September 7, 2018

The Oberlin Review September 7, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 1

Faculty Join National Advocacy Group Amid Personnel Changes Gabby Greene News Editor

involving himself in almost every aspect of his student’s lives — from music to housing arrangements.

“The thing with Jim [Christie] was he was a teacher, but he was also a friend,” Dion said.

“It was hard to separate the two when he got too involved,” Buniatyan added.

Conservatory students often rely on their mentors to help secure a future in the industry. At Oberlin Conservatory, and in classical music conservatories across the world, students meet with their teacher every week for several hours of individualized attention and small class work.

“In music, you have this person that’s guiding you not just technically, but also teaching you to express yourself,” said double-degree senior and pianist Natasha Gwirceman.

“You’re given this instrument and you have to express all the feelings of life and love and passion and sex and death and everything, and this person is there to teach you that when you’re 18. Christie is the best organist in the country. If you study with him, he could make your career. As an undergraduate, this guy could set you up for life.”

For many Conservatory students, it was a struggle to reconcile the professor they knew with the predator depicted in The Boston Globe article and victim accounts.

“He gave me everything. He gave

Amid concern over the ongoing Academic and Administrative Program Review and staffing changes this summer, over 58 Oberlin College and Conservatory faculty members have joined the American Academy of University Professors. At 64 members, the AAUP of Oberlin does not have the numbers to become its own chapter. It does, however, have the power to become a faculty advocacy program.

The AAUP is a national organization with local chapters in each state, which serve as either bargaining or advocacy chapters. A private college like Oberlin can only become an advocacy chapter, which would not allow the collective bargaining found in public university chapters like the AAUP branch at The Ohio State University.

“Ideally we [AAUP-affiliated faculty at Oberlin College] would be able to form a union, but we’re not allowed to do that,” said Stephen Crowley, chair of the Politics Department. “But I think it’s important for faculty to discuss their concerns and their interests.”

Crowley is one of the many faculty members to join the AAUP over the spring, the largest surge in AAUP membership at Oberlin.

Faculty at private universities are not legally protected if they unionize. This distinction from public university faculty arose from the 1980 Supreme Court decision NLRB v. Yeshiva University, which established tenure-track faculty at private universities as “managerial.”

Since the National Labor Relations Act prevents “management” from unionization, faculty at private universities have been prevented from doing so. Without the power to form and join unions, faculty have had to find alternate ways to organize.

“An AAUP chapter allows us, then, as an organization, to engage in collective action,” said James Monroe Professor of Politics Chris Howell.“I joined AAUP because I believe in the principle and also because I wanted to support anything that looks like labor organization of faculty.”

Howell, one of the original six faculty members of the AAUP, has been affiliated with the group for 29 years.

Newer members of the AAUP, like Assistant Professor of Politics David Forrest, signed up in response to dissatisfaction with faculty treatment and concerned for tenured teaching positions.

“Existing governance structures at colleges and universities around the country simply aren’t doing a good enough job at addressing important issues affecting their employees,” Forrest said in an email to the Review. “Unions and advocacy organizations like the AAUP can bolster both local and national efforts to address these issues and create more social justice in higher education.”

see Sexual Misconduct, page 3

see Professors, page 4

Oberlin students and community members recently learned that world-renowned organist and Chair of the Organ Department James David Christie resigned following allegations of longstanding sexual misconduct emerged. Organists on campus regularly practice and perform at Finney Chapel’s historic C.B. Fisk pipe organ.

Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

Oberlin Professors Resign After Sexual Misconduct Eilish Spear Two Oberlin Conservatory professors resigned last month following allegations of repeated sexual misconduct involving students. World-renowned organist James David Christie, chair of the Organ Department, and Robin Eubanks, associate professor of Jazz Trombone and Jazz Composition, were accused of violating Oberlin’s Sexual Misconduct Policy after Oberlin’s Title IX office received reports against both men.

Dean of the Conservatory Andrea Kalyn notified Conservatory staff and students of the accusations and subsequent resignations in an email Aug. 23, stating, “The work of Oberlin College and Conservatory is predicated on the principles of respect, equity, and inclusion; these are core to our daily endeavor and critical to the wellbeing of our community.”

Christie’s case expanded in the nationial news and had drawn worldwide attention.

The email came just days after the Organ Department was notified of Christie’s resignation. The initial email did not include any information as to why the revered professor was leaving unexpectedly.

Within hours of Christie’s resignation announcement, The Boston Globe published an investigation into Christie’s relationship with students at Oberlin and another institution, the College

of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, MA, where Christie was a former faculty member. While the accusations regarding behavior at Oberlin were not criminal, those described by the Globe were more severe.

Christie was an influential and powerful member of Oberlin’s Organ Department and the organ world at large. Christie performed as Wellesley’s organist and with the Boston Symphony for decades. He performs nearly 60 times a year — far more frequently than the average organist.

“He was the ultimate teacher,” said Conservatory sophomore Matthew Dion, a former student of Christie’s.

“He’s regarded as probably one of the world’s most amazing pedagogues and performers. He did everything.”

“If [Oberlin] is in the top 15 conservatories in the U.S., it’s number one in organ. And in nearly the entire world,” added Conservatory junior Tigran Buniatyan, another former student of Christie’s. Originally from Armenia, Buniatyan is a trained musicologist and was working as a professional organist when he was offered a spot in Christie’s studio.

“I left everything to study with him.

I never thought I could go study here. I was 25 or 24, and then there’s probably the only person in the world who could just say he’s taking me to his class and I would drop everything.”

Dion said that Christie had a history of blurring crucial boundaries with students, with a reputation for

CONTENTS NEWS

OPINIONS

THIS WEEK

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

02 Administration Announces Campus Dining Changes

05 Dining Changes Create Urgent Accesibility Concerns

08-09 Connect Cleveland

10 Video Highlghts Woman of Color on Campus

16 From the Locker Room to the Copy Room

03 Community Members Debate Next Steps for NEXUS

07 OPiscapo’s Arm Draws Laughs at Orientation

11 Cooperative Game Will Make Players Long for A Way Out

15 Field Hockey Maximizes Holistic College Experience

The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

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Administration Announces Campus Dining Changes Amid Budget Crisis

College Senior Andrea Wang grabs a salad at DeCafé’s new salad bar, one of the many changs to this year’s setup.

Photo by Mallika Pandey, photo ediotr

Jenna Gyimesi News Editor Campus Dining Services has undergone several recent changes that have restructured the way students can access food and use meal swipes.

Wilder DeCafé, Lord-Saunders Dining Hall, and Azariah’s Café now all offer grab-and-go meal options. Stevenson Dining Hall, too, now offers quick, portable options outside of the main dining area. The Science Cart has been closed, but the Science Center is equipped with vending machines that offer coffee and snacks.

Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo explained that the

main goal of the changes is to “provide more flexibility to folks on the 300-meal plan, to provide more grab-and-go options in response to student feedback saying that those options are enhancing opportunities in terms of dining, and then making changes to address the closure of Dascomb [Dining Hall] to make sure there are robust dining options in the remaining facilities.”

At DeCafé, students can use a meal swipe for a sandwich, a salad, an 8” pizza, a bowl of chili with a small salad and protein cup, or a smoothie. Students can pair any of these options with fruit or chips, a cookie, pudding or jello cup, and one drink.

Mark Sustarsic, DeCafé man-

ager, echoed Raimondo’s emphasis on student feedback. “We hope to really satisfy students’ needs,” Sustarsic said. “We want to find out what everybody wants, and even though we can’t make everyone happy, we will try to. If I have multiple students come up to me looking for iced coffee, then next week we will have iced coffee.”

Individuals on the 300-mealper-semester plan will not be able to buy retail groceries at DeCafé. However, they may swipe for meals up to four times a day at any dining facility.

Many students are frustrated and confused by the changes made to DeCafé.

“They ruined DeCafé. The

appeal here used to be that if you were willing to wait you would get better food. It’s just not the same now,” said College junior Sophie Drukman-Feldstein. “The situaion is frustrating. Using meal swipes [at DeCafé] is confusing, and weird.

Pizza is cool, but not that cool,” furthered Conservatory junior Claudia Cangemi.

Some of the dining changes were enacted in hopes of promoting financial efficiency in addition to increasing dining options.

“The Science Cart cost more to operate than it brought in [as] revenue, so it was not a financially stable structure,” Raimondo said. “Decafé’s staffing model and infrastructure makes it possible to run the dining facility much more efficiently.”

She further explained that Stevenson Dining Hall had not previously been used to its full potential.

“One of the surprising findings to me is that Stevenson was deeply under-utilized,” Raimondo said. “Stevenson was staffed to serve 1,000 people, but there were lunches where we were serving 200 or 300 people. One of the goals is to increase utilization at Stevenson for a financial efficiency perspective, which is also about creating a better program in terms of quality. With effective crowd management, we have the space to serve much larger groups of people and create a much stronger dining program.”

Fourth Meal will now be

served in DeCafé, and the Rathskeller will be used for seating space. If there is overflow, students can enjoy their meal at various other locations in Wilder — including the ’Sco, if there is no scheduled programming.

Raimondo anticipates that the dining program will continue to grow stronger. The cart currently serving food outside of Stevenson is a temporary measure.

“There is a plan in the works to convert the Biggs Pod into a grab-and-go facility,” Raimondo said. “That table is a placeholder for what will become a to-go area with a small area for café-like seating.” Additionally, she said, “We are working on menu articulation so that there is a distinct identity to the dining spaces.”

Although the plans may have been put in place to address student concerns, many students have expressed that they miss the dining spaces that they grew accustomed to in previous years at Oberlin.

“It’s much more difficult to get food now. I feel like there are fewer places to go, and at those places there are fewer options” said College senior Moses Riley.

Students have also raised concerns that newly added graband-go options will not make it easier to get food on campus. “[Stevenson] is not central to campus but there are no other food options. It’s all a part of a meal plan I am forced to have,” said College senior Jack Goldberg.

Community Members Debate Next Steps for NEXUS Roman Broszkowski Staff Writer

After failing to stop construction of the NEXUS pipeline, protesters and environmental activists are regrouping and planning for what comes next. Some are looking specifically at how to protect Oberlin, some argue that the way forward lies in regional coalitions, and others believe that only radical restructuring, such as creating a landfill gas pipeline, can produce a desired outcome.

Pipeline construction was completed over the summer. On July 25, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a request for a rehearing of the construction approval. The request was filed by multiple groups, including the City of Oberlin and Communities for Safe and Sustainable Energy.

Reverends Steve Hammond and John Elder founded CSSE in 2012; a year later, they would be instrumental in passing the

Oberlin Community Bill of Rights and Obligations — effectively banning pipelines.

Now that NEXUS is in the ground, Hammond and Elder are looking for ways to mitigate its impact on the community.

“Protests [in other parts of the country] haven’t stopped any pipelines; those pipelines are still being constructed,” Elder said.

“So the function of further demonstrations, in my view, would not be to stop the pipeline. They would be to continue educating the public on the impact of the pipelines.”

Central to this goal is teaching community members how to track the potentially negative effects of the pipeline.

“One of the projects that may be going along for people both with CSSE and Students for Energy Justice is the whole idea of training people to monitor what is going on with the pipeline ... [such as] our air quality standards,” Hammond said. “Are the kinds of agreements that NEXUS has to make to put the pipeline in, are they living up to those agreements?”

The Oberlin R eview September 7, 2018 Volume 147, Number 1 (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.

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Editors-in-Chief

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

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

Katie Lucey Sports Editors Alexis Dill

Ify Ezimora Photo Editors Mallika Pandey Maria Turner

Elaine Tanner, an environmental activist from Polk, Ohio who attended an antiNEXUS protest in Oberlin over the summer, agrees.

“For me, success would be a monitoring program, by local officials and NEXUS,” she said. “It shouldn’t have to be people living in the area.”

Until that happens, however, Tanner agrees that the next step needs to be a lot of testing — not only of the air and water quality but of people themselves.

“It’s important to establish a baseline of health,” she said. “That way, if something goes wrong, we can see if the pipeline was a factor.”

Yet to Tanner, the NEXUS fight is neither over nor solely local. “We’ve just gotten started. What we need to do is cut the head of the snake,” she said.

Pipelines crisscross the entire state, and for Tanner, their intersections — such as fracking wells near Kensington, Ohio — are where pressure needs to be applied the

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

most.

