Office of Religious, Spiritual Life Hosts Listening Session on Student Needs

Kathleen Kelleher Senior Staff Writer

An event organized by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life in association with the Division of Student Life on Thursday provided an opportunity for student leaders in Oberlin religious and spiritual life to gather with and meet local clergy, mentors, and teachers across traditions to discuss the state of religious life at Oberlin.

The 30-minute lunch featured a talk from Vice President and Dean of Students Karen Goff, who shared her vision for the possibilities for religious and spiritual life on campus.

“I would like us to reimagine how Religious and Spiritual Life, regardless of our faith traditions — or ‘no faith’ at all — can be a catalyst for meaningful dialogue and mutual understanding of each other’s perspectives and worldview while honoring and respecting differences,” Goff wrote in an email to the Review.

According to Director of Religious and Spiritual Life David Dorsey, Thursday’s event was a part of ongoing efforts by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life to better cater to students of all beliefs and to help them connect with the greater community.

“[In November 2020], we offered a series of listening sessions for students where we just listened to what they wanted from religious life, in particular around the pandemic, social justice challenges of our day, climate change, and democracy and social equity issues,” Dorsey said. “There were some common themes: one was that we wished the diversity of religious life offerings matched the diversity of students, and was not simply duplicative of religious institutions around the square.”

Dorsey placed particular emphasis on the role of religious and spiritual representation in promoting diversity and inclusion for all students. He described how this summer’s listening sessions led to ideas of overarching change in the department.

“The students were exceedingly generous and kind about religious and spiritual life, but they were really pointing to structural pieces that either contribute to invisibility or to … challenges for finding mentorship that was a match for their personal interests,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey hopes that the Office can move toward a student-centered model, which would help connect students with a mentor that matched the student’s needs.

“It’s tricky because many students wouldn’t know who they can choose from,” Dorsey said. “Thursday is the beginning of what we hope will be a series of just bringing people together for connection and making sure that we’re doing our part in the office to facilitate connection [rather than] direct traffic.”

The discussion comes at a time when religious life leaders have spent the last two years addressing challenges, like being unable to gather or share food, that the pandemic created for religious life on campus.

“ORSL enjoys a rich relationship with our peers across student life and with local and area clergy,” wrote Multifaith Coordinator Maysan Haydar in an email to the Review. “In a way, the efforts made to improve student supports during the pandemic also improved our closeness as a division, since we all shared the same goals of checking in with students, helping them get into dorms safely and fed well, and to keep up their spirits during tough times.”

Goff also arrived at Oberlin at a time when the Division of Student Life was experiencing a period of change with high administrative turnover that involved four Student Life deans leaving within two months. Goff, whose background includes a master’s in Divinity and a history of involvement in issues surrounding religion, social justice, and pastoral care, looks forward to reimagining what the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life is capable of.

“The concept of ‘reimagining’ is just that — going beyond the status quo of what we have always done,” Goff wrote. “It means we have to be creative about our programs and services and to meet students and the community where they are. While there are standard traditional practices, spirituality spans religious beliefs. For example, I would like us to contemplate how Religious and Spiritual Life contributes to wellness or lean into the concept of spiritual formation as an act of social justice. The options are limitless if we are willing to allow our mind, body, and spirit to truly reimagine the possibilities.”

First-Years Adjust to Writing Intensive College Classes

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First-year students have faced a difficult transition to college this fall after finishing high school remotely. Illustration by Holly Yelton, Staff Cartoonist students seem more engaged (presumably because they are happy to have a fully in-person class experience).”

College second-year Chudi Martin Jr. expressed similar sentiments about the enthusiasm of the first-year students. As a Peer Advising Leader, Martin Jr. works to ensure that students have access to resources during their first year. According to Martin, his PALees have been itching to reclaim the academic and social experience they lost as a result of COVID-19.

“The biggest thing about the class of 2025 — I’d say they have a lot of energy, and they’re very driven to do work and have a college experience in that sense,” Martin said. “I think, from my experiences being a PAL as well, a lot of my students reach out and asked, ‘What are opportunities that we can take advantage of?’”

