From the President
VOL. 115 NO. 2
Editor Jeff Hagan ’86
n the southwest corner of wilder bowl stands a large white tent, under which classes and cocurricular groups convene throughout the day. Tents dot the campus, providing safe, outdoor opportunities for learning while the weather holds. Students play instruments on the landing outside Kohl and sing outside under the patio of Mudd Center. Courses across campus are in-person, hybrid, and remote, with all of us becoming more adept at understanding our colleagues behind a mask. In the late afternoons and early evenings, students eat a grab-and-go dinner on Wilder’s grass, talk, and throw Frisbees. Everywhere I look on campus, Obies are propelling themselves forward and deriving the benefits of an Oberlin experience. Oftentimes, when I am asked to speak to college students across the country, I include my list of “Top Ten Things I Wished I had Known in College,” which encapsulates what I now wish I could have told myself as I entered college. Number four is one of my favorites: “In every adversity, there is a seed of equal or greater benefit.” When I mention this truism to students, I typically tell them that the highest achieving, most resilient people I have met apply this principle when they face something particularly challenging. As the adversity presents itself, they almost instinctively and immediately look for the seed of equal or greater benefit. As I reflect on what has transpired over the last several months, and as I watch our students, faculty, and staff on campus, I can assure you that our Obies are finding the seeds of greater benefit in the midst of this pandemic. The conservatory and its students are applying technology in new and exciting ways to teach voice safely. Classrooms are filled with low-tech Plexiglas barriers as well as cutting-edge technology that facilitates musical performance and instruction between rooms, with essentially no lag time. We are calling them “real-time” studios. Music still flows from Finney Chapel and theater from other venues. Technology ensures that people around the world can see Oberlin. Tappan Square hosts periodic jazz melodies in an atmosphere that is quintessentially Oberlin, and it allows the entire town to enjoy the talents of our students. As for the juniors who were off campus this fall and participating in the Junior Practicum, they have helped develop one of our most significant seeds and accomplishments. Students participated in over 50 virtual workshops conducted mostly by Oberlin alums and engaged in micro-internships and research hosted by our faculty and fellow Obies. This semester-long experience provided these students with the ability to learn and apply the intangibles of a quality liberal arts education in a professional setting. As an institution, we are also striving to nurture seeds of our own. The three-semester plan that allowed us to “de-densify” campus is an example of faculty and staff coming together in a truly remarkable effort. Many a local business owner has suggested to me that this shift, and the over 1,200 students who will be in Oberlin in the summer because of it, will mean a more robust financial foundation for the city of Oberlin. Given the economic burdens the pandemic has placed on the city, our community is eager for the benefits of hosting students in the summer. Our campus this fall was home to nearly 2,000 students maneuvering through a once-in-a-century event. Every day, they and our nearly 900 students off campus donned their masks, undeterred in their search for the seeds that will help them achieve their dreams. Their determination—displayed under a tent, in a traditional classroom updated with technology and Plexiglas, or out in the wider world—is an inspiration. carmen twillie ambar President, Oberlin College
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Senior Designer Ryan Sprowl Designer Nicole Slatinsky Photography Projects Manager Yvonne Gay Director, Print and Publications Kelly Viancourt Vice President for Communications Ben Jones ’96 The Oberlin Alumni Magazine (ISSN 0029-7518), founded in 1904, is published by Oberlin’s Office of Communications and distributed to alumni, parents, and friends of Oberlin College. EDITORIAL OFFICE
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TA N YA R O S E N -J O N E S ’ 97
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The Seeds of Equal or Greater Benefit