“I think we need to pull together different regions and see that if we can stop the wells, there won’t be a need for the pipelines,” she said.

However, shutting down fracking in Ohio will likely be met with pushback.

Some believe that liquid natural gas (LNG) will aid in the transition from fuels like coal to renewable energy sources.

Professor of Physics John Scofield, while not in favor of the pipeline, believes that its construction should be viewed in a more positive light.

“Switching from coal to natural gas is the single most important act by the College in 50 years in reducing its carbon footprint,” Scofield wrote in a letter he shared with the Review. “It should have been, and would have been accomplished 10 years earlier, had not David Orr and his disciples fought it as they held out for a more perfect See Activists, page 3

Corrections: The Oberlin Review is not aware of any corrections at this time.

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

In Memory of Ammar Abo-El-Naga, OC ’21 The staff of The Oberlin Review extends our condolences to the family and friends of Ammar Abo-El-Naga, who died Aug. 21, 2018 at the age of 18.

Ammar, a native of Egypt, studied neuroscience at Oberlin, where he was entering his sophomore year. As a Bonner Scholar, he frequently volunteered at both Oberlin Community Services and the local retirement community, Kendal at Oberlin. He was also active in the Muslim Student Association.

A LaunchGood fundraising campaign has been created to help alleviate costs for his family, which at the time of publication had collected $1,060 of the $7,000 goal. The link to this campaign will be provided on the Review’s website.

Photo courtesy of the Bonner Center for Service and Learning Text by Sydney Allen, Editor-in-Chief

Brief: Portal Connects Oberlin Students in Dialogue Sydney Allen Editor-In-Chief Passersby might have noticed an anomaly in Wilder Bowl yesterday, as a large gold shipping container took residence in the field outside DeCafé with little explanation.

Thus, we welcome Oberlin’s very own Portal system, which will be based in Wilder from Sept. 6 to Nov. 10.

The Portal, which was coordinated through Oberlin’s CIT department, is an interactive audiovisual room where students, faculty, and staff can video chat with people from around the world. The College is renting the Portal from the art, design, and technology collective Shared Studios and obtained the funding for the initiative through a grant.

“The Oberlin College community is invited to use the Portal to engage with individuals in other Portal locations across the globe,” read a statement by Oberlin’s Office of Communications.

The Portals are refurbished shipping containers equipped with audiovisual technology. Participants will be able to video conference with others at Portal locations around the world. Most Portal conversations

are pre-arranged and will be organized by a Shared Studios Portal Curator.

Although many students were perplexed about the container’s abrupt arrival, the potential to connect with international communities was appealing.

“I’m a little confused, as it’s never been something that’s ever been brought to me or my awareness in any way, shape, or form, and having a giant gold shipping container is a little bizarre,” College sophomore Will Birney said. “But as far as a cool immersive experience — I don’t see a problem with that. I took Chinese for a long time, so if I could speak to someone in China in real time, hopefully that’s kind of cool.”

Shared Studios says that “when you enter a Portal, you come face-to-face with someone in a distant Portal live and fullbody, as if in the same room.”

The Portal can be used to connect with international museums, band concerts or performances, other universities, refugee camps, and arts centers, along with countless other possibilities.

Those interested in using the Portal must choose a location and topic of interest and fill out an online form. Individuals will then be contacted by a Portal curator.

Activists Continue to Fight NEXUS continued from page 2 solution.”

Scofield is not alone in believing in LNG’s bridging ability. He notes that both of former President Barack Obama’s energy secretaries supported the development of gas.

“The city is wasting its time and money and its energies on [fighting the pipeline],” Scofield said in an interview. “Natural gas is a critical fuel here in town and in our nation, and it cannot be eliminated nationally without major breakthroughs in storage and other energy technologies. Anything Oberlin can do to eliminate natural gas in the near term involves strategies that only make us look green — they do not provide models for other communities.”

David Orr, an environmental studies professor, disagrees.

“Natural gas is a bridge to nowhere,” Orr said. “Developing LNG diverts money away from renewables, methane, a much more potent greenhouse gasleaks out at well sites, and often the full costs of fracking, including the long-term costs of toxic water, are

not considered.”

Orr argues that fracking wells don’t last long and that refracking risks tainting either aquifers or waterways — a concern shared by Tanner, Hammond, and Elder.

In order to mitigate the environmental impact, Orr insists that a more radical solution needs to be considered: a landfill gas pipeline.

“Testing is good, but it needs to be kicked up to another level,” Orr said.

According to Orr, the College is considering building a two-mile landfill gas pipeline that would replace its dependency on LNG for heating.

“We need to keep [fossil fuels] in the ground, otherwise the momentum will be too strong and we won’t be able to stop from reaching the two-degree limit that scientists agree would be catastrophic for the earth,” he said.

While debate around the pipeline still rages on, there are those who feel that the issue has become a moot point.

In an email to the Review, City Council President Bryan Burgess wrote, “The pipe is in the ground despite our ongoing legal battle. I con-

Sexual Misconduct Allegations Plague Conservatory continued from page 1 me the opportunity to come to Oberlin. Of course, I earned it by working hard and practicing. But he gave me the opportunity and the chance to do something with my life in this field,” Dion said. “It was probably one of the most transformative years of my life.”

“The biggest struggle for me over the last two weeks has been to try to separate the man that I knew with the man who did the things that he did,” Dion continued.

Both Dion and Buniatyan expressed frustration over what they see as the destruction of Christie’s legacy in light of the allegations.

“He’s still the greatest organist in the entire [country], I think. People are taking that away from him, but they can’t take that away. It doesn’t have anything to do with anything. I mean, if he’s a great organist, he’s still a great organist,” said Buniatyan “This guy went from being the greatest teacher in the world to nothing,” Dion added.

Conservatory students often develop a strong bond with their professors and are reliant on their guidance.

The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

“Our work within the Conservatory is particularly dependent on a culture of trust, which is the foundation of every studio and classroom interaction, every ensemble, every artistic and intellectual risk, and certainly every performance,” said Kalyn in a schoolwide email.

“As dean, I take most seriously the responsibility to provide our students with a safe and inclusive learning environment, free from harassment and discrimination, as the relationship between student and teacher is a sacred trust that must be honored, protected, and upheld if we are to execute our fundamental educational mission,” Kalyn said.

President Carmen Ambar similarly reinforced these values in an email.

“All of us at Oberlin remain committed to a fair, unbiased, and exhaustive search for the facts,” she wrote. “And we insist that all members of the Oberlin community — especially those who wield power and influence — live up to the highest standards of integrity.”

In light of the allegations, the Conservatory will be requiring all faculty and staff to attend Title IX trainings

by fall break.

“All conservatory faculty and staff will have completed required Title IX training by fall break, the Conservatory Division Directors and Conservatory Faculty Council have voted to require that all studio and office windows be unobstructed, and conversations have started about how we can better create a community where professional misconduct does not occur,” Kalyn said.

Oberlin Conservatory, with far more access to Title IX and other support resources than many conservatories because of its connection to the College, is in a unique position to set a precedent for others to follow in the response to allegations of this nature.

The new developments have made some Conservatory students look into the relationship between power and abuse.

“Anytime there’s one individual who can make or break your career,” Gwirceman said, “it seems like the perfect place for [abuse]. You have this very intimate relationship with this person because they are your mentor. They are a god, and they make you as a musician.”

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Professors Look to Protect Tenured Positions continued from page 1 The surge in AAUP membership overlaps summer faculty and staff departures, including former Associate Dean of Students Shozo Kawaguchi, former Associate Director of the Student Union Tom Reid, and former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren.

The removal of two staff members affiliated with the Oberlin College Office and Professional — Scott Stanfield of Residential Education and the Student Union’s Dan Lubinski — was effective June 30.

In addition, about 20 staff positions were eliminated following the Dascomb Dining Hall closure. According to Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, the two OCOPE members impacted by the closure have been transferred to other positions, and the elimination of Dascomb staff positions did not result in layoffs. Faculty and staff departures, according to Howell, are often learned through “word of mouth.”

“We don’t announce personnel decisions in part because of the institution’s obligation to respect the privacy of individuals,” Raimondo said. “Individuals can share information about their departure, or their departments can share information about their departures if they choose.”

Howell — regarding the new members of the AAUP — hopes for a stronger connection between faculty and staff.

“A significant part of the motivation [of joining the AAUP] is to reach out to faculty as workers,” Howell said. “One of the goals, in part, is to articulate a set of principles around dignity and rights as workers.”

Faculty and staff are often divided by the administration’s financial decisions. Last year, a Voluntary Separation Incentive Package was offered only to faculty, as opposed to previous years when the package was also offered to staff.

Howell believes the gain of 58 new AAUP members in a short timespan is not only a result of faculty and staff departures but also due to recent budget changes like the establishment of the external review process known as the Academic and Administrative Program Review. “[Joining the AAUP] is not a signature on a letter; it’s going to cost faculty $200 or more,” Howell said. “Faculty are deeply worried.”

In order to become an advocacy chapter, the AAUP-affiliated members at Oberlin will have to call an organizational meeting to elect officers, draft bylaws for a potential chapter, induct officers, and notify the national office.

Raimondo understands the increased momentum behind the AAUP. “I think it makes sense at a time of change, which this is, and at a time where there have been questions about this big administrative and academic program review process, that people would seek for strategies to work collaboratively to protect the things they value most,” she said.

AAUP members will hold their first meeting today.

OFF THE CUFF

OTC: Tré Quarles, OC ’18 Tré Quarles, OC ’18, has worked with the Oberlin administration since he was a first-year. Since graduating, he has stayed on as an office assistant for the Office of Residential Education. Quarles graduated with a degree in Africana studies and hopes to be a familiar face for students in a trying time.

Gabby Greene, News Editor Roman Broszkowski, Staff Writer Gabby Greene: What brought you back to Oberlin?

Tré Quarles: When I was given the opportunity that I could work here over the summer, I thought that was a great idea as far as having set employment for a certain amount of time after graduation, which isn’t always certain. I do love Oberlin and I love working here; I love the community, I love the vibe, and I like seeing how it changes, but also how it maintains its spirit throughout time.

I also would be interested in getting a permanent position here, because I like to be a familiar face as Oberlin is going through all these changes, institutionally. I think it’s important to have someone who is connected to the students but also in the administration who is able to vouch for maintaining parts of Oberlin’s legacy.

GG: And just to clarify, what were you working as over the summer?

TQ: Oh, it’s complicated. I was continuing my kind of Office/Wedding assistant position for the Office of Conference Services, and I also started a [temporary] position for ResEd as an office assistant.

GG: You mentioned maintaining parts of Oberlin’s legacy. What parts do you think should be maintained?

TQ: That’s a good question. I just think, overall, it’s important to be thoughtful and to include student perspectives in decisions that are going to affect campus culture, including big decisions like shutting down [Dascomb Dining Hall] — of course, we’ve heard all the financial reasons for it — but I think that if any other big changes like that are going to happen on campus, then there definitely needs to be people like me — who have that connection to campus that only a student could have — who can voice their opinions to the administration.

GG: You mentioned that you were continuing your work. What is your background working with Oberlin’s administration?

TQ: Well, I’ve kinda worked everywhere. I worked in Admissions for a certain amount of time, I’ve worked with Conference Services and ResEd. I also

Tré Quarles

was on the board of multiple organizations and had to deal with Student Union a lot. So I’ve continually worked with them as an employee, as a student seeking advice, and as an organizer.

GG: What’s one thing that would surprise people about working in Admissions or working with the administration?

TQ: They’re human. And they’re definitely listening to the things that students say. Even if students feel like the administration isn’t being transparent, the people who work here put a lot of passion and work into what they do, and it’s something to be appreciated.

GG: What are your hopes for the administration in terms of student engagement?

TQ: That they continue to listen to the students. Student engagement and student satisfaction are what’s going to keep this institution and its legacy alive, and I think that’s what I typically go back to.

GG: What do you plan to do in the future?

TQ: Eventually the goal is grad school, but that might be a couple years down the line. I would definitely like, if the opportunity ever came, to have a full-time position at Oberlin. I think I would bring

Photo by Mallika Pandey, Photo Editor

a lot of passion and the experience of being an Obie to whatever job I would have.

GG: As someone who graduated but is still involved in the Oberlin community, what is something you would have liked to hear as a student?

TQ: Despite what is happening in the administration, or even in the world at large, you make your own experience here, and you get to shape that into what you want it to be over these four years.

