Old Barrows, Brown Bag Co ops to Remain Closed

Gigi Ewing Managing Editor

Due to low enrollment numbers, Old Barrows housing co-op and Brown Bag dining co-op will remain under the College’s control next academic year — the third year in a row that neither co-op will be in operation through the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. The announcement of these prolonged closures comes as the nonprofit navigates its first year under the new rent contract finalized with the College in December 2020 and after all co-ops were shut down and operated by the College for the duration of the 2020–2021 academic year.

All co-op housing and dining spaces were operated by the College between March 2020 and October 2021, which prompted concerns among OSCAns that the College would not allow the nonprofit to continue its normal operations. However, OSCA reopened under a newlynegotiated rent contract at the start of last fall. Notably, Fairchild housing and dining co-ops both permanently closed under the new contract, and their facilities were transferred back to the College. Residential Education now controls Fairchild House, while Clarity operates out of the building’s industrial kitchen. Kosher Halal Co-op similarly closed its doors in spring 2021 and is now home to Heritage.

The new rent contract provides that OSCA may operate co-op spaces only if it meets an enrollment threshold — if not, the College has the prerogative to use OSCA facilities for ResEd and AVI Foodsystems. As a result of this change in the contract, Old Barrows and Brown Bag co-op have not been run by OSCA this academic year.

According to double-degree third-year Katie Galt, allOSCA membership secretary, the continued closures of Old Barrows and Brown Bag co-op were due to the overall under-enrollment of OSCA rather than a lack of interest in the two specific co-ops.

“It’s unfortunate because there actually was enough interest in Old Barrows and Brown Bag co-op to have been able to open those co-ops, but we didn’t have enough total numbers,” Galt said. “We need to be able to fill [Harkness], Keep, Pyle, [Third World Co-op], [and Third World Social Justice Co-op] before we could open Old Barrows or BBC — or close one of those five. ... The way our rent is calculated changed because of this new contract. Now we pay per student, instead of by building. If we can’t fill the building, we can’t afford it.”

Galt outlined how the new rent contract has posed a number of challenges for OSCA — in addition to the underlying difficulties emerging from the institution’s two-year closure due to COVID-19.

“Our rates are calculated based off Oberlin College’s prices, which removes the level of autonomy that we have over how we can determine our prices,” Galt said.

Galt also said that vague language in the new rent contract adds further financial strain on the institution and enables the College to profit off of students’ decisions to leave OSCA midway through the semester.

“The lease is a bit vague, or unhelpful, in terms of what to do when students go abroad,” Galt said. “Right now it kind of seems like OSCA is expected to just absorb the cost of a student going abroad. We can’t fill their housing spot [because] we can’t let people join OSCA midyear ... which creates pretty big problems for us in terms of retention and keeping our membership numbers up because people can still leave OSCA ... then the College makes double money on that person because we ... buy a dining exemption for them to be in OSCA. When they leave OSCA, they also pay [Campus Dining Services].”

In addition to these logistical details, College firstyear Abigail Nordan pointed out a continuing trend in the increase of OSCA’s cost. According to Nordan, while participating in co-ops was previously a means for lowincome students to attend Oberlin, the price has risen to the extent that joining OSCA is now a burden on lowincome students.

“Originally intended to make Oberlin more accessible to low-income students, OSCA membership used to cost approximately half as much as CDS membership,” Nordan wrote in an email to the Review. “Now, Oberlin’s administration reduces grant money awarded to prospective OSCAns dollar for dollar according to the price difference, making the financial incentive to join coops obsolete. In addition to this, the administration also lowers need-based financial aid to prospective OSCAns, as if there was still significant money to be saved by opting out of CDS.”

Nordan also highlighted that the dwindling institutional memory within OSCA, compounded by the financial challenges the new rent contract poses for low-income students, threaten the core of OSCA as an institution.

“OSCA suffers more than ever in the wake of COVID, as those who remember how OSCA operated before the pandemic shut-down have mostly graduated,” Nordan wrote. “By next year, we will be able to count those students on our fingers. Without institutional memory of how our kitchens are meant to be operated and cleaned, we risk failing inspections and getting shut down.”

The next opportunity for OSCA to renegotiate its rent contract with the College will take place in 2025.

Board of Trustees Reject Compensation Demands, Faculty Protest

Continued from page 1 year-round, had to adapt their teaching due to the pandemic, and supported students struggling with their own issues.”

The continuing lack of compensation increases has resulted in concerns around faculty retention. Last year’s faculty motion mentioned that the long-term survivability of the College would remain uncertain if Oberlin is unable to hire and retain the best teaching staff. According to President Ambar though, the data on faculty departures in the past four years reflects the expected employee turnover for that time period.

“I think it’s important to say — and this may feel like it’s being dismissive, I’m not — that when you look at both retirements and departures, the numbers have not changed over the last four or five years in terms of the typical numbers that happen over those time periods,” President Ambar said. “So when you look at those numbers, there’s not a dramatic shift in the number of people who are retiring early or who are departing the institution.”

