I admire that. It’s going to sound like an extreme analogy, but it’s like being in a battle. Your soldiers are with you and you’ve got each others’ backs. It’s the same in music. You make sound from silence and you want to make sure that you have each others’ backs, and you’re serving the music. People that I’ve worked with … have a great balance of vulnerability and courage, which I think is essential to any honest [piece]. What do you wish you had known as a musician at the very beginning of your career? What do you wish that all musicians could know at the early stages of their career? To embrace fear. That’s the main [thing]. Everybody knows about stage fright and speaking [in public] and just embracing the fear of putting yourself in a vulnerable position. I mean, don’t be stupid. Don’t just do it for the sake of doing it. Obviously prepare, but I would say to musicians that [at the] point where you feel like ‘oh crap’ — that’s a good moment. [It] should be an indicator that when you’re feeling that ‘oh crap’ moment you’re doing something right. Is there anything else you’d like to add? I have a record label called Biophilia Records. Biophilia means an innate attraction to other living things and about environmentally friendly approaches to the music industry. Our artists volunteer periodically with nonprofits to clean up rivers, and we perform for students who can’t afford to listen to music and we don’t have any plastic in our products. We have this thing called a Biopholio. That’s another part of me that I like to put out there, not because of me but because I want the conversation of environmental awareness and sustainability to be out there in the music industry. What got you involved with doing that sort of work? My whole life I’ve cared about nature, and it kind of changed a little bit when I got to New York, where I was doing research on it. I went to the Museum of Natural History and spoke to someone called Michael J. Foster, whose focus on environmental justice was more on urban areas where typically … historically underrepresented groups … are left with no choice but to live in certain areas where it’s basically toxic. That opened me up to environmental justice not just [for] these beautiful polar bears, but [for] children living in situations where they can’t breathe clean air. I think I [have] just innately [cared] about those things since I was a kid, and as I got older I felt like music was a very important part of my life. But apart from that, I also cared about the environment and the future of this planet. It took about 10 years of thinking about these things to finally realize how I could bring both worlds together, the result is this label.

Oberlin Orchestra Performs Festive Introductory Concert “I have been in love with this piece for a long, long time – it’s one of my favorites,” Jiménez said. “It happens to be a piece that was originated by two great Latin American artists: a Cuban poet and a Mexican composer. I grew up in Venezuela, so I feel that we are showing the world the great achievements of these people. And it’s not the typical stereotype of what Latin music is. This is not the tango, rumba, bolero that everybody associates with Latin music. This is just great modern orchestral music [that] happens to be based on a Latin American poem, which happens to be based on a sort of ritual … that originated in Afro-Cuban religion.” After the performance of Sensemayá came the moment that many in the audience had been waiting for — new President Carmen Twillie Ambar’s conducting debut. After taking the stage to thunderous applause, she ended the evening by leading the orchestra in Johann Strauss’ Radetzky March. “It was exciting to be up there with the orchestra,” Ambar said. “I’ve never done that before. It’s so different to be in the midst of the music in that way. But also to watch the artistry of the various instruments up close as the students had that sort of intense look of trying to accomplish this piece and to be part of the music in terms of curating it, [or] orchestrating it, was just

Continued from page 10

these kinds of concerts for children,” she said. “There are a lot of pieces that are written by famous composers that are concusive to showing children the instruments. But I thought it was really great that Professor Jiménez took the idea of educating people about classical music to an older level. I actually had students come up to me after the concert and tell me: ‘I loved the analytical part. … I loved understanding the piece and knowing what to listen for.’” The crowd size spoke to the appeal of the format; by the time the concert started, almost every seat in Finney Chapel was filled with both college and community members, and the audience willingly and energetically participated in every component of the event throughout the evening. “I’ve never seen that many people in Finney Chapel,” Mashburn said. “It’s nice to see the fruits of [musicians’] labor be appreciated by that many people. That was [wild], and I hope to see as many people at every orchestra concert, choir concert, jazz ensemble — all of it.” Beyond the pedagogical value, Jiménez was also inspired to choose Sensemayá for this concert because of a personal connection with the piece.