Don’t take that for granted, because there’s a lot that you can accomplish just from your own will, which is something I wish I would have heard. That doesn’t mean that having a supportive administration isn’t needed, but there is definitely something to be said about believing in yourself and believing that you can “change the world.”

GG: And what is your favorite thing about Oberlin?

TQ: I’ve said this ever since I visited — because I visited on the Multicultural Visit Program — that it has always been the people, whether that’s the students or the people in town. Some of my favorite conversations ever have been from when I was working in the town. I always just remember how nice everyone was or how engaging the conversations were.

Oberlin Community News Bulletin Face Your Fears at the Oberlin Firewalk Come see what Oberlin has to offer at the 12th annual Gregg Gilder Memorial Firewalk at Common Ground in Oberlin Saturday, Sept. 8th from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. After a demonstration by Dave Tuscany, a certified firewalker, you can test your gumption on the firepit. Participants of all ages are welcome.

Children may walk with parental consent and supervision. Registration is $49 per person.

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Former Oberlin Exco Teacher Sentenced to Prison Robert Roche, a former instructor in Oberlin’s Experimental College program, has been sentenced to four months in prison and a fine of $77,097 for laundering more than $77,000 from a Native American Aid foundation. At the time of the theft, Roche was working as a prominent community activist for the group.

OPL Attempts to Brifge Partisan Divide Join the Oberlin Public Library for their monthly meeting and video conference with social psychologists Leaf Van Boven and David Sherman on Saturday, Sept. 8th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The theme will be “Learning to Bridge the Partisan Divide for Climate Solutions.” The series is sponsored by Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

OPINIONS September 7, 2018

Letter to the Editors

NFL Protest Debates Distract from Purpose To the Editors:

Last week, America paid tribute to Aretha Franklin and John McCain, who both strove to make America greater than ever by unceasingly underscoring the need for us to embrace differences and engage with those whose views differ from our own. We are one people, one nation, and one world, in spite of the fights we may have on any given day.

This Thursday, a new National Football League season starts. Many players want to bring an end to police brutality against blacks, and last year many did not stand for our National Anthem as a sign of protesting this violence.

They have a right to do as they please, but there are consequences.

One has been that their action has taken most of the attention off their goal. One suggestion, among many, is that they should stand and place one hand over their hearts and one over their lungs. The point is that all the focus must be on the problem, not on the question of the flag or love for America.

This is because the problem is a difficult one to solve. Most Americans who love what the flag stands for favor the law being applied fairly and those officers found guilty punished appropriately. Virtually all our officers are great Americans and deserve so much more support.

Sorting this all out and finding solutions that unite us requires a lot of hard work, a shrewd strategy averting entanglements of specious arguments that inflame our passions and fuel our worst instincts. McCain and Franklin left us lights to guide us across this landscape of fog, anger, and traps.

And so did Ron Dellums, who passed away just a few days before

them. He was a black congressman, former mayor of Oakland, CA, and one of the leading Democrats who succeeded in getting Newt Gingrich and most of the Republicans to override President Reagan’s veto of the anti-Apartheid Bill in 1986 aimed at liberating 80 percent of the blacks held in bondage by a very tiny minority of white South Africans.

We do not know the actual views of all three above. But we do know that they would encourage us to talk openly and honestly about the matter and bring the highest level of respect, sensitivity, and civility to the discussions. Before there are more deaths, the country must find solutions to the problems. There will be time afterward for a debate about what the flag means.

To some, it means we should stand and be proud, support all those who served and are serving, protect our police, firefighters, and just be thankful for all the good men and women who ensure our peace and tranquility here at home. To others, it means that as well as the constitutional right to kneel protesting against the injustices whirling around us.

Blacks’ pride in and support of America is and will remain unsurpassed despite the racism, sexism, etc. woven into the country’s fabric and soul. All Americans have certain rights. But just because we enjoy these rights does not mean that we should exercise any particular one under all circumstances. Each brings with it good or bad consequences; we must exercise each with discretion and forethought.

I have strong feelings that a reduction of deaths will occur much faster if players stand and place their hands over their hearts and lungs so as to take the club away from those now using it to beat us across the head, leaving no room for a discussion about the importance of black lives and focusing instead on the flag and the country — a wholly irrelevant, time-consuming, and useless debate, effectively choking to death screams for solutions and a safer country for all.

Booker C. Peek, Emeritus Associate Professor of Africana Studies

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and oped 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.

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The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 1

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief

Sydney Allen

Nathan Carpenter

Managing Editor Ananya Gupta

Opinions Editors

Jackie Brant Luce Nguyen

Dining Changes Create Urgent Accessibility Concerns

Oberlin students have been greeted by many changes this fall — some leaving us pleasantly surprised, others less so.

An inaugural orientation trip organized by the Bonner Center for Service and Learning brought more than 1,000 first-year students, Peer Advising Leaders, faculty, and staff into Cleveland for a day of service, experiential learning, and fun.

Further, the Patricia ’63 and Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center opened for the first time to the campus community. The space will provide improved exercise and fitness opportunities, kicking off with President Carmen Ambar’s presidential fitness challenge leading up to her inauguration festivities in October.

While there is much to celebrate about the beginning of a new year, budget stresses have also created or renewed some challenges on campus. Chief among these have been difficulties produced by changes to Campus Dining Services. Designed to increase accessibility, these new measures have in some ways hit their target, but in one very important way have fallen short.

Students heading to lunch at Stevenson Dining Hall Tuesday were greeted by checkin lines that stretched outside the building’s doors, making lunch inaccessible to those who were in a rush or who have a difficult time being in crowds. The situation at DeCafé was similar, with crowds of people jostling for limited food options.

The unmanageable crowds are likely the result of last semester’s closure of Dascomb Dining Hall, a move made for budgetary reasons and widely criticized for its impact on CDS staff. The reduction in seating due to the elimination of that space has led students to flood other eating areas, creating long waits and frustration.

This should be a matter of great urgency to Oberlin’s administration. Clearly, in times of financial hardship, adjustments need to be made, some of which will necessarily impact the student experience. At the same time, some things are so vital to students’ personal and academic success that they cannot be compromised — among those is the ability of students (particularly first-years and sophomores who are confined to the 300-meal-per-semester plan, which costs more than $8,000 per year) to access nutritious meals through the school.

Already, students have reported to the Review that the crowds at dining locations this week have made eating meals difficult or flat-out inaccessible. This is a reality that cannot be allowed to persist, even in the short term.

We are not asking for a world-class dining experience — not only would this request be unreasonable in our current financial situation, it would also be unwise. Spending money on food comes at the expense of other services Oberlin can offer, including financial aid. Across the country, institutions of higher education make choices every year about what aspects of the student experience to prioritize; we feel comfortable sacrificing some measure of food quality if it means expanded opportunity in other areas.

The accessibility of dining spaces, however, should be as close to the top of that list as possible. As of now, students with mobility difficulties, anxiety in crowds, and other accessibility needs are wondering if the throngs of people at Stevenson and DeCafé will subside as the semester goes on, or if they will need to find alternative ways to feed themselves while remaining on an expensive meal plan, paying for food they are unable to eat.

Fortunately, senior-level administrators are aware of the issue and have committed to addressing it. Part of the solution will be increasing awareness of the new graband-go dining options this year, including in Lord-Saunders Dining Hall and Azariah’s Café. Plans for the future also include creating a grab-and-go area on the first floor of Stevenson, below the dining area — a move which would significantly increase accessibility. While these areas will not offer the same hot options previously available at Dascomb and currently available in Stevenson, they will at least allow students to eat.

We understand that in times of hardship, difficult cuts are necessary. We also believe that the administration is committed to finding a path to financial sustainability that is also accessible to and supportive of its student body. They will be the first to tell you that they will make mistakes along the way — this week has brought to light hopefully one of the most significant concerns.

The administration’s response, both in the coming days and the longer term, to an issue that requires immediate attention will reveal much about how basic student needs will be prioritized over the next few years. While frustrated along with the rest of the student body about the dining experience of the past week, we are hopeful that action in the right direction will be taken swiftly and decisively.

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.

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Opi n ions

Dining Changes Represent Concerning Future Daniel Markus Contributing Writer If you had been a miner in the United States, Canada, or Britain for most of the 20th century, it’s a good bet that you might bring a small caged bird, often a canary, down into the shaft along with you. If you didn’t, a buddy probably did.

Mining could release trapped pockets of carbon monoxide gas, which has no scent or color and can suffocate a person before they even realize it’s happening.

The canaries were a simple, albeit cruel, warning system. Their biology makes them more sensitive to poison gases like carbon monoxide than humans — if your canary died, it was time to go. Immediately. If your canary died, one thing you definitely wouldn’t do was wonder why it was dead, and you wouldn’t stay in the mine while trying to resuscitate the bird. When your canary is dead, something is very wrong.

Changes to campus dining are the canary in the Oberlin coal mine.

In spring 2017, administrators announced that incoming students would be required to purchase a 300-meal-per-semester plan. Though it did not include flex points, the plan allowed students to use their meal swipes to purchase groceries.

Not the best thing, but certainly workable.

However, as many students frustratedly came to realize upon returning to campus, the new academic year brought with it even more regressive changes to Campus Dining Services. In addition to closing Dascomb Dining Hall and eliminating the Science Cart in favor of grab-and-go options like premade sandwiches (which, by the way, increased in price), DeCafé no longer accepts cash, and students can no longer buy groceries using meal swipes.

Many students have reacted angrily to these changes, noting that they put increased financial stress on low-income students, leading to the circulation of a petition opposing the meal plan changes that has accumulated over 600 signatures.

The unfortunate truth is that these changes won’t be reversed or undone, and they probably won’t even be blunted at all.

In an email to students, Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo explicitly state that these changes, along with the preceding ones, were made to “support the economic sustainability of the dining program … including fair compensation for employees.” Paying $5.50 for a PB&J (seriously — this is how much they cost at a grab-and-go stand) and being unable to buy groceries with swipes is the new normal.

This is frustrating, even financially perilous for some students. But what else is Oberlin supposed to do? We are over-budget, and the money has to come from somewhere. These dining changes most likely drive profits for CDS and add to Oberlin’s revenue, which is heavily dependent on student charges and tuition.

The argument that we could have simply raised tuition, while true and perhaps more economically progressive, doesn’t hold, because that would have gone over even worse than these relaively modest changes, considering Oberlin’s already astronomical cost. We could fire faculty and staff, but that would harm the curriculum, function of the school, and run into issues with unionized workers. Shrinking the physical footprint of campus — another large source of overhead — takes a long time; alumni donations just don’t cover the costs of running this place.

Even if you don’t agree that we are on the best immediate course of action, it’s clear why administrators chose to go this route. It was quick, easy, not that hard to sell, and will boost revenue. If you were to look for a way to cut costs and not increase actual sticker price to students, this sure seems like the way to do it.

Obviously, these dining changes are bad for low-income students on the meal plan, something I can’t personally speak to. But it’s going to get a lot worse than that.

Old dining policies aren’t coming back. The canary is dead. We need to stop poking the dead canary and realize that dining changes are the least of our worries, This goes far beyond the dining changes themselves. Everything about how they were undertaken was wrong, especially the budgetary philosophy that the administration has adopted under President Carmen Ambar and the current Board of Trustees.

Ambar seeks to bring Oberlin’s budget into an operating surplus, bringing in more money than we spend. On the timeframe that she seeks to do it, her decisions have already dramatically reshaped the campus and will continue to do so. Dining changes are but one small example. Furthermore, doing so will require increased student numbers, which will further tax Oberlin’s already-weak physical and human infrastructure.

Worse, such reshaping will take place without broad or meaningful consultation from students. Picking Student Senate’s collective brain every once in a while isn’t enough. There was no forum on the dining changes. I’m not optimistic about if there will be forums on the most important issues going forward.

Not only that, but we won’t be given the information we deserve. There has been no public confirmation that minutes of Academic and Administrative Program Review meetings will be kept at all, let alone released for students and other members of the campus community to read. Soon enough, departments and jobs could be significantly impacted with little warning, and widespread restructuring may take place. Remember, something’s got to give here.

Dining changes are one thing. But fiscal and administrative philosophy is another. While we obsess over things like changes to CDS, our best (and likely only) opportunity to question the process itself slips away.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to accept a budgetary philosophy of secrecy, swiftness, and overwork of already-spent places and people. But if you want to stop this approach, you have to do it now. This year — the year of AAPR — is probably our only shot. And we have to take our chance, because this place has to work for us, and it has to work now.

