The Oberlin Review
DECEMBER 13, 2013 VOLUME 142, NUMBER 12
Outside the Bubble News highlights from the past week Fraternity Ritual Causes Death of College First-Year: The Monroe County District Attorney reported on Monday that Chun Hsien Deng, a 19-year old freshman at Baruch College, died of “major brain trauma” after he partook in a fraternity ritual. The student played a game called “Glass Ceiling,” which involved dangerous heavy objects and the outdoors. In the game, Deng was blindfolded, and a heavy object was placed upon his back. He then had to follow the cries of a brother while others tackled him en route. According to David Christine Jr., the county’s District Attorney, Deng was wounded during the game, and the ensuing hours are still under investigation; no one called an ambulance or attempted to help Deng. “After some time,” Christine confirmed in an interview, “the fraternity brothers took Deng to a nearby hospital on Monday, and he died hours later.” Kosovo Gains Recognition from Facebook: After arduous efforts and campaigns, citizens from Kosovo have won the recognition of social media. Five years ago, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia and has struggled to assert its national identity. Now, after a laborious battle, Kosovo citizens can identify themselves as such on Facebook and “check in” to local spots. Snubbed Serbian opponents intend to protest by deleting their pages and replacing them with fake profiles. Sources: The New York Times
Demonstrators Join Forces to Combat Oppression yond its borders. The wall, which featured more than 15 7-foot-high panels painted with anti-oppression messages, was organized by a coalition of students united in their frustration with the Board of Trustees’ lack of action toward their demands. Numerous student organizations
Oberlin-Grafton Education Exchange. Although these organizations assisted in the creation of the wall, the students Student demonstrators barricaded involved identified themselves as part the front of Mudd library with a mock of a larger coalition. wall this past Sunday, a construction This coalition initially coalesced as that symbolized the many barriers an unofficial group that began meetpresent throughout Oberlin and being after the last Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 10. During this meeting, students presented five demands to the trustees aimed at calls for additional transparency of trustee decisions, divestment from corporations in contested Palestinian territory, creation of an Asian American Studies major and minor, the ban of fracking on College-owned land, and the admission, support and creation of a scholarship program for undocumented students. While these demands may seem unrelated, the students supporting them claim to have gained strength through unity. College senior Nasim Chatha affirms that broad partnerships between students enable quick and effective action. “That’s why both the coalition and the wall action were able to mobilize pretty fast. This stuff has been happening Double-degree junior Arianna Gil (left) and College junior Ana Robelo stop to watch student demonstrators come together for a while in different forms, Paul Buser
were involved in the action, including Students for a Free Palestine, La Alianza Latina, the Asian American Alliance, the Student Labor Action Coalition, the Filipin@ American Student Alliance, Oberlin Anti-Frack, The Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Trans*gender People, WOBC and The
to construct a barrier. The wall, which was erected by several student groups on campus, called attention to the different types of barricades across campus and around the world. Effie Kline-Salamon
See Activist, page 4
OSCA-UNAG Delegates Offer Ideals of Solidarity, but No Money Emma Baxter Every other year since 1997, Oberlin has financed a trip for five students to go to Nicaragua over Winter Term to deliver financial aid to the San Jaun de Limay community and to build relationships with their respective host families. As January approaches, the five student delegates are gearing up to make this year’s journey. They will, however, be making their trip deprived of one of the project’s most critical aspects — its funding. “Our relationship with the [National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG)] revolves around this microloan. Each year OSCA can choose to give $0, $3,000 or $5,000 to put into the loan fund,” College junior and co-committee leader Ana Robelo said. “That money is given out in smaller quantities to support families
in Limay.” In the past, the loans varied in size and provided families with financial agency, allowing them to start small businesses, produce local handmade products or establish their own farms. Originally the subsidies were only used to support women, but they now serve the entire San Juan de Limay community and focus largely on the subsistence of farmers. This winter will be the first that the delegates will make their journey without any subsidies to offer the families of San Juan de Limay. Without the necessary funding, the delegates will not be able to assist the community financially. The problem did not, however, arise from lack of funding. “There was a lot of miscommunication and confusion. As a committee leader, I
had to learn stuff on the job. I didn’t know that you have to do a budget request a year in advance, so money that OSCA would have donated to the UNAG was never allocated,” Robelo said. “It was a major miscommunication that I didn’t find out about until two weeks ago.” OSCA has $80,000 in its microloan fund budget — money that is left to sit this Winter Term due to the miscommunication between OSCA and the delegation leaders. Due to the lack of communication, Oberlin delegates don’t have a clear idea of how the money is being spent, and there have also been rumors of financial abuse within the UNAG. “We hear questionable things so we don’t know who to believe. We were told by a woman who used to work for the UNAG that the money was
being used for salaries and administrative work. They don’t have money for that, and it is a necessary thing for their leaders to get compensated somehow,” said College junior Sylvia Woodmansee. “But she left the UNAG under bad circumstances, so that information could have been tainted. There is a lot of miscommunication between OSCA and the UNAG, whether the money was being used properly and for the right things.” Despite their disappointment, the delegates acknowledge that the situation may work to their advantage. “At first I was frustrated, but then realized that we can use this special situation to have conversations with the UNAG that we haven’t had for 20 years. Hopefully this will allow us to have negotiations that outline the parameters of OSCA’s and UNAG’s relation-
Swimmers Make Waves
Check Mate The two weeks, the OC Chess Team will head to the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. See page 2
ESTABLISHED 1874 oberlinreview.org
ONLINE & IN PRINT
A Corporeal Affair Soundfarm showcased music by students, faculty and guest lecturers with Usonian Solos. See page 11
INDEX:
Opinions 5
This Week in Oberlin 8
The women’s swimming and diving team took first place at the Blue Devil Invite this weekend. See page 16
Arts 10
Sports 16
from the
ship with one another,” Robelo said. The group also recognizes that, even without the economic aspect, they will have productive conversations and interactions with their host families. The partnership started in 1992 with a cooperative in Vermont. OSCA was invited to become a member in 1997, soon after the Vermont cooperative left its partnership with the UNAG. But documentation pertaining to that initial relationship is irrecoverable, leading to much uncertainty about the details of the partnership’s origins. Because communication with the UNAG is difficult, there are many blurred lines when it comes to terms and agreements. “I think because we never See OSCA, page 4
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The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Krislov to Discuss Costs of College at White House Louis Krauss
was rescheduled for after the New Year. The delay aside, Oberlin sent reports to the White House, according to Vice President and Dean of Admissions Debra Chermonte, detailing their methods of mitigating student debt, and “how to expand the pipeline.” Well-known private institutions like Oberlin usually have a price tag of approximately
$60,000. Generally, colleges attempt to provide adThis week, College President Marvin Krislov equate financial aid to students in need, whether was scheduled to attend a White House meetit be through a Pell grant, a merit-based scholaring to discuss measures aimed at making colship or a federal loan. But many of these loans lege more affordable for low-income families. Yet yield significant federal debt, which has forced following the death of Nelson Mandela, the trip many students to work multiple jobs while still in school. In a study by the College Board, approximately 60 percent of graduates from nonprofit colleges are in debt, with an average debt of $26,500. “In terms of Oberlin, we are pretty good in terms of keeping loan burden down,” President Krislov said. “I started the access initiative to take away the loan burden for Pelleligible students. It’s now a sliding scale, but we do give a lot in addition to try to make it loan-free for many of our neediest students.” A College Insider study on student debt found that in 2008, 62 percent of Oberlin graduates borrowed federal loans and maintain an average debt of $17,000. This Wednesday, the Student Labor Action Coalition, the Multicultural Resource Center and the Edmonia Lewis Center conducted a classism workshop which addressed Oberlin’s struggle to acknowledge class backgrounds and assist students with tuition. The panel was introduced by College senior Alice Beecher and College sophomore College sophomore Dyaami D’Orazio, College sophomore Mark Sikorski, College sophomore Gabri- Donnay Edmund,who seek to change Oberela Goldsmith, College first-year Anthony Moaton, College senior Rachel Ishikawa and College junior lin’s policy on accepting and helping lowerTony Gardner (left to right) all participated in a classism panel that took place last Wednesday. The income students. College Sophomore Kiki panel addressed issues of class, capitalism and classism as they pertain to Oberlin College and the Accey moderated the panel. wider Oberlin community. Rachel Grossman “I think it’s absurd that many of us are going to graduate with massive student loan
Reti or Not, Here They Come: OC Chess Heads to Conference Kristopher Fraser The Oberlin College Chess Club is working to restore its once distinguished reputation. For the second consecutive year, Oberlin will attend the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, striving to beat last year’s record of fourth place in the division. The tournament will take place in Lubbock, Texas, from Dec. 27–30. In the 1990s, Oberlin’s team was considered the most successful chess team in the country. The College hosted a collection of state and national tournaments but mysteriously stopped meeting at some point in the latter half of the decade. Three years ago, College juniors Kalind Parish and Ali Amiri decided to revive the organization, of which they are now currently co-chairs. Parish and Amiri gained support from the Student Finance Committee and have assembled a promising team. The team’s first forward for the upcoming December tournament is College first-year Walker Griggs, a three-time state champion, who qualifies for the +1900s. Although Griggs is only a first-year, he has read over 500 books on chess and first competed at age 12. Despite his very impressive standing, Griggs merely “play[ed] [chess] online” in preparation for the tournament. As with most state and national tournaments, attendance simply involves enrollment. According to Parish, Oberlin is likely to win its division this year. “We have a few +1900 players,” Parish said. “It will be interesting to see how it goes.”
Chess team Coach and Head Women’s Tennis Coach Constantine Ananiadis agreed. “This is by far the strongest team, and we’re taking two teams … so I’m excited to see what we can do,” Ananiadis said. In preparation, Ananiadis helped his team organize the G60 tournament last weekend, which took place in the Root Room and featured several acclaimed international chess players, some of whom hold the distinguished title of Grand Master. In addition, Ananiadis also teaches the Chess ExCo, which he says has helped several of his competing players sharpen their skills, including Parish, College senior Jeremy Potterfield and College junior Drew Wise. Although Oberlin’s team is a relatively underground organization, Ananiadis believes that their anonymity is an advantage. “A good piece of advice for us would be ‘play the board’ and not look too much at others’ ratings or reputations. We’ll be underrated on many occasions, as with the exception of a few, we don’t have players who have tons of tournament experience. But we have lots of ability on both teams nonetheless, so we can actually use the fact that our ratings are low and no one knows about us to our advantage and sneak up on people.” This tournament, which culminates any team’s season, will feature teams from the United States, Canada, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. “We’re definitely in the favorites for our division,” Parish said. “I don’t know [who our biggest competition will be], but that’s exciting.”
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December 13, 2013
Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as second-class matter at the Oberlin, Ohio post office April 2, 1911. POSTMASTER SEND CHANGES TO: Wilder Box 90, Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1081. Office of Publication: Burton Basement, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. Phone: (440) 775-8123 Fax: (440) 775-6733 On theOn web: thehttp://www.oberlinreview.org web: oberlinreview.org
See Obama, page 4
Transfers Face Challenges Unremediated by College Taylor Field Managing Editor Transfer students enter Oberlin as pseudo-first-years, arrive in August for Orientation and begin what is often an extremely isolating experience. Although figures in the administration insist otherwise, transfer students shared their common frustrations and resentment with the glaring lack of transfer-specific events. Meghan Wonderly, OC ’13, a student who transferred from NYU’s esteemed Tisch School of the Arts, and who faced obstacles that prevented her from majoring in both Creative Writing and Cinema Studies, wrote in an online correspondence with the Review, “There was little to no continuing support for transfers on campus … No one ever approached us to see how we were doing, if we were happy. We didn’t even know where to turn to complain or talk about our issues.” President Marvin Krislov voiced a very different perspective, explaining that in his experience, most transfers had very positive impressions of Oberlin. “It’s hard for me to comment, and certainly people have different experiences, but over the years the transfers I’ve talked
Rosemary Liv Boeglin Combe Allegra JuliaKirkland Herbst Managing editor Samantha Taylor Field Link News editors RosemaryKate Boeglin Gill Madeline Alex Howard Stocker Opinions editor SophiaWill Ottoni-Wilhelm Rubenstein This Week Weekeditor editor Zoë Olivia Strassman Gericke Arts editors Dessane Kara Cassell Brooks Georgia Julian Horn Ring Sports editors Nate Quinn Levinson Hull Madeleine Rose O’Meara Stoloff Layout editors Tiffany MiraFung Fein Ben DanGarfinkel Quigley Alanna Sarah Sandoval Snider Photo editors Effie Kline-Salamon Olivia Gericke BrannonRachel Rockwell-Charland Grossman Online editor Business manager Alanna Cecilia Bennett Xu Editors-in-chief Editors-in-Chief
debt. Students are struggling so much. I think a lot has to do with Oberlin, but a lot has to do with privatized education,“ Beecher said. Beecher said she is one of many who struggle with this issue and also noted that race plays a role in the job market. “I’m part of the big middle class, where I get some financial aid, but not enough. So I’m going to have a lot of debt when I graduate. I don’t have to work as much as my friends each week,” Beecher said. Beecher also added that the College doesn’t do enough to recruit both individuals of color and students who belong to a lower economic class, groups who have less privilege. “A lot of it has to do with racism … but also institutional racism. Who has networks of power? Why is it more likely they’re going to employ a white person than a person of color?” Beecher said. Dean Chermonte explained that the administration has made ample attempts to give lowincome students opportunities to attend Oberlin. Chermonte cited Questbridge, a program among 35 colleges, including most Ivy League schools and some liberal arts colleges, designed to “bring low-income first-generation students to college” by allowing early-decision families to view a financial aid package before they commit to matriculation. Most expensive colleges cost about the same amount, a trend that Rob Reddy, director of financial aid, admits is somewhat odd. “I guess it’s because everyone else costs
to have been very happy, very glad that they made this decision.” Current transfers, however, echoed Wonderly’s sentiment, explaining that Orientation was an uncomfortable and unwelcoming first glimpse of social life at Oberlin. Nine students who were interviewed complained that it was frustrating to attend sessions that simply repeated advice about alcohol consumption and independent living — counsel they had heard many times before. College junior Jay Rosen, a transfer from the College of New Jersey, said, “I felt like during Orientation that we were kind of just thrown in there and forced to attend a lot of things that have pretty much no relevance to us because we’ve been freshmen already. It’s a weird sort of limbo when you transfer because you’re like a first-year to this school, but you’ve also been in college, and in some ways you really know what to expect.” For many, however, the first weeks were more than an annoyance. Dan Quigley, a College junior and Rosen’s roommate from transfer hall, explained in an email interview with the Review that they “hated [Ori-
Ads manager Julia Skrovan Curtis Cook Online editor Simeon Deutsch Business manager Savi Sedlacek Technician Mischa Lewis-Norelle Ads manager Reshard el-Shair Production manager Sarah Westbrook Sophia Bamert Production staff Rosie Black Stephanie Bonner Alice Fine Emma Eisenberg Annelise Giseburt Taylor Field Nat Marcus Katherine Hamilton Anna Menta Julia Hubay Kiley Petersen Tracey Knott RubyMorris Saha Noah Lydia Smith Anna Peckham Tesny SilviaErin Sheffield Drew Wise Distributors Eliza Kirby Joe Camper Edmund Metzold Joseph Dilworth James Sam White Kuntz
See Transfers, page 4
Corrections The article “Chance the Rapper Riles Corrections Crowd on Acid Rap Tour” (December 6, 2013)The misidentifies senior Review is College not aware of Sam Brown as a College junior. The any corrections this week.artist’s debut mixtape is titled 10 Day. The Review strives to print all The article as “Proposed Tobacco Ban information accurately as possible. Would Only Apply to Student Smokers” If you feel the Review has made an (December 6, 2013) mischaracterized error, please send an e-mail to the potential smoking ban. It implied that managingeditor@oberlinreview.org. only student smokers would be implicated; the new ban would be campus-wide.