exhilarating. I had a blast.” Ambar and the orchestra received a well-deserved standing ovation for the march. Not only was it performed with the predictably excellent technical precision that one expects from Oberlin Conservatory musicians, but there was a clear joy to the performance as well. To Jiménez, Ambar’s success as a conductor bodes well for her leadership of Oberlin in general. “A leader is a leader,” he said. “It’s very important, when you lead, to be determined and to have an absolute conviction in what you’re doing. No hesitation whatsoever. … She demonstrated that she is a great leader.” Ambar hoped that this concert would spread the message of what the Conservatory does to a wider audience, and that people who enjoyed “So may I introduce to you” will keep coming back for more. “There is a way for all of us to have our soul nurtured by music,” she said. “By coming to the various concerts, it is an opportunity for your spirit to be moved. You shouldn’t miss that opportunity. You shouldn’t think of it as ‘just another thing on the list,’ because this opportunity doesn’t last forever – to experience … a campus that’s the most musical campus in the country.”

Professional Opportunities Abound for Art Majors, Say Graduates Continued from page 11

“We had professional artists come and do artist talks and studio visits, but we didn’t have really any communication with alumni,” said Lily Dithrich, OC ’13, one of the returning artists who spoke Sunday. “There wasn’t any sort of infrastructure for speaking with past art students and seeing what they were up to.” The other visiting alumnus, Lucas Briffa, OC ’12, noted that if an opportunity like Pathways had existed during his time at Oberlin, he would have “definitely been trying to get studio visits with the visiting artists. … Looking back on it now, it’s one of the most important things, obviously, to do.” Dithrich and Briffa’s talks were as creative and varied as the artists themselves. Dithrich spoke about how her sculpture practice examines “both inter- and intrapersonal relationships using reassembled furniture parts that serve as mimeses for human subjects.” One piece, titled “Being Two, Being One,” incorporates the frames of two chairs that seemed almost to melt together because of the creative woodworking. Dithrich’s talk embodied an important aspect of the Pathways 2017 series — exploring how the senior studio course helps

students in “building a body of work and a body of skills that help them ease their way into a professional life as artists, or whatever path they choose,” as Professor of Integrated Media Julia Christensen described. Dithrich described how her work evolved since her senior studio, still incorporating many of the elements that were characteristic of her undergraduate work, but also adding new ones, like color and wood bending. “As I distort objects through form, color, and material, the viewer must examine the destabilization caused by this and reflect on their reliance on and expectations of the things around them,” Dithrich said. Briffa’s Monday lecture showed an artist who had taken a very different pathway, using film, photography, and found objects as his media of choice. One piece displayed objects that he had collected from the Chicago Police department, including a disturbing badge that read at the top, “Chicago Police Death Squad” and, at the bottom, “Kill or be killed.” “I definitely try to raise awareness around authority and the authoritative tone. I think one of

CROSSWORD

Down

Sequences and Series

1. They’re mighty 2. Bird found in marshes 3. Dress type 4. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, etc. 5. Craftsman 6. Rhymes, perhaps 7. Wander 8. Gait 9. Curse breakers 10. As opposed to go out 11. Take a DNA sample 12. Giveaway, in poker 16. Pigment 22. Search for 24. Hit TV show 27. Prior to A.D. 29. Part of, nefariously 30. What dough might do 31. Like some meats and cheeses 32. What Russian dolls can do 33. Gibbons, chimps, and orangutans 34. Carbon dioxide reservoir 35. Amt. of time 37. Sewing machine innovator 40. _______ Room 43. Remainder 45. Bicker 48. Honeybee’s delight 50. Cooking wear

