Editorials – The Oberlin Review

Following Quillen’s Appointment, College Must Pursue Similar Stability

December 13, 2019

At this crucial moment in Oberlin’s history, we need a seasoned captain at the helm of the ship. Particularly, at a time when significant changes are being instituted to improve the functioning of the College, we need all the stability we can get. Until recently, both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory have been entrenched in a hiring search for their respective deans. The hiring committee for the Dean of the Conservatory concluded its national search for a suitable candidate, which began in May of this year. The hiring committee for the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences also began earlier this semester and is currently on-going. The Conservatory has proven that promoting stability ...

Repeated Staffing Shortages Reveal Concerning Pattern

Editorial Board

December 6, 2019

First, it was the Office of Disability Resources in fall 2017. Then, it was the Multicultural Resource Center in fall 2018. Now, the Counseling Center becomes the third office in as many autumns to face resource shortages that directly impact its ability to provide vital student support services. “Office of Disability Resources Faces Staffing Shortage,” read the Review’s Oct. 6, 2017 headline, following the sudden resignation of Isabella Moreno, the office’s former interim director. Moreno cited being tasked with a workload far beyond the capacity of any person to manage as the key reason for her resignation. In an email, Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo asked staff to avoid discussing...

“On Second Thought” Promotes Audacity of Innovation

Editorial Board

November 22, 2019

The audacity of innovation. In the words of Assistant Professor of History and Comparative American Studies Tamika Nunley, this simple yet powerful concept is the driving force behind On Second Thought, an undergraduate research journal she is launching this spring in collaboration with an editorial board of four students. The journal — the only one of its kind at Oberlin — focuses on publishing historical research conducted by Oberlin students. This initiative is an exciting step forward in highlighting the academic research that Obies in the social sciences and humanities engage with on a daily basis, but don’t have a suitable avenue to express other than through far more rigorous and lengthy honors proj...

Ohio Remains a Swing State

Editorial Board

November 15, 2019

This weekend marks exactly four months before the Democratic presidential primary election in Ohio. The fate of the 2020 presidential election hinges partly on the outcome of swing states, such as Ohio, so it is crucial for the Democratic Party to swing this state in their favor this time around. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by eight points in Ohio. However, the final tally does not tell the whole story, as the race was extremely close or skewed toward Clinton in several counties across the state. In Lorain County, Clinton won by only a tenth of a percent, but in Cuyahoga County — Cleveland’s home county — she won with 65 percent of the vote. Despite winning al...

Winter Term Changes Prove Promising

Editorial Board

November 8, 2019

Oberlin has long boasted about its Winter Term program and the opportunity it provides students to travel or explore new projects that they otherwise wouldn’t have time for. However, students have often criticized the program for its lack of structure and meaningful options available to make it worth their while. It is, therefore, heartening to see that the Winter Term program is finally going through significant reforms that will allow students to use their time purposefully, rather than merely ticking off a graduation requirement. The changes are detailed in last week’s issue of the Review (“College Adds On-Campus Winter Term Projects” Nov. 1, 2019). Winter Term reforms propose to improve financial acce...

Proposed Journalism Concentration Deserves Support

Editorial Board

November 1, 2019

“We decided to take an approach to the story that a national outlet might not, and reach out to the university,” Andrew Howard, a managing editor for The State Press, Arizona State University’s student newspaper, said in an October interview with The New York Times. “I’m not sure we ever expected to get the scoop that we did.” Howard was referring to his publication’s story about Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and his resignation from the Trump administration due to involvement in inappropriate pressure politics with Ukraine. The Press was the first publication of any kind to break the news. “Just a college paper” — it’s a phrase used to diminish the importance of college...

In Hard Times, Moments of Celebration Must Be Tasteful

Editorial Board

October 11, 2019

Watching the fireworks go off over the athletic fields Saturday night was a bit like listening to the band play aboard the sinking Titanic. The extravagant display marked the end of Homecoming Weekend, but also seemed to signify a larger dissonance for an institution currently grappling with existential questions about financial stability, how to treat community members with fairness and respect, and more. The reality is that, in many ways, this is a difficult time for Oberlin. The College is staring down a $25 million dollar judgment resulting from a lawsuit filed by Gibson’s Bakery against the College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo. Further, a structural budget deficit has already ...

Lever Press Represents Lever for Change

Editorial Board

October 4, 2019

The current generation of college students faces many existential challenges. For good reason, the fight against climate change has recently received significant attention in the national media and in this publication, but it is not the sole crisis that we must contend with. Another fight that has intensified in recent years is the one over access to information, particularly as threats to net neutrality and sources of publicly available information have mounted. For many colleges and universities around the country, October is Open Access Month. In recognition of this occasion, the Review chose to spotlight Lever Press, an important digital scholarship initiative led by a consortium of liberal arts colleges, inc...

National Popular Vote Represents Opportunity for Ohio

Editorial Board

September 27, 2019

This week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, a step that many felt she should have taken months ago. Calls for Trump’s impeachment date back to 2016, just after he became the second presidential candidate since 2000 to win the White House despite losing the popular vote. Trump’s popular vote loss also spurred a conversation that had nothing to do with the candidate himself, but everything to do with how he was elected. In a functional democracy, should elections regularly be won by candidates who lose the popular vote? It’s a question that many have asked themselves after November 2016 — and it’s the question that the National Popular Vot...

TimeClock Plus Implementation Requires Better Communication

Editorial Board

September 20, 2019

This fall, returning students braced themselves for several changes in the way things are run at Oberlin. However, despite the good intentions and planning of the Human Resources and Student Employment offices, the unveiling of the new payment system for student and staff workers — TimeClock Plus — has been underwhelming, to say the least. Coverage of the new system is available on page 1 of this issue (“Oberlin’s Shift to Electronic Payment System Causes Controversy”). On the student and professional worker front, communication regarding TimeClock Plus has been negligible. The application was not mentioned, let alone demonstrated, during student treasurer training. Furthermore, no emails directly informing ...

Oberlin Climate Strike Engages International Emergency

Editorial Board

September 13, 2019

In support of work undertaken by Sunrise Oberlin, Obies will once again engage with important national and international issues as we stand with the rest of the world and strike against climate change on Sept. 20. Coverage of the plan for the protest is on page 1 of this issue (“Sunrise Strikes for Brighter Future”). The Global Climate Strike is a week-long protest starting next Friday during which citizens from over 120 countries, several thousand cities, and over a million students will take part in a climate rally to raise awareness that not only is climate change real, but it isalso a quickly-approaching emergency. Oberlin’s contribution via Sunrise Oberlin is already significant. On May 10, the organization ...

In Face of Adversity, Obies Keep On Keepin’ On

Editorial Board

September 6, 2019

Over the course of the summer, many people around the country seemed to suddenly be worried about Oberlin students. An explosion of media attention following an initial verdict in the lawsuit filed by Gibson’s Food Mart & Bakery against the College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo inspired people who have never set foot in Ohio to weigh in on whether we have our heads screwed on straight. The Review’s inboxes were flooded with messages written in varying degrees of hysteria. Some wanted to know if Oberlin students knew how stupid and short-sighted we are. Some accused us — both the Review staff specifically and the student body at large — of being sheep at the beck and call of...