The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
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Off the Cuff: D. Clinton Williams, OC ‘03, Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University and history teacher D. Clinton Williams, OC ’03, is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University and history teacher at Philips Exeter Academy. His dissertation, titled “Righteous Politics in the Black Metropolis: Race, Religion, and Urban Space in Postwar Chicago,” explores the intersectionality of race and religion in an urban context. He sat down with the Review to discuss his experience at Oberlin, his approach to teaching and his stance on academia. You teach high school students as opposed to undergraduates. What appeals to you about that age group? Exeter [where I teach] is a unique kind of high school; it’s a boarding school. The education is kind of like freshman year of college. You’re dealing with all aspects from advising, to play, to residential. You get to see them in every aspect and how they deal with their academic lives — sort of like in a liberal arts college. … And I needed a job. [Laughs.] But [my] involvement with the students is much like the experience I had here, living in Afrikan Heritage House and eating there. So did Oberlin shape your sense of community and education? I was so far behind when I came to Oberlin — so far behind, amazingly far behind. [But] Student Academic Services and the Religion department and the History department kind of held onto me long enough so I wouldn’t fail. My first experience with Biology 118, 119 [and] 120 [yielded the grades] C, C-, C+. It was just
D. Clinton Williams, OC ‘03, who discussed his opinions on academia and his time at Oberlin.
demoralizing, [but] everyone in that department helped me. It was about the caring, this hermeneutic of compassion. And [professors] never lowered the standards. They just made me reach up to those standards. That’s my understanding of education: You may come in behind, but we can work with you and get you to where you need to be. You’ve spent the majority of your adult life in school. Does the academy ever frustrate you? It can be a fairly agitating and stressful environment. Well, it can be. But it’s also inspiring. I can be like [Professor] Miller was to me in college. I get to do that with 14- to 19-year-olds. I remember him more than I remember anyone else. I remember that Linda Gates was the [associate] dean of Student Academic Services [and the dean of students] at the time and I was crying on her shoulder, and I remember
were reminded of campus smoking policy.
Thursday, Dec. 5 11:32 a.m. An Allen Memorial Art Museum security officer requested assistance with a student who had fainted at the museum. The student was transported to Mercy Allen Hospital for treatment. 10:42 p.m. An anonymous student called to report someone smoking on the fourth floor of Mudd library. When they arrived at the scene, officers detected a cigarette odor and made contact with the nearby students. Both students denied smoking. The students
Friday, Dec. 6 8:19 p.m. Campus officers and members of the Oberlin Police Department responded to a 911 call from East Hall. Both the interior and exterior of the building were checked but nothing suspicious was found. The phone by the eastern door was found open and activated with no one around.
Saturday, Dec. 7 10:01 a.m. An officer on patrol observed damage to a section of the Goldsmith gate by the Quonset hut. The gate was
her saying that it was going to be OK. I remember those struggles, I remember people taking the time to say, “It’s fine.” What was writing a dissertation like? What is writing a dissertation like? [Laughs.] Lonely, long, hard, frustrating, but also inspiring. Because you see some things you never thought you would see in your life. Slow. It’s very slow. But it’s going to be finished this year. I get to have a big puffy robe. What do you think are the most critical elements of good teaching? Listening, compassion, time. Faculty need time to know who you are — to look at your grammar, to look at your writing. And that’s time and resources. That’s what you get at a small college. But if you were at a large university you just pass through. And what was it like for you
bent and the latch was broken in two pieces. The gate cannot be secured until repairs are made. 4:59 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in the basement of Asia House. The smoke from cooking pancakes had activated the alarm, which was then reset. 3:06 p.m. An officer on patrol of the parking lot on Hollywood Street observed a rental vehicle with a shattered windshield. Facilities Operation was notified and the damage is under investigation.
Sunday, Dec. 8 4:11 p.m. A student report-
to come from a small college and enter a large university atmosphere like Harvard? I remember my first experience was dealing with a faculty assistant. I said I need to make an appointment, and [she] said talk to his assistant. And I was like, but his office is right there. Can I just knock on his door? And that’s not the way it works; it’s very impersonal. I was a teaching fellow, teaching undergraduates at Harvard. And you do a lot of the teaching. The professor does not. And you sort of [say to yourself ] “Wow, they’re paying all this money for me?” So that was a big change for me. I always remembered sitting around the table at Professor Miller’s house eating Thanksgiving dinner. Those kinds of experiences are how I understand undergraduate education, and how I understand education in general. And those are not experiences that many of my students [at Harvard] will have. Both at Exeter and at Harvard as a teaching fellow … I’m laid-back. It’s not the end of the world, guys. It’s OK not to pass. It’s OK not to do exceptionally well. It’s OK just to experiment. That’s what I tell my students now. It’s going to hurt my GPA, but I learned a lot. That’s what I focus on. When I was at Oberlin we had credit/no entry, which meant that if you failed a class it didn’t go on your transcript. You had friends who were doing really well, who had like, 3.6 GPAs, but they were two years behind in graduation requirements [because they had failed classes].
without alienating your readership? How do you wade through the complexity? It’s difficult. But you’re trying to tell a story. You’re trying to tell a narrative. You’re trying to uncover things that other people have missed. In my research, people always said there have been conflicts between Jews, Catholics and blacks. And I said, “Yeah, but there’s also been these moments where they kind of worked together.” What happens if we [ focus] on those alliances that we don’t traditionally think of ? So instead of finding the differences, I try to find the similarities, try and put them together. Religion is all up in our lives — think about abortion, think about the religious right, birth control. Get in with the mess and you get dirty. But you might find some clarity. I’m just looking for clarity. You just think about 9/11, being a student here post-9/11 and how some of your closest friends are like, “We need to bomb them.” And you’re like, “Hold on, we’re liberals here.” That becomes a moment of education.
You deal with race and religion a lot in your papers, and I was wondering how you navigate these charged issues
Interview by Kate Gill, News editor Photo courtesy of Clinton Williams
ed his black coat and dark-colored sweater had gone missing from the ’Sco the previous night. His car keys were in the pocket of his coat.
in his room and to periodically covering the smoke detector with plastic. The plastic was removed and the student was issued a warning. 6:22 p.m. Officers and members of the Oberlin Fire Department responded to a fire alarm that had been activated in a room on the first floor of South Hall. Upon arriving to the room, officers detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana. A small amount of a leafy substance consistent with marijuana, rolling papers and a portion of a marijuana cigarette were all observed in plain view. All items were confiscated, and the alarm was reset.
Monday, Dec. 9 12:53 p.m. A member of the grounds staff reported observing a broken bench on the southeast walkway of Mudd library. A work order was filed for repair. 3:56 p.m. Residents of Barrows Hall reported a strong odor of cigarette smoke coming from a room on the third floor. Officers made contact with the occupant of the room in question. The student admitted both to periodically smoking
That said, how do you maintain your faith in that education system, which, one could argue, is riddled with imperfections? Good Lord, it changed my life. My mother’s a janitor. My father is absent from my life. I wasn’t supposed to graduate from Oberlin. I wasn’t supposed to go to Harvard. It changed my life and I have to have faith in it, because it did so much for me.
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Obama to Host Higher Ed Summit Continued from page 2 $60,000 dollars. It’s kind of like, why do BMW and Lexus all cost about the same?” Reddy said. Chermonte explained that most of the money goes to faculty first, and then student aid. “I think it goes to the teaching salaries. In the budget of the College, human personnel is the largest percentage; the second largest is financial aid. Colleges all over the country are evaluating faculty and staffing and programs, and are seeing how close to the core of the mission of the institution they are,” she said. “Some liberal arts colleges are thinking about merging, and eliminating certain programs that aren’t close to its core. We’re always thinking about this, every day,” Chermonte said. Although the cost of Oberlin is unlikely to drop, Reddy cited the value of the College as most important. “This is a wonderful place. I don’t think it tries to be an opulent place. We’re always trying to increase its value through the faculty and the experience,” Reddy said. Currently, no new plans have been announced to address the financial issues on campus.
The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Transfers Experience Anxiety, Isolation Continued from page 2 entation] so much.” Conservatory first-year Voice major Juliana Zara, a transfer from University of California, Irvine, who is two years older than most of her peers, reflected back on Orientation as “isolating and silencing for a transfer student.” Eric Estes, vice president and dean of students, Kathryn Stuart, dean of studies, and President Krislov all cited the transfer pizza dinner as an opportunity for these students to get acquainted and noted the presence of a transfer student association. Many of the transfer students available for comment had no knowledge of this transfer student association, and a few doubted its existence altogether. The pizza dinner, according to College junior Sarah Epstein, was “just awkward and none of the transfers actually want[ed] to be with each other.” Dean Estes was quick to qualify transfer hall as a “housing option … to provide additional transition support and community for those who are interested.” Yet every student interviewed who lived on transfer hall gave a mixed, if not entirely negative, review of their experience there. The loudest complaint was the hall’s location in Langston Hall — often referred to as North — for its location at the far north end of campus. Langston houses more than just the transfers, but also classics and sci-fi theme halls. Quigley noted that, unlike the themed halls, “we were put together not because of a passion but because of our odd situation.” Epstein also questioned the value of transfer hall.