Puzzle by Daniel Markus Managing Editor 1

39 43 47

36 40

44 48

The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

50 55

28 35

25 27

24 26

the things that I’m pretty interested in is the way authority operates, to what extent it’s useful, and to what extent it’s oppressive,” Briffa said. “ ... For me, as an artist who has not really gotten a lot of funding, accomplishing these projects has been kind of a miracle.” The Pathways 2017 series will continue until Nov. 13, when Kate Shapiro, OC ’06, returns to campus to give a 7 p.m. talk. “Everybody does choose a different pathway,” Dithrich said, speaking to what she wants students to take away from the series. “There are a lot of different ways to be an artist right now.” “If there’s anything that a student at Oberlin should do, it’s really just to expand those horizons,” Briffa added. Yannuzzi-Macias was hopeful that current students would benefit by learning from the experiences of recent graduates who have navigated the post-Oberlin world before them. “[I hope our students] will really take to heart the advice, the words, the experiences of the alums, and really embrace that, ask a lot of questions, and use the opportunity,” she said. 52. Beaver 53. Cash registers or strong boxes 54. Purify metal from ore 55. Actor Charlie, of It’s Always Sunny 56. Lynceus’ brother 57. Famous for its cast iron architecture 58. Pit 59. Great lake Across 1. To fall on _______ ears 5. Car financing percentages 9. “L’etat, _______ moi!” 13. Jamaican tangelo 14. Word origin 15. Hemmed and _______ 17. Baby bed 18. Rend 19. 2006 World Cup winners 20. Lotto game 21. Like oil and vinegar 23. Cardiovascular implants 25. School administrator 26. Pequod’s captain 28. Test of brain activity, abbr. 29. Nest egg, for short 32. Origin 36. Serial Producer

Sarah 38. The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid 39. Go astray 41. Like a 1-point game 42. Older 44. Dorothy’s slippers, for example 46. Sound of disapproval 47. Enclosure 49. Island in the West Indies 50. Bum 51. Basis for determining net worth 55. Directs ambulances 60. Band of three sisters 61. Ornament 62. Unit of pressure 63. Don’t do this at the gym 64. Web company recently acquired by Verizon 65. “I cannot tell _______” 66. Water source 67. Often included in company names 68. Fishing rod component 69. Formerly Editor’s Note: Solutions to the crossword run in the following week’s issue.

Sp ort s IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Anthony Allen and Avery McThompson, Football Captains This week, the Review sat down with senior football captains Anthony Allen and Avery McThompson to discuss the team’s performance so far, as well as the state of football as a sport. The Yeomen are currently sixth in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a conference record of 1–1 and an overall record of 2–1. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Julie Schreiber Sports Editor

The team started out the season 2–0 this year for the first time since 1989. Why do you think the team was able to come out this way this year? Anthony Allen: In mid-August, we came into our preseason camp very focused after our extremely disappointing season last year, when we went 0–10. Before preseason in last spring’s off-season practices was where the growth really started, actually. We worked really hard so we wouldn’t have to repeat the embarrassment of being a team that didn’t win for a full year. We all remember what it felt like to be on a losing team last year, with no energy in the locker room or intensity at practices. This year feels different; people are always hyped up and energetic, even at 6 a.m. practices. Avery McThompson: This year we defintely have a different type of swagger about us. Last year, it felt like people didn’t expect us to win at all, even the people on this team. We just didn’t have confidence, but coming out so strong in our first two games shows how much we’ve reversed that. Why was the team able to win so easily and definitively in the first two games of the season, against Kalamazoo and Kenyon? AA: On the defensive end, we really prepared physically for Kalamazoo’s shifty quarterback. He was definitely the best player on the team, and we planned to keep him “inside the pocket” and try to stay outside as much as possible. Kenyon is a good team with a great quarterback as well, but

they play lots of strange formations. Our preparation for the Kenyon game was more strategic and less physical, because if we didn’t figure out how to line up with their weird formations they could easily find our weak points. AM: For the offense, we tried to establish a running game against both Kalamazoo and Kenyon. In Kalamazoo, we did a really good job running the ball, and we struggled a little bit in the first half with Kenyon, but by the end we were really able to play the offensive game we know how to play. How do you guys shape up for the harder competition within the conference, like Wittenberg, and possibly Denison this weekend? AA: When you know the opponent you’re about to face is really talented, maybe even ranked, … you need to have a really intense week of practice. The coaches, captains, and leaders of the team have to promote that this won’t be a week to float through practice, and it’s really important that we practice how we play. We did a decent job of that leading up to our game against Wittenberg, but they’re a really good team and ended up blowing us away in the fourth quarter. We’ll face Denison this weekend, and they might have the best offense we’ll face all year, so practice this week has been intense. AM: For all of our big games, we need to remind ourselves that we can play with them. When we lost to Wittenberg, we really just beat ourselves. We were making great plays on offense and defense, but weren’t able to believe

