Walter Thomas-Patterson, Senior Staff Writer

January 14, 2022

On Dec. 23, President Carmen Twillie Ambar announced the cancellation of College-sponsored Winter Term projects with group air or road trips greater than four hours. International travel for individual Winter Term projects will only be permitted if the student is a citizen, permanent resident, or national of the country they are visiting. The decision comes amid a global resurgence in COVID-19 cases and will impact 151 students.  The International Risk Committee and the Office of Winter Term...

Gigi Ewing, Managing Editor

January 14, 2022

As students return from winter break, the College continues to administer COVID-19 testing and care for students in isolation. With 176 students, faculty, and staff testing positive for COVID-19 since campus reopened on Jan. 2, the Office of the Dean of Students, in collaboration with AVI Foodsystems, coordinated a volunteer meal delivery program, but problems with food delivery and testing delays still remain.  The critical days of the program were from Jan. 4–8, when a large number of students...

Eric Schank, Production Editor & Senior Staff Writer

January 14, 2022

After six and a half years at Oberlin College, Professor of Environmental Studies Karl Offen has accepted a position at Syracuse University. Despite serving as chair of the Environmental Studies department from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, Professor Offen never received a full-time appointment at the College. Professor Offen’s wife, Environmental Studies Professor Chie Sakakibara, will also be taking a position at Syracuse. As of Jan. 1, both are full-time professors at Syracuse and will begin...

Nikki Keating, Staff Writer

January 14, 2022

The United States Postal Service plans to release the 45th stamp in the USPS Black Heritage Series on Jan. 26,  honoring former Oberlin College student and sculptor Edmonia Lewis. Lewis was an Oberlin student from 1859–1863, when she left after facing extensive racial abuse. Lewis went on to pursue a successful career as a sculptor, producing works that often featured Afro-Indigenous subjects in Neoclassical style, along with notable pieces such as The Death of Cleopatra.  Being featured on...

Ella Moxley, Gigi Ewing, Anisa Curry Vietze, and Eric Schank

January 7, 2022

After a semester with minimal COVID-19 cases on campus, on Dec. 20, 50 students tested positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours. This moment marked the beginning of the only significant uptick of the virus that Oberlin has seen over the course of the entire pandemic. In the final week leading up to winter break, a total of 158 students, faculty, and staff tested positive for COVID-19. Here, we break down the College’s decisions leading up to Dec. 20, changing health care guidance, and reaction to the...

Kathleen Kelleher, Production Editor

January 7, 2022

At the start of winter break, 150 students remained on Oberlin’s campus in isolation for COVID-19, prompting a campus-wide effort to care for the sick students. In response to the spike in cases, AVI Foodsystems rapidly developed a meal delivery service for the break, and administrators worked to provide support to students. However, many students felt that the services did not meet their needs. Due to the suddenness of the outbreak, AVI had to quickly change its priorities and determine the...

Lauren Krainess, Staff Writer

January 7, 2022

Over the last few weeks, Oberlin City government, businesses, and schools have worked to adapt to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant. Last week, the City of Oberlin closed all of its facilities, except for the Oberlin Police Department, to the public and limited certain in-person City services to an appointment-only basis. Local businesses and Oberlin City Schools have faced minimal disruption by the recent wave but are bracing for future challenges.   Since early...

Kush Bulmer, News Editor

December 17, 2021

Gloria Jean Watkins, the renowned author, feminist theorist, and cultural critic known to most as bell hooks, passed away on Wednesday from end-stage renal failure at the age of 69. hooks taught at Oberlin College as an associate professor of English from 1988–94, as well as at many other higher educational institutions including Yale University, the City College of New York, and Berea College. Before her death at her home in Berea, KY, she founded the bell hooks Institute and taught as the distinguished...

Eric Schank, Production Editor & Senior Staff Writer

December 17, 2021

City Council President Linda Slocum has served Oberlin’s community as a member of City Council since 2016. Slocum chose not to run for reelection this fall. After working for 17 years as the Gifts Librarian and the Managing Editor of Oberlin College Press, Slocum retired from the College in 2012. A small reception will be held on Dec. 20 to celebrate Slocum and fellow outgoing Councilmember Mary Price. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Can you tell me a little bit about...