“It’s a stupid idea,” she said. “Why would you put all the people who don’t know anyone else and who had a bad time at their previous colleges in the same space? It’s like a recipe for disaster. You’re like, ‘I’m going to get all these not-motivated individuals together who don’t know anything about this school, and I’m going to isolate them in this wing of North,’ which is so far from anything else. You can’t interact with other people on your floor.” Even Wonderly, who “loved” living on transfer hall, admitted that, “sometimes being on transfer hall made it harder to go out and make friends that weren’t transfers though.” The isolating impact of transfer hall informs the adjustment period for many of these students. For College junior Isaac Nicholas, the downsides of his experience in North bled into his second year at Oberlin. “The after-effects of only knowing transfers and then not living next to them made this year weird, not better,” said Nicholas. Rosen added that living on transfer hall made him question his decision to change colleges. He often finds himself “wondering what the hell I’m doing here, did I make the right decision, will I ever have real friends and not friends that I’m making out of necessity.” College sophomore Shelby Lorman, who is finishing up her first semester at Oberlin, said that she too questioned her decision “all the time.” Lorman lamented the fact that she did not know that co-ops were a “viable option” for transfers. She added that joining one would have been a better solution than transfer hall. Epstein added that making co-ops more acces-
sible and welcoming for students getting off the OSCA waitlist mid-semester would constitute a solid next step. Both students hope to see more transfers in smaller themed housing such as the language houses, where students selfselect for a niche community. College sophomore and OSCAn Ari Robin was one of the few who expressed satisfaction with the social aspects of Oberlin, but she also recognized that her experience was an exception, not the rule. “I think my experience is definitely pretty atypical, but I think I just got lucky in that sense,” she said. “I’m definitely glad about my choice to live in a co-op, specifically for the community, because it generates a community obviously more than the residence halls do, so I think that’s really helped me.” On the whole, the bonding opportunities of transfer hall do not much mitigate the social discomfort of Orientation, and many transfer students described their place in the awkward “social limbo” between class years. “I think the worst thing about being a transfer student is that you’re in this social limbo between first-year and non-first-year,” said Zara. “You don’t really know how to define yourself. Especially in my case, when people ask me, ‘What year are you,’ you can’t really say because you don’t know. I think socially it’s a little bit isolating.” Robin was able to avoid that social limbo by pretending she was a firstyear, but most other students referenced the in-between discomfort of being a transfer. “[Transferring is] a really strange process; it’s like watching other people go to college and not feeling like you’re
going to college with them,” Lorman said. “It’s like really living a parallel life to people who exist on this campus already, especially at such an insular school, where it’s really small and so much of people’s relationships is based on just what they know about each other from past events.” Krislov was surprised to hear that the transfer experience is often tough, both socially and emotionally. “I think compared to other schools, the lines between class [years] are much more fluid,” he said. By a similar token, Wonderly explained that she was pleased that nobody seemed to actively judge her for being a transfer. “That at least was a good thing,” she said. Given the diverse make-up and needs of the incoming transfers, suggestions for change were also mixed. Most students concluded that something had to be done with the specific objective of guiding transfer students. College senior Lucien Swetschinski explained that the only transfer go-to person in the administration was part of the registrar, already a source of transfer students’ frustrations. Quigley also proposed the idea of a “transfer advisor,” while Swetschinski and Rosen noted the impact of older transfer students’ advice. Quigley and Krislov both noted that the transfer experience may be universally difficult. There is more, however, to a successful transfer adjustment than preferring Oberlin to their former schools: The struggle of transfer students seems to merit more than a pizza dinner, an isolating dorm and “all the resources that other students have access to,” as Krislov put it.
Activist Coalition Creates Symbol of Oppressive Barriers Continued from page 1
and people have been coming together around these issues already,” said Chatha. Planning began months ago, but the construction of the panels took only one week. The wall was constructed in collaboration with the Bike Co-op, which offered its space to the coalition. The materials for the wall, Chatha notes, contain “stories of the greater Cleveland area and economic barriers [and] boundaries. The physical panels themselves come from demolished foreclosed houses in Cleveland, and they were donated to us by the organization Reclaimed Cleveland.” The activists demonstrated outside Mudd because of its central location, high visibility and unavoidability. “In addition to logistics, there was a lot of talk about how to make it an accessible demonstration to both people on the north side and the south side of
campus, because that’s a type of barrier that we’re all familiar with,” added College junior Joelle Lingat. College junior Kaela Sanborn-Hum spoke on one of the demonstration’s main intentions, which was to highlight the different manifestations of walls, both campus- and world-wide. “There’s a unifying aspect in how borders and walls have separated and harmed communities here at the College but also beyond. This includes the U.S.-Mexico national border, prison walls and walls constructed to prevent people migrating between the Palestinian territories and Israel,” said Sanborn-Hum. Oberlin’s own wall action follows similar protests at universities across the United States. Mock walls have been built at Brown University, University of New Mexico, University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Arizona. Organizers of Oberlin’s wall were in touch with students of the
University of Arizona, Brown and the City University of New York system to confer about the creation of their own mock wall. The wall represented not only physical barriers, but symbolic ones as well. For Lingat, this demonstration has been a long time coming. “There are mental, emotional [and] societal barriers that exist that we’ve all faced throughout our experiences both here at Oberlin College and outside of that. It’s not something that just came out of nowhere, it’s something that’s been part of our lives for years and it’s coming to a point where we are at a place where we can mobilize on it and share experiences with others,” she said. Another expression of shared resistance came in the form of interviews, poetry and music. College senior Ariel Goodman, who recorded the audio segments, notes that there are a vari-
ety of ways in which people confront and are confronted by walls in their lives. “People talked about borders as everything from the barriers that we face in attempting to attend a higher learning institution like Oberlin to the barriers that police our bodies into specific gender identities that perhaps we don’t identify with to the barriers of class, race and mobility and immobility.” The audio blasted across Wilder Bowl during the demonstration. Demonstrators also called attention to barriers between Oberlin students and the administration. Organizers of the wall action hoped to inform and educate students about issues on campus before Thursday’s Trustee meeting. “We are hoping to bring attention to those demands once more … to make sure that people get to reflect on that or realize what work has been put in this semester,” explained College ju-
nior Ana Robelo. In addition to their critique of the many systems of oppression that exist in Oberlin and elsewhere, those who stood along the wall sought to imagine a better world. Robelo suggested ways for students to be more involved in future demonstrations. “These things are happening even when there isn’t this physical action because they’re always happening,” said Robelo. “There are many opportunities on this campus to do that or to start that process. Keeping an eye out for events, speakers, trainings, getting involved with the student groups that work towards these issues and dismantling systems of oppression. Getting involved at that work is going to greatly change your perspective on what happens at this institution. Entering those spaces, talking to those people and not shying away from confronting those things.”
OSCA Reviews Partnership with UNAG, Allocation of Funds Continued from page 1 established a contract with the UNAG, this year will be focused on setting up guidelines with them. The partnership is supposed to be an exchange, so technically every other year we go to them and then they come to us, ” Woodmansee said. “That hasn’t worked out in the past, but I hope we can come to some understanding.” In the past, support for the Nicaragua Sister Partnership has been minimal. This year, however, Robelo and Woodmansee taught an ExCo to educate those who were interested on key components of the trip, such as instilling ideals of solidarity.
“I took the ExCo without knowing anything about the organization,” College first-year Ashley Suarez and delegate member said. “It wasn’t until we had readings and conversations that I truly became invested in this partnership.” According to the delegates, the ExCo was very beneficial for their personal preparation. “We do a lot of reading before we leave. Going in with those conversations and questions helps us think,” Robelo said. “Achieving solidarity is hard, but by understanding that it is a process and being humble and patient leads to genuine conversations and reflections.” Each year, all the co-ops on campus elect a representative to be on the committee and from
that committee five people are chosen as delegates. This year eight people applied and five were chosen: Suarez, College sophomore Claire Ciraolo, double-degree junior Arianna Gil and Robelo and Woodmansee, who will both be leading the group. “I went my freshman year and it has been one of the most important things I have done,” Woodmansee said. “It broadened my views and changed my perspective on everything.” Suarez expressed similar enthusiasm. “This organization is so different from any other organization. It is a direct partnership with the UNAG. We are not just doing community service and coming back, we are going to build solidarity,”
she said. “It’s not going to be a vacation, but rather a time to have meaningful conversations and dialogue between us and the UNAG.” Robelo believes that the experience gained from being a delegate extends beyond the month spent in Nicaragua. “This partnership was one of the contributing factors to why I chose Oberlin. I am Nicaraguan and lived there till I was nine years old. Going back and seeing my family was amazing. The personal connections I made and the difference I made in the community we went to is not something that I forgot when I came back home. Being a part of this partnership commits you to the rest of your Oberlin career.”
December 13, 2013
Opinions The Oberlin Review
Letters to the Editors Protesters Are Creating Issues Where None Exist To the Editor: Ever since the fake racial hate incidents last March, there have been protests against some perceived “injustice” on the part of Oberlin’s administration. These protests have made a lot of noise, but there are other viewpoints on campus: 1) Oberlin’s administration does not perpetrate any form of injustice, nor is it “structurally” unjust. On the contrary, Oberlin College bends over backward not to harm the interests of any individual or group. 2) The demands of the protesters are ridiculous. Students do not have the financial and administrative experience necessary to properly allocate College funds. Boycotting the state of Israel is morally wrong and based on the lie that Israel is an apartheid; it is not, since all its citizens are granted equal rights under the law. Moreover, accusing Israel of practicing apartheid is an insult to the black South Africans who suffered terribly under that system. Providing support for illegal immigrants is not a primary need of the College, and would divert College funding ––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The demands of the protesters are ridiculous. Students do not have the financial and administrative experience necessary to properly allocate College funds. –––––––––––––––––––––––––– from more important projects. (As for potentially raising student tuition to cover the cost of support, even an increase of a few hundred dollars would take a bite out of the budgets of
families who already rely heavily on financial aid.) 3) The beliefs of the protesters are ridiculous. For example, a sign at last Sunday’s protest read: “Our ivory tower reproduces the security state.” Let’s see those same students hold up a sign like that in Russia, where members of a rock band are rotting in prison for criticizing Putin, or China, where artists, writers and academics who voice criticism of the government suffer the same fate. 4) The fake racial hate incidents that were the catalysts for these protests were, well, fake. It’s a shame that the protesters and activists are so loud; it obscures the fact that not all the students here support their demands. –Zachary Evans College senior
Dec. 6 Tobacco Article Misrepresents Proposed Ban On Dec. 6, The Oberlin Review published an article titled “Proposed Tobacco Ban Would Only Apply to Student Smokers” (The Oberlin Review, Dec. 6, 2013). This title is misleading, and we would like to take the opportunity to clarify a few misunderstandings. The proposed tobacco-free policy is still in draft form with a goal of a 2016 implementation time frame. If approved, the tobacco-free policy would apply to everyone. Regardless of constituency, efforts are currently focused on education, support for cessation and social policy — and that would not substantively change moving forward. The Tobacco Subcommittee, including student members, has been working on this issue for more than three years. This work, much of it publicly delivered via multiple “tobacco-talks” to students
and staff, has included education efforts related to health issues, environmental sustainability and other social justice concerns, ongoing cessation efforts, outreach to multiple offices and student organizations, surveying of relevant constituencies and a review of best practice at other colleges and universities. Colleges and universities moving toward a tobacco-free campus at the encouragement of many public health bodies is a significant national conversation, and it only makes sense that Oberlin would take part. Nothing has been settled, and there is a lot to discuss. The article suggests that adoption of the policy is subject to a Student Senate vote in the spring of 2014, but as with other policy changes, once a final draft is created, it will be shared with various groups including Student Senate and then to General Faculty for potential approval. The Tobacco Subcommittee will release a formal policy proposal next semester, and the Student Senate will hold several forums designed to foster discussion on the issue. In an ongoing effort to be transparent, by January a website will serve as a clearinghouse of all information related to our efforts with opportunities to give feedback. As always, anybody interested in providing input to the committee is encouraged to do so. Sincerely, –Lori K. Morgan Flood Associate dean and director of wellness Ehrai Adams Assistant director of wellness Machmud Makhmudov College sophomore Student Senate liaison Peter Arden College senior Student senator Dave Bender Supervisor, Safety and Security
SUBMISSIONS POLICY The Oberlin Review appreciates and welcomes letters to the editors and column 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 the following Friday’s Review. Letters may not exceed 600 words and columns may not exceed 800 words, except with the consent of the editorial board. All submissions must include contact information, with full names, for all signers. All electronic submissions from multiple writers should be carbon-copied to all signers to confirm authorship. The Review reserves the right to edit all submissions for content, space, spelling, grammar and libel. Editors will work with columnists and contributors to edit pieces and will clear major edits with the authors prior to publication. Editors will contact authors of letters to the editors in the event of edits for anything other than style and grammar. In no case will editors change the opinions expressed in any submission. The Opinions section strives to serve as a forum for debate. Review staff will occasionally engage in this debate within the pages of the Review. In these cases, the Review will either seek to create dialogue between the columnist and staff member prior to publication or will wait until the next issue to publish the staff member’s response. The Review will not print advertisements on its Opinions pages. The Review defines an advertisement as any submission that has the main intent of bringing direct monetary gain to the author of a letter to the editors. Opinions expressed in letters, columns, essays, cartoons or other Opinions pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of the Review.
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The Oberlin Review Publication of Record for Oberlin College — Established 1874 —
Editors-in-Chief Rosemary Boeglin Julia Herbst Managing Editor Taylor Field Opinions Editor Sophia Ottoni-Wilhelm
Krislov’s White House Meeting Chance to Discuss Barriers to Higher Education President Krislov got all dressed up but had nowhere to go this week. After the tragic news of Nelson Mandela’s death, President Obama contacted the College president — and approximately 140 other governmental, philanthropic, academic and business leaders — to cancel a planned White House meeting to discuss low-income students’ access to higher education. As Krislov anxiously awaits his impending rain check e-vite, the Review editorial board wanted to take advantage of the delay to offer some thoughts on the needs of low-income students and outline our hopes for Oberlin’s voice in the discussion, which will be rescheduled shortly after the new year. Krislov should use the opportunity to address issues such as undocumented immigrants’ access to higher education, as well as encouraging the return of non-traditional students, such as later-in-life aspirants who never got the chance to attend college or were forced to drop out due to familial obligations. Students at underperforming schools should be advised to avoid undermatching: High schoolers often lack financial resources to apply to the most competitive colleges and universities, and instead matriculate at lower-ranked colleges or universities despite their ability to gain admission to the most elite institutions. But expanding low-income students’ access to top colleges, though a laudable goal, doesn’t address the full spectrum of issues faced by high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds in the arena of higher education. If these students aren’t offered adequate support once enrolled — as noted in a wave of recent articles — then they will continue to feel priced out of a top-notch educational experience. While Oberlin offers a generous financial aid package to many of its students, there is significant room for improvement. The College must continue to provide support to students from less elite academic backgrounds to ensure that they’re afforded the same privileges at Oberlin as affluent students. The College should be clear about which resources, including supplementary tutoring and study sessions, are provided gratis. Advertising these facts to all students will inform those from lower-income backgrounds, while precluding the frequently uncomfortable, and too often avoided, conversation regarding affordability. Many students from less prestigious secondary schools are not accustomed to these offerings and do not have experience taking advantage of these sorts of resources. Smith College puts money aside in a fund for low income students to fly home in the case of a family emergency. Barnard College and the University of North Carolina have programs to help students acquire clothes for job interviews at little to no cost, while William and Mary’s Mason School of Business offers stipends to students to defray the costs of transportation to interviews. Grad school applications and their often prohibitive associated costs — such as tutors, applications fees, prep books and the test itself — can present barriers to access. The White House conference on higher education is long overdue, and Obama’s decision to bring together leaders from a variety of fields is a positive first step to initiate this dialogue. However, we shouldn’t have to wait for top-down implementation at the executive or federal level, especially since recent political quagmires have shown us that we could be sitting around, twiddling our thumbs indefinitely. First, let’s make changes on this campus so that when Obama finally presses send on that rain check e-vite, we can lead by example.