in ourselves to the end. AA: It’s important to focus on the opponent, but most of these games are determined by whether or not we believe in ourselves and how we carry out our assignment. How do you build a culture of the football team? Do you take from leaders in the past or try to create your own team bonding exercises and pre-game rituals? AM: We’re a team unit on and off the field. Every time you go anywhere on campus and you see a teammate, you stop and say hi, hang out for a while, study together, eat together; the list goes on. We’re building a team that’s interconnected, where everyone cares about everyone, and we’re trying to squash the individual mindset. AA: Any time I’m sitting in a public space, my teammates see me and immediately come join me. In study spaces we’re always together, in Stevie we’re always together, and in the weight room we’re always messing around with each other. When you’re here for two weeks before the school year even starts, you have lots of bonding times that help foster team friendships. How has the recent news about the death of Clayton Geib, a senior football player at The College of Wooster, impacted your involvement in football? How does this news resonate with you? AA: With all the contact and collision in this sport, something I’ve learned is that the more you play afraid, the more likely you are

Senior captains Anthony Allen, number 66, and Avery McThompson, number 54, represent the Yeomen for the coin toss in their 24–6 season opening-victory against Kalamazoo College Sept. 2. The Yeomen will play the Denison University Big Red tomorrow in Granville, Ohio. Photo courtesy of OC Athletics

to get yourself into a bad situation where you can get hurt. Playing in the absence of fear of physical injuries or hurting someone else is one of the best ways to protect yourself. As a football player, you have to be confident and assume nothing bad is going to happen, or else you definitely won’t carry out your assignment and you might get hurt as well. This is not to say that Clayton, and the other football players who died, were playing with fear — sometimes real tragedies occur — but we can’t let those tragic accidents affect how we think of the game and how we prepare for it. Recently, a lineman from Midwestern State died from injuries sustained from a tackle. I’m in a position where I make about eight to nine tackles in a game, but I can’t think of them as a potential death sentence every time. You have to be cognizant of the danger, but you can’t let it affect you. It was a scary week for football. What do you think about increasing game safety in light of recemt-injuries? AM: In high school, I did a lot of research on equipment safety and safety in football in general, and most of what I found showed me that when equipment is modified to be safer, it actually

backfires and becomes more dangerous. Football is a game that involves risk, and if you don’t want to confront that risk, you don’t have to play. And if you do want to play, you have to accept that risk. AA: A way to reduce that risk can be to teach proper tackling strategies to football players. Instilling these strategies, especially at a young age, will help reduce the chance of injuries. Equipment might be up in the air, but proper form and technique can definitely reduce risk. We can’t just keep adding fancy new helmets and assume things will resolve themselves. What direction do you think the future of football, on every level, might be headed in? Do you think America might be slowly turning its back on the sport? AA: The same thing that happened to boxing in the late 1800s is happening to football right now. Just like how people found a way to box, people are always gonna find a way to play football. You can go outside all across the country and find six- and sevenyear-old boys in backyards with a ball, tackling and blocking each other, inherently enjoying the sport. I don’t think there’ll be a time where football doesn’t exist.