The canary is dead. It’s time to ask yourself if this is a mine you want to be in.

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Reaction to Tibbetts’ Death Reveals Toxic Culture of Politicization Katie Friedemann Contributing Writer

Editor’s Note: This article discusses physical violence.

Politics permeat everything we do and say, from deciding which candidates or issues we support to our everyday interactions with other people. Our political alignments even seem to guide how we cope with both everyday and abnormal circumstances and events, such as major tragedies.

This constant and inescapable politicalization is especially clear when observing reactions to the recent death of Mollie Tibbetts.

Tibbetts, an Iowa college student, was going for a run in her hometown when a man named Cristhian Bahena Rivera began to pursue her. According to what Rivera later told law enforcement, Tibbetts threatened to call the police, and Rivera panicked. What happened next is “blocked” from his memory, but he recalls finding himself in a cornfield with Tibbetts in the trunk of his car, when he noticed that she had blood on the side of her head and decided to leave her in the field. In the security footage, he is shown following her in his car before her abduction while she was on her run; he would later lead the authorities to the body.

The media has been particularly aggressive in reporting on Tibbett’s death. This is not necessarily unusual; the United States has historically been captivated by mysterious disappearances of the white girlnext-door, from JonBenét Ramsey to the fictitious Laura Palmer of Twin Peaks. Tibbetts’ case, like many others, might have been merely relegated to the realm of true crime fanatics if not for one thing: Her killer is an immigrant.

Immigration laws and reform have been a hot-button issue for a long time, and tensions were particularly high this summer when news broke of immigration detention centers and the horrible conditions in which families were being separated and children were being detained. Under the Trump administration, thinly veiled indifference and racism have transformed into blatantly hateful rhetoric and open hostility.

Intolerance and white supremacy have become a source of pride for many right-wing and alt-right individuals. Trump has consistently and publicly linked immigrants with crime and depravity, even though many studies have shown that crime rates and immigration rates are not directly linked. Because of this current climate surrounding immigration, I groaned when I heard about Millie Tibbett’s fate and I feared what the government’s response would be.

The right wasted no time. Donald Trump, Jr. wrote an op-ed for the Des Moines Register slamming Democrats who are “more concerned with protecting their radical open-borders agenda than the lives of innocent Americans.” He seized on Tibbetts’ death and the deaths of other Americans killed by immigrants to support construction of the infamous border wall and to delegitimize the immigration reform policies that liberals have been trying to put in place.

Many other Republicans followed suit; for example, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds stated that all Iowans “are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community.”

Following this condemnation by conservative politicians across the country, all eyes were on the Tibbetts family to see if they would share the same rage.

The day after the op-ed was published, Rob Tibbetts, Mollie’s bereaved father, published a reply in the Register to say that Mollie “was nobody’s victim. Nor is she a pawn in others’ debate.” He stated that she was vehemently against the demonization of immigrants, and pleaded, “At long last, show some decency. On behalf of my family and Mollie’s memory, I’m imploring you to stop.”

Tibbetts also offered an apology to the Latinx community for the Republicans’ response and asked those invested in Mollie’s case to show compassion toward each other and “turn against racism in all its ugly manifestations both subtle and overt.”

The reply made me emotional, to say the least. I never expected a response from Tibbetts’ family to the politicization of her murder in the first place; I assumed that they would want to mourn in privacy. Rob Tibbetts’ statement was brave and admirable, but I resented the fact that he had to make it at all.

Tibbetts’ plea to simply mourn his daughter was largely ignored by the right — politicians continued to weaponize her death, and the Tibbetts family recently received a robo-call from a neo-Nazi organization saying that if Mollie were still alive, she would want all immigrants dead.

Even in a time when I have become desensitized to politicalization, the relentless manipulation of a young girl’s life is shocking to me.

Not all Republicans had the same reaction as Trump or Reynolds, but questions still remain about their priorities. Why did they pounce on Tibbetts’ murder but say nothing about the recent murder of Nia Wilson, a black teenager who in Oakland, CA, was stabbed randomly by a white man with a history of violence? Why has Jasmine Moody — a black college student missing since 2014 — not inspired a nationwide search and news coverage? This is not to say that I don’t believe that Tibbetts’ case was important. However, there is a reason why she was chosen as America’s newest martyr: She was innocent, she was killed by an immigrant, and she was white.

As students at Oberlin — an institution that encourages conversations about diversity — we should question how we are conditioned to respond to certain situations and people.

Mollie Tibbetts and Nia Wilson both made national news — which one held your attention, and why? If we can chalk it up to either abundance or lack of media coverage, then it is up to us as thinkers and Americans to seek out our own information and to question what we are told to believe. Using a girl as the poster child for a cause she and her family did not believe in is not mourning — it is manipulation of a tragedy intended only for political gain.

Oberlin Must Take Next Step in Sexual Misconduct Prevention Jackie Brant Opinions Editor Editor’s Note: This article contains discussion of sexual misconduct and sexual assault.

As the school year begins, it is imperative that students keep in mind the prevalence of sexual misconduct on campus and do what they can to minimize it in our community. Over 50 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses happen between August and November. Around 11 percent of all college students will be victims of sexual assault during their college careers, and 70 percent of campus survivors know their perpetrator prior to their assault.

Further, 23 percent of women in college report that they have experienced some sort of nonconsensual sexual contact. More than 50 percent of these victims do not report the act, as they do not view it as “serious enough” to report. Finally, one in five college students have witnessed

some form of sexual misconduct, meaning that 20 percent of students have acted as bystanders during an act of sexual misconduct or violence.

Our sexual misconduct statistics here at Oberlin match these almost exactly. We are fortunate to have educational Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct workshops — sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — that are required for all Oberlin students.

I have witnessed numerous interventions at parties or other events where bystanders used words and phrases taken directly from these workshops. However, simply intervening on behalf of a potential victim is not enough to bring down the rate of sexual misconduct on our campus.

On several occasions when I observed bystander intervention, the intervention — while effective in terms of ensuring a potential victim’s safety — did not stop the perpetrator from continuing their behavior with another person at another time and place.

Potential perpetrators do not necessarily have a specific target in mind; rather, they tend to prey on whomever they possibly can.

While it is certainly valuable to remove people from potentially dangerous situations, it is equally important to take steps to ensure that the potential perpetrator does not cause harm in the future. Too many times I see people look on — or even laugh — while their friends are “coming on too strong” in the middle of a party.

While you may not be directly responsible for sexual misconduct occurring, you are partially responsible if you see sexual misconduct happening and ignore it.

I am particularly talking about situations in which a perpetrator is drunk and not necessarily aware of their actions or the harm that they are causing.

These situations are especially important considering that approximately half of all sexual assaults nationwide involve alcohol consumption. One study found that, depending on the sample size, anywhere between 34 and

74 percent of perpetrators were intoxicated at the time of the assault.

Alcohol consumption absolutely does not excuse assault.

However, it seems that in cases of intoxication, intervention can be effective in preventing harm.

Potential perpetrators who are drunk may not be aware of their actions or the impact of their actions in the moment, and many might not have taken those actions if they were sober.

As a student and a friend, you should want to protect other students from harm and to stop your friends from harming others. If you see someone you know in a position where they might harm another person, you are obligated to intervene in some way. If they are sober enough, talk to them and explain how their actions are harmful or have the potential to lead to harmful behavior. If they are not sober enough, distract them, ask them to go to the bathroom with you, or physically pull them away if you have to.

To a certain extent, I believe I

feel safer here than I would at a different university; the amount of times I have seen students intervene on behalf of potential victims — even when they don’t know each other — is reassuring.

However, as a student body, we have to take the next step in preventing sexual assault. It is not enough to just make sure that our friends are safe. When possible, we must make sure potential perpetrators do not commit sexual misconduct. This will be a focus of the Title IX office, the Sexual Information Center, and PRSM workshops this year, so it is imperative that all students actively engage with these programs to learn how to effectively protect fellow students.

Intervening in situations involving sexual misconduct — when we feel safe enough to do so — is not an option. It is an obligation we all have as members of the Oberlin College community.

The best way to do this is by making sure we stop the perpetrators before they can commit any harm.

Institutional Change Difficult, Requires Student Input, Resilience 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.

At this point, it should be no surprise that things are changing at Oberlin.

Faculty and staff have taken benefit cuts, several staffers have been eliminated, and students are seeing all sorts of differences in dining and living spaces. Hell, even the albino squirrels have returned to reclaim their piece of the Oberlin pie.

Students shouldn’t be alarmed at these changes. President Ambar started her tenure last year laying bare the financial landscape of the College, implying that our current fiscal trajectory is unsustainable.

In the spring, the General Faculty

Committee met to establish a group that would holistically evaluate the College’s inner and outer workings and provide recommendations for a sustainable future.

Much of this has been on the horizon; the lowered credit ratings, retention issues, campus conflicts, questionable debt assumption, and expensive capital projects should have rung bells many years ago.

This can be frustrating to experience from a student perspective — we are this institution’s primary source of funding, and yet sometimes we seem like the least influential constituency on campus. Many of the changes students will experience on a daily basis are rooted in financial feasibility, and students should use their voices and resources to better understand the fiscal reality here. Doing so allows us to be better activists.

For example, housing and dining is a revenue stream for the College. Residential Education’s inability to inform first-years

of their housing status in a timely manner represents not only a lack of capacity, but a strained institution that needed to bring in an exceptionally large first-year class to pad years of enrollment decline. Some are asking, “What happened to DeCafé?”

Think about a meal swipe this way: it’s more than the food. It’s the food and labor costs. Meaning that when you swipe for a meal, you’re swiping for the process that brought you that food. So, in theory, when you swipe for a meal at DeCafé, you’re making a comparable transaction to grabbing a meal in Stevenson Dining Hall or elsewhere. However, buying groceries on a meal swipe is not comparable because of the labor differences.

Is the DeCafé switch the best idea? Not in my opinion. I loved swiping at DeCafé for groceries and miss having that option.

I also understand the rationale behind it.

The bigger move for Oberlin should be identifying a financial model that is less tuition-dependent, specifically on the

Letter To The Editors

CARTOON OF THE WEEK

seemingly exploitative dining model. In the interim, though, the College must balance its books. Deficits will only increase if we don’t continue to change our course. Our ship isn’t going to sink tomorrow or in the next 10 years. However, if we fail to fix the ship’s frame, we could eventually sink.

And then the problem would be bigger than DeCafé, Stevie, Wilder Hall, etc.; the value, reputation, and credibility of our degrees (which we will have already paid for) would be at stake.

So how do we survive this year of institutional change? Student Senate will continue advocating for the parts of Oberlin that are most important to students. All students should fill out the many (too many) surveys that will come out this year — this is the most efficient way of making sure all students can have a say. Sadly, this year of change will be tough. But Obies are resilient, kind, and committed to a more just world. We’ll make it.

Mikaela Fishman

To the Editors: Many Americans feel strongly about getting big and dark money out of politics. A recent survey by The Democracy Project found that 77 percent agreed that “the laws enacted by our national government these days mostly reflect what powerful special interests and their lobbyists want.” Only 17 percent chose the alternative statement: “The laws enacted by our national government these days mostly reflect what the people want.”

The American Promise Ohio group asked the two candidates for the U.S. House, Ohio District 4, to support the goal of a 28th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution to “1) secure fair, free elections by limiting the undue influence of money in politics; 2) protect the rights of all Americans to equal participation and representation, rather than overrepresentation of donors and special interests; and 3) protect the unalienable liberty of people rather than new privileges for the largest corporations, unions, and special interests.”

Candidate Janet Garrett agreed to promote a 28th Amendment as a member of Congress from Ohio District 4 when she is elected. She said, “Big money and special interests corrupt decision-making in Washington. I will proudly support initiatives, including a Constitutional Amendment, that will get dark money out of our politics once and for all and give power back to the people.”

Incumbent Rep. Jim Jordan would not schedule a meeting to discuss this issue nor respond to phone calls and emails.

Across the country, 19 state legislatures and nearly 800 cities have passed 28th Amendment resolutions with cross-partisan support. There currently are several U.S. House resolutions for a 28th Amendment. Our volunteers and allies are working toward electing officials, both Republican and Democrat, who will support these resolutions.

