Last weekend, the class of 2020 was welcomed back to campus for a delayed commencement after they were sent home in their final semester of college. Many athletes never got to say goodbye to their teammates, so the graduation celebration also served as a long-awaited reunion. For student-athletes who got sent home without their last collegiate season or proper fourth-year semester, it was refreshing to be back on campus this past weekend, where they felt welcomed and at home. “It actually felt more normal to be on campus with my teammates and classmates than it feels to live in the post-college...

This week is the NCAA’s Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign, with colleges all across the country using social media as a platform to reflect on what diversity and representation means in athletics. At Oberlin, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee worked alongside the Black Student-Athlete Group to implement the NCAA’s campaign. Fourth-year and men’s track and field player Kofi Asare believes that the NCAA campaign is necessary because it highlights the unique backgrounds of Oberlin’s community and who individuals are — not only as student-athletes, but also as people.  “NCAA...

In January 2020, the MLB confirmed that the Houston Astros had engaged in an illegal form of sign stealing during the 2017 season — the postseason in which they secured a World Series championship — and portions of the 2018 season. The team was found to have used outfield cameras in their home ballpark to film opposing catchers’ signs and relay them to the batter using audio cues such as banging on trash cans.  After the scandal made headlines, the baseball community across the United States called for accountability for the players involved in the illegal sign stealing. However, the...

Despite the disappointment Oberlin volleyball has faced in conference in recent years, the team has proven this year that it is a force to be reckoned with. After beating their rival Kenyon College on Sept. 23 for the first time since 2015, the Yeowomen have entered conference games with a new ferocity. This Homecoming weekend they secured a win to take down the reigning North Coast Atlantic Conference champions, the DePauw University Tigers, on Oct. 16.  This win marks the first time in program history that the Yeowomen have taken down DePauw. Fourth-year captain Natasha Radic reminisces on...

This past weekend, members of the track and field team supported their teammates by working what they affectionately nicknamed “the Puke Patrol” — a group of track athletes who donned ponchos and gloves to protect themselves from the bodily fluids exhausted runners can emit when they finish a race. Last weekend’s meet was the annual Inter-Regional Rumble, where Oberlin’s cross country team competed against 44 other schools. After finishing a race, cross country runners are often too physically exhausted and overwhelmed to step away from the finish line once they cross it. Stopping...

Without the contributions of professional and college football programs in Ohio, the game would look much different than it does today. Around the turn of the 20th century, Oberlin College football helped shape the sport into what it is now, and its innovative role was sparked by one of the game’s most famous names. One of the most coveted awards in all of American sports, the Heisman Memorial Trophy, is awarded to the most outstanding player in NCAA football every year. The award is known to all college football fans, but few people know about the trophy’s namesake, John Heisman, and his...