Russian PED Scandal Poses Ethics Challenge for 2018 Olympics Julie Schreiber Sports Editor

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea are just months away, and it remains to be seen whether athletes from team Russia will be allowed to compete. As the February start date approaches, many Russian athletes are still caught in the crossfire of a major years-long doping scandal that involved both the usage of performance-enhancing drugs and the tampering with of urine samples for drug tests. Although final decisions from the International Olympic Committee remain to be delivered, it is in the best interests of the IOC to ban all of the Russian team from the 2018 Olympics in order to preserve the standards and integrity of the Olympic Games. The issue of Russian doping first came to light after the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Exclusive reporting in The New York

Times led to an exhaustive study by Canadian professor, lawyer, and World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren, who outlined how a Russian intelligence team, alongside Grigory Rodchenkov — the former head of the Russian national anti-doping lab — blatantly helped Russian athletes evade detection in using performance-enhancing drugs during the 2014 games. Athough McLaren originally identified over 1,000 athletes in his report, only 96 cases have been reviewed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, under the administration of the IOC. Of the 96, all but one athlete were cleared. Russian authorities, meanwhile, continually deny the doping allegations, and in a press conference last week, Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov publicly attacked the notion that Russian athletes might be banned from the PyeongChang Olympics. WADA also revealed in their 323-page

report that during their investigation — which lasted almost a year — Russia’s “culture of cheating” prompted a Moscow Laboratory to intentionally destroy over 1,400 samples. By dodging the clear evidence of Russian doping and acting complacently, the IOC is not only prolonging a pressing decision, but trivializing the Olympics’ intergrity. Its hesitation to aggressively punish Russian athletes sends the message that as long as a nation is both cryptic and well-connected, it can get away with serious offenses. Last week, a committee of 17 national anti-doping agencies, fed up with the continual indifference of the IOC in this matter, issued a public statement calling for a total ban on Russian athletes at the PyeongChang Olympics. The statement pointed to Russia’s “proven corruption of the Sochi Olympic games and its continuing failure in its obligations to clean sport.” The statement also called for “an

immediate issue of meaningful consequences.” Russian officials now face pressure to either acknowledge the truths of McLaren’s report or produce the evidence to challenge it. While this is a step in the right direction, these nations should not have to perform the job of the IOC. The reluctance of the IOC to punish the Russians makes the Olympics potentially unsafe for other athletes, is unfair to other nations that dutifully punish their athletes for doping, and violates everything the Olympics stands for. If the Russians get off unpunished, it will undoubtedly encourage the use of performance-enhancing drugs by other countries in future Olympic games. The IOC cannot try to pretend that doping and cheating did not occur. The clock is ticking for the I.O.C and the Olympics to come to a verdict as Russia, one of the world’s largest and most powerful nations, is still set to compete.

Yeowomen Finish Non-Conference Stretch Undefeated

Senior defender Lauren Koval rifles the ball past the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Panthers’ defense in their 4–0 win Sept. 1. The Yeowomen, who are 6–0–1, start conference play against Ohio Wesleyan University tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Fred Shults Field. Photo by Kellianne Doyle, Staff Photographer Sam Harris Staff Writer

The Yeowomen’s electric start came to a halt when they were handed their first non-victory at the hands of the Heidelberg University Student Princes Wednesday. While the 0–0 draw may have ended their win streak, the team still has plenty to be excited about as senior forward and United Soccer Coaches National Play-

er of the Week Gwennie Gardiner has led their offense to outscore opponents 32–2 through their first seven games. Anticipating the team’s first North Coast Athletic Conference match tomorrow, Gardiner is confident her team will continue playing at the extraordinary level it has so far. “This is the best team I’ve seen in my four years here,” Gardiner said. “As long as we play like we

did in the game against Baldwin Wallace [University], we have a shot at winning every conference game we play.” Compared to the Yeowomen’s high-scoring matches against Geneva College and Defiance College, their game against Heidelberg University was slow by Oberlin standards. While the Yeowomen had more control over the ball than their opponents, firing 10 shots on goal compared to Heidelberg’s four, they were not able to put any points on the board. While Gardiner tallied just one shot on goal, sophomore midfielders Izzy Rosenstein and Jackie Brant added three and two more, respectively, but Student Princes goalie Alexandra Farmer was able to block all balls sent her way. The game against the Marietta College Pioneers on Sept. 15 didn’t pose much competition for the Yeowomen. Gardiner added two goals to her tally during Friday’s match, and the team’s second-highest scorer, first-year Brittany Mendez, added an assist to her point total. The first-year standout has six goals on the year and credits some of her success to the seniors and upperclassmen.