Ask your candidates, “Do you support a 28th Amendment so that people, not money, govern?” And then be a voter on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Ellen Greene Bush American Promise Ohio

The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

7

LUTHERAN METRO MEN’S SHELTER AT 2100 LAKESIDE Lutheran Metro Men’s Shelter at 2100 Lakeside houses up to 350 men every night, making it the largest shelter in Ohio. The shelter and its social service partners assist people currently without homes to find long-term housing.

Photo courtesy Monica Dix

FAIR HO The Fa agency ing opp Northea of grass has gro to its or

GORDON SQUARE ARTS DISTRICT

The Gordon Square Arts District is an area on the west side of Cleveland that was revitalized ten years ago in an effort to improve economic development.

It is home to a movie theater, performance theaters, studios, murals, galleries, restaurants, bars, music venues, and many more local businesses.

OHIO CITY BIKE CO-OP The Ohio City Bicycle Co-op is an organization that encourages bike riding in and around Cleveland to promote health and independence. OCBC offers classes about bike repair, runs a cooperative bike shop, sells bikes and parts, and hosts cycling tours and events.

The Peer Advising Leaders program provides opportunities for new students to begin navigating Oberlin life with the guidance of a peer mentor. During orientation this August, first-years, transfers, and PAL leaders traveled to Cleveland to take part in a variety of activities around the city. These experiences were part of a new program called Connect Cleveland, organized by the Bonner Center for Service and Learning. The program seeks to familiarize students with some of the resources that Cleveland has to offer before they begin their Oberlin career. The map above highlights just a few of the 39 different sites that new students visited.

Layout and text by Mikaela Fishman, This Week Editor Information provided by Oberlin College and Cleveland partners

CALENDAR

CONNECT CLEVELAND: INTRODUCIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

SUNDAY, SEPT

November of this year marks the 100year anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. This weekend, the Oberlin Conservatory and the Allen Memorial Art Museum are presenting a series of lectures and recitals to mark this historic moment. Come out to hear music composed between 1914 and 1918, lectures, discussions, gallery talks, and an Allen Memorial Art Museum program called “From the Trenches: Artists Respond to WWI,” which features Ernst Kirchner’s 1915 “Self-Portrait as a Soldier.”

Stull Recital Hall 3:30–5:30 p.m.

The Multicultural R staff is celebrating the new academic food, music, and lo North Quad 1–2:30

Music in and After the Great War

MRC All-Campus

MORGAN PAPER CONSERVATORY The Morgan Conservatory is a studio, gallery, meeting place, educational venue, and marketplace dedicated to book arts. Free and open to the public, the center houses papermaking studios, letterpress print shops, and more.

Photo courtesy Adrienne Rozells

Photo courtesy Grace Brennan

OUSING CENTER air Housing Center is a nonprofit that advocates for equal housportunities for people of all races in ast Ohio. It began in 1983 as a cohort sroots organizations. Since then, it own in scope while remaining true riginal mission.

CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the most visited art museums in the world. It has a large and diverse permanent collection, and is recognized for its outstanding collections of Egyptian and Asian art.

As one of the wealthiest museums in the world, it offers free admission to the public.

NG NEW STUDENTS TO CLEVELAND

TEMBER 9

Welcome Back

Resource Center g the beginning of c year with catered ots of games.

0 p.m.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 Rosh Hashanah with Hillel

Join Hillel for a Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) service at 10 a.m. in Wilder Main, followed by a bagel brunch at 12:30 p.m. in Wilder Bowl. In the afternoon there will be Tashlich at Johnson House. Tashlich is a brief spiritual, reflective, and musical ceremony. All three events are open to people of all religious backgrounds.

Wilder Main, Wilder Bowl, and Johnson House 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

Guest Recital: Johanna Lundy ’04, horn

FRONT Exhibition: Cui Jie

Johanna Lundy, principal horn of the Tucson Symphony, showcases an audiovisual program that blends solo horn and video. The recital, titled “From Sea to Wind,” contains four original short films that will be projected on screen while Lundy performs live accompaniment.

Kulas Recital Hall 8–10 p.m.

Cui Jie brings her work to Baron Gallery as part of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art — an art show in Oberlin, Cleveland, and Akron consisting of over 100 artistic pieces and running from July 14 to Sept. 30. Jie is a postMao Chinese artist who creates paintings, drawings, and 3D-printed sculptures relating to urban architectural forms.

Richard D. Baron ’64 Art Gallery 10 a.m–5 p.m.

A r t s & C u lt u r e

ARTS & CULTURE September 7, 2018

established 1874

Volume 147, Number 1

Video Highlights Womyn of Color on Campus

Students at Oberlin, including video’s Creative Director Kiela Nelson, OC ’18, (Third from Left), perform in “Nice 4 What” music video.

Screenshot from “Nice 4 What” video ceived from other POC on campus. As of Sept. 7, “Nice Levi Dayan Much of Oberlin student activism centers on promoting racial equality. However, no matter how much effort is put into making the school a more inclusive space, many students struggle in navigating certain aspects of Oberlin simply because they are Black at a predominantly white institution.

Kiéla Nelson, OC ’18, recently addressed this issue on August 15th, when she released “Nice 4 What,” a music video soundtracked by Drake’s “Nice for What” that featured Oberlin womyn and femmes of color celebrating their presence on campus.

“It’s so hard being at Oberlin as a Black or Brown person,” Nelson said. “I’m not even trying to be pessimistic — it was a great experience being here — but I didn’t even know what it was really like to go to a predominantly white institution, to not be at the top of my class, to not have all the opportunities that other people had. I struggled.”

Nelson’s work was informed by her experiences as a Black womyn/femme at Oberlin and the support she re-

4 What,” has more than 21,000 views on Facebook and over 1,000 views on YouTube. Nelson says many of the womyn and femmes featured in the video were a bedrock of support for her during her time at Oberlin.

“Everyone who showed up to our shoot was a person of color, so I ended up not even intentionally having a video with just POC. I wasn’t mad obviously — but that kind of speaks to my experience,” Nelson said. “The people in that video, and the Black community, and the community of minorities on the Oberlin campus are the main people who helped get me to where I am. That was my support system.”

Nelson’s inspiration for the music video was learning that Drake’s music video was directed by a fellow 22-yearold woman of color, Karena Evans. “I was like, I can do this.

She’s 22, I’m about to be 22, there’s no reason I can’t do this.”

Nelson used this project to document her life on campus, showing the people and the places who motivated her to keep pushing forward despite the struggles she faced in school.

“I went around to people who I know have helped me get through these past four years, those people who are womyn and femmes, also people who I’ve just seen … these beautiful people walking around me who inspire me to keep moving on. [The video shows] people being at peace with themselves, people standing in front of things that they think are beautiful, or standing in front of places where they have felt at home.”

Nelson’s process for making “Nice 4 What” was, in many ways, simply putting a lens to this community. “A lot of those shots I just literally went to the West African dance rehearsal, I just got a lot of shots there because [it] was a community of women [who] like to dance,” she said.

The video, edited to feel like a vintage home videotape, is a celebration of the Black community at Oberlin, who often feel cast aside on Oberlin’s predominantly white campus.

“The thing is, Black and Brown people are on this campus doing the dang thing every single day, but it is hard to find recognition for our work and our presence outside of our own communities,” said junior Miyah Byers, the lead videographer for the video. “I hope that current and prospective Black and Brown students at Oberlin see this video and become inspired by the truth and joy that it contains. I hope they see that there is a community for them to find a footing in. I hope they see that there are Black and Brown people not only making it through here, but thriving here.”

This message certainly rings true. “Nice 4 What” represents femmes of color on screen as a distinct, vital, and vibrant force within the Oberlin community.

During her last semester at Oberlin, Nelson served as the creative director for the wildly successful “Sankofa Remix’d: Reclaiming my Fly” fashion show. After a whirlwind four years, she is now working as a dance teacher in Chicago. Nelson is also performing in CLR, a singing trio that stands for “Creative Life Restored,” with Oberlin double-degree fifth-year Dianna Hope and Andre Cardine, OC ’18.

“I want to inspire young people everywhere to accomplish what they want to do regardless of what anyone says,” Nelson said. “I’m going to continue to use my community in my projects. I will continue to do what I can do with no budget — I spent zero dollars on ‘Nice 4 What.’ In the future, when I have money to get amazing editors, I’m going to take the world by storm.”

After seeing what was accomplished with this video, there’s no reason to believe otherwise.

Imperfect and That’s OK: Deem Spencer Brings Introspective Rap to Oberlin for Orientation Gabriella Spielberg Deem Spencer put on an entertaining show at the ’Sco Saturday night, with his jerky and frenetic dancing and many bottle-flip attempts.

His work is introspective and powerful, and his music high quality; however, his performance fell a little short.

The show got off on an awkward foot — when it started at least half an hour late, the audience had already begun to dwindle. When Spencer did appear on stage, a beat started, and then stopped, and then started again, and then stopped, before he requested that the stage lights be dimmed and the audience be quiet, saying something to the effect of, “I’ll wait.”

“He wasn’t like ‘ah, love you guys’ like the way you’d expect, but I kind of appreciated that. It was something

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different, it wasn’t fake,” said Oberlin first-year Fiona Warnick. “He definitely seems like he’s making the art for himself, not the audience.”

Spencer isn’t looking to make something that will please everyone, but that’s OK. It’s more important that his art comes from a place of truth and expression.

In researching his artistic expression further, I found that his music videos have cultivated a strong online presence.

They are well thought-out and use powerful imagery — combined well with lyrics that are deep, funny, and puzzling.

“Shorty, I could turn the water to a flame / I’m a martyr marker, the art of ark / I’m a water walker, I could leave the unholy on a wave,” he raps on his his song “soap.”

Spencer has also released a number of videos in collabo-

ration with PROLOVEVISUALS, including videos for two of his most-played songs on Spotify: “soap” and “There Was Plenty Time Before Us.” I particularly appreciated “we think we alone,” the video titled after his latest album.

It contains the visual motif of stop motion, footage of New York City, and biblical references to Eve. It is broad and metaphorical, and its disjointedness leaves you with strong images and unanswered questions. Leaves shown in the video even made their way into a dream I had the other night.

Similarly, the video for “soap” is both abstract and visually stimulating. Footage of Spencer rapping while manipulating stop motion puppets was layered over more zoomed in film of the actual stop motion he was creating, making for a dynamic visual tableau to

accompany lyrics about regret and growth. It illustrates retrospection on a conceptual and engaging level: we only have so much control in our lives, and while we can lament as much as we’d like, we can never fix something from the outside.

Spencer’s work prompts questions about both the genre of rap and art itself. There was a time when rock n’ roll was brand new and existed as a single genre — we called The Beatles a rock band. But now, almost 60 years later, we have subgenres inside of subgenres, like something out of Inception: Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative, Punk, Metal, Screamo, Electroclash — it’s time we give rap the distinctions that exist in other genres of music. Deem Spencer’s work is incomparable to Nicki Minaj or Kanye West, just like Metallica isn’t exactly “I Wanna Hold your Hand.”

In researching Spencer, most sources noted his potential as an artist, which raises questions about how we value both potential and product.

Deem Spencer truly has a lot of potential. But when we say that, it isn’t a statement on how good an artist is now, it’s a statement on what we believe them capable of, and what we think they’ll want to do.

There are a lot of expectations in that, but also a certain freedom. It’s fair to say that Spencer’s work is certainly distinct, both in its conceptual depth and performative uniqueness.

This makes for substance for his listeners today, as well as potential for his future fans.

I appreciate Spencer’s work for the questions it raised for me about rap and artistic potential, and I believe he has far to go as an artist and is capable of getting there. I’ll wait.

Fusions Restaurant Owners Emphasize Diversity, Inclusivity, Equity in Culinary Offerings

By Jose Barrera Many students at Oberlin value the creation of safe spaces for different identities, a priority often shared by establishments in downtown Oberlin and greater Lorain County. Oberlin’s Fusions Restaurant is no exception — it has been committed to creating an accessible dining experience since its opening in November 2017.

But where and what is Fusions? And how exactly does a restaurant foster a safe space?

I came to know Fusions in January 2018 when Santos Martinez, the owner Belinda Martinez’s husband, approached me to help create a menu and website for the new restaurant after he learned I had experience in simple graphic design.

Located at 9 South Main Street, Fusions replaced Wild Mango, which had been in that location since 2016. Martinez acquired the business and continued to use the same recipes as her predecessor. She kept the existing staff and added her family members to complete her team. The employees played a vital role in ensuring that the place ran smoothly and decided to improve the restaurant from the bottom up.

