Editorial Board
December 7, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
In this time of financial instability, one of President Carmen Ambar’s charges to the broader Oberlin community has been to consider how Oberlin can boldly step into the future and live out what it means to be a liberal arts college in the 21st century.
Part of that task will be finding ways to increase Oberlin’s global platform. We are fortunate to have a large population of international students who contribute significantly to our community, and while there are programs in place to help international students succeed at Oberlin and beyond, there are still steps this institution can take to further support and facilitate the students’ success.
International students, who compose approximately 13 percent of...
Editorial Board
November 30, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Over the past year, Oberlin’s Campus Dining Services has faced significant criticism in the wake of changes caused by budgetary restrictions. Complaints have included accessibility issues, a lack of dietary options, dissatisfaction with the menu and food quality, labor issues with Bon Appétit, and the unpopular 300-meal plan that first- and second-years outside of OSCA are required to purchase. On top of these initial complaints, further issues included the closure of Dascomb Dining Hall; the removal of the made-to-order sandwich station in DeCafé; long, seemingly unmanageable lines in Stevenson Dining Hall; and the new meal swipe system in DeCafé which many students felt was confusing and disorganized at the start...
Editorial Board
November 16, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Editor’s note: Editors-in-Chief Sydney Allen and Nathan Carpenter are both student leaders in the newly-created SOAR program, which is discussed in this editorial.
An anecdote floating around campus recently tells the story of a Google executive who supposedly said that Oberlin students make for some of the best employees, but some of the worst interviewees. This story, whether true or not, reflects a kind of dual truth: Oberlin students are creative, innovative, and have a lot to offer, but often struggle to make themselves attractive to employers. Subsequently, Oberlin students lag behind students at comparable institutions in finding full-time work following graduation.
This observation suggests a failure ...
Editorial Board
November 9, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Advocating for social justice is perhaps the Oberlin community’s most strongly-held value. We care deeply about equity, even though we’re far from perfect in achieving it.
One of the most important resources on campus in our ongoing work to be better advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion is the Multicultural Resource Center. The MRC plays an invaluable role on campus through the support and programming it provides for marginalized communities at Oberlin. Further, the MRC does good work in educating and training other campus groups to be more sensitive to social power dynamics and their own biases.
Because of the contributions that the MRC makes to our community, we have been alarmed to see the deterioration...
Editorial Board
November 2, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
It’s been nearly two years since the devastation of Election Day 2016, when the American public decided to elevate someone who represents the worst among us in almost every way to the country’s highest office.
In that time, Republicans have been both busy and effective. They’ve laid out an alarming agenda and achieved much of it. The far-right has become emboldened. The cowards who disguised themselves as moderate conservatives throughout the Obama years have been empowered to let their true colors show.
With Trump at the helm, the GOP has launched attacks on women, people of color, Jewish people, trans people, low-income communities, the press, and countless other constituencies that contribute greatly to...
Editorial Board
October 12, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
The City of Oberlin celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the second time ever this Monday, after officially changing the holiday’s name from Columbus Day in 2017. Oberlin joins a growing number of cities around the country in rejecting dominant narratives of colonial expansion, instead choosing to recognize and remember the violence that Columbus and other settlers inflicted — and continue to inflict — on Indigenous peoples across North and South America.
We stand behind the City of Oberlin in changing the holiday’s name. We also view the change as an opportunity to further consider the histories of Indigenous communities who lived here before us.
A land acknowledgement is a conscious, historically-grounded...
Editorial Board
October 5, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Today’s inauguration of Carmen Twillie Ambar as Oberlin College’s 15thpresident gives our community a moment to reflect both on the first year of Ambar’s presidency and the collective challenges and opportunities now in front of us.
In some ways, it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year. Ambar has assumed the reins at a time of great turbulence, true; but she has stepped fully into the moment, and her commitment to tackling the challenges Oberlin faces has not wavered. She’s become an integral part of this campus— certainly to the point where it feels like she’s been here for a while. Be it conducting the Oberlin orchestra, being a regular face around Philips gym, sharing her playlist with the...
Editorial Board
September 28, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
“We chose to begin our careers at Oberlin College for a variety of reasons. Chief among those are Oberlin’s commitment to fostering a research-engaged faculty of the highest caliber, emphasizing an outstanding and socially-minded liberal arts education, and supporting deep faculty engagement in the governing of the College. We write with concern that these commitments are currently being compromised, and we hope to work with other members of our community to ensure that the College’s mission remains intact.”
So collectively wrote Oberlin College’s Assistant and Visiting Assistant Professors in a May letter sent to the entire faculty body, as well as the College’s senior staff, members of the Academic and Adm...
Editorial Board
September 21, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
There is a laundry list of reasons why Republican Congressman Jim Jordan is one of the worst that Washington has to offer. He is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, the most far-right group in the House of Representatives — a group that has faced harsh criticism even from within its own party.
Jordan has also recently been accused of ignoring credible allegations of sexual misconduct made against the Ohio State University’s wrestling team’s trainer during the time that Jordan was assistant coach.
The longer Jordan has been in Congress, the clearer his incompetence and negligence have become. He is routinely the target of national jokes and indignation.
He is, unfortunately, also Oberlin’s congressional rep...
Editorial Board
September 14, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
We must turn our gaze outward.
That was President Carmen Ambar’s message as she prepared to ship a group of nearly 1,000 people — including first-years, Peer Advising Leaders, staff members, and volunteers — to Cleveland for the inaugural Connect Cleveland trip during New Student Orientation. The pilgrimage was part of Ambar’s initiative to build stronger ties with the Northeast Ohio community.
In a massive 20-bus caravan, students connected with local organizations and alumni all over the city, visiting a total of 39 different sites, including the public radio and television broadcaster Ideastream, the Cleveland Museum of Art, an urban farm, and a Cleveland food bank, to name a few. The goal was to help st...
Editorial Board
September 7, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Oberlin students have been greeted by many changes this fall — some leaving us pleasantly surprised, others less so.
An inaugural orientation trip organized by the Bonner Center for Service and Learning brought more than 1,000 first-year students, Peer Advising Leaders, faculty, and staff into Cleveland for a day of service, experiential learning, and fun.
Further, the Patricia ’63 and Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center opened for the first time to the campus community. The space will provide improved exercise and fitness opportunities, kicking off with President Carmen Ambar’s presidential fitness challenge leading up to her inauguration festivities in October.
While there is much to celebrate abo...
Editorial Board
May 25, 2018
Filed under Editorials, OPINIONS
Oberlin has reached many milestones this year — some deserving of celebration. Among those was the beginning of Carmen Ambar’s presidency. Ambar has worked to be more transparent and communicative than former President Marvin Krislov, whose time at Oberlin was marked by campus tension and administrative opacity.
Ambar’s presidency has begun at a time of great financial uncertainty for Oberlin. To her credit, Ambar has made an effort to be candid about those challenges, carrying out a series of campus presentations regarding the College’s financial outlook this winter. She has also called upon all of us — students, staff, faculty, and alums — to be Oberlin’s stewards, institutionalists concerned not only with Oberlin...