Administrators overseeing academic programs also anticipated the challenges that these students might face as they started their college careers. According to Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and First-Year Seminar Program Director Elizabeth Hamilton, in addition to normal peer-to-peer resources the school offers, like the Quantitative Skills Center and Oberlin Workshop and Learning Sessions, the school also designed one-module courses to better support students.

“We have also developed new Learning Lab courses on essential college skills,” Hamilton wrote in an email to the Review. “Academic Writing Through Transition (LLAB 101) and Quantitative Thinking (LLAB 102) offer just-in-time practice and encouragement for students to be successful in any major that they pursue.”

McMillin has faith that students will catch up, but she emphasizes that professors need to acknowledge that COVID-19 has deeply impacted the way students learn, and there’s no going back.

“As long as teachers are flexible, and if they see a need and then work to fill it, the students will learn,” McMillin said. “Our students are freaking brilliant. I love them. You know, they’re still Obies in that way. They’re so smart, but we gotta be on our toes.”

The Oberlin review

Dec. 10, 2021 Volume 151, Number 8 (ISSN 297–256)

Published by the students of Oberlin College every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except holidays and examination periods. Advertising rates: $18 per column inch. Second-class postage paid at Oberlin, Ohio. Entered as 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

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Anisa Curry Vietze Kushagra Kar Gigi Ewing Ella Moxley Kush Bulmer Arman Luczkow Emma Benardete Anna Harberger Maeve Woltring Lilyanna D’Amato Zoe Kuzbari John Elrod Zoë Martin del Campo Mads Olsen Khadijah Halliday Eric Schank Walter Thomas-Patterson Sydney Rosensaft River Schiff Kathleen Kelleher Ada Ates Yuyang Fu Katie Kunka Eric Schank Claire Brinley Katherine MacPhail Sumner Wallace Yuhki Ueda Isaac Kucher Kathleen Kelleher Liz Kannon Lia Fawley Layout Editors Grace Gao Elizabeth Aduwo Adrienne Hoover Erin Koo Illustrators Clair Wang Holly Yelton Distributors Thomas Xu Nondini Nagarwala

Corrections:

In “Oberlin Redistricted for Congressman Bob Latta” published on Dec. 3, Congressman Bob Latta is incorrectly titled as “Senator Bob Latta” in the opening paragraph. The Review regrets this error.

In “OSCA Celebrates Halloweekend with Liquor Treat” published on Nov. 5, it is stated that The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association hosts the Liquor Treat event. OSCA does not endorse or sponsor this event. Individual members of OSCA organize their own events in OSCA spaces and are responsible for their own actions. The Review regrets this error.

New Center for Engaged Liberal Arts Under Construction in Mudd Center Basement

The new Center for Engaged Liberal Arts in the basement of Mudd Center will be under construction until spring 2022. Photo by Mads Olsen, Photo Editor

Bryn Kearney

Nationwide supply chain disruptions have delayed construction of the Center for Engaged Liberal Arts in the basement of Mudd Center, which the College aims to be an innovative hub for student centered programs. However, project managers hope that the new home for several critical academic and experiential learning offices will be operational in spring 2022.

The first phase of the project, which was originally scheduled to wrap up this month, will house the offices for Career Development Center, Fellowships and Awards, Undergraduate Research, as well as for the Sophomore Opportunities and Academic Resources, Peer Advising Leaders, Study Away, and Winter Term programs. The second phase’s completion date is yet to be determined and will involve work on the section that will house the Bonner Center for Service and Learning.

The College has contracted with Makovich & Pusti Architects, Inc. and Infinity Construction Company to create the new center. According to Steve Jouriles, principal at Makovich & Pusti Architects, supply chain disruptions have delayed construction, and it is likely that the construction company will miss the delayed Jan. 7 deadline for completion. Jouriles hopes that the first phase can end March 2022, allowing construction of the northern Bonner Center section to begin. The 25,000-square-foot project will have valuable impacts on student life, both through its central location and the important services it will provide.

The decision to create CELA came directly from the 2019 One Oberlin report, with the intention of bringing together offices and programs that better support learning in a space that is more accessible to students.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Kamitsuka shared the highlights of the new plan for the library.

“The idea is to bring together offices and programs that support integrative and experiential learning in a studentcentered and centrally-located space,” he wrote in an email to the Review. “The raison d’être of CELA is to support students’ self-discovery through oncampus programming, internships, fellowships, undergraduate research, community-based learning, peer cohort mentoring, and educational travel.”