The Impact of Compensation on Oberlin’s Budget

The faculty motion called for a recommitment to a September 2013 Board resolution to raise compensation to the median of the ‘Sweet 16’ group of peer liberal arts colleges. However in 2019, the One Oberlin report identified total employee compensation — which includes more than just faculty — as accounting for more than 60 percent of the operating budget. Although that same report highlights the fact that on average Arts and Sciences faculty and senior staff salaries fall far below those of the College’s peer institutions, the Board decided to cut faculty compensation benefits in order to meet its budgetary goals.

Canavan emphasized the heavy budgetary commitment of faculty compensation and the need to create a framework for long term stability in compensation.

“[Faculty compensation] is the most important financial commitment the institution makes, it’s the largest; it is also a commitment that you make for the long term,” Canavan said. “We also know that for faculty, compensation is the source of financial stability for them and for their families. And so we need to be sure that when we make a commitment like that, it is stable, resilient, and sustainable.”

The Road Forward

The Board’s letter also recognized the work done by faculty over the past two years and the importance of competitive compensation with peer institutions. In an effort to collaboratively address the situation, the Board has asked the administration to undertake a long-term compensation review. The Board will also begin considering ways to acknowledge the pandemic’s impact on faculty during its meetings this July and next January. President Ambar emphasized that the work to be done, while collaborative, must keep in mind a sustainable, cost-efficient solution through which the College can follow through on its promises.

For some faculty members, dipping into the endowment is a readily available and straightforward way to improve compensation. The Board argues that because of the endowment’s inherent dependence on market forces, an overdependence on the fund would result in an increasingly volatile rate of faculty pay. This, however, is an insufficient argument for Oberlin’s teaching staff.

“As one of my colleagues has argued, the board does tie faculty salaries to endowment performance in bad years when they don’t give us raises,” McMillin wrote. “But when the endowment is doing well, they say they can’t tie the two.”

Professor of Mathematics Jeffrey Witmer has already written a motion that will be introduced during next Wednesday’s General Faculty meeting. The motion stresses the importance of faculty and staff and the dangers in their becoming demoralized, emphasizing that investment in employees is an investment in Oberlin’s future. While efforts are made to use faculty governance platforms to address the situation, Alexis wants to keep the momentum of this first protest going, and asks that students and faculty continue their activism in support of this cause.

“So what I’m hoping for next steps, I was like, ‘who got neck in this game?’” Alexis said. “It has to be a weekly thing, at least until the board responds to us favorably. It’s like, how can we keep this momentum going? Because to see so many of us — student workers [too] — were treated that way. ... I know what’s gonna come from the students, but I really also want fellow faculty members who are protected, tenured, full professors: what are they doing across all identities?”

The Oberlin review

March 11, 2022 Volume 151, Number 14 (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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Students Plan Protest, Fundraiser

Isaac Imas Production Editor

This Sunday at noon, students will hold a peaceful protest in Wilder Bowl in support of Ukrainian armed forces, state actors, and civilians resisting the Russian invasion. The upcoming protest is just one aspect of Oberlin students’ organizing efforts to aid Ukraine, which also include a series of fundraisers to support nonprofit organizations providing aid on the ground.

The invasion of Ukraine began Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine, with Russia subsequently launching ground and air strikes against major Ukrainian cities. Since then, the invasion has spiraled into a severe humanitarian crisis with flagrant Russian violations of international law and hundreds of civilian casualties.

Money raised from the student-organized fundraisers will primarily go to Razom, a U.S.-based nonprofit that coordinates with peer organizations to distribute humanitarian aid. Student organizers will also donate funds they raise to Ukraine’s branch of the Red Cross, the Ukrainian armed forces, and Come Back Alive, an organization providing military personnel with training, supplies, and psychological support. Due to Ukraine’s current inaccessibility, organizations like these are currently distributing aid to Ukraine through hubs set up in bordering EU countries.

College third-year and Moldovan international student Andreea Procopan has taken on a large role in the organizing. She described how the Moldovan finance ministry is organizing distribution of aid to Ukrainian refugees.

“The finance ministry of Moldova set up an account where the funds go directly to Ukrainians coming in, and they’re actually giving debit cards to refugees,” she said. “Also, people [are] just showing up on the border offering hot meals and to transport people to wherever they need.”

Diana Tymochko, a College first-year who is also involved in campus organizing to aid Ukraine, explained what supply distribution looks like on the ground.

“My brother is staying with Polish Ukrainians who are volunteering in Poland right now, so they are buying stuff, they are shipping it to the border, then Ukrainian people are grabbing it at the border,” Tymochko said. “My neighbor in Ukraine, he is driving stuff to Kyiv as well, so our building and other people who know what’s happening, they just bring stuff, as much as they can — food, medicine, clothing — and then they all drive it to places where it’s relatively safe to drive, ’cause right now there’s a risk of getting shot in the car.”

Last week, over 250 students attended the Russian and East European Studies teach-in on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Procopan noted how Oberlin students can continue to show concern for Ukraine despite their distance from the invasion.

