Ananya Gupta, Managing Editor

February 15, 2019

I must be the only 20-year-old who, when presented with the opportunity to travel to Goa, the party state of India, decided to spend it all several meters under water. Under the tutelage of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, I underwent rigorous training and testing over the span of a week to become a certified Open Water Diver. I am now qualified to dive up to a depth of 18 meters (60 feet) when accompanied by a dive buddy or dive professional anywhere in the world. While scuba diving had already been on my bucket list — courtesy of elitist...

Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor

February 8, 2019

At the State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump asserted a harsh anti-abortion stance. This comes after several weeks without mention of abortion policies from the Trump administration; of the past four addresses to Congress, the State of the Union address was the first time Trump has even mentioned abortion to members of Congress. Many have been quick to assert that the reason Trump commented on abortion at all was to attempt to fire up his religious base for his upcoming re-election campaign. However, I would argue that it is highly significant...

Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor

December 7, 2018

During this time of financial crisis at Oberlin, students understandably feel an urgent need to defend their interests against potential budget cuts. Everyone wants to save programs from being cut, and everyone has programs and classes they want to be added to the Oberlin experience. A frequent complaint from Oberlin students is about the lack of diverse foreign language options. Problems cited include a drastically underfunded Arabic language program and a lack of any African language or Hindi language programs. Overall, I agree with the general arguments in favor...

Kameron Dunbar, Columnist

November 30, 2018

The first time I realized I was voluntouring, my group had just left a monastery and orphanage in Yangon, Myanmar, after spending about an hour surveying the grounds. Just before we left, we bestowed “ceremonial gifts” of pencils and school supplies through a dramatized exchange that was perfectly staged for the iPhone videos fellow Americans took. We left feeling good about ourselves, but the kids there barely benefited at all. This type of travel experience is not uncommon, and the issues noted here are not unique. The story of the Christian missionary who recently...

Ilana Foggle, Columnist

November 30, 2018

The time has come for politicians all over the country to decide whether or not they will be running for president in 2020. The process is starting now, before candidates officially declare their candidacy, so they can put together presidential exploratory committees, build campaign teams, and start hitting the campaign trail. People like Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, have already begun the process of declaring their candidacy. However, there is one person who is missing...

Ananya Gupta, Managing Editor

November 16, 2018

Despite the availability of an annual Winter Term project, two Shansi opportunities for graduates, and two study abroad programs in India, the languages of Hindi and Urdu are left out of the Oberlin academic scene. Over half a billion people speak Hindi globally, second only to Mandarin Chinese. While this number is largely concentrated within the Indian subcontinent, it is also spoken in countries such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Nepal, and among immigrants in the U.S., U.K., and Australia — to name only a few. This figure...

March 15, 2019

Arabic Studies Committee, the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program, and other language programs have read the statements of Acting Dean David Kamitsuka published in the Review last week (“Arabic Courses to Be Offered Digitally,” March 8, 2019). This letter responds to those statements. Additionally, it responds to other written correspondence between the Dean’s Office and faculty and students that occurred outside the above-mentioned article. 1. The acting dean stated that Arabic “enrollment levels have not been sustainable … in the last eight...

March 15, 2019

On Feb. 22, the Review published an article announcing that the Arabic teaching assistant position would be cut next year (“French and Arabic Teaching Assistant Programs Reduced”). This was quickly followed up with another article explaining that due to concerns over its long-term sustainability, Oberlin’s Arabic program would be cut and replaced with an online Shared Language Program (“Arabic Courses to Be Offered Digitally,” The Oberlin Review, March 8, 2019). As first-year Arabic language students, this decision saddens us. We strongly believe that this...

Jody Shanabrook, College Junior, Johnnie Kallas, and Erin Loschetter

March 1, 2019

In his 42 years as a student or staff member at Oberlin, former associate director of the Student Union Tom Reid, OC ’80, touched the lives of thousands of students and community members through his leadership at College Lanes, the Cat in the Cream, and the Wilder Hall Student Union Office. As current students, alumni, and members of the community, we are writing to voice our continued frustration with Oberlin College’s decision to eliminate Tom’s position. In September, we sent a petition to President Ambar calling for his reinstatement. The petition collected...

Donn Ginoza, OC ’74, Member, Alumni Leadership Council

March 1, 2019

If you are an administrator at a liberal arts college, the news is mostly ominous and foreboding. Colleges that are highly dependent on tuition revenue and possess small endowments are reducing their faculty to cut costs, and in some cases even closing. In the 1960s and 1970s, my parents had but a fraction of my current income and were able to put both my sister and me through Oberlin with no loans to repay after graduation. My parents were also the offspring of immigrants from Asia. I experienced the subtle pressure to seek out a “safe” career path guaranteed...

Jordan Krystowski, Sodexo Food Service Director

February 22, 2019

To the Editors: While healthy eating can be a challenge for kids and parents, elementary school students in Oberlin City Schools will use their creativity and culinary skills March 20 to make healthy Mexican-inspired recipes in the 2019 Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge. The national initiative, now in its ninth year, was created to get students thinking about healthy food choices while also encouraging them to be active and creative in the kitchen. Oberlin students are joining over 2,700 other students representing more than 1,400 Sodexo-served school sites in 30 states. Twenty-five...

Margie L. Flood, Executive Direction, OCS

February 15, 2019

To the Editors: What a joyous, beautiful event was the Empty Mugs Holiday Brass and Organ Spectacular, held at the First Church in Oberlin last Friday, Feb. 8! Thank you to the hundreds of people who attended, and thank you to all of the many, many people, organizations, and businesses who donated time, talent, and resources — it couldn’t have happened without you! Although I cannot possibly name everyone to whom I owe gratitude, I extend a special thanks to Artistic Director Evelyn Proffit, Volunteer Coordinator Michele Andrews, the Oberlin Pottery Co-op (led...