“The seniors have been extremely supportive,” Mendez said. “Not only have they given me soccer advice, but also for everyday college life, which makes the whole transition process a lot easier. If I am ever confused during a drill or have questions after speaking to coach, they are always willing to take time to clarify.” After only leading 1–0 through the first half, having found few opportunities to score, the Yeowomen were able to capitalize in the second half with goals from Gardiner, Rosenstein, and firstyear Lucy Fredell. The defense held the Pioneers to only five shots the entire game, as they cruised to a 4–0 win. “Although this may sound ambitious, I already hope that the team earns a conference title,” Mendez said. “We have put in a lot of work and our results reflect it. Even though we have played weaker teams thus far, our scoring efficiency has been outstanding and I hope that we continue this trend even against more difficult teams.” With the team’s astonishing play on offense, the other side of the ball has gone relatively unnoticed, despite being equally domi-

nant. Even junior goalie Jordyn Morris, who is grateful for the goal support she receives each game, gets lost in watching her offense obliterate opponents. “Although it gets a little boring to be a goalie in games that we are dominating, it is definitely a lot less pressure,” Morris said. “When we’re up by four goals I can relax a little bit and focus more on working on my communication.” In the midst of the team’s early success, Head Coach Dan Palmer is attempting to balance his excitement with level-headedness, as the season is still less than halfway complete. “We are playing very well, but our future opponents are stronger than the majority of teams we have played so far,” Palmer said. “We were picked eighth in the preseason poll, so we still have a ways to go. But our goals do include both qualifying for the conference tournament and competing for a conference title.” The Yeowomen, who enter their first NCAC match with no losses, will face off against rival Ohio Wesleyan University tomorrow at Fred Shults Field.

wrapped in the ever-weakening façade of the conservative free-speech argument, which increasingly confuses freedom from censorship with freedom from being socially ostracized for expressing viewpoints that threaten the humanity of others. Any claim, then, that outrage about Hill’s tweet is grounded in a deep-seated conviction to keep politics out of sports is hypocritical. The indignation is instead borne out of a profound sense of discomfort with truths that can sometimes be difficult, and a desire to have a space free of those truths. Now, ESPN must decide what route to take with Hill. It appears, given that the tweet in question is now nearly two weeks old, that they will choose to retain her as an employee. However, they also have not indicated support for Hill in any meaningful way. After President Donald Trump — in a bizarre move that quickly become the norm — demanded an apology from ESPN via Twitter, the company issued several public statements and ESPN President John Skipper circulated an internal memo regarding the incident. “ESPN is not a political organization,” the memo stated. “Where sports and politics intersect, no one is told what view they must express. At the same time, ESPN has values. We are committed to inclusion and an environment of tolerance where everyone in a diverse work force has the equal opportunity to succeed. We consider this human, not political. Consequently, we insist that no one be denigrated for who they are including their gender, ethnicity, religious belief, or sexual

identity.” While ESPN is a private company and can create its own internal policy — within reason — its response to Hill’s tweet is less than satisfactory. If ESPN is truly committed to inclusion and tolerance, as they say they are, then they would join Hill in condemning Trump, who has spent the first eight months of his presidency actively encouraging white supremacists across the country. Calls for Jemele Hill to be fired in the interest of divorc-

ing politics from sports are both futile and misleading. As long as sports continues to be a social institution, it will also continue to be political — and that’s not a bad thing. If there was ever a time to reject political involvement, that time is not now. Athletes and other sports figures have an opportunity to engage with both the history of sports and current events in an important way — to deny them that opportunity would not be in the interest of a progressive public discourse.