They loved the recipes, but felt that the menu and interior were not representative of the culture of acceptance they hoped to embody. Changing a restaurant’s dining room takes time and money, and for a new restaurant, they’d need to establish themselves first as their own unique establishment before renovating. Many might be put off by the elegant, formal interior design of the newly-renovated space, but, rest assured that Martinez has no interest in allowing elegance to deter inclusivity.

“I don’t care if you’re coming out of bed in your pajamas! If you’re hungry, come in and eat,” she said when I revealed that I felt my joggers and jacket were out of place. Despite my outfit, I was welcomed into an inclusive environment where I felt at home.

Fusions offers several East Asian-fusion and American classic comforts that may leave customers wondering, “Why so many options?” Martinez assured me that the amount of food listed is intentional.

“In a college town, you have different appetites from students and locals alike,” she said.

“You also have different cultures that you want to respect and represent. We want to make sure we can cater to the different masses.”

Their menu offers several gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. “We love the students and want to make sure that anyone who comes in here can enjoy a meal,” Martinez said.

The cooks have a fantastic handle on producing quality cuisine, and the experience of eating at Fusions is a relaxing one. Orders take around 15 minutes to produce, and there’s no rush to finish your meal.

One of their signature items is the Monster Burger, which is my personal favorite. Each burger delivers a flavorful beef patty topped with a sunny-side up egg, bacon, onions, and Muenster cheese, and is accompanied by a healthy serving of fries. It’s a dish that will leave you satFusions restaurant, located at 9 South Main isfied and full, but requires commitment. Its Street focuses on serving a wide array of culfive-spice bacon and runny yolk add to the rich turally authentic food options to its customexperience of biting into this burger, and make

ers.

See Oberlin, Page 13

Photo by Talia Barton

Piscapo’s Arm Draws Laughs at Orientation

Members of the comedy group Piscapo’s Arm performed quirky sketches at a first-year Orientation comedy show last Monday.

Photo by Mackenzie Maurer Asher Wulfman Orientation is all about giving firstyears a feel for what life is like at Oberlin. Last Monday, Piscapo’s Arm, a student sketch comedy group, performed in an orientation show that introduced new Obies to popular spots on campus and created excitement for Oberlin student life and learning.

The show was held at one of Oberlin’s premier performance venues, The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

the Cat in the Cream. Judging from the lack of cookies sold, it was obvious that the show’s audience was mostly first-years; seasoned Obies know that when you go to the Cat, you get a cookie. However, one must give first-years the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will learn from their mistakes next time.

The show was brief, but it packed a punch. The four members portrayed

several different characters in amusing situations. Most memorable was Mr. Rigatoni, a sweet-talking hopeless romantic who sported a pasta strainer as a hat and spoke sweet nothings to his wife while she ate garlic bread and moaned. The audience was enthusiastic and giggled throughout the performance. Piscapo’s Arm represented Oberlin’s sense of humor well; most students don’t want laugh-

out-loud comedy or crude, obvious jokes. They want awkwardness, nerdiness, and above all, the unexpected.

“We want to show them that we’re a bit absurd. We aren’t afraid to commit to some of our weirdest ideas,” said College fourth-year Claire Abramovitz, who performed in the group.

One sketch that took place in a See Comedy, Page 13

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A r t s & C u lt u r e

Citizen Illegal Rejects Generalizations of Immigrant Experience Nathan Carpenter Editor-in-Chief The current immigration system in the United States is a hopelessly broken contradiction. We demonize immigrants and yet rely on and exploit their labor to sustain our economy. Our highest court upholds policy that uses the arbitrary justification of borders to dictate who is banned from entering our country.

It is within this context that Citizen Illegal — a stunning debut by poet José Olivarez — exists. As its title suggests, the collection of poems focuses significantly on immigration, borders, home, and movement, particularly in a Mexican and Mexican-American context.

Olivarez’ work is so powerful, however, because of its personal anecdotes and its commentary on how our national contradictions complicate and muddle everyday life for immigrants and their children.

The titular poem, and the one with which the book opens, shows how systemic contradiction becomes personal.

Olivarez writes, “take a Mexican woman (illegal) and a Mexican man (illegal). / if they have a baby and the baby looks white enough to pass (citizen). / if the baby grows up singing Selena songs to his reflection (illegal). … if the baby (illegal) (citizen) grows up to speak broken Spanish (illegal) / and perfect English (citizen).”

Olivarez continues to discuss this imposed internal struggle throughout the book, considering it at different points in his life. “fun fact: when you have to try to blend in / you can never blend in,” writes Olivarez in “River Oaks Mall.” “my dad gives me a penny / to throw

into a fountain that makes dreams / come true. all my dreams except one. / my family trying so hard to be American / it was transparent.”

“River Oaks Mall” is one of the first poems in Citizen Illegal. Olivarez returns to its setting toward the end of the collection — but this time, things are different. “later, we run back / to the pawn shop to ask for a refund, / but México is hip now,” he writes. “the pawn shop / is a shrine to Selena. they charge Mexicans triple to get in.”

While the commodification and economic exploitation of marginalized and oppressed populations is nothing new in American life, its ugly and harmful impacts are too often ignored. Not so in Citizen Illegal. Olivarez forces his audience to confront them head-on by pushing us to consider the experience of Mexican teens wandering around a mall, grappling with a country that simultaneously rejects them and profits off of their existence.

Even those who seek justice for immigrants engage in the contradiction of valuing the systemic above the personal.

However, not all of Citizen Illegal’s personal narratives are focused so explicitly on immigration. Olivarez also writes about his relationships with family members, particularly his father. Discussions of death recur frequently as well. “Mexican American Obituary,” for example, discusses the role of Mexican Americans

in the face of the ongoing epidemic of police killing Black Americans.

Olivarez’ nuanced narratives, and others like them, are vital. To understand the national context of immigration, it is critical to know how people are impacted, how lives are turned upside down, and how families are menaced. This comprehension is lost when we continue to reduce immigrants to that singular identity, instead of addressing the vast diversity of the American immigrant experience.

It is one thing to discuss the closing of borders and its impact on the economy; it is entirely another to read Olivarez’ “My Parents Fold Like Luggage” and begin to think about how it must feel to be folded into the trunk of a car, hoping against hope that God will intervene and prompt the border agent to let the vehicle pass without inspection.

In some ways, even those who seek justice for immigrants engage in the contradiction of valuing the systemic above the personal. We see this in arguments for immigrant inclusion that center around economics instead of humanity. We see this in liberals calling for the creation of a more benevolent Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, instead of advocating for the complete elimination of an agency whose sole purpose is to terrorize and separate.

Olivarez’ fiercely personal work reminds us that half-baked platitudes and contradictions are insufficient.

Citizen Illegal also arrives at a particularly vital moment for Oberlin students and Ohio residents in grappling with how these issues impact our communities and the people we love.

This summer, ICE raided a gardening company in Sandusky, Ohio.

More than 100 people were arrested by more than 200 ICE officers in certainly the most significant immigration raid to be carried out in Ohio under the Trump administration.

That raid, in all of its tragedy and chaos, revealed a fundamental contradiction that exists in Ohio, and perhaps especially in Oberlin, when it comes to immigration and the legalized oppression of Brown people — immigrants or not, documented or not — right here in our own backyards.

In many ways, Ohio can feel removed from the ongoing national crisis around immigration. We aren’t a border state, and while our state politics do revolve significantly around labor and economic recovery, these things are often imagined in the context of rural white communities — people who are not, to say the least, at risk of being seized and locked up by ICE. However, as the events of this summer remind us, this narrative is false.

ICE’s reign of terror impacts people in every state. As I read Citizen Illegal just about two months after that Sandusky raid, I was reminded of this contradiction in our own community, and how fiercely it must be combated in order to achieve full safety and equity.

It is for this reason and many others that I view Citizen Illegal as one of the most powerful and important books to read in our present context — in Oberlin, in Ohio, and in the greater United States. Olivarez’ work is strong and vulnerable, sad and funny. It is a true work of art that leaves the reader in a state of deep thought and reflection on this country’s approach to immigration, the power of community, and the importance of rejecting a monolithic, generalized cultural narrative.

Mourning [A] BLKstar Impresses With Soulful Orientation Show at the Cat in the Cream

By Sophia Zandi The Cat in the Cream hosted Mourning [A] BLKstar, a future-soul band from Cleveland, on the first Friday night after orientation. Not sure what to expect, students slowly trickled into the cozy coffeehouse and hesitantly sat on couches near the walls.

Although the show started with no line and tentative entries, soon about 250 people were dancing around the stage, while dozens of others sat enjoying tea and cookies. One of the three lead vocalists, Kyle Kidd, had remarked earlier that he was excited for the performance because there would be a lot of first-years. He wanted to make sure everyone felt welcome, given that his own college experience wasn’t always a great time.

Mourning [A] BLKstar was created by writer and musician Ra Washington. Washington translates “iconic symbols and concepts that have historically sustained marginalized people,” accord-

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ing to the group’s Facebook page, and socially-conscious themes into lyrics, seductive beats, and instrumental compositions. Lead singers James Longs, Kyle Kidd, and LaToya Kent add vocal arrangements.

“It sounds like a little bit of everything,” Kent said.

“Space and ether and soul, a little trashiness and elegance all mixed in together.” The Cat in the Cream Manager and College senior Hanne Williams-Baron described the group’s sound as “supernatural gospel soul” that creates an “atmospheric, entrancing, funk experience.”

While the alluring sounds and musicality made for a wonderful show, the fun, welcoming environment came from the diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity of the band and venue.

As Kidd put it, “everybody who is in the band — from the instrumentalists to the vocalists to the production — represents somebody else. We are different and a community.”

The band’s intentions were accentuated by the Cat in the

Cream’s warm vibe, where “there’s almost always an atmosphere that you feel comfortable dancing in and you don’t feel judged,” as College sophomore Zimmy Chu put it. First-year Sylvie Weinstein proclaimed that the Cat in the Cream felt “welcoming to everybody.”

“The Cat is a really important space because we strive so much to make sure that every single person here is comfortable,” Williams-Baron said. “The venue achieves this by offering wheelchair accessible seating, ensuring that all shows are free, and [by] not serving alcohol.

“It’s a nice space for people to just chill and be themselves,” Butler said. The combination of accessibility and joyful energy created the perfect opening orientation show.

The concert was lively and full, and previously-nervous first-years danced without hesitation after the music started. The audience remained attentive and supportive. Concert attendees clapped along with the band

with gleeful smiles on their faces through fun horn solos, infectious beats, a somber and soulful set supporting Black Lives Matter, and mind-blowing high notes hit by Kidd.

Most were quite impressed with the group’s distinctive, emotive voices and incredible ranges, arrangements, and artistry. Second-year Conservatory Jazz vocalist Georgia Heers voiced her astonishment at the “fullbodied harmonies” and collaborative musicianship, gawking at James Longs’ “incredible middle range” and “technical and pristine” voice, even in high registers.

“There was a lot of power, there was a lot of energy, and the musicality was really strong,” first-year Riley Davis said. Weinstein chimed in: “They are passionate and you can tell.

They are an amazing gig.”

The inherent trust between the performers, the concert attendees, and the staff of the Cat in the Cream fostered a space that celebrated pioneering artistry,

mutual support, and inclusivity: the perfect environment for new students. Kyle Kidd mentioned that a lot of the band’s original followers were Oberlin alumni.

“We come back because of the relationships,” vocalist James Longs said. “We relate with and enjoy the people here, so it’s easy to come back.” This appreciation was reciprocated when Mourning [A] BLKstar performed for Live from Studio B, Oberlin’s weekly live performance broadcast.

The concert’s success is another example of the symbiotic connection between the artistry of Mourning [A] BLKstar and the quirky, earnest arts community at Oberlin College.

“The base of it is community, the base of it is about relationship, the foundation of it is something more than ourselves,” Kidd said. Undoubtedly, this local connection and shared vision will continue to cultivate a community of equity, friendship, and excellence going forward.

Comedy Sketch Group Starts Restaurant Offers Welcoming Environment, Delicious Food Year Off Strong Continued from page 11

fancy restaurant demonstrated a favorite trend at Oberlin: ironic detachment. One of the characters continually turned to the audience and broke the fourth wall to say things like “Piscapo’s Arm would write a sketch about feeling uncomfortable in a fancy restaurant.” And the show wasn’t lacking in Oberlin-friendly buzzwords like “class anxiety,” with which first-years will no doubt soon be familiar.

