OBERLIN’S ALTERNATIVE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE 2 COVER ART

Front Cover: Derya Taspinar

Back Cover: Nyakwea Ndegwa

Forsberg and Teagan Hughes Co-Editors-in-Chief

Reggie Goudeau Features Editor

Raghav

Arts and Culture Editor

Hey buddy! You look really nice today; I like what you’ve done with your bangs. You’re really serving lately. Nobody’s doing it like you. Everyone’s noticed. It’s been awhile since we last spoke, eh? The ole editors’ note always seems to slip through the cracks last minute. Teagan and I, like all Grape editors past, are busy little beavers. Last week, I got a root canal for the first time and told everybody about it because I was so proud of myself for being a Big Girl (I was really, really scared – both of the drill and the bill). And in only slightly less harrowing news, I’ve been writing an abundance of desperate, sniveling cover letters and also an English capstone about old, working-class women in 20thcentury European novels. How can you not love a difficult old broad with a rich inner world? Truly who I aspire to be! Anyways, I hope you’re well, reader. Wishing you love, prosperity, spring break, and a swift line at Azzy’s.

Saffron

Hello! I’m excited to write another one of these—as aforementioned by Saffron, it’s been a bit. Aside from The Grape and classes, I’ve been spending a lot of my time on comedy stuff, trying to squeeze as much of it in as possible before I graduate in May and the world is never funny again (just kidding, kind of). Lately, I’ve been finding myself listening to a lot of the same old music I used to listen to at ages 14, 15—unfortunately, a lot of musical soundtracks (so, so sorry). I was, at first, imagining this as some sort of regression. But then again, it can never be a true regression because the context of my life is so wildly different now. I remember, too, that the last time I was really engaging with this stuff was at a time of great turbulence; maybe it’s just the transition music of my life. Thank you so much for picking up this issue of The Grape. This paper has been one of the highlights of my wildly busy year; we hope you enjoy it too. We hope your semester has been wonderful so far, and that it continues to be. Come see us at a contributors’ meeting soon!

Much love, Teagan