The Oberlin Review does not endorse any candidate in the upcoming Student Senate election.

According to an Aug. 28 email from Student Senate, there are nine of fifteen positions open for the upcoming year. The ballot will be sent to the student body by 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4 and will remain open until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9. 

Jack Brewster
College junior

Throughout my three years at Oberlin, I have not only committed myself to being a diligent student; I have also taken advantage of the many programs and organizations that Oberlin offers. I am a member of the varsity baseball team. I work for PRSM (Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct), a program that educates students and faculty on how to respond to and prevent sexual harassment. I have written for The Oberlin Review’s Sports and News sections. And I have hosted a show on WOBC, Oberlin College’s official radio station.

All of these extracurricular activities have taught me a variety of skills, but most importantly, they have allowed me to learn about and experience Oberlin’s diverse student culture.

As a Student Senator, I will always act in the best interests of the entire student body. For instance, one goal of mine is to make the evaluations of professors more transparent. The assessments that students give teachers should be available to the entire student body, not just the higher ups. I will also work to improve the chemistry of Oberlin’s student body subgroups.

Jesse Docter
College junior

Hello my name is Jesse Docter, I am a third year Politics major. This last year I have worked to increase the representation of students in Oberlin’s governance structures, and I am asking to be reelected so that I can continue this work. Last year I worked to create a coalition of students and faculty who voiced concerns about the Strategic Plan, leading to more concrete language about diversity, and the guarantee of an implementation process that included students. Last semester I was selected to sit on the Strategic Plan’s implementation committee. There I successfully negotiated for extra students on three of the five subcommittees, and am working to seat extra students on the remaining two. This coming semester I will continue to fight for greater student influence in Oberlin’s governance. Having student representation on the Board of Trustees would allow our voices to be heard as the trustees make the biggest decisions concerning Oberlin’s future. If reelected to Senate this would be my priority. Oberlin students deserve a greater say in the decision-making of the College, and if reelected to Senate, I will work as hard as I can to make sure your voices are heard.

Kameron Dunbar
College sophomore

Hey! I’m Kameron, and I’m excited to be running for Senate to represent the interests of all students, especially those who want Oberlin to be the place they imagined it was when they applied. As there are no other Black men on Senate, I feel as though I have an opportunity to bring a unique perspective to Senate. I won’t list a bunch of empty promises, but I will promise that if elected, I will be an advocate for students to the administration, faculty, staff and entire Oberlin community.

If you have any questions about me, my plans, goals or interests please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Also, Tenders and Mac night has been changed to Wednesday and this is an abomination — I will fix it.

Brendan Eprile
College senior

Endorsed by the Obertones

My name is Brendan Eprile (he, him pronouns) and I’m a senior Politics major and Anthropology minor from Vermont. This past summer I worked in the United States Senate interning for Senator Bernie Sanders and I can use my experience to help Oberlin’s Student Senate. At Oberlin, I am president of the Obertones (Oberlin’s all-male a capella group), I have worked for admissions, worked as an RA, co-taught a songwriting ExCo, and founded a grassroots organization for the Bernie Sanders campaign last year. Accessibility is an issue that I think needs to be addressed on this campus. As a member of Student Senate, I will work with Student Health on trying to be more accessible to students’ needs, work with admissions on diversity and inclusion, work to increase events and resources for LGBT identifying students, and work on making the Conservatory more accessible to students in the College of Arts and Sciences. I hope I can help foster a comfortable atmosphere between students and administration where everyone feels their voices are heard and respected. I would love to have the opportunity to give back to this community.

Benjamin Jennings
College junior

As a Student Senator, I would look to collaborate with members of the student body in the creation of a more inclusive and accessible forum, for learning about what kinds of student-sponsored events are going on around campus. The Oberlin College website only informs students of school-sponsored events, leaving word of mouth, Facebook, and posters as the remaining means for learning about student-run events. The poster system is archaic and relatively ineffective, and you have to be operating within particular social circles if you’re going to find out about events through Facebook or word of mouth. Oberlin has a lot to offer, and the creation of an easy-to-use and accessible online forum would ensure that more people within our community get to participate in a more wholesome experience.

Joshua Koller
College junior

Friends I know, and friends I look forward to making, I would like to humbly ask you for your vote in this semester’s Student Senate election. I am a third-year Africana Studies and Law & Society student (he, him, his) and if elected, would be serving my second term representing the students of Oberlin College and Conservatory. During my last term I served as Student Finance Committee Co-Chair, and co-chaired a working group striving to establish a Legal Aid Fund to support Oberlin students. While I am extremely proud of this work, and hope to continue doing it, I am most proud of the efforts Student Senate made last year to work towards openness, accessibility, and making sure all students are heard. I believe Student Senate has made strides toward becoming a body that listens and responds to student needs, and I want to continue to be part of a group that advocates for, listens to, and represents Oberlin students.

Koryn Kraemer
College sophomore

Hey. I’m Koryn. I study English, play soccer and eat avocados. Given my limited number of obligations, I have a lot of free time to sit and think. Recently, I’ve been thinking on my first year at this school. Though I learned a lot, and appreciate the College as it currently exists, I have decided that things could be better. This is why I run.

Here are some questions I have been asking myself.

Why not take more classes? I mean we pay lots of money for the “recommended” four classes. But, is that sufficiently quenching the collective thirst for knowledge? Students should be encouraged to take five courses, even six if they prefer to and can handle the workload. We’re here to learn.

Why do you have to buy 10 meals a week if you live in a dorm? What if you don’t like CDS? Kim’s? Yes.

Why don’t we engage with the Oberlin community in large numbers? I believe the College could be more directly connected with the surrounding society, creating mutually beneficial program that are readily available to the entire student body.

Please consider my concerns. Thank you all.

Duncan Reid
College first-year

First things first, I don’t believe in catchy slogans or promising the impossible. I believe in sound policy that makes everyone feel equal, and that leaves no one behind. That’s why I’m running for Student Senate, so that your voices can be heard.

As your Senator I would seek to keep Oberlin on the progressive edge of higher learning, whether that be in expanding access to student health, fostering allyship with the MRC, or implementing new environmental programs on campus.

As your Senator I would also seek to broaden transparency between the Senate and student body by creating an updated Senate website and by keeping it updated. Simply, students deserve to know how their money is spent.

But perhaps most importantly I would seek to act as a bridge between students and the administration. As senator, I would bring student’s concerns word for word to the senate floor because I for one believe that $60,000/year should at least give you a voice at the table.

Thank you and please vote for me, Duncan Reid, for Student Senate.

You can visit my Facebook page for more information at facebook.com/reid4studentsenate

Elijah Aladin
College sophomore

Ramsha Babar
College sophomore

Matthew Kornberg
College junior

Jizel Maddouri
College sophomore

Kirsten Mojziszek
College sophomore

Laila Telles
College first-year