The Oberlin Review

College UAW workers gathered on Aug. 15 for a socially distanced parade to say goodbye to outsourced colleagues.

Alumni Fund Seeks Just Transition for Outsourced Workers

September 18, 2020

The 1833 Just Transition Fund has raised almost $150,000 in pledges to support the United Auto Workers union members who lost their jobs last spring when the College outsourced 108 custodial and dining services workers. The fund will mostly be distributed to about 44 former UAW custodians who have not found jobs that offer comparable compensation. The fund was initially created by alumni last spring in response to the College’s announcement and to student activism in support of the UAW members. It...

Former Professor Files Lawsuit Against The College for Discriminatory Hiring

Katherine MacPhail and Anisa Curry Vietze

September 18, 2020

A former Oberlin dance professor filed a lawsuit against the College on Sept. 3 alleging discrimination in hiring for being a straight, white, married woman from the Midwest, as well as workplace retaliation. The College has not yet responded to these allegations. Former Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Alice Blumenfeld worked at Oberlin from 2018–2020. In the summer of 2019, Blumenfeld learned that the College planned to terminate her position and instate a tenure-track position in its stead. Blumenfeld was one of four candidates considered for this role and was not hired. “While Ms. Blumenfeld was more qualified for the tenure-track position than the individual Oberlin hired, she failed to meet the id...

The Conservatory recently announced new initiatives to increase diversity and equity within the music curriculum, repertoire, and Conservatory community.

Conservatory Announces New Goals to Increase Racial Equity and Belonging

September 18, 2020

Oberlin Conservatory faculty released an action plan last week for increasing the diversity and equity of Oberlin’s music education as part of the Presidential Initiative. Over the past several months, Conservatory faculty and staff have worked with student and alumni leaders to develop the commitments that will begin this semester. “I want to offer my personal thanks to the student and alumni leaders — in particular members of the Oberlin College Black Musicians Guild — and to the Conservatory fac...

Twine App to Connect Students with Campus Clubs, Events

September 16, 2020

Twine, a student-developed social app designed to increase community and student connection, is scheduled to launch this month. The app was initially envisioned prior to the spread of COVID-19, and now its founders hope that Twine will help mitigate social isolation brought on by the pandemic. Twine won first place at the 2020 LaunchU pitch competition in March, awarding its team of four Oberlin students $15,000 in funding. The personalized mobile app provides a service that connects students ...

Aiden Day passed away Aug. 29, 2020. He is survived by his sister, College third-year Aniella Day, and their parents Christian Day and Dr. Carmel Schettino.

In Memory of Aiden Day, College Fourth-Year

September 16, 2020

The staff of The Oberlin Review extends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of College fourth-year Aiden Day, who died Aug. 29, 2020, at the age of 22. At Oberlin, Day was a Politics and Hispanic Studies double major and a beloved member of the men’s lacrosse team. He was deeply passionate about social justice and standing up against prejudice within the athletics community. As a Politics major, Day was interested in envisioning how the U.S. government could be improved and ...

Students from The Peer Advising Leadership cohort Poplar Tree have an informal socially distanced gathering in Tappan Square during the first week of classes.

PAL Program Prepares Students for a Socially-Distanced College Experience

September 11, 2020

This semester, the Peer Advising Leaders program has expanded in both length and content to address the strains that incoming first-year students face under COVID-19. The PAL program began in 2017 and has constantly evolved since then. This semester, the PAL program’s goal of teaching students to optimize their college experience hasn’t shifted, though its methods of achieving this goal have changed significantly. “PAL programming this year expanded in a number of ways,” wrote Executive Dire...

16 Students Asked to Leave Campus For Breaking COVID-19 Community Agreement

September 11, 2020

Sixteen students who were found in violation of the COVID-19 safety practices in the College’s Community Agreement have been asked to leave campus and complete the remainder of the semester remotely. Before returning to campus this fall, all students were required to read and sign a Community Agreement as a part of the College’s ObieSafe guidelines for COVID-19 safety, which stated — among other protocols — that students must remain masked at all times outside of their private bedrooms. ...

Student walk past Student Health and Counseling Center. All Counseling Center appointments are taking place over Zoom as a COVID-19 precaution.

Mental Health Resources Complicated by COVID

September 11, 2020

Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of mental illness. Some are concerned that the stress and isolation created by COVID-19 could have broad negative effects on students’ mental health. There is a particular concern that third-years and other off-campus students have decreased access to the College’s preexisting resources. Several organizations around campus are working to mitigate this. “I think that everyone right now is definitely worried in general, just because of the c...

Meet the Student Senate Candidates!

September 10, 2020

In collaboration with Student Senate, the Review has created a video to help you get to know some of the candidates' personalities, platforms, and favorite spaces on campus. Once you've watched, and decided on who to vote for, submit your ballot through this form with your Oberlin email address. CORRECTION: an earlier version of this video mistakenly did not include the submission of Reginald Goudeau....

Student-Led COMA Fund Provides Support for Obies in Need

September 9, 2020

The Coronavirus Oberlin Mutual Aid Fund, a student-led initiative to assist low-income and first-generation Obies during the pandemic, has raised $45,000 of its $60,000 goal. In the two months since its inception this June, the project has seen an outpouring of community support. COMA will supplement the College’s various emergency funds, offering flexible funding to students who have exhausted other options. “As a community of Oberlin students, we need to do everything we can to ensure that ou...

A socially-distanced parade lined up on Aug. 15 to say goodbye to all workers who were laid off due to outsourcing of custodial and dining services.

College and UAW Reach Severance Agreement, UAW Drops Labor Charge

September 4, 2020

After negotiating the post-employment terms for outsourcing 108 dining and custodial employees, the College and the United Auto Workers union have settled on a transition agreement that includes three months severance pay and one year of health insurance. Additionally, the UAW has dropped the charge it brought to the National Labor Relations Board on July 3, which accused the College of negotiating in bad faith. The effects bargaining process officially ended Aug. 3. In addition to the health ...

Fall semester students can visit the Williams Field House to search for their belongings among unmarked boxes. Many items have yet to find their homes following student's abrupt departure from campus last March due to the spread of COVID-19.

College Works to Return Lost Items to Students

September 4, 2020

Some students who left boxes of personal items in their rooms during the rushed move-out last spring returned to campus to find that many of their belongings were missing, misplaced, or damaged. During the next two to three weeks, staff members hope to reunite students with their items, but some students are frustrated with the wait. According to Assistant Dean of Business and Operations Jessica Bayer-Crissman, staff members across campus are working to rectify this issue. The process includes ...