Editorials are the responsibility of the Review editorial board — the Editors-in-Chief, managing editor and Opinions editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.
Opinions
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NSA’s Incessant Information Gathering Must Be Controlled Oliver Bok Contributing Writer I don’t consider myself a private person. I simply don’t have much to hide. I don’t really care who knows the banal details of my everyday existence. I’d venture a guess that most people who have grown up in this internet era feel similarly. Everyone shares everything nowadays. So what should the National Security Agemcy revelations mean to us? We already give our information away to Google, Facebook and Microsoft. Why should we care if that data is going to the government too? After all, they’re keeping us safe! The government needs to collect bulk information about its citizens because finding a terrorist is like finding a needle in a haystack. We’re the haystack! What’s wrong with being a haystack? Why should I care about the warrantless metadata collection of the NSA? Here’s why: While throwing away and undervaluing your right to privacy may be typical nowadays, you must recognize that the NSA’s warrantless society-wide snooping is antithetical to freedom and democracy. The NSA documents have shown that there are basically no safeguards against an individual analyst targeting whoever they want; on a technical level, an analyst can type a phone number into a database and receive that number’s call record. According to The Guardian, several NSA analysts have used their power to spy on their personal love interests. In fact, this practice is common enough that there is even NSA slang for this kind of abuse: LOVEINT. Pretty gross. But what if an NSA analyst decided to look up a political figure’s metadata? And figured out they were having an affair? And leaked it to the media? That’s a totally plausible occurrence. Or what if the NSA decided to unmask a journalist’s source? Well, that’s probably already happened in the Obama administra-
tion’s ongoing War on Journalism — the Obama administration has convicted more whistleblowers than every single previous administration combined. Not only is the potential for abuse far too great, but the bulk collection program isn’t even effective. There’s no evidence that any terrorist attack has been averted because of the bulk collection program. In fact, former NSA employees have made the case that this kind of bulk collection makes us less safe. The NSA has less time and resources to pursue the actual terrorists — the kind of people they could get specific warrants for — because they’re spying on us. Here is a great example of the energetic incompetence of the NSA: It came out last week that the agency has spent large –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
...while throwing away and undervaluing your right to privacy may be typical nowadays, you must recognize that the NSA’s warrantless societywide snooping is antithetical to freedom and democracy. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– amounts of manpower and resources on spying on World of Warcraft and Second Life. In fact, according to The Guardian, “So many different U.S. intelligence agents were conducting operations inside games that a “deconfliction” group was required to ensure they weren’t spying on, or interfering with, each other.” And did all of this effort lead to any intelligence? No! In fact, there’s zero evidence that terrorists even considered using these games to communicate. And yet, the spying continued. The NSA is a bloated, arrogant, runaway agency. The NSA needs to be brought under control, for both our freedom and our safety.
The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Progress Shouldn’t Come at Cost of Basic Human Rights Sean Para Columnist Here we all are, at the end of yet another year. 2014 is just around the corner, and the semester is coming to a close. Soon we will all be back in our homes around the world, among the family and friends we had before we came to this decidedly bizarre and wonderfully eclectic place. I have written about a lot in the past year, and as another new year draws to a close, I find myself wondering: Are we going anywhere? By “we” I don’t mean myself and my friends, or even Oberlin as a community. Instead I mean it in the most clichéd and abstract way imaginable: Are we as a society, on a global scale, moving towards anything or making system-level improvements? Or, alternatively, are we stuck in a bleak quagmire of violence, greed and oppression? It is hard to say for sure, but I’ll add my opinion to the pile. We live in a culture that esteems progress above all else. The American Dream, which espouses wealth and material gain, and modern science are characterized by the constant and unrelenting accruement of knowledge. Every year new technology is developed at a faster and faster pace. Furthermore, we live in a world that firmly believes that society is benefiting from this advancement. Is this true? It has not always been so central to our ethos; this is a relatively new part of our collective consciousness. Before the Age of Enlightenment, these concepts did not exist. People in the Middle Ages saw human existence as a story of constant decline since our expulsion: The only historical events that mattered were God’s creation of the world, the birth and death of Christ and, finally, the Last Judgment. I mention this just to make clear that our idealization of constant progress is actually just an intellectual shift. Things were progressing year to year long before we collectively de-
veloped the opinion, and modern times are uniquely marked by this development. Let us return to the question of progress and moving forward. Do we really judge progress in the right way? Yes, technology becomes ever more complex, governments do much more than they used to and we know much more about the natural world. And yet, evil persists. This year the international community stood back and watched Syria tear itself apart, to the extent that it will not recover for generations to come. Countless other conflicts have gone on without adequate media attention, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Western –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Do we really judge progress in the right way? Yes, technology becomes ever more complex, governments do much more than they use to ... And yet, evil persists. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sahara and Israel, where the Palestinian people suffer grave injustice. Domestically, we still have much to change in terms of gender equality, institutional racism, homelessness and poverty. The United States’ economic system has continued to shift more wealth to the rich, generation by generation. Given all this, it is hard to believe in progress or a better future, when humanity continues to struggle regardless of technological advancements. I am not saying we are not going anywhere, I’m just suggesting that we reappraise the way we think about advancement to give justice and equality priority over material wealth. As we hail 2014, let’s all try to think harder about where our nation is going and how it’s getting there.
Smoking Ban an Issue of Personal Liberty, Not Social Justice Aaron Pressman Contributing Writer I would like to write another response in the continuing dialogue between College sophomore and Student Senator Machmud Makhmudov and myself regarding the Oberlin campus smoking ban. The most recent article published was “Smoking Crisis Demands Tobacco Ban, Social Justice,” (The Oberlin Review, Nov. 22, 2013). I would like to thank the author for responding to my article and take the time to address his arguments. In this column, Makhmudov does not address the issue of secondhand smoke, but rather focuses on the health of smokers themselves and his claim that this is a social justice issue. “I would kindly request that the author also consider how a pervasive smoking culture — whether relegated to designated smoking zones or not — affects those attempting to quit,” he writes. I interpret this to mean that he has conceded my argument that this ban is not the best so-
lution to prevent secondhand smoke. This issue is very clearly not about protecting the health or desires of nonsmokers. It is about whether or not the administration should act as our babysitter. Additionally, in the state of Ohio, the government has decided that 18-year-olds have the right to make their own decisions when it comes to putting tobacco products into their bodies. As long as students act within the bounds of the law, it is not the administration’s responsibility to tell us what is bad for us. Personally, I choose not to smoke, and I would recommend that everyone else do the same. However, this is my personal decision, and I believe that everyone else should be allowed to make his or her own choice. There are plenty of other harmful substances that Oberlin students put in their bodies, such as fast food and alcohol. However, the administration is not proposing a ban on fast food or a ban on alcohol for those over the age of 21. Why treat tobacco differently?
Makhmudov also makes a so- circumstances.” Basically, he leave students of lower incomes cial justice argument, claiming is arguing that we should ban forced to either break the rules or that we should ban cigarettes cigarettes because richer people walk off campus every time they because there is a positive cor- can quit more easily than poorer desire to light up. For Makhmurelation between income level dov’s own sake and for the sake and quitting rates. First of all, –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– of social justice, I most certainly the studies he cites by the Cenhope his argument is simply ...the government has deter for Disease Control are not flawed. representative of the Oberlin cided that 18-year-olds The author continues on to discampus. Oberlin is made up of a have the right to make cuss the principles on which Obersignificantly higher percentage their own decision when it lin was founded. I could not agree of high-income students than more with you, Mr. Makhmudov, the country as a whole and offers comes to putting tobacco that we should adhere to the equal resources to all students, products into their bodprinciples on which this instituregardless of income, so income ies. As long as students act tion stands. Why would we allow inequality is not an issue in the a school that claims to promote within the bounds of the smoking ban. tolerance and independence make Additionally, this ban is not law, it is not the adminisa rule that so blatantly restricts even designed to help people tration’s responsibility to the liberties and personal deciquit smoking. Once people are sions of its students? tell us what is bad for us. addicted, it can be very difficult Makhmudov concludes by to quit. Simply telling students –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– asking, “Will you remain silent, that they are not allowed to conor will you take a stand?” I certinue smoking will not help them. people. At best, this argument tainly know my answer — I am As I stated in my previous article, is flawed, for all my aforemen- taking a stand, but not for opthis ban will just lead to smok- tioned reasons. At worst, he is pression or for the school aders finding alternative places to furthering the problem. If his ministration to be my babysitter. smoke. claim is true, that means that I am taking a stand for liberty Makhmudov even goes as once the ban is implemented, and for the freedom of adults to far as to claim that by allowing wealthier students will have an make their own choices regardsmoking on campus, people are easier time quitting, and the less ing their bodies. I encourage you “denied the opportunity to live wealthy will be left unable to all to do the same. a healthy life due to financial break their addictions. This will
Opinions
The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
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Stress During Finals Has Far-Reaching Health Impacts Joshua Kogan Contributing Writer It’s officially finals period in Oberlin. Students have tons of work to do and not much time to do it. Many people simply accept the fact that they’re going to be stressed out in college. Yet, students don’t fully know how stress can affect them and how easy it can be to combat. I want to explain the stress response from a biological perspective, emphasize the importance of stress reduction and discuss ways to reduce stress during finals period. First off, why does stress exist? What possible evolutionary advantage could being stressed out about a biochemistry exam provide to humans? The acute stress response is a good thing for the body, increasing blood flow to critical organs like the brain and muscles so they can be at their peak of performance. A little bit of stress before an exam leads to cognitive enhancements that might
actually help you do better. It may seem strange that a psychological input — exam anxiety — can lead to physiological effects in the brain and body. Here are the basics of the stress response: Once the body detects stress, the message is relayed to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This activates a signaling pathway that leads to the release of cortisol from a small gland resting on top of the kidneys called the adrenal gland. Cortisol then circulates freely through the blood stream. It can enter and have various effects on cells in many areas of the body, including the immune system, brain and muscles. Because cortisol can affect so many parts of the body, it is important to tightly regulate its release. During a normal stress response, cortisol is released in response to a stressor and then rapidly decreases after the acute stress is over. If a person is chronically stressed, as might be
the case during finals period at Oberlin, he or she might have elevated cortisol levels for many hours or even days. The positive effects that this cortisol provided during an exam quickly wear off and are replaced by many negative ones. These negative effects include immune system suppression and mood dysfunction such as depression or anxiety. This could help explain why people are often sick and unhappy during finals. Chronic cortisol exposure has also been shown by some scientists to decrease the size of a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which, among other things, helps to inhibit cortisol release. So stress can actually make you more stressed. But the good news is that there are easy ways of breaking this cycle while still getting your work done. Taking a few simple steps will help you be happier and healthier and improve your grades.
If you ask, everybody has a different way to deal with stress. Some people hole up in Mudd for the
with stress. Social isolation has been linked to increased cortisol release, depression and other aspects ––––––––––––––––––––––– of physical and mental health. Alcohol may temThese negative efporarily help you forget fects include imabout your work, but in the long term you’ll probably mune system supfeel more depressed, which pression and mood can contribute to feelings dysfunction such as of helplessness and indepression or anxicreased cortisol levels. Alcohol can also comety. This could help promise the immune sysexplain why people tem; the double hit of corare often sick and tisol and alcohol won’t do much to keep you fighting unhappy during off colds. Procrastination finals. will just make you more ––––––––––––––––––––––– stressed as the deadline approaches and you are week surrounded by pa- under greater pressure to pers; others rush to get all perform. their work done early and Lastly, lack of sleep has hit the Feve; and of course been correlated with dethere are those people that creased ability to termidecide to watch hours of nate the stress response, as New Girl on Netflix even well as with higher cortisol though they have a 20-page levels. There are much betpaper due in 12 hours. ter ways to deal with stress I don’t think you need during finals period. a scientist to tell you that Exercise, especially carthese habits are probably diovascular exercise, has unhealthy ways to deal been linked to improved
memory and has also been shown to have antidepressant effects similar to those of medications intended for that purpose. Instead of watching another episode of Breaking Bad, use those 40 minutes to go for a light jog. If it’s too cold outside, try running on the indoor track. It won’t take much time, it will reduce your stress levels, and it will also help you focus on your work later. If you want to kill two birds with one stone, bring a friend along for the jog and chat. Psychologists have found that positive social interaction is a very important way to de-stress. Social support from friends, family and mental health counselors can help you reduce stress levels and better put all of your work in perspective. You’re probably convincing yourself that it’s worse than it is. I believe that with the right tools, anybody can counter the stress of finals and make it through unscathed.