ESPN Should Join Jemele Hill in Anti-Trump Stance

Nathan Carpenter Opinions Editor

There is a pervasive narrative in the United States that sports and politics should not mix — that we should leave our entertainment unsullied by the hard work of navigating the often-taxing challenges of living together in society. That inherently contradictory argument does not stand up to any kind of scrutiny. The birth of sports itself was political in nature — to pretend otherwise is to ignore reality. Nations came to the first Olympic games under flags of truce, and used the competitions to assert political strength over their rivals. Since then, while many have tried to obscure these elements of sports, its cultural history, impact, and relevance cannot be denied. Debate over the separation of sports and politics reignited in a big way on Sept. 11, when SportsCenter host Jemele Hill tweeted, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” Immediately, the internet exploded with people on both sides of the issue, either praising Hill for speaking truth to power or demanding that ESPN immediately terminate her employment. Largely ignored by the folks who have called for Hill to be fired is that her statement is categorically true, for reasons that have been documented repeatedly since Trump declared his candidacy. Hill’s honesty should not be dismissed as an important factor in the decision ESPN now faces to either retain or let go of Hill. In a time when false The Oberlin Review | September 22, 2017

equivalencies dominate public discourse on a number of important topics, it is vital to maintain a commitment to the truth in all aspects of both public and private life. The argument for Hill’s firing is the same one that was made when Colin Kaepernick first knelt for the national anthem, when many other athletes followed Kaepernick’s lead, when LeBron James wore a shirt reading “I Can’t Breathe” to protest the police murder of Eric Garner, or when then-President Barack Obama was booed at NFL stadiums across the nation during a pre-recorded video of his remembrances of Sept. 11, 2001. The common thread between these and many similar incidents is that the folks who regularly call for the separation of sports and politics only believe in the separation of sports and a certain brand of politics — namely, progressive politics that advocate for racial, gender, and social justice, among other things. Other strains of politics — particularly patriotism and nationalism — are perfectly acceptable to this crowd. I am willing to bet that most of those advocating against Hill do not bat an eye when asked to stand and place their hands over their hearts for the national anthem. They cheer when fighter jets fly over football stadiums to showcase military strength. When former MLB All-Star and ESPN analyst Curt Schilling tweeted a transphobic image in 2016, we heard outrage from the anti-Hill camp — but it was directed at ESPN for firing Schilling, and not at Schilling himself for spreading hate speech. That is naked politics

SPORTS September 22, 2017

established 1874

Volume 146, Number 4

NCAC Athlete Death Shocks Colleges Alex McNicoll Sports Editor

Sophomore middle hitter Jaya Flynn-Young spikes over the net as junior setter Sara Chang supports in the Yeowomen’s victory over John Carroll University Wednesday. Photo by Hugh Newcomb, Photo Editor

Volleyball Crushes Competition Will Cramer

The Yeowomen carried their scorching start to the season into Wednesday night’s game against the John Carroll University Blue Streaks, as they dropped just one set in the win. With a 9–3 record, Oberlin heads into its first North Coast Athletic Conference game riding a four-game win streak. The first set was a closely-fought, back and forth battle with the Blue Streaks. The Yeowomen were able to pull away behind the efforts of sophomore outside hitter Lexi Mitchell, whose kill gave Oberlin the win for the set with a score of 25–23. She would lead the Yeowomen with 17 kills that day. Mitchell, who racked up 309 kills her rookie season, is on pace to post similarly excellent numbers this fall, averaging 13 kills a game. “[My mindset] is that I can’t just be dead weight on the team,” Mitchell said. “Every point counts. … I want to be a part of the team and push us further.” The Yeowomen then dropped the second set, which was much less contested, at 14–25. However, they were able to bounce back unfazed, as they took the third set with a decisive score of 25–16. With the match on the line, the Blue Streaks battled back to take a 20–18 lead. However, just as they have all season, the Yeowomen kept their composure and narrowly took the set, 25–23. Junior setter Sara Chang has been impressed with the team so far, noting the change in mentality from their last season to this one. “[Our dynamic has changed, so] we don’t falter as much,” Chang said. “If we get beaten one game, we won’t just automatically give up, which is something that happened last year.” Oberlin’s attack continues to be a key to their success, as they collectively racked up 65 kills in the game. In addition to Mitchell’s 17 kills, sophomore outside hitter Maura Gibbs delivered 15 kills and senior captain

