Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor

May 3, 2019

 In light of the Academic and Administrative Program Review and financial stress at Oberlin College, there has been a lot of student concern surrounding physical accessibility. We know that there will be absolutely necessary cuts in order to secure the financial longevity of the institution. However, one thing that cannot be sacrificed is accessibility for disabled students.  The resources for disabled students are already slim. Despite the genuine effort, care, and concern that Disability Resources staff provides, the department is drastically under-resourced....

Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor

April 26, 2019

 When I visited Oberlin as a junior in high school, I was intrigued by the College’s honors program. Though the speaker did not go into detail about what the program entailed, it sounded exactly like the sort of thing I would be interested in doing, as well as something that might seem impressive to future post-graduate programs or employers.  However, after attending two Senior Symposiums during my first and second years as a student, I realize the honors program at Oberlin is much more than I originally thought. It is more than just an opportunity for students...

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

April 12, 2019

 At a recent Republican Party fundraiser, President Donald Trump made headlines for yet another bizarre, unprompted statement, remarking that the noise from wind turbines has the potential to cause cancer. As many scientists, journalists, and politicians on both sides of the aisle immediately pointed out, there is no evidence to corroborate this claim. Several Democratic presidential candidates chimed in, mocking Trump’s ignorance. Iowa’s senators, both of whom are Republican, weighed in against the president, as representatives of a state significantly invested...

Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor

April 12, 2019

 The infamous “heartbeat bill” passed the Ohio state legislature this Wednesday, and after several years of emotional debates, numerous vetoes, and amendments to the bill, Governor Mike DeWine officially signed the bill on Thursday night. The passage of this bill effectively hinders every woman’s ability to get an abortion in the state of Ohio.  Ohio now has the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The bill bans abortion after six weeks into a pregnancy and makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Furthermore, doctors who do not test for...

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...

Tracy Tucker, OCOPE Local 502 Administrative Assistant, Departments of Politics and Latin American Studies

May 10, 2019

UAW Local 2192 elections will be held Thursday, May 16. As a union member, I am writing to urge my UAW brothers and sisters to vote for Buffy Lukachko as your bargaining representative. Dedication, experience, knowledge, and determination are all qualities of a leader — all of which Buffy possesses, and then some. Buffy is someone who will protect and defend the rights of all UAW members and isn’t afraid to stand up to management. She is a force to be reckoned with.  Buffy has worked closely with the committee members of the We Are Oberlin Too campaign and...

Buffy Lukachko, Member and Women’s Committee Co-Chair, UAW Local 2192

May 10, 2019

Brothers and Sisters of Oberlin College UAW Local 2192: I’m writing to you today to go on the record that I fully support Erik Villar’s candidacy for Chair of Oberlin College UAW Local 2192. Erik is uniquely qualified for this leadership position because he has worked in more than one department at Oberlin College, and therefore has a unique understanding of the school’s concerns. Erik began his career at Oberlin on the custodial staff as a part-time employee before securing a full-time position in Kitchen Maintenance. After five years, he transferred to...

Peter Crowley, Coordinator South West Oberlin Residents Association

April 19, 2019

 On March 18, Oberlin City Council rejected Zion Community Development Corporation’s offer to donate garden tools, shed, and other materials used at Legion Field Community Garden to the City. The gardeners of Legion Field were told that managing community gardens would not be feasible with current City staff capacity. We then formed a new partnership with Our F.A.M.I.L.Y., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which already sponsors three gardens in Lorain County. We have also reached out to Madison Baker from the Sustainable Agriculture Program at Lorain County Community...

Chris Howell, James Monroe Professor of Politics

April 5, 2019

The Academic and Administrative Program Review Steering Committee has now made a series of public presentations and released a summary of its work to date. There is a lot to digest, but dotted throughout both the presentations and the summary report is information about employee costs — specifically those of the unionized hourly employees — and what appear to be implicit recommendations regarding the number of unionized employees, their wages and benefits, and the way the work they do is provided. It is not necessary to take a position on the information provided...

Haven King-Nobles, College Senior

April 5, 2019

Imagine a world identical to ours, except for one aspect: No one eats meat. For whatever reason, however, billions of farm animals — many not unlike our pets — are still raised in horrific and unnatural conditions and then slaughtered after a few months. In this world, nothing is done with the meat these animals produce. It is simply thrown out. I think most of us have the intuition that such a world would be a moral atrocity. But how different is that world from our own, especially given that we waste roughly 40 percent of our food anyway? Does our demand for...

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...