Kiss My Sass: ’Tis the Season to Survive and Thrive During Finals Sophia Ottoni-Wilhelm Opinions Editor It’s that time of the year again — snow is falling, Christmas music is playing, people are drinking hot cocoa by the gallon, and inside Mudd, pale and exhausted Oberlin students are studying for finals. Finals week sucks, no one will deny that. While surrounded by the temptations of the season, we’re all hunched over our computers, dressed in whatever clean clothes we have left and wondering where on God’s green earth our sanity has gone. Honestly, I find it all pretty nauseating; exercise falls to the wayside, a whole bag of Lays becomes a substitute for fruits and vegetables and, when asked how they’re doing, people anxiously rattle off all the work
they have left. Don’t do that. Just don’t. Having the time to enjoy the holidays before they’re nearly over is a luxury we do not have. Instead of whining about the fact that my $50,000-a-year liberal arts college has finals so close to Christmas, I’ve decided to share a few tricks I’ve learned the past couple of years to help get through — and even enjoy! — finals. 1) During reading period and the first day or two of finals, count the angry and stressed faces around campus. By the second and third day of finals, count the dazed, half-dead looking people. Take a shot of Naked juice every time you get to 25. 2) Make out! Nothing helps take your mind off work like a quick snog in the stacks. It’s cold outside and, if you’re going
to get sick anyway, it might as well happen in a steamy boiler room scene. 3) Sometimes I end my night with an episode of a ridiculous TV show. There’s nothing like 20 minutes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians to make you feel like Stephen Hawking. 4) Make yourself laugh by doing something creepy. My advice is to wrap up a friend in a tight embrace and quietly whisper, “Never change,” in their ear. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. 5) Shop online and spend tons of money on overnight shipping because, let’s face it, you can’t bear another hour without that onesie. 6) Do your work in bits and pieces. This allows you to consistently get at least some sleep. Inevitably there will be a night
or two when this won’t happen, but, in general, try to make things easier on yourself. 7) Use up your flex points and student charge in excess! Stopping by DeCafé on a study break is both delicious and a creative exercise. As the shelves empty, you have to get imaginative with your snacks (e.g. gin gins and Izze, Peanut M&Ms and strawberry ice cream, Munchies and salsa). 8) To avoid having a fullblown panic attack, don’t think too far ahead. The moment I think of my work as a collective unit and not individual little pieces, I start sweating profusely. At one point during my first year, I started crying in Stevie into a plate of french fries. Let’s all avoid similar experiences and keep focused on one thing at a time.
9) The last thing you have to do is the hardest. Even if you’ve written 30 pages and taken 3 exams, that last 5-pager will seem ––––––––––––––––––––––––––
At one point during my first year, I started crying in Stevie into a plate of french fries. Let’s all avoid similar experiences and keep focused on one thing at a time. –––––––––––––––––––––––––– like the greatest challenge of your life. Best of luck with finals, Oberlin! Have a wonderful Winter Term and stay sassy.
Tired? Poor? Huddled? Yearning to breathe free? Emma Snape Student Senate Secretary This week was Student Senate’s last meeting of the semester and the last meeting until Interim Senate meets. During the meeting we discussed how to increase
transparency in regard to the proposed campus smoking ban, this week’s upcoming visit from three of the class trustees and committee appointments. Senate successfully appointed four students to various Senate committees, which was the last business we
took care of before adjourning for the semester. Senate would like to thank students for coming to the Trustee Luncheon and Trustee Forum this past Thursday, and to encourage all interested students to run for a senatorial seat at the beginning of next semester!
Lift your lamp beside our golden door. opinions@oberlinreview.org
ArtWalk: Studio Art Friday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
Screening: Student Films Sunday, Dec. 15 at 8 p.m.
Documentary Production Screening Monday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m.
Moonlight Breakfast Monday, Dec. 16 at 10 p.m.
Join the Art department for the annual art walk, taking place throughout the Art Department Complex.
Professor Rian Brown-Orso’s CINE 298 Video Production Workshop I class will be screening its final work in Dye Lecture Hall (formerly West Lecture Hall) in the Science Center.
Students in the advanced Cinema Studies course Documentary Production will be screening their short documentary films. The films will be shown in Dye Lecture Hall (formerly West Lecture Hall) in the Science Center.
Come to Dascomb’s fourth meal for pancakes! Yay! I love pancakes!
Rathskeller: Study Break Friday-Thursday, Dec. 13–19 from 9–11 p.m. Stop by the Rathskeller for a study break snack!
Danny Brown and DJ Spanish Fly Friday, Dec. 13 at 10 p.m. The ’Sco will be hosting hip-hop artist and 2011 Metro Times’s “Artist of the Year” Danny Brown. The show is sold out.
Swap @ Mudd: Join the Oberlin Book Co-op Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 14–15 from 2–3:30 p.m. The Oberlin Book Co-op will be in Azariah’s Café during reading period. Drop off books you don’t need anymore once the semester is over. You can build up credits to get new books from the co-op’s inventory for next semester.
Kelly Mollnow Wilson, body mapping Saturday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. A participatory workshop for musicians will be held in the Conservatory Central Unit 21. It will involve exploring leg joints and muscles that form connections between the arms and legs. Participants should wear loose clothing and bring their instrument and a yoga mat or bath towel.
Iyengar Yoga with Vicky Elwell Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 12:15 p.m.
THIS WEEK
IS FOR
FINALS Crawl out from the hole in Mudd you buried yourself in and take a break from the stress of finals. Attend some of the worry-free events occurring this week to revitalize yourself before finishing up any exams or essays you may have.
’Round Midnight Winter Concert Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10 p.m.
For Your Well-Being: Tea Tasting Monday, Dec. 16 from 1–4 p.m.
One-Song Dance Party Monday, Dec. 16 at 9 p.m.
Oberlin’s jazz and folk a cappella group ’Round Midnight will be performing at Fairchild Chapel. The performance can give you a nice break from studying for finals.
Come to Azariah’s Café to learn about foods that help reduce stress and to have a tasting of assorted teas.
Get down in the middle of Mudd for a few minutes. The Office of Student Wellness is throwing a one-song dance party to help you shake off some finals stress.
This Week Editor: Olivia Gericke Image Source: Discovery
Bring a yoga mat to the Philips gym multipurpose room to take an Iyengar style Hatha yoga class. The class is $10.
Reduced Rate Relaxation Massage for Students Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. OSWELL will be offering 30-minute or 60-minute massages for students in Wilder 314. The massage rates range from $20 to $60.
The Nutcracker Friday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. If you are still on campus on Friday, experience a holiday tradition by attending the Ohio Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker at Stocker Arts Center.
WANT TO BE A WORK OF ART? WANT TO BRING BEAUTY TO THE WORLD? WANT FAME AND FORTUNE? APPLY TO BE THE NEXT THIS WEEK EDITOR! If you have a great eye for design and your finger on Oberlin’s pulse, email managingeditor@oberlinreview.org with a few samples of your design work. Knowledge of InDesign is required. Postion is paid.
Arts The Oberlin Review
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December 13, 2013
And What!? Fall Showcase Joins Dance, Poetry, Song Anne Pride-Wilt Staff Writer There’s nothing like good dance. Of course, there’s nothing like good poems or good music either, facts which all-female hip-hop performance group And What!? seemed keenly aware of with last Saturday’s fall showcase, subtitled A Black Tie Affair. The show neatly blended the three art forms, resulting in a mesmerizing show that combined art and talent with message. Despite featuring multiple media and several performance groups, the showcase in Warner Main never felt disjointed. On the contrary, it benefited from the combination, packing much more of a punch than any one element could have accomplished alone. The showcase kicked off with an energizing dance number choreographed by And What!?, accompanied by a rousing chant that liberally featured the group’s name. The first glimpse of the full cast — which also featured student groups Koreo and the Umoja Steppers — was breathtaking, and even managed to subdue the enthusiastically rowdy audience. Another full-cast number followed, this one knitting together multiple songs and choreographers. The frequent stops and starts in this and the other multi-song numbers were momentarily distracting, but also provided a nice change of pace. For those expecting the showcase to be exclusively dance, the inclusion of College junior Brenda Alvarez’s poem “Dear White People” midway through the first half of the show was a welcome surprise. Alvarez walked into the spotlight in the middle of the stage and launched into an arresting, brilliant fulmination, delivered at an impressive breakneck speed, eliciting enthusiastic cheering from the audience. Alvarez’s poem
Conservatory sophomore Tess Klibanoff, College sophomore Donnay Edmund and College first-year Mee-Ae Chatman-Nelson feel the beat during And What!?’s fall showcase. The show featured guest appearances by many of Oberlin’s other dance troupes, including Koreo and the Umoja Steppers. Kaia Austin
contextualized the dancing that occurred on either side of it, imbuing the poem with additional emotional power. After Alvarez walked offstage, hip-hop dance group Koreo took over before the full cast returned to perform one of the best numbers of the night. Although most dance numbers in the showcase were performed by multiple dance groups, every performer seemed work together effortlessly; unless one was already aware that the company was formed from multiple troupes, it would be easy to assume they had been working together for much longer than they
actually had. Somehow, the second part of the show managed to be even better than the first. The primary choreographer of this half was College senior Sam Brown; the choreography was part of her senior honors project in Africana Studies. Brown’s three numbers, interspersed throughout the second part, were an extension of the hip-hop sensibility of the first, and its academic purpose did not remotely detract from its enjoyability. Another poem, the bittersweet, beautiful “Unsolicited Advice to Big Black Sisters with Little Black Brothers,” was performed with
poise by its author, College firstyear Annika Hansteen Izora. Following Hansteen Izora’s grace, it was especially surprising when the knockout act of the evening managed to outdo it. College junior Mahalia Wells-Stover, accompanied by backup singers double-degree junior Ashley Hale and College sophomore Caylen Bryant, sang her song “People,” stunning the audience with her surreally beautiful voice and the intense but reserved song. In an evening defined by dance, it may have been unexpected for the most effective moment to come from song, but in the moment, nothing could have seemed
more natural. The song served to heighten the intensity of the showcase as a whole. When the evening concluded after three more nimble dance pieces, no one in attendance felt unsatisfied. Often a combination of media can accomplish much more than what any one can accomplish alone. Without context, dance can seem unmoored; without imagery, poetry or song can at times seem overly cerebral. The fall showcase married the art forms seamlessly, and the show that resulted managed the unusual feat of being moving, technically stunning and fun at the same time.
