The Oberlin Review and The Grape are the most well-known Oberlin publications. Since 1874 and 1999 respectively, they have been institutions of journalism on campus, with the Review being a straightforward newspaper and The Grape providing alternative student news. During the last few semesters, a new crop of student publications has emerged. These newer publications tend to be more specific, diving into politics or cultural facets like music or fashion. 

One student publication which debuted this semester is The Oberlin Rose, a left-leaning political publication focused on student action and awareness. College fourth-year Dante Fitts, one of the two founders of the publication, said he was inspired to create the Rose after finding it difficult to make a political difference in an organized way. According to Fitts, the Rose seeks to act as a space for learning about political events that affect Oberlin, and taking action in response to them. 

“The purpose of The Oberlin Rose is to create a platform and a space for students to have political discourse and to centralize different organizing that goes on, not only on campus but in town,” Fitts said. “The main goal is to bring all the different resources and effort that are being put into organizing on campus and put it in one place.” 

The Rose is a resource for students seeking information about left-leaning ideology, including its  history, current events, theory, and art. They seek to blend humor, information, and argumentative writing as a way to get students engaged with the publication. College first-year Ghulam Woolman is a writer and editor at the Rose who emphasized the importance of an engaged and organized political publication. 

“Sometimes we’re made to think there’s a choice between competence and ideology, and it’s really nice to be like, ‘No,’” Woolman said. “We’re all very vision-driven.” 

Another new publication, Sassafras, was founded by College second-years Skylar Brunk and Imogen Russell last January. Brunk and Russell were inspired to create Sassafras out of a shared love of fashion and culture and because they saw a need to highlight it on campus. They have published five editions so far, with a sixth coming out later this semester.

“At the time, we wanted to fill a gap where there weren’t really any fashion-related or arts-and-culture-specific magazines,” Brunk said. “If you’re looking for movies to watch or music to listen to, it’s an awesome way that you can find access to that in physical print. … When people do want to look for inspiration, they [typically] go to Pinterest or Letterboxd or search on Google. With our magazines, you can look at a physical thing, and I feel like that’s a huge benefit.” 

The visuals of Sassafras have been consistent since the first edition: the magazine features a 2000s aesthetic with collage layouts and a generally light-hearted mood, as Brunk and Russell want to provide a sense of escapism for their readers. Issue 5 features an interview about goth culture on campus, “Quantum Fashion: My Favorite Physics Topics as My Favorite Outfits,” album reviews, and a “Which of Rory Gilmore’s Boyfriends is Your Soulmate” quiz, among many other articles.

Brunk and Russell explained that, to their delight, many other students have also started highlighting different cultural and social ideas through print media. 

In addition to new publications cropping up, other, smaller publications are seeing a renewed interest. Another culture-centric publication, WOBC Blog, has garnered more attention over the past few semesters. WOBC Blog is a longstanding student publication that focuses solely on music, from album reviews to playlist recommendations. The organization is part of a WOBC-FM radio workgroup and acts as a space for student DJs and anyone else interested to write about music. 

“I think Blog does so many things under the umbrella of music,” College second-year Benjamin Rosielle, co-director of the Blog Workgroup, said. “I want people to be entertained and have fun when reading this.” 

Rosielle said there has been renewed interest in Blog and discussed how the informal nature of the publication makes for a welcoming environment.

“I think we do a good job at making Blog a fun environment for people who come to write for it,” he said. “The workgroup is kind of about hanging out and talking about music, and [that] kind of has … a somewhat broad appeal, because as long as you can write and you like music, you can come write for Blog.”

In addition to The Oberlin Rose, Sassafras, and WOBC Blog, there are many other student publications that have a presence on campus: the up-and-coming lesbian life and culture journal Lattice; the fashion, arts and culture magazine Grimy; the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association’s The Dish, and more. Through these smaller and more niche publications, students can engage with their like-minded peers and learn more about life at Oberlin.