For Abramovitz, the kooky comedy style used by Piscapo’s Arm is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the performance. “I think for me when I find myself truly playing with the material — trying out different tactics, sliding between extremes, eating paper towels — it allows other people to start playing and experimenting as well.”

The comedy scene at Oberlin is certainly active, with many student groups performing at various times throughout the year, like fellow sketch comedy troupe Doobie Ingenuity. Additionally, There are several student improv groups, including Sunshine Scouts, Kid Business, Neurotic Fiction, and Primitive Streak. Finally, there is a biweekly comedy talk show called Good Talk, which performs at the ’Sco. “Something special about comedy at Oberlin is how many outlets there are and how much good work is produced,” said College sophomore Daniel Fleischer, a member of the improv group Kid Business, in an email to the Review. “Comedy at Oberlin was a super welcoming group for me, especially coming in as someone with almost no comedy experience.”

Despite the many opportunites to get POCKET HAMLET

The Oberlin Review | September 7, 2018

Continued from page 11

involved, participating in the Oberlin comedy scene is not something that everyone imagines doing when they first arrive.This was true for Abramovitz, who said, “I decided to audition for [the Oberlin Student Theater Association’s] production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I initially wasn’t even considering auditioning for Piscapo’s Arm; I didn’t think my comedy style would mesh with the group.” Nonetheless, Abramovitz joined Piscapo’s Arm in the spring of her first year after she didn’t get the part in Putnam County.

“I suppose it wasn’t necessarily out of [a] strong desire to write and perform comedy specifically; it was more about finding any pathway to being on stage. All that love of comedy writing came with the process of actually being in the group.”

This sentiment is echoed by other participants in the comedy community at Oberlin. “Being part of comedy at Oberlin has connected me with students I may not have met and opportunities I may not have had otherwise, and I’m very grateful for that,” former member of Piscapo’s Arm and College senior Alaina Turocy said in an email to the Review.

You can tell from Abramovitz’s contagious energy on stage — especially among the equally hilarious members of her troupe — that she has now fully embraced this new form of performance.

This type of energy was a great way to kick off the year, and to give first-years a taste of what Oberlin’s like — a quirky place where anything is possible, even if that “anything” is performing sketch comedy with a strainer on your head.

for an unforgettable gastronomical experience.

Not in the mood for a burger?

Fusions also offers an expansive array of sensational fried rice dishes, topped with your choice of veggie or proteins — I go for the beef. Either way, this fried rice is unlike any other in Oberlin.

Their Hawaiian BBQ ribs are another fun option — the meat slips right off the bone. The side of white rice is a great base for the meat, sauce, and its side of broccoli.

The cooks at Fusion are committed to enriching diners’ experiences by respecting the specific Asian culture that inspires each dish. Their Southeast Asianstyle Bouillabaisse, szechwan and curry soups, and different salmon and seafood preparations are all crafted with love and attention by the restaurant staff.

Eventually, Fusions hopes to incorporate different Latinx foods, such as Pupusas, arroz y frijoles, tacos, as well as their specialty, cauliflower dough pizza. Martinez and her staff want their restaurant to be more of a safe space rather than a melting pot. She wants each individual to be respected, and she does that best by slowly adding different foods to the menu that represent the diversity found in Oberlin.

Those who don’t understand the dishes can expect

their servers to break down what each food item entails.

“My staff are patient, and like we said before, we want to be welcoming because that’s the base of our family,” Belinda said.

“My husband is Guatemalan and our children respect what it takes for one to work their way up in a society that often isn’t so welcoming to immigrants. You won’t find that disrespect here.

If you don’t know something, there is no shame in asking us.”

“If I can give students or townsfolk one thing, that would be the acceptance that we may not always find at home,” she said. “Some people don’t even have places to call home, and we have people here who also don’t have many connections here and feel alone [too],” Martinez said.

“When you sit down in one of my booths, I am interested in ensuring that you eat, and that you feel respected no matter your socioeconomic background or educational experience… that’s who we are. We are the Fusions family.”

They welcomed me, and I am a part of their family. I hope that other students find their way through those doors too. Until Oct. 1, students with a valid ID receive a 10 percent discount.

Martinez and her staff await their regulars and new guests alike, and they are ready to provide a quality dining experience with rich, delicious food.

Claire Wang

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Sp ort s

For Baseball Players in Cuba, a Unique Naming Convention Julie Schreiber Staff Writer For many people in the United States, the happenings of everyday life in Cuba are nothing short of mysterious. Although the two countries are separated by a mere 103 miles, a half-century of socially-and-economically-restrictive international policy has made it difficult for most citizens of either country to understand what goes on in the other.

One way in which Cuba has managed to exert its influence in American culture over the past 50 years is through Major League Baseball. Cuba is one of four major countries in Latin America (the others being Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela) that have produced some of the most successful baseball players worldwide in recent decades, including many who have overcome troublesome international conflict to play in the U.S. And while these players all share a country of origin, many share a slightly more peculiar trait: their first names begin with the letter Y. The trend of Y-starting names in Cuba is noticeable both on and off the island. In Cuba’s most recent baseball season, eight of the 28 athletes on the roster for the Alazanes de Granma — the 2018 winter league championship team with the country’s most promising young players — have names that begin with the letter Y. Among these is Yoelkis Cespedes, the half-brother of Yoenis Cespedes,

the outfielder for the New York Mets.

And in 2016, when a Cuban national team faced off against the Tampa Bay Rays, marking the first official CubanAmerican baseball competition in history, more than a quarter of the 41 players fielding the Cuban team had Y names. Currently, the MLB is home to 12 Cuban baseball players whose names begin with the letter Y, including Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox, and Yonder Alonso of the Cleveland baseball team.

Not so coincidentally, all of the aforementioned players were born after the year 1980. They are part of what blogger Yoani Sáchez has termed “Generación Y,” the time period that, in the U.S., designates the official generation of millennials, but, 103 miles away, refers to the same late Cold War years that gave birth to the many Hispanic-Russian names like Yamilka, Yuriel, and Yanik which then proliferated throughout the island.

Scholars of Cuban history and Cuban-American relations have come up with various theories to explain the disproportionate number of Y names that surfaced at this time. During the earlier years of this phenomenon, Cuba was still strongly connected to the Soviet Union, undoubtedly their strongest ally in the third world. Many standard Y names like Yevgeny or Yuri exemplify the distinct Soviet influence in Cuba as well as likely intermarriage between Cubans and Russians at the time, according to Andy Gomez, former direc-

tor of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

However, other interpretations of the naming trend, such as that of Lillian Guerra of the University of Florida, suggest that families used their ability to name their children — perhaps one of their only freedoms at the time — to take a jab at the Soviet Union rather than pronounce their respect.

Other scholars speculate that the influence of socialist doctrine in 20thcentury Cuba steered parents away from giving their children traditional Catholic names, such as María or Jesús, as socialism often leaves little room for religious practice. Some academics even assert that the Cuban government, due to its dependence on Soviet assistance, provided an extra food ration for all families who endowed their children with a Russian-inspired name.

It may be impossible to pin down a precise cause for the Y-naming phenomenon, but all of the Yoenises, Yoandrys, and Yulieskis serve as a constant reminder of the power of names to demonstrate a country’s cultural and historical influences and changes.

And while Americans may giggle at hearing names like Yampier or Yuriorkis, it is critical to remember that the MLB is historically home to some of the most bizarre names in American athletic history. When considering Oakland Athletics’ pitcher Catfish Hunter or St. Louis Cardinals’ second baseman Stubby Clapp, who’s really to say what makes an unconventional name, after all.

Oberlin Prioritizes Wellness with YeoFit Continued from page 16

“You might meet new people or you can bring your friends,” Schoenhoft said. “People want to belong to something. Once you’re a part of a community, that really improves the way you feel about yourself and how you feel about being at Oberlin — and that’ll positively influence all the other aspects of your life.”

Certified trainer Debra Herzog will be leading a weekly class called First Time Fitness in which students can learn how to take advantage of the Health and Wellness Center, improve bone strength and balance, and set and attain goals. Herzog was a track athlete and cheerleader in college and now coaches clients for a living — including President Carmen Twillie Ambar, who can be found working out every morning before sunrise.

“What I can say about President Ambar is that she is just like many of my clients: [a] goal-minded, hardworking competitor,” Herzog said. “She is definitely a strong leader in the gym and a role model when it comes to fitness tenacity. If she takes that kind of work ethic into her office every day, Oberlin is in great hands.”

One of YeoFit’s goals is to foster relationships between campus leaders and students. President Ambar encourages students to join her Be Bold Presidential Fitness Challenge, which began Wednesday and will end Oct. 5, the day Ambar will be officially installed as the College’s 15th president.

A similar opportunity is Gameday Ride with the Athletic Department, which will kick off Sept. 15 when the football team plays its first home game

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of the season against the Wittenberg University Tigers. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in a spinning workout with Winkelfoos before heading over to Bailey Field to cheer on the Yeomen. Winkelfoos said the idea came from the Illinois College athletic director, who goes on gameday runs.

“I don’t know if many people understand this, but even as an administrator you get gameday jitters,” Winkelfoos said. “You’re excited and you want your student-athletes to perform well. I will more than likely be working out [before the games] anyway, so why not create that opportunity for people to join me?

I love loud music and bike riding. It’s just a different way for me to connect with students.”

Through YeoFit, student-athletes will also have access to more resources and support than ever before. Schoenhoft said she is hoping to bring a few members of the Counseling Center staff into the Health and Wellness Center to hold drop-in office hours, and the Center for Student Success will host time management workshops Sept. 18 during lunch and Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

Schoenhoft, an advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said there will regularly be collaboration between SAAC and YeoFit. A swim-in movie night for student-athletes in the new pool — complete with blow-up floats and snacks — is just one of the ideas in the works.

Along with Carr Pool, the main gym in Philips received a total makeover over the summer — a new floor was installed, the walls were repainted, and the bleachers were replaced. The new court features the “campus skyline,” and the motto behind the project

is “bringing the campus to the court.”

Winkelfoos said that she wants student-athletes to be assured that they are supported and recognized for their efforts in the classroom and in other extracurriculars around campus, not just on their sports teams.

“I can’t think of another college campus that has their academic buildings [designed] on an athletic facility,” Winkelfoos said. “Let’s give a nod to a major reason why our student-athletes are here. They’re here for academics. They spend a lot of time in Philips, but they spend a lot of time in the classroom too, so let’s bring the campus into our facilities.”

In years past, student-athletes had a tendency of taking over the Science Center atrium, Winkelfoos said. Now they will have additional places to do schoolwork and connect with each other and other students: tables and armchairs with built-in desks fill the Health and Wellness Center lounge, and Winkelfoos said that she plans on converting the old cardio hallway in Philips into a student lounge as well — something no athletic facility at Oberlin has ever had.

“Not only do we want you working out, but we want folks taking time to communicate with each other and study together,” Winkelfoos said. “The point of [all of this] is to create more beautiful collisions. You can have a really great facility, but if it’s not producing anything then what’s the point? The more connection and the more collaboration you can create for folks, the more successful the College will be and the more successful the community will be.”

Reinventing Sports continued from page 16 and that we refused to attend speakers series and workshops, choosing instead to focus only on sports. I knew that, at Oberlin, this was not the case.

Being an athlete both in high school and college, I’ve had to make sacrifices in how my time is used. High school demanded my commitment from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by about two hours of track practice daily, followed by one to three hours of yearbook work, and all-day track meets on Saturdays.

By the time I got home most days, it was dinner time or later, leaving barely enough time to complete daily chores and complete homework from a full schedule of AP courses before falling asleep after midnight.

Unlike my public high school, attending college isn’t free, and paying my own way through this expensive institution through a series of time-intensive jobs has forced me to make even more sacrifices than in high school.

And I am not a special case. Numerous athletes on campus hold leadership positions, jobs, and other interests on campus aside from athletics that force them into severe time constraints. Athletes go to a D3 school like Oberlin to have the opportunity to compete in their sport alongside passionate teammates while simultaneously getting a high-quality interdisciplinary education alongside focused classmates.