Exhibition Initiative Poster Sale Promotes Student-Made Art Emma Baxter South Dome Studios played host to a new kind of arts event last weekend, as 10 student artists displayed their work in Oberlin’s first alternative poster sale. “Selling art wasn’t the activity that I thought I would be getting myself into,” said College senior and co-organizer of the poster sale Tom Kearney. “There’s just certain parts of fine art that bother me, and one of those is that it’s very expensive.” The relationship between money and art is interesting to Kearney, who came up with the idea for the alternative poster sale after going to the College’s annual poster sale held in Wilder Bowl. “I was inspired in a certain way,” he said, recalling the event. “I went last year and ended up buying a poster, but then immediately saw artwork from my friends and regretted it — silkscreened posters that I was blown away with. And then I see all these kids walking away with posters of Marilyn Monroe and Tupac — not that those people aren’t worth celebrating, but there is something deeper that’s happening here that’s worth putting up on your wall.” College senior, artist and Treasurer of Exhibi-
tion Initiative Nico Alonso agrees with Kearney when it comes to the “impersonal and very commercial imagery” of the posters at the schoolsponsored sale. “Thinking of Oberlin — where there is so much artistic talent and desire to have works that feel more intimate — makes the opportunity for us to have this poster sale really important,” she said. “The most important thing about this sale and what makes it so special is that it’s work done by students.” Alonso submitted her poster design, and it was chosen out of approximately 45 entries to be one of 10 designs featured in the sale. “I am really interested in texture. I decided to use a lot of images from sea anemones, seascapes and coral reefs. I also used icons from Día de los Muertos,” she said. “I wanted it to be a formal exploration of ways you can find and use similarities in textures to layer an image. It’s intended to be fun to look at. I want people to look at the poster and find new things, like an ‘I Spy.’” Part of Exhibition Initiative’s mission this semester was to reach out to a broader audience of students. In thinking of ways to do that, they decided that making art more accessible on campus was especially necessary. They chose the
medium of posters for its low cost and accessible nature. As Alonso explained, “Even if you’re not a studio major or an artist, it is important to have art. I’m not a studio major and I designed a poster. I feel like I’m doing something productive. One of the important things to me is that people can own art and look at it and live with it. Being able to participate in an event that lets people have art they would enjoy is something that makes me happy.” College junior Liora Lebowitz came to the poster sale with her friend, College junior Ren Wiscons, who designed a poster. “I’ve never been particularly excited about the other poster sale. I think it’s a lot of money for not very original posters,” said Lebowitz. “These are really cool because I feel like I’m supporting my fellow students and I know I’m not going to find it everywhere. It’s nice to get my friends’ work and have it to myself.” As Alonso proved, each poster design came from a distinct artistic motivation. For Wiscons, it was growing organic crystals. “Last semester I took Mineralogy. We learned to take optical and polarized images. It was really cool to see something on the microscopic scale
be magnified so large,” she explained. “You don’t really know what it is when you look at it. But you can see the details and [that] adds to its impact. I love the dimensionality and symmetry of the image.” Double-degree fifth year Charlie Spears created a set of seven images for his Thievery for Artists class. Out of that series, one image was chosen for the sale. “The series is titled Yuppie Miracles; this is the “Boys to Men” one,” he said. “It’s about miracles that didn’t happen. I thought it was interesting how a lot of the people I grew up with were in punk bands or hardcore scene and ended up in finance. It was kind of making fun of the inevitable, that people fall into these capitalist roles of the post-hippie phenomenon,” Spears said. Admiring the “Boys to Men” poster, College first-year Lily Posner remarked, “Its colors are really appealing to me, and I’m curious to know how that image was put together. I have a secret desire to make [an] awesome poster,” she said, “I’m getting inspiration by just being here. There is so much thought that goes into making these, [and] it’s cool knowing that students made See Poster, page 13
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The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
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“Upsetting Rape Culture” Testament to Art Activism’s Power Julian Ring Arts Editor In mid-September, what was ostensibly Playboy’s annual list of the top party schools surfaced online — only this time, their message was a bit different. Instead of ranking colleges based on their propensity for binge drinking and general licentiousness, Playboy’s list gave top honors to those schools that worked to promote awareness of sexualized violence and consent on campus. Assumed to be authentic, the list garnered significant attention online, as articles published by sites like The Huffington Post, Upworthy and BroBible all praised the typically illicit publication for taking a moral stance on the issue. So when it was revealed that, in fact, a team of activists from Baltimore had published the list under Playboy’s name and created fake versions of The Huffington Post and the like to spread the word, the ensuing reactions were mixed. The magazine itself declined to comment beyond denying its involvement with the project, but many, including employees of those news outlets also pranked, didn’t mind being duped; many responded quite positively to the hoax. It may have
been the most confusing activism stunt of 2013, but it got BroBible writer Andy Moore to write, “The world is safe for bros to be feminists too.” And by that measure, Hannah Brancato and Rebecca Nagle’s spoof was a wild success. Brancato and Nagle are the coorganizers of FORCE, an art activism group seeking to initiate conversations about sexual violence in the U.S. and promote consent between partners. The duo’s talk on Saturday, “Upsetting Rape Culture,” outlined their efforts thus far and challenged those in Hallock Auditorium to find avenues for action on Oberlin’s campus. “We believe that a more difficult and honest conversation in the United States needs to happen,” Brancato said. “We envision a world where sex is empowering and pleasurable rather than coercive and violent.” The event was split between a presentation and activities that engaged the audience. Brancato and Nagle began by explaining several of the group’s major projects, their implementation and the logic behind them. In their first web prank, “Pink Loves Consent,” FORCE created a fake website which masqueraded as the Victoria’s Secret homepage while promoting a line of anti-rape
lingerie. Though it received attention from a specific subset of consumers and social media users, Brancato and Nagle were less than satisfied with the project’s reach. From there, FORCE’s “art actions” only grew in ambition. Former U.S. Representative Todd Akin’s incendiary quote last year about “legitimate rape” triggered a fire–––––––––––––––––––––––––––
‘We believe that a more difficult and honest conversation in the United States needs to happen. We envision a world where sex is empowering and pleasurable rather than coercive and violent.’ Hannah Brancato Co-organizer of FORCE ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– storm of backlash from the media, senators and citizens alike. FORCE took their response onto Akin’s home turf: Partnering with activism group Luminous Intervention, they projected the words “rape is rape”
and quotes from survivors of abuse onto the steps of the Capitol during the 2012 national election. The most conspicuous undertaking, though, was the Playboy hoax. Brancato and Nagle explained how their highlighting of progressive sexual health initiatives on college campuses was an attempt to mobilize students at other schools to follow suit. “What we learned is that we needed to have really solid follow-up built into the campaigns,” Brancato said. “We want to generate buzz, but we want to do something with that energy. This time, it was a little more embedded in the project.” That embedded follow-up came in the form of the “Consent Revolution Awards,” a contest that invited college students to submit photographs of consent-promoting actions for a chance to acquire “fame and free condoms.” UCLA took home the gold for their “7,000 in Solidarity” campaign (tagline: “There are no blurred lines when it comes to consent”), but FORCE made honorable mentions of efforts like Connecticut College’s “V-Men” video and Whitman College’s “Ask For It Day.” The other side of Saturday’s “Up-
setting Rape Culture” event was more Oberlin-centric. Brancato and Nagle periodically diverged from their lecture to engage with students through games and exercises designed to take a reading of rape culture’s prevalence at Oberlin. Students responded to a series of questions about their views on rape and consent by sitting or standing, and later asked each other a variety of questions to which their partner had to respond, “No.” These activities explored the difficulties associated with defining consent and practicing rejection in a real-life scenario. Students then brainstormed ways to better promote consent on the Oberlin campus. Suggestions included rethinking Safer Sex Week and, in particular, its culminating dance and placing informative materials in the ’Sco and other places where unwanted sexual encounters are more likely to occur. The pair concluded their talk with a discussion of their latest effort, the so-called “Monument Project.” Monuments, according to Brancato and Nagle, help reconnect victims of trauma with their community. As such, the campaign aims See Playboy, page 13
Electronics, Bones Create Corporeal Sounds in Usonian Solos
College junior Valerie Perczek takes a guitar solo during Soundfarm’s Usonian Solos showcase Saturday. Set in the Weltzheimer-Johnson House, the event featured drums, vocal effects and even bones to create unique sounds. Ben Garfinkel
Odette Chalandon Staff Writer Last Saturday, the first truly frigid day of December, students gathered in the Weltzheimer-Johnson House to listen to an intimate performance by four TIMARA majors and other featured guests. Few were audacious enough to brave the freezing weather, but those who did were rewarded with a rich, varied performance. The dark, deep red wood of the house was the perfect location for Usonian Solos, the final fall semester performance by the improvisational music group Soundfarm. The event was named for the word used by the house’s architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, to describe what he saw as the future of architecture and urban planning in the United States. The homes he built in this style were one-story and L-shaped, and
promoted cohesiveness with nature though simple materials and large windows. Sitting on or wrapped in blankets, the unheated house drew the small audience of both students and Oberlin community members together and close to the musicians. Of course, the intimacy also stemmed from watching performers spontaneously create music. This was true of the electronic musicians especially, because their genre calls for constant action — pressing buttons, recording, replaying, looping and distorting. The selection of performers was also more diverse this time around: One was a visiting faculty member and another a guest lecturer. The atmosphere and shape of the house suited solo performances. The simple equipment — computers, violin, drums, a piece of chain, bassoon and vocals — communicated a certain “doability.” That is not
Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Music and Digital Arts Lyn Goeringer rubs a piece of metal installed with a contact microphone during Soundfarm’s Usonian Solos Saturday. Ben Garfinkel
to say that the performers were not using complex structures. Rather, any non-musicians in the audience were able to understand intellectually and artistically what was happening in each piece. Electronic composer, Brown University Ph.D. candidate and Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Music and Digital Arts Lyn Goeringer was a fantastic choice for this performance. Not only was her music a delightful experience for the ear, but her focus on the effects of found space and infrastructure on music made it evident that she knew how to best use the space to draw inspiration for musical choices. Guest lecturer and bassoonist Dana Jessen also played, showcasing her extensive knowledge and development of contemporary bassoon. Her piece, as well as that of Conservatory first-year Sarah Snider, repurposed the Weltzheimer-Johnson
house as the set of a Hitchcockian thriller. The low notes of Jessen’s piece and the strident violin and electronic textures of Snider’s echoed throughout the house. Like Goeringer’s before them, both Jessen and Snider’s pieces contained supernatural elements, in contrast to College junior Valerie Perczek’s piece, which had a strong, warm, corporeal feeling. Perhaps it was because the audience had finally warmed up, or perhaps it was because of her earthy instruments — a guitar, a single drum, a trumpet, part of a chain and bones. She used these human noises in her piece, sounds that originated from public and private places: a crowded train, a little girl speaking, a man cooking and her own voice. It was an excellent conclusion to a performance that, as a whole, succeeded in providing music steeped in technique and ethereal mood.
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The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Majors Build Anticipation with Intriguing Half-Time Show Grace Pullin A cult leader cleansing the energy of Fisher Gallery with sage, an ominous cutout representation of gender neutrality and a striking series of nude self-portraits were among the spectacles to behold at this year’s Senior Studio Half-Time Show. On an evening when campus was teeming with student art events, the Allen Memorial Art Museum’s courtyard buzzed with excitement surrounding the nearby exhibition. The show was part of the Senior Studio capstone seminar, a newly required program for all Studio Art majors which is hosted every December to exhibit student projects from the fall semester. Though highly anticipated, the annual exhibition often proves challenging for audiences due to its lack of a specific theme. Friday night’s show, however, found its strength in the sheer diversity of media, material and process. The exhibition guided visitors around the gallery on a path that both complemented the featured minimalist works and supported the more confrontational pieces. All in all, the Half-Time Show successfully showcased the varied artistic achievements of a talented group of Studio Art majors, ranging from personal narrative to theoretical considerations. The show’s most memorable pieces stood on their own, offering stimulating visual complexity and engaging with both academic and art historical references. MJ Robinson’s Presence and “We Don’t Have Much in Common Anymore,” a cutout installation with a corresponding comic available in multiple copies for gallery visitors, took
recalled Hannah Klein’s, OC ’12, post-minimalist sculptures of nests cocooned in thin fabric and layered string from 2012’s Senior Studio show “For/Giving.” While artists working in close proximity are bound to exert some influence on one another, the adoption of specific tropes within the studio art community becomes problematic when reinterpretations fail to expand. In such a small department, –––––––––––––––––––––––––––
College seniors MJ Robinson and James Scott take a close look at a sculptural work by fellow College senior and artist Julia Harris at the annual Half-Time Show. The event featured student works produced during the first semester of the Art department’s Senior Studio capstone program. Rachel Grossman
an interesting approach to identity politics. Robinson explored pronoun identification, a muchdiscussed topic at Oberlin, in a subtle but memorable tone. Mary Okoth’s untitled video fostered a similarly strong sensation, with her installation in Classroom II allowing for an intimate, encapsulating experience. Projected in a space framed by sheets, the video featured layered voices of obscured, anonymous figures describing experiences of migration. The show’s most striking work of sculpture was Conor Donahue’s “Untitled,” a collage of found objects that sprang up like a 3-D amalgamative rendition of his cartoonist illustrations. The endearing piece was pointedly reminiscent of Mike Kelley’s work from the late
1980s, particularly in light of the piles of scattered toys and partially melted candlesticks. That being said, some of the included works fell victim to the entrapments of an insular liberal arts community. Though thoughtful use of material and commendable attention to detail saved the Half-Time Show from any real danger, unfortunately, some of the subject matter was slightly unoriginal and seemed borrowed from past classes. Running themes found in the Senior Studio shows from year to year have the capacity to become monotonous if not checked. Claire Morton’s exploration of cult mysticism in “Ash Ray,” though executed with brilliant concentration, a commanding presence and impressive prop
orchestration, dealt with a subject matter that is recurrent on a frequent basis at Oberlin. Last year, “Cooling the Babylon Matrix” by Lily Gottschalk, OC ’13, incorporated much of the same astrological mystic imagery and similar multi-media video components, though it was notably less narrative, more comprehensive and reliant on audience participation in ways that Morton’s performance was not. College junior Taylor Herman’s performance, while cleverly timed and humorously lowkey, fell in line with the history of intervention and distraction at Senior Studio exhibitions. Likewise, other visual themes and iconographies reappear from previous years: This time around, Annika Stridh’s bird nest shrouded by delicate wire
While artists working in close proximity are bound to exert some influence over one another, the adoption of specific tropes in the visual arts community become problematic when reinterpretations fail to expand. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– popular jargon (think “memory,” “archive,” “histories”) tends to become too deeply embedded, making it more difficult to access ideas outside of the established language and imagery of Oberlin. Though there was perhaps excessive reliance on Oberlin studio art traditions, the HalfTime Show was ultimately an exciting preview of projects to follow for individual exhibitions in the spring. As a whole, the group is enormously gifted in terms of craft and execution, with great potential to make beautiful, engaging, subversive work — that is, if they can reach just a little bit further outside of our campus bubble.
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The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Playboy Hoaxers Advocate Consent, Survivor Support
Page 13
Feature Photo: Next to Normal
Continued from page 11 to create a permanent monument for survivors of sexual abuse. “We live in a culture where we know how to publicly shame survivors of sexual violence, but we don’t know how to publicly support them,” Nagle said. “The existing monuments on the [Washington, D.C. National] Mall are places where our nation remembers our history, we mourn loss and tragedy, we integrate some violent things that have happened into the narratives we tell ourselves. We think that that needs to happen with sexual violence.” So far, FORCE has created temporary monuments to this effect — floating a poem about rape down the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and assembling quilts comprised of survivors’ stories in Baltimore and other major cities. Their work has brought together hundreds of survivors and their supporters in a public display of solidarity and a call to action. Brancato and Nagle believe their work, however, is far from over. “Community response to rape and abuse has to change,” Brancato said. “In small circles, we have to get better at it — in friend groups, in families, in religious communities, in colleges. And then all the way out to the scale of the media … [and] the way that our legal system deals with rape. Laws can change, but then people’s attitudes have to actually shift.”