“There was a good momentum at the teach-in, with people coming in, so it would be great to keep that type of interest and momentum going,” Procopan said. “And, just in terms of emphasis, if half of the student population donated $10, which is some people’s weekly Slow Train budget, we would already be hitting more than our initial goal.”

Tymochko also underscored the importance of supporting organizations like Razom which can directly donate goods rather than just money.

“In Ukraine, in a lot of stores, there isn’t stuff to buy anymore,” she said. “Even in Poland, I saw this volunteer [and] she says that even in Poland there are many stores where you can’t buy the needed medicine right now — the painkillers, mostly, and medicine for injuries.”

Fundraising efforts will continue into next week with a bake sale on the first floor of Mudd Center on Monday starting at 10 a.m. The sale is supported by Blue Rooster Bakehouse, and there will be a sliding scale for purchasing baked goods. Students can also donate through @OC_Ukraine on Venmo.

Zeno, Oni, Evans Fill Newly Created Positions

Continued from page 1 to live up to some of those expectations that they might have.”

Zeno also placed an emphasis on considering student input when planning renovations of campus housing. He stressed that he wants to preserve dorms’ cultures, traditions, and valued spaces in the process of finding ways that the College can renovate dorms to better meet students’ needs.

“I don’t want to lose the charm or the tradition. I’m a big fan when it comes to tradition,” he said. “I think traditions define who we are as a community.”

When asked about what drew him to his new position, Oni said that he wanted a role where he could combine his prior work experience in health care with his educational experiences and interests.

“When I saw the job description, I was like, ‘This is what I’m looking for,’ and I prayed I would get it,” he said. “When eventually I got the job offer, it was one of the best days of my life.”

Evans said that in his previous position at Case Western, he worked with and developed relationships with Oberlin students and administrators. So, when approached about the role for director of entrepreneurship, Evans already had some familiarity with Oberlin.

“Entrepreneurship programming is emphasizing creativity, leadership, excellence, innovation, perseverance — all those things that entrepreneurs have — and it’s critical, not just in the business world,” he said.

Evans also said he plans on implementing experiential learning opportunities, courses, workshops, guest lecturers, internships, fellowships, support for launching businesses, and networking opportunities. He mentioned that he would like to reincorporate the Conservatory into the LaunchU program.

All three new staff members said that they look forward to meeting and working with Oberlin students to make their College experience better.

“The past two weeks I’ve spent on campus with students reminds me of my own growing up as a student and the support I received from faculty and staff on campus,” Oni said. “I’m hoping to bring that same kind of support to student learning and experience on campus.”

Thursday, March 3, 2022

12:30 p.m. A student reported that their laptop was taken from the printer area in Mudd Center. The laptop was found and turned in to staff, who returned it to the owner.

Friday, March 4, 2022

11:09 a.m. A student reported the theft of their backpack while studying on the second floor of the Science Center. The backpack is black and green and contains a charging brick and cable, laptop battery, laptop charging cable, journals, and a prescription bottle. The area was checked by Campus Safety officers, but they did not find the backpack. 2:40 p.m. A student reported the theft of their unlocked bicycle from the bike rack on the north side of Peters Hall between 9 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. The bicycle is a Trek Domane AL 3 racing bike with drop handlebars. It is gray with blue and white trim and valued at approximately $1,500. A short time later, the student reported that they located their bike on the south side of the Science Center. 2:45 p.m. Staff at Wilder Hall reported the theft of a 60-inch Sharp LED television from a room on the first floor. The TV was last seen in the room Feb. 28. 5:55 p.m. A student reported the theft of their unlocked bicycle at around 12 p.m. from the bike rack on the north side of Asia House. The bicycle is a silver Trek Marlin 5 with blue headlights and is valued at approximately $400.

Saturday, March 5, 2022

8:54 p.m. A resident of Lord House reported the smell of smoke on the first floor of the building. Officers responded and upon entry to the building they detected smoke in the hallway. Two students admitted to smoking marijuana. The smoke detector was checked and found to be operating normally. 11:17 p.m. Officers responded to a request for assistance for a student who was ill from drug use. The officers spoke with the student who reported that they consumed two marijuana gummies and began vomiting. The officers offered transport to Mercy Allen Hospital but the student declined and stated that they were fine to stay in their room.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

4:56 p.m. A parent of a student reported that the catalytic converter was stolen from the student’s vehicle while parked in the Woodland Street lot. They also reported the theft to the Oberlin Police Department.

Monday, March 7, 2022

6:11 p.m. An officer on routine patrol observed three juveniles attempting to enter Bosworth Hall at the northwest handicap entrance. The officer approached the juveniles who stated that they were looking for an unlocked door. The officer warned the juveniles of their actions. The same juveniles were observed a short time later attempting to open a door at the basement level. The juveniles left the area and the Oberlin Police Department was advised of the incident. 6:27 p.m. An officer on routine patrol observed five laptops, five bookbags, and various other items left unattended in a second floor lounge in the Science Center.

SAFETY TIP: Never leave personal property unattended. Items such as bookbags, laptops, purses, wallets, and other items are easily taken within seconds.