and middle hitter Dana Thomas added 15 of her own. Chang, who supplied three aces against John Carroll, also provided necessary offense in the team’s wins. The trio of Mitchell, Gibbs, and Thomas has been huge for the Yeowomen as of late, as they racked up 42 and 41 kills against Earlham College and La Roche College, respectively. Sophomore setter Samantha Lam also kept the offense running smoothly, excellently playing her role as a primary distributor, with a career best of 51 assists and 11 digs. Lam has grown into her role after a strong first-year season and has consistently provided the fuel for the ferocious Oberlin attack. Head Coach Erica Rau, who is in her seventh season with the team, is not surprised with the Yeowomen’s quick turnaround this year, citing their ability to play in sync and with focus, as well as quality leadership from her three captains. “Our team culture is a lot stronger,” Rau said. “Although they all play different positions and are really different people, [they] work extremely well together. This is probably the best senior leadership we have ever had.” In addition to improving teamwork and helping her team to gel, Rau noted the emphasis on vision and reading this year, which has resulted in better digs and more precise attacks. Another factor that Rau cited was the growth of the individual players, especially the “very strong” sophomore class. The Yeowomen will next compete against the nation’s number-one ranked Wittenberg University Tigers at their first conference matchup tomorrow at noon. In what will undoubtedly be their greatest challenge of the year, Mitchell remains confident in her team’s capabilities. “They’re just a team, just like us,” Mitchell said. “At this level, you can beat anyone as long as you have the mentality to win.”

The College of Wooster’s Clayton Geib, a senior Chemistry major, All-Conference lineman, and two-time North Coast Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll member, passed away this past Monday. The 21-yearold native of London, Ohio, walked off the field during Saturday’s football game against Ohio Wesleyan University claiming he did not feel well. According to 10TV.com, he started cramping and hyperventilating in the locker room before being rushed to the hospital — by Sunday, he had no brain activity. An official cause of death has not been reported at this time. In wake of the tragedy, The College of Wooster will put “72,” Geib’s number, in the end zone for him and has set up a support center for his teammates and friends. The College of Wooster also led a moment of silence for about 3,000 people who gathered to honor his memory on Tuesday. All teams in the NCAC also will participate in a moment of silence tomorrow. According to Oberlin’s Delta Lodge Athletics Director Natalie Winkelfoos, Geib’s passing has rocked the NCAC, as dozens have reached out to The College of Wooster Athletic Director Keith Beckett. The death has prompted many conversations about coaching and conditiwwoning within the league and the College. “I do believe that we are doing everything we can to keep our student athletes healthy,” Winkelfoos said. “I feel confident with the relationships that we have with the University Hospitals and the check-ins we do with student athletes. … Our football coaching staff, and all of our [coaches know that] the health of our student athletes comes first.” Geib’s death is one of many non-professional football player deaths that have sent waves across the nation. In fact, Geib was not the only college football player to die due to game injuries this week, as Midwestern State University cornerback Robert Grays died after seriously injuring his neck in what appeared to be a routine tackle this past Saturday. Grays was only 19, and his death was confirmed on Wednesday, just three days after Geib’s. While Geib and Grays appear to be victim to freak accidents, coaching negligence and poor conditioning have been hot topics in the student-athlete sports world for several years now. Kent State University first-year Tyler Heintz passed away in June during the second day of conditioning due to a exertional heat stroke, or exertional hyperthermia, which occurs when the body is not given a chance to cool down in an extremely hot environment. Football is already a sport marred in controversy. For example, NFL players such as Ken Stabler and Eugene Monroe have made a point to detail their extremely painful lives after football; recent research on head trauma in football has found links to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, documented in the 2015 film Concussion; and the NCAA makes billions of dollars on college football players who are not only uncompensated, but also receive no health benefits. It is scary to think that football is now also faced with so many preventable deaths at the college level. While the whole country has been reassessing the importance of their football programs, The College of Wooster will continue to mourn the loss of Clayton Geib.