Poster Sale Provides Patrons Non-Commercial Alternative Continued from page 10 them.” In discussing his own creative process, Spears explained, “Thinking about what to make takes the longest time for me. Actually putting it together [took] about 30 seconds.” College junior Oliver Levine, a Studio Art major who designs many of the silkscreened posters for events around campus, also had one of his designs featured in the sale. “It was rewarding doing this project because I had been wanting to do a poster that wasn’t for an event, but for me,” he said. “I didn’t have to think of a specific event that I had to tailor the design to. It’s more than a poster; it’s a piece of my art.” Levine’s poster stemmed from his own practice as an artist. “That design was something I did over the summer in my sketchbook. It’s very much in the same vein as my studio work,” which he described as “biomorphic shapes and
experimentation with colors.” In discussing his design for the sale, he explained, “I want people to look at my poster and see different things depending on who they are and what they want to see in it.” Overall, Kearney was happy with the way things turned out. “It was great having the sale [on] the same night as the art event of the semester, which is the Senior Studio Half-Time show. It wasn’t as much work getting people out because they would already be out,” he said. Exhibition Initiative plans on making the alternative poster sale a regular event. “This was just a test run,” Kearney said. “Hopefully it will be bigger next time. We have the means to create a unique visual culture here. We have the talent to make art available for everyone and allow people to build a meaningful relationship to the art here. That’s what this event is about: letting people own art and [having] artists get their art out to people who want it.”
College sophomore Molly Bennett and College senior Colin Wulff perform in a scene from OMTA’s production of Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s Next to Normal. The rock musical, directed for OMTA by College sophomore Colin Anderson, centers on a family dealing with mental illness and explores the ethics of modern psychiatry. In 2008, it was the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 12 years, after Rent in 1996. Courtesy of Miranda Friel
The Promise Portrays Bleak Aftermath of Wartime Hardship Logan Buckley Staff Writer Alexei Arbuzov’s play The Promise opens on a room in a Leningrad apartment. Lika, played by College senior Aily Roper, a young girl who’s not yet 16 years old, huddles on a couch under piles of blankets, the cold palpable. The sounds and flashing lights of artillery fire break the calm. It is the spring of 1942. Leningrad is a city under siege. In that bleak setting, well-evoked by the gorgeous set and lighting design, Lika meets two young men who come to the apartment. Marat (College senior William Hofmann), whose family lived in the apartment before the siege began, immediately takes charge, staving off fears for the future by exerting what control he can over the present. And there’s Leonidik (College senior Linus Ignatius), a sickly, idealistic poet. The three struggle to coexist and adapt to war-torn Leningrad in the first act, and the rest of the play traces the development of their relationships — a kind of love triangle — through the next 17 years. Saturday’s production, directed by Associate Professor of Theater Paul Moser, evoked the dramatic setting of
the siege of Leningrad through lighting and sound design. But there was a strange dissonance between the stakes for the characters and the setting. One would expect a meeting of two strangers in a private home during a siege to be a tense and fraught affair, but through much of the first scene, the stakes seemed rather low. Some of the blame for this should be placed on the lackluster script, which suffered from poor pacing and, at times, unbelievable dialogue, which also occasionally conflicted with the staging. At one point during the tense first scene, Lika asks Marat, “Why are you laughing at me?” A confusing question, since he was not in fact laughing. Roper and Hofmann also struggled to portray the sexual and romantic tension between Lika and Marat, which did not become believable until Marat’s return from war as a hero of the Soviet Union in the second act. Ignatius’s Leonidik was perhaps the most believable of the three, combining a naïve idealism with careful delivery that extracted meaning from the script. When Leonidik returned from war with a prosthetic arm, Ignatius also convincingly portrayed the uselessness of the appendage. The play found its footing when it
successfully conveyed what it was to be a Soviet citizen during World War II and after. The raked stage set and costumes were both convincing in this regard, not to mention beautiful. The production showed the passage of time by changing the ways that characters dressed — bundles of ragged winter clothing in the first act which gave ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
One would expect a meeting of two strangers in a private home during a seige to be a tense and fraught affair, but through much of the first scene, the stakes seemed rather low. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– way to military uniforms and sensible civilian clothing in the last two acts — while adding to and rearranging the furniture in the apartment. Although a way to mark the passage of time, the raked stage appeared at times to interfere with the actors’ movements. During the scene changes, poignant images of wartime Leningrad were projected onto the set. This was an interesting technique used to increase the audi-
ence’s awareness of how the characters’ lives and struggles fit into the greater context of the Soviet Union as a whole and how they overcame the hardships of World War II while still oppressed by Stalinism. But there were problems with the execution: By the time the pictures were projected onto the uneven backdrop of the set, they were quite pixelated, and they also detracted from the play’s attempts at immersive realism by exposing the scene changes. In the end, the decision to project the images seemed inconsistent with other aspects of the production, although many of the images were quite affecting. The Promise may suffer from being separated from its original context, written during the post-Stalinist thaw when Soviet artists and intellectuals were first permitted to question the official narratives on the war and on Soviet life. It is clear that as the play’s three characters attempt to make lives for themselves in a 1940s and ’50s Soviet Union, they carry with them the scars and bonds forged by the brutal siege. But the social commentary now seems diluted and the script longer than it needs to be, leaving the viewer to wish for more concrete and critical engagement with the issues that The Promise tackles.
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The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
IN THE LOCKER ROOM
Cortland Hill
This week the Review sat down with Cortland Hill, a Chemistry professor and the faculty advisor for Oberlin’s club ice hockey team, the Plague, to discuss the unique team, his hockey experience and the team’s recruiting tactics.
We have a number of players from the ExCo involved in the team this semester. A couple students in my labs heard about it and asked me about it. And apparently a number of the lacrosse players have played hockey before, and now they’re interested in playing. I guess the assistant coach of the lacrosse team is a hockey player. The word sort of spreads, but it never spreads as fully as I would like it to spread. I have to say though, in the past two years, I’ve had prospective students contact me about the hockey team, and the hockey team ended up being the thing that tipped their decision to Oberlin over another school. These people are good hockey players, and one of them is running the hockey ExCo right now, [College sophomore] Ty Wagner. He’s a really great hockey player, and he’s someone who called me to ask about the club team. He decided to come here based on that.
What is the history of your involvement with the Plague? I became the faculty advisor for the hockey team probably in about 2003. I came here in 2000. That’s when I started playing on the team, too. The club team had been sort of a political hot potato for the previous advisor, so it was handed off to me. What got you interested in joining? Well, I played hockey in college. I went here as a student. It was a varsity sport when I was a student, and I played on the team because that’s the beauty of Oberlin: No matter how bad you are, you can play the sport. So I played on the team, though I didn’t get much playing time because I’d never been on a team before. I thought I was a pretty good skater, but putting the stick-handling and the skating together was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I played three years on the team, and then studies became too much, and I couldn’t do it anymore. What is your favorite OC ice hockey memory? I guess one of my favorite memories is just playing in the outdoor rink when it was really cold. The ice was really hard and fast, and the sound of skates and the pucks in the rink really sticks out. Where did you play? We played in the old [Williams] field house. It used to be an outdoor rink. They enclosed it. It used to just have that arcing ceiling with a roof, and all around the outside it was open. What is your favorite thing about the club team? Well, it’s always fun to see how the team comes together. Every year we have different people, and people suddenly pop out of
Cortland Hill, chemistry professor and ice hockey faculty advisor nowhere who had been here but didn’t know anything about the team, and they decide to join. It’s always fun to see how it develops.
and it’s non-checking, and that’s what really makes it fun. We can be free and not be constrained by a varsity sport regime.
Does the team have any interesting traditions? We have an alumni hockey game every year. I think this year will be the ninth year we’ve done it, and that’s a great time. Alumni come back from as far back as graduates from the ’60s. It’s a lot of fun, and actually a lot of my teammates, who I wasn’t really able to play with when I was a student here, come back, and now I have improved enough so that I can actually play with them. So that’s nice.
Where did the name come from? I don’t know, but I love the name. I think it developed in the ’80s or ’90s. I think it’s fantastic, and I much prefer it to Yeomen or Yeowomen. I mean, I used to be a Yeoman, and it was not something I was proud of. It’s an incredibly outdated team name.
What do you think makes Oberlin ice hockey a unique sport? One thing I love about the team is that we’re the Plague. I love the fact that we have our own name. We have our own logo, which is the biohazard sign with a carbon monoxide inside it for the “OC.” I love the freedom of the team. We’re very free-form; it’s coed,
Any suggestions for a new mascot? The Plague I think would be good. Do you have a favored position? I play defense. I don’t know what to do on offense, so I’ve always been a defensive player. How do you get players for the team? We encourage people to wear our jerseys around so that people might see the jerseys and ask. There’s an ExCo that’s going on this semester that’s made the club more visible.
What’s it like playing with your students? It’s great. It’s fun to see them in a different setting, and they see me in a different setting. Its a whole different situation when you’re on a team. When I’m on the team, I go by my first name rather than some other name I go by in lab. It’s a lot of fun, and I’ve gotten to know students very well from the hockey team. Last year, I would play hockey with one student twice a week, and he would often ride with me to the games, so we spent a lot of time in the car and on the ice together. Any last words? The hockey team is always looking for more players regardless of skill. We welcome all players, and we’re always looking to get more people to join the team. And the alumni game is a fantastic event. This year its going to be March 8 and 9 in the Elyria Rink. It’s a lot of fun. And to sum it up I would just say that the fact that we’re the Plague is fantastic. I love it. Interview by Rose Stoloff, Sports editor Photo by Effie Kline-Salamon, Photo editor
‘True Obie’ Gets Sacked Continued from page 16 “Anytime a decision like this gets made, it affects us a lot more than just as players. Coach Ramsey was a good coach, and he also taught guys [how] to be good men.” Kaip agreed. “It definitely hurt a lot,” he said. Though the decision elicited mixed reactions, players agreed that the administration did the right thing in keeping its reasoning under wraps. “The administration is in a hard spot when they decide to make a decision like that,” said Kessler. “Maybe they could have informed players about it beforehand and asked them for their opinion, but then again, that’s just going to spread. So I think they did the right thing in letting us know right away and not having other people tell us.” Jay Anderson, who was previously an assistant coach for the team, will act as the interim head coach as the Athletics department conducts a national search for a replacement. The department hopes to make a final hiring decision by February. The team has faith that Anderson and the rest of his staff will be able to do a good job coaching the team during this transition. “The coaches that are still here are doing a phenomenal job, despite the turnover,” said Kaip. However, a transition in
leadership will be difficult, regardless of Anderson’s abilities. Though the decision was emotional for all players, according to Kessler, there are even more implications for first- and second-year players. “For underclassmen, I think the priority is different. Yes, you do know him since you’ve spent at least one season with him, but the question becomes, ‘What’s my place on the team? A new coach comes in; what’s his scheme going to be? Do I want to play here still?’ I’m not going to say anyone’s going to quit or transfer because of that. But there are different priorities between upper- and lowerclassmen.” Regardless of who the next head coach is, they will look to do something Ramsey never could: coaching the team to an above .500 record. Finding a coach who can achieve this level of success and also mesh with Oberlin’s culture may prove difficult. “I hope they bring in the right person for Oberlin,” said Kaip. “It’s a very different job than any other football coaching job. It’s tough to recruit for Oberlin because you have to have a high GPA, high test scores, which, with football players, is tough.” Ramsey’s absence will be felt by more than just the players he is leaving behind. “He was a great face around campus,” said Kessler. “I haven’t met a single person on campus who didn’t like him. He was a true Obie.”