This year is my last at Oberlin, but also the first in eight years that I will not be competing as a track athlete. Because of my workload, I felt I was unable to commit the time and energy to track that I wanted to while also paying my term bill on time (and let me dispel this old myth now: athletes at D3 institutions do not, in fact, get paid to play or receive any type of scholarship for being an athlete. The sole motivation to be a D3 athlete is the love of the sport).

My hope, however, is that by working as one of the Sports Editors at The Oberlin Review this year, I can maintain my roots in Oberlin athletics. The decision not to do track this year was a hard one, and while I am beyond sad to lose a direct connection to one of the most supportive communities I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of on campus, I am excited about the prospect of getting to know other sports teams on campus on a more personal level.

This year, the Review plans to take a more in-depth look into who athletes are as people outside of athletics, and what it means to them to be part of Oberlin College athletics — because while ‘athlete’ may be one identifier they bear, it is often not their full story.

Through more in-depth “Inside the Locker Room” pieces, narratives from athletes themselves, and pieces from nonathlete students who attend games or have had experiences — positive or negative — with athletics, we hope to shed more light on all that encompasses athletics at Oberlin College.

We believe that an important part of this work is acknowledging that the athletic community isn’t perfect. There are genuine concerns that students have about athletes that we need to talk about, but these issues can sometimes be lost when tossed in with the voices of students who hold baseless notions of athletes.

In this vein, we intend to have forthcoming articles written with the goal of touching on athletes and athletics in a more personal light. We hope to dispel false narratives while calling athletes in on the ones that hold true. I hope to provide a platform for discourse between those in and out of the athletic community in the Review, so that we can work on the stigma surrounding athletics on campus. By doing so, I hope to prevent incoming first-years from feeling alienated for sharing their love of their sport and team.

Wheelmen Roll Through Oberlin

The Wheelmen, a national group that focuses on the preservation and celebration of antique bicycles made before 1932, visited Oberlin July 25-29 for their 51st annual National Wheelmen Meet. Many cyclists rode upwards of 100 miles during the meet in total. Others took part in 75-, 50-, or 25-mile routes. The event included four days of festivities, featuring many riders wearing historically accurate clothing to match their bikes, a flash mob of cyclists, a series of workshops on antique biking, and a culminating parade.

Text by Sydney Allen, Editor-in-Chief Photo courtesy of Bill Smith, Wheelman

Field Hockey Maximizes Holistic College Experience

The seven field hockey seniors.

Alexis Dill Sports Editor Field Hockey Head Coach Tiffany Saunders had no idea she wouldn’t be returning to Radford University at the conclusion of her fifth season as the lead assistant coach of the Highlanders.

The news came in February 2014 that the school would be cutting its field hockey program, leaving Saunders shocked and uncertain about where she would end up next. Saunders had spent four years as a starter for the Highlanders before beginning her coaching career, and Radford, VA, was home.

When Saunders was hired as the new field hockey coach at Oberlin College a year later, she promised to never take a day for granted or forget where she came from. She said her college coach — who always made his team feel like family — molded her into the coach she is today.

“My coach at Radford was there for 25 years prior to them discontinuing our program in 2014,” Saunders said. “You never The Oberlin Review | Septermber 7, 2018

Photo Courtesy of OC Athletics know when things might change.

We had a really strong family feel through our alumni base since he had been there for so long. He made us all feel like family. [We would have] spaghetti dinners at his house with his kids sitting next to us.”

The Oberlin field hockey team regularly makes an effort to spend time together off the field through community service and crafting nights — hobbies that Saunders said many of her players share. The team paints pumpkins together every year, and recently began a tradition of tie-dying T-shirts.

“My best friends were made while I was in school,” Saunders said. “I know that college can be stressful sometimes, especially here at Oberlin with the academic intensity. I think part of my role [as a coach] is to understand that you’re a person as well. We have goals to hit as a team, but you’re here to have fun and enjoy your team and overall college experience.”

Senior captain Emma Broun said her teammates have become

her second family since they spend so much time together.

“The general culture [of the field hockey program] is very focused on kindness, care, and love,” Broun said. “Nobody told our team that we have to love each other and spend time together off the field — we just do.

Of course, we all have the common goal of playing good field hockey and winning games, but basing an entire two months of our lives on beating other teams won’t necessarily create the kind of environment we all want to live in. Instead, the common goal we are encouraged to pursue by our coaches [and each other] is being kind to others.”

Broun and her teammates show kindness to each other by supporting one another’s interests and commitments outside of field hockey.

In addition to playing field hockey, Broun competes for the club bowling team, works for the Wilder Hall Student Union, and takes guitar lessons at the Woodshed Lesson Studio. Still, Broun isn’t the only player on the team with a jam-packed schedule.

According to Saunders, the list of things her players have been involved in is endless: Residential Education, the Big Parade, various community involvement initiatives, co-ops, the Review, and Student Senate. Saunders believes that if she respects her players’ commitments outside of field hockey, they will give her all of their effort when it is time to put on their jerseys and pick up their sticks.

“I think [as coaches] we’re here to help shape the experience,” Saunders said. “It’s an amazing thing when you can do everything you want to do. If you

can do it — and it comes down to time management and motivation — who am I to hold you back? Just keep me in the loop. I want to see all the fun.”

Broun said that the support she and her teammates receive from their coaching staff helps them succeed in the classroom and in their extracurriculars — not just on the field. “[Coach Saunders], of course, wants us to keep field hockey as a top priority, but knows that each person on the team is much more than just a field hockey player,” Broun said. “With everything we do, Coach encourages balance and moderation.”

Because she believes in allowing her players to maximize their college experience, Saunders allowed all seven of her rising seniors to study abroad last spring — rare even for a Division III program. Three players studied in Cuba, and the remaining seniors spent a semester in New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Morocco. According to Saunders, four more field hockey players are considering going abroad this spring.

Two-time captain and senior Kennedy Kline said that there was never much concern over the lack of senior leadership last spring because of how much trust there was among the rest of the team, and how well everyone communicated with each other.

Juniors Libby Royer — the team’s third captain — and Luisa McGarvey were selected by the rest of the team as temporary springtime captains. Kline said that she thinks that prompting the underclassmen to step up last spring will benefit the team this fall. “[Libby and Luisa’s] leadership skills, as well as those of our

other juniors and sophomores, developed immensely during the past semester and have already helped shape our team this season,” Kline said. “On paper we have three captains, but so many people on our team have stepped up and proven themselves as leaders.”

According to both Saunders and Kline, communication will be the most important factor in the team’s success.

“The way we interact with each other and care about each other is the most important component of our team,” Kline said.

“The bond that we have helps us communicate on the field and off, push each other, and support each other.”

The field hockey team went 1–19 last year, but Saunders expects the team to win more games this year. She had her players return to campus a little earlier this August than in previous years, and began running three-a-days: morning fitness, afternoon skills, and night play. According to her, the team’s strengths are experience and depth.

No matter how many games they win — they’re currently 1–2 — Saunders is certain that each player to go through the program will emerge a better leader, competitor, and person.

“I value winning, but I understand the big picture — who you become while you’re here,” Saunders said. “You have to enjoy your time on the team and that will show on the field. We have a fantastic culture, and everyone outside of our team can sense that. The next phases will come as long as we continue to value the chemistry and bond that has been built. That is how you grow a program.”

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SPORTS

The Patricia ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center opened Aug. 28 after two years of construction. Inside, students can find a lounge, a fitness center full of new cardio equipment, and several multipurpose rooms that will be used for spinning, yoga, and other YeoFit classes.

Photo by Maria Turner, Photo Editor

New Building Promises Better From the Locker Room Access to Wellness in Academic Year to the Copy Room Alexis Dill Sports Editor Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos beamed with pride last Tuesday as students and coaches gathered to celebrate the opening of the Pat ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center.

Perhaps she could hear the turning of wheels and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco’s music blasting through the speakers in the new spinning room, or maybe it was the thought of Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving Lisa Thuer reciting mantras and pacing a yoga mat-covered floor that put a smile on her face.

The 16,000-square-foot expansion to Philips gym permitted the launch of YeoFit, an initiative that offers a variety of free programs and drop-in classes for students, faculty, and staff. According to Winkelfoos, YeoFit will provide endless opportunities to live a healthier, happier life while honoring the history of the College and building community.

Wellness is a long-standing institutional priority that Winkelfoos has emphasized since she was promoted to athletic director by former President Marvin Krislov in 2012. As part of the Oberlin Illuminate Campaign, Winkelfoos worked closely with the Office of Development to raise over $30 million toward the Austin E. Knowlton Complex — completed in September 2014 — and the Health and Wellness Center, which includes renovations to Carr Pool.

Emeritus College Archivist Roland Baumann said the Health and Wellness Center is a welcome addition to Philips gym that fits right in with the College’s background. “[The building of this new facility] is of some historic importance because the College’s founders — some 185 years ago — seriously believed it was essential for students to exercise both their body and mind,” Baumann said.

According to the May 1941 edition of the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, “Dr. [Delphine] Hanna was the first teacher of physical education at Oberlin, and she was one of the first persons in this country to

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see the need of scientific teaching of physical education. In 1885, such ideas were very progressive, and few were prepared to teach them.” In 1903, Hanna became the first Professor of Physical Education in the United States.

Although Oberlin’s last physical education majors graduated in 1989, Winkelfoos said she believes the inception of YeoFit will once again arouse students’ eagerness to indulge in fitness.

While student-athletes are encouraged to explore areas of fitness outside of their respective sport, YeoFit classes will mostly benefit students who are not necessarily athletes but are looking for fun ways to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Winkelfoos commended Head Softball Coach Sara Schoenhoft for the research she has put into coordinating the YeoFit class schedule — which includes offerings such as yoga, spinning, cardio boxing, and more — and highlighted Schoenhoft’s passion for fitness as the reason she was hired as Wellness Coordinator.

“She is someone who really embodies selfcare,” Winkelfoos said. “I needed help, and she was the right person. I chose someone who was interested and passionate and wants to create something that is going to leave a lasting impact on the College and community.”

Schoenhoft was an all-conference selection three times as a softball player for the Kenyon College Ladies. She now regularly works out at Orangetheory Fitness and TITLE Boxing Club. “[Fitness] has helped me through a lot of things,” Schoenhoft said. “It helped me get through depression and anxiety and long transitions [in life]. To me, it’s a coping mechanism. I feel like I’ve had a lot of good coaches and trainers, and now I get to give back and help other people.

For those who have never had a fitness routine, starting a self-care plan can be intimidating and overwhelming, but Schoenhoft thinks the YeoFit classes will be an inclusive and nonjudgmental environment that will help students gain confidence and a sense of belonging.

See Oberlin, page 14

Ify Ezimora Sports Editor

Competing as a track athlete for the past eight years has heavily shaped both the way I navigate the space around me and way others regard me.

Coming from a public California high school of more than 2,700 students, participating in athletics as either a competitor or spectator was a communal activity. People showed up at games and community members made the drive to support their classmates, friends, and loved ones in competition.

Athletes on campus were not only committed to being students and high academic achievers, but also to their teams, winning accolades for their high school, and sacrificing more than 15 hours a week for their team.

Several-hour car rides to meets, long and difficult practices, carpools home, and coaches who acted not only as role models and mentors but also family, shaped a track experience that, for me, was one of the few things that allowed me to make it through high school amidst the violence and mental illness occurring in my personal life. Track and athletics were among the biggest drivers of my existence in high school.

So when I arrived in Oberlin three years ago for first-year orientation, the experience was jarring.

Realizing how resented athletics can be at Oberlin was a shock I had not anticipated. Over orientation week, I cycled through several different groups of first-years, always feeling small and compelled to disappear when conversations in Stevenson Dining Hall about favorite television shows turned to belittling comments about athletes and athletics whenever someone in the group spotted another student wearing a varsity jacket.

Nearly every day that week I heard something to the effect of: “‘I came to Oberlin because I thought we didn’t have athletics,’ ‘I hate jocks,’ ‘Isn’t Oberlin D3? Doesn’t that mean they suck?’” and when I shared that I was an athlete, I was met with incredulous responses like ‘really’ and ‘why would you ever.’

To think that sharing something so integral to my existence could instantly distance me from people I had never met, who I thought I was bonding with, was upsetting. And while some students at Oberlin have genuinely valid reasons for disliking their athlete peers, the vast majority of students who expressed their dislike of athletes to me my first year rooted their opinions in biased judgements and unfounded generalizations. All year, I heard comments about how student-athletes only got into Oberlin because they played sports, that our grades were unfairly inflated, See Reinventing, page 14