Kamitsuka also described how the open-plan design of the center will bolster collaboration and exploration for both students and staff.

“CELA has great spaces for students to study, do group work, and hold small and large meetings,” he wrote.

There will also be gender-neutral bathrooms and a new, state-of-theart, multi-purpose lecture hall, which Makovich & Pusti Architects describes as the “centerpiece” of the new facility.

“It will be a wonderful enhancement to the educational activities happening in Mary Church Terrell Main Library upstairs,” Kamitsuka wrote.

Chief Facilities Officer Kevin Brown added that CELA will enhance the education students are already getting in the classroom.

“It takes what you’re learning in your courses and puts it into practice through internships, research, study away experiences, Winter Term, career exploration, and beyond,” he wrote in an email to the Review.

He also provided a progress update on CELA construction. While it has mostly been on track, there have been setbacks.

“The construction is going well,” Brown wrote. “The project timeline has been impacted by the current nationwide supply chain issues. Most of those issues have been addressed, and we are projecting an opening of CELA during the spring term.”

In the meantime, students visiting Mudd Center can continue to expect construction. Those eagerly awaiting the future hub for student success can visit Makovich & Pusti Architects’ website, which has digital projections of how the CELA will look.

Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021

12:34 p.m. Oberlin Student Cooperative Association leadership reported an Oberlin resident dumping trash into the dumpsters by Keep Cottage. Campus Safety officers and the Oberlin Police Department responded and made contact with the resident, who was told not to use the dumpsters. 7:19 p.m. A resident of Kahn Hall reported that the second-floor bathroom door was locked. Officers and a maintenance technician responded and unlocked the door.

Friday, Dec. 3, 2021

6:38 a.m. A student reported the carbon monoxide detector sounding at their Village Housing Unit on West Lorain Street. Officers and Oberlin Fire Department members responded, but detected no carbon monoxide reading and determined that the detector was faulty. A work order was filed for a replacement.

Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021

8:20 a.m. Officers responded to a request for transport of an unwell student to the hospital. An officer transported the student from Barnard House to Mercy Allen Hospital.

Oberlin College Updates

COVID-19 Update

Ella Moxley News Editor

Ohio Updates

Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, the College’s internal testing documented five COVID-19 cases among students. During the same period, the College was also notified of five new COVID-19 cases from outside testing sources.

Earlier this week, the College announced that Lorain County Public Health Department will host a COVID-19 booster clinic at Oberlin College on Dec. 16 from 2–6 p.m. in Hales Gymnasium. Students, faculty, and staff two months past their Johnson & Johnson vaccine or six months past their original series of either Moderna or Pfizer are eligible for a booster. Students who have received their booster shot can reupload their vaccine card to the Student Health Portal, and faculty and staff can upload theirs through a form on Oberview.

“I recommend [a booster] highly because that’s going to increase your safety as well as the safety of your family,” said Campus Health Coordinator Katie Gravens. “Whether it’s [going to be] mandated, I don’t know. A lot of public health officials are saying a booster may become necessary in order to be fully vaccinated. … It’s too early to say.”

As of Dec. 6, 98.8 percent of students, 96.6 percent of faculty, and 90.5 percent of staff are fully vaccinated. Ohio continues to experience a rise in COVID-19 cases. Between Nov. 11 and Dec. 9, the state of Ohio recorded 159,636 new cases and 5,821 hospitalizations. Currently, there are 718.5 cases per 100,000 Ohio residents, up from 601.1 last week and 410.5 a month ago.

A recent surge in COVID-19 cases has left the state’s health infrastructure struggling to keep up with hospitalizations. According to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Northern Ohio is particularly impacted by the increase in cases. On Wednesday, the Cleveland Clinic announced that they would postpone nonessential surgeries due to the spike.

As of Friday morning, the new Omicron variant has yet to be identified in the state. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has increased its sequencing of COVID-19 samples in an effort to monitor the variant’s potential spread in the state. Early reports about the variant suggest that, while it moves quickly, people with three doses of the vaccine might be highly protected.

Currently, 58.53 percent of Ohioans have received their first dose of a vaccine and 53.77 percent of residents have completed the series.