Sports
The Oberlin Review, December 13, 2013
Page 15
Krislov Makes Athletics, Fitness a Priority Sarah Orbuch Staff Writer During his tenure at Oberlin College, College President Marvin Krislov has positively developed the culture of health and wellness as well as athletics. The evolution will continue as the new Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex is developed. In 2007, Philips gym looked very similar to the way it does today. The brown brick building was in need of a fresh face. But on the inside, much has changed, with posters in the gymnasium, photographs lining the walls of the coaches’ offices and even more action shots lining the weight room walls. Five years ago, the prospect of new facilities seemed far off; the focus was on maintaining the facilities. Today, a new building is right around the corner. Construction began this week on the north complex, which includes a new state-of-the-art football field with lights, locker room facility and social space. The south complex, which will house a natatorium, renovated weight room, cardio space and a south campus gym, is up next. All of these projects have come to fruition as a result of President Marvin Krislov’s emphasis on the athletic community ever since he came here seven years ago. “Health and wellness is very impor-
tant to me, and I feel that it should be important to everyone,” said President Krislov. “It is important for the way we function, and it is certainly important for longevity of life. I find that when I exercise, I am a lot better mentally, but I also feel better. I think that I am healthier and happier, and clearly I can live longer, or at least I have the potential to live longer because I exercise.” Just last year, the Krislov family made a generous donation to the athletic facility to update weight room equipment. Prior to this donation, the weight room contained the bare minimum: some dumbbells, a few squat racks with weights, one old mat used for stretching and a handful of machines. The equipment was old and worn down, the lighter five and tenpound dumbbells were missing, and there was not enough equipment for all to use. With this donation, the weight room received a much-needed upgrade. New squat racks arrived, with more than enough weights to go around. Dumbbells of all weights were added, as well as new machines, mats, kettlebells, bosu balls, medicine balls and new benches. Weight room usage has increased incrementally as a result, and a team of 40 football players can work out and still leave enough equipment for other students, faculty and
community members to use. In addition to this donation, Krislov has played a key role in the capital campaign, working with Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos and Senior Associate Director of Athletics Creg Jantz, to secure funding and space to renovate the athletic campus. “Both [Athletics directors] have done a great job, and I have been very supportive of them,” said Krislov. “I know the usage of Philips has increased in the past few years, and we certainly have increased class offerings. I also hope that the new facility on the south end of Philips will make the gym even more inviting,” Krislov added. Krislov hopes that the emphasis on health and wellness will continue to grow in the coming years. “Philips was built at a time pre-Title IX, and it did not anticipate the growth of interest among students, faculty and the community for exercising. My sense is that the health and wellness culture and athletics are improving, but I would not mind it to be a little stronger,” he said. Winkelfoos had only positive things to say about Krislov. “Marvin [Krislov] has provided our department with support and guidance that has encouraged us to shine. He is a believer in how extracurricular activities — like athlet-
ics, club sports, playing intramurals, taking a physical education course — can add immense value to a student’s collegiate experience,” she said. While the facilities have improved during Krislov’s time at Oberlin, the athletic teams have as well. Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications Mike Mancini emphasized some of the Athletics department’s successes. “This fall alone, the men’s soccer team made it to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, while the women’s cross country team went to nationals for the fifth straight season, earning its highest finish ever by
placing eighth overall. Looking back at last spring, we had tremendous breakthroughs in men’s lacrosse and in baseball, where the team set numerous school records en route to its first ever [North Coast Athletic Conference] tournament,” he said. According to Krislov, the success of Oberlin’s athletic teams has had a positive impact on the rest of the campus. “It is great to cheer and support your friends, and I think that happens. But as we win more games, things become more exciting. The crowds really did respond to the men’s soccer breakout season this fall, and I think a lot of other teams are improving as well.”
— Men’s Basketball —
Editorial: Cano Takes Money and Runs Continued from page 16 contract reinforces the argument that his supporters have harped on for years. Pedroia is a team player and a winner in a way that the often lackadaisical Cano never was for the Yankees and never will be for the Mariners. Before he signed with the Mariners, Cano’s dad told the New York Daily News that “the Yankees don’t seem to want him.” What is the game coming to when a team’s $175 million offer indicates a lack of interest? Cano isn’t nearly on the level of former NBA player Latrell Sprewell, who once proclaimed, “I have a family to feed,” after feeling insulted by a three-year, $21 million offer from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, Cano’s surprising exit from New York shows that, in almost all cases, money matters more than anything else. Was it too much to ask for Cano to leave $65 million in guaranteed money on the table? I don’t think so. The Yankees’ offer was more than reasonable, and some of that difference in the teams offers could have been made up for since Cano could have more easily marketed himself in New York. Apparently Cano and his agent, rapper Jay-Z, saw things differently. Seeing Robbie play in another uniform next season definitely won’t be easy. Still, I’m happy the Yankees held fast on their offer to Cano. The team knows firsthand that giving out long mega-deals can backfire after just a few years. Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are all signed through at least 2016, and all have already seen major dips in their production. Cano’s production may be worthy of his contract for the next three or four years, but there’s no way he’ll still produce like he’s being paid to for the the latter half of the deal. I have few worries about my beloved Yankees. The team has had a productive offseason thus far, and other than refusing to overpay Cano, have been spending money like it’s 2009. Paul O’Neill, four-time World Series champion with the Yankees, said it best: “There’s no place like New York and no team like the Yankees.” Let’s see how Cano feels in three years when he’s playing for a perpetual loser in a town better known for its coffee than for its baseball.
Yeomen Win in Blowout Against Wabash Tyler Sloan Staff Writer After losing four straight conference games, the Oberlin men’s basketball team finally eked out a win in its fifth conference match against the Wabash College Little Giants on Saturday, Dec. 7. The 79–62 home victory sparked new hope for the Yeomen, who are currently 3–7 overall and 1–4 in conference play. The Yeomen were coming off a devastating one-point loss against the Kenyon College Lords, but they refused to accept that same fate on Saturday. In the contest against Wabash, the Yeomen came out strong and pulled ahead with a series of impressive plays. “There was a run in the middle of the first half where we had a string of steals and it led to a bunch of fast-break points,” Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco said. The Yeomen left the Little Giants feeling small as they cruised to a 44–21 lead at halftime. With over 100 fans in attendance, the team put on a good show well into the second half. This was the first time that Oberlin had defeated Wabash in conference play since 2006. Cavaco attributed the team’s success this weekend to a sharper game mentality going into the event. “I think the game was definitely faster. We picked up the tempo a little bit and it allowed our guards to be more disruptive than they have been in the past few games,” he said. Senior captain and guard-forward Geoff Simpson tallied 18 points, bolstering his average points per game to 16.2 this season. The Simsbury, CT native earned most of his points from free throws in the physical matchup, going 11 of 12 from the foul line. The team also saw significant contributions from a handful of un-
Senior Geoff Simpson jumps up to shoot the ball. The Yeomen turned their losing record around by defeating the Wabash College Little Giants on Saturday. Simeon Deutsch
derclassmen. Sophomore Randy Ollie added 15 points and a team-high eight boards. Reflecting on the win, Ollie said, “I think that our win against Wabash definitely sets a high standard for the rest of the season — but I think that from the start of the season, everybody on the team already knew that we could have a great year. We just have to take it one game at time.” Freshman Nathan Cohen also started the game for the Yeomen and racked up 11 of his 14 total points in the first half. Cohen played 31 minutes in the game, the most he’s been on the court in his Oberlin career. Fellow first-year Jack Poyle came off the bench to provide much-needed energy for the team as he tallied 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting. “I think it’s great that Nate and Jack played so well Saturday and have been having great freshman seasons.
The prospect of playing with them for at least two more seasons is really exciting, and I think that their skill and the talent of the freshman class as a whole is a testament to the great job that our coaching staff does at recruiting,” said Ollie. With the win under their belt, Cavaco believes there is only room to improve. “We are learning a bit more at what we’re good at, and that will help us a lot as we hit second semester,” he said. Sophomore Matthew Walker agreed with Cavaco. “Our conference is one of the toughest in the nation, and I think if we continue to play hard and smart then we should eventually be at the top of it,” he said. The team will have a break from conference play until it faces the Denison University Big Red in an away match on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Sports The Oberlin Review
December 13, 2013
Long-time Oberlin Head Football Coach Jeff Ramsey’s dismissal last Friday, just weeks after finishing his 15th year with the College, was shrouded in mystery. His departure came as a surprise to many who had grown to love and respect Ramsey during his long tenure. The football team was informed of Ramsey’s departure that afternoon. “Eric Lahetta — he’s the head of football operations — called a meeting earlier in the day for the team, and most of the team showed up for the meeting. [Director of Athletics and Physical Education] Natalie Winkelfoos came in and broke the news to us and said they had to let him go,” said junior offensive lineman Rory Kaip. Winkelfoos said she was “not at liberty” to discuss the details surrounding Ramsey’s dis-
Recently dismissed Head Football Coach Jeff Ramsey coaches his final season this year. The administration’s decision to let Ramsey go is left unexplained and came as a surprise to all players. Courtesy of OC Athletics
missal, nor were the rest of the Athletics department staff. However, there is speculation among the team members that the decision came in response to Ramsey’s repeated failure to post winning records. “They really didn’t give specifics, but they basically alluded to the fact
that we just haven’t had a winning season under Coach Ramsey, which was a difficult situation, so it’s understandable,” said Kaip. Though Ramsey, like many former Oberlin coaches, struggled to achieve winning results, he is credited with strengthening the pro-
gram and shaping it into what it is today. In the nine years before Ramsey’s arrival, the football team had won only three games, and despite his meager returns, he was the second most victorious coach in the team’s history. “What he did with the football program is truly
remarkable. Jeff was able to revive a program that was literally dead, and brought life back into it. His hard work, passion and accomplishments will never go unnoticed,” said Lahetta. Because he had been the head coach for so long and was beloved by players, the decision to let Ramsey go came as a surprise to many Yeomen. “I thought it was really sudden; no one expected it,” said Kaip. “From what I can tell, everybody on the team and all the coaches had this preconception that Coach Ramsey had the job as long as he wanted it.” Upon hearing the news, players were stunned. Many were upset and some expressed anger at the decision. “In that meeting no one spoke up because people were more shocked than anything. It took a while for it to sink in,” said senior captain Kyle Kessler. See True, page 14
— Swimming and Diving —
Women Take First, Men Snag Fifth at SUNY Meet Emma Lehmann
Sophomore Mia Wallace competes in the 200-yard medley relay. The women’s swimming and diving team took first at the Blue Devil Invite hosted by SUNY Fredonia last weekend. Courtesy of OC Athletics
was structured much like a championship. “The environment was certainly much more intense than a typical dual meet and was a good preview of what to expect at our conference meet in February,” said Brabson. Though they did not compete against conference rivals, the team’s early success shows promise for the rest of the season. The team has four more meets until the NCAC championships. This invitational is unique in that there are multiple days of competition, unlike the meets leading up to the championship in February. The team returns on Dec. 31 to prepare for their Jan. 11 meet at Allegheny College. They plan to train as much as they can in order to stay in top shape over winter break. “Taking time off at this point in the season can be very detrimental to performances at NCACs. Many team members will train with their club or high school teams, and others will train on their own,” said Brabson. The NCAC championships are in early February, so late December is a crucial pe-
riod of training that is unfortunately broken up by the holiday season. The team hopes to use this period productively. The athletes are committed to improving their team finish in the conference last year, which will serve as motivation to train during this break in competition. The women and men placed seventh and eighth respectively. “We definitely expect to greatly improve our place this year for both teams,” said senior captain Katie Dunn. The NCAC is unusually tough for women — both Kenyon College and Denison University have nationally-ranked programs. Denison narrowly defeated Kenyon at the 2013 women’s championships. “NCAC is a tough conference, but I think we can get a lot of girls into finals, which is what we’ll need to do if we want to place well,” said Hutchinson. This year, the women hope to place fourth. Coach Brabson also hopes to see the athletes improve on their times and potentially walk away with several lifetime-best performances.
Last week, Robinson Cano left the Yankees to sign a 10year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees had offered a measly seven-year, $175 million contract. That $65 million difference in guaranteed money was enough for Cano to leave the 27-time world champions for a team that hasn’t won an American League pennant in its entire history. I admit I was quite surprised by Cano’s decision to leave. Cano had the look of a player who would be a Yankee for life, go down as one of the greatest Yankees of all time and head to the Hall of Fame as a Bronx Bomber. You can forget about that now. Never before has a highprofile Yankee player left because the Yankees didn’t offer him enough money. Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams each flirted with the idea, but ultimately returned to the Bronx when the Yankees ponied up the dough. Cano’s move away from the organization with which he spent 13 years looks especially selfish and poorly conceived considering Dustin Pedroia’s eight-year, $110 million contract extension with the Boston Red Sox last season. The two played for rival teams in the American League East and are the undisputed best second basemen in the league. For years, I’ve argued that Cano is the better player of the two. Over the past three seasons, Cano has played in more games, hit more home runs, driven in more runs and hit for a higher average. But, is he worth $130 million more than Pedroia? Not a chance. The Red Sox could have had two Pedroias for less than what the Mariners are paying Cano, and Pedroia is a year younger than Cano, too. As much as it pains me to say it, Pedroia’s team-friendly See Editorial, page 15
the trash — r in e r p
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The swimming and diving teams had a successful weekend at SUNY Fredonia, with the women taking first and the men placing fifth. New Head Coach Andrew Brabson was pleased with the performance by both teams. “Overall, it was a great team effort that allowed us to finish first out of the nine teams competing,” said Brabson. Unlike most other sports, conference standings are not determined by meets specific to the North Coast Athletic Conference. Large competitions such as this invitational provide an opportunity to experience championship-level competition without necessarily facing conference opponents. The meet occurred over multiple days, and the team’s success was a result of both physical and mental resilience throughout the long period of competition. There were many successful performances across a variety of events, with the men’s results highlighted by top-six finishes from sophomores Marshall Waller and Ben Shepherd in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. Senior Jordan Attwood also had great success in the diving events. Four women finished in the top eight of the 100yard freestyle, and first-year Vera Hutchinson won the 100-yard fly. “It takes more than first place [finishes] to win a meet like this. We had a lot of girls in the top eight each event this meet, and that’s where we got our points for the win,” said Hutchinson, citing the combined performance of all her teammates as a critical component of their victory. Hutchinson knows there is room for improvement, especially in their relays. Relays score more points than individual events, so strong relay teams can contribute a lot to a team’s success. The meet was good practice for the level of competition that will be present later in the season, as it
Nate Levinson Sports Editor
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Nate Levinson and Rose Stoloff Sports Editors
Cano Says No Thanks to Yanks
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Ramsey Leaves Team After 15th Season
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— Football —
t ins
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