The primary elections for Ohio are approaching soon. Both early in-person and absentee mail-in voting has started, and election day is May 6. Everyone should be ready to vote. Not only has The Oberlin Review endorsed Farah Emeka, OC ’97, for the Municipal Court Judge position (“Editorial Board Endorses...
As I made my way to Dye Lecture Hall on Wednesday, I was stressed. It was 4:58 p.m., and the semesterly Undocu-Ally training hosted by Obies for Undocumented Inclusion was starting at 5 p.m. Already planning on where I could sit if all the seats were filled, I walked into Dye Lecture Hall to see less...
We are alumni who chose to attend Oberlin College because we believed in its distinctive history and mission, including its enduring commitment to racial, economic, and social justice; its innovative experiments in cooperative living; its highly engaged faculty; its world-class music education; its abiding...
On April 5, thousands of people nationwide rallied in over 1,400 “Hands Off!” protests. The mass mobilization was centered around opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and its moves to target marginalized communities, strip people of healthcare and social security, impose tariffs,...
It was the summer of 2020. The two weeks off of school had morphed into a semester behind a screen and a vacationless summer had set in. I had nothing but time and a screen to connect me to the outside world and was horrified to see the footage of George Floyd with a boot on his neck on my TV screen....
On the evening of March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, was arrested in his New York apartment by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Despite his status as a legal permanent resident in the United States, with all the constitutional rights of a citizen, Khalil...
The Oberlin College Black Musicians’ Guild was founded in 2001 by Martha Newland, OC ’03, and Ivy Newman, OC ’04, to promote and connect...
Questions regarding cultural appropriation have often floated around the Composition department of the Conservatory. Is it suitable for me to...
This Sunday, Martha Redbone, the renowned vocalist, songwriter, composer, and educator, will grace the Finney Chapel stage at 7:30 p.m. in the...
From March 10 to March 14, the International Contemporary Ensemble traveled from New York City to Oberlin for a weeklong residency filled with...
This weekend, Oberlin Opera Theater presents its spring 2025 production of Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, or The Secret Garden Girl. The story...
An April 9 inspection by Lorain County Public Health found multiple critical violations of health and safety codes at Stevenson Dining Hall and the Rathskeller. Inspectors cited the Rathskeller’s mechanical dishwasher as failing to reach the required water temperature for proper sanitization, while...
This year’s primary and special election will be held May 6. Depending on their Oberlin precinct, voters can cast their ballots at the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center on 36 S. Prospect St., the House of Zion Fellowship Center on 81 Locust St., or at Kendal at Oberlin. Voters will elect a candidate...
Last week, the Oberlin Business Partnership put on Oberlin Restaurant Week, a series of promotions involving increased marketing and food and drinks specials to encourage community members to visit local restaurants. The event coincides with both ups and downs for the Oberlin small business community,...
This week, SisterMentors traveled to Oberlin as part of their spring break college visit program. SisterMentors is a nonprofit that supports girls of color from low-income families through mentorship from women of color who are doctoral students. The founder of SisterMentors, Dr. Shireen Lewis, worked...
DeCafé stopped stocking Liquid Death Mountain Water, the only available option for packaged still water on campus since the College reinstated a ban on single-use plastic water bottles in August 2024. In response, students have expressed concerns about the impact of this action on accessibility of water...
Supreme Court ruling undermines trans rights in the UK On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that trans women are not legally women. The majority’s reasoning depended on their interpretation of specific language from the 2010 Equality Act, ruling that the definition of sex as...
Oberlin College has achieved its goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. The College began working toward this goal in 2004 when the Board of Trustees committed to a pledge of environmental stewardship. In 2006, the College became one of the inaugural signatories of the American College & University...
In my first year at Oberlin, the second piece I ever wrote for the Review was titled “Rocky Horror Shows Revived with Love, Laughter, Latex” (Nov. 18, 2022). Since then, attending shadow cast productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been a tradition for me, whether they’re performed by...
Last Saturday, indie-folk band Sadurn arrived in Oberlin. Students wearing long skirts and loose-fitting flannels milled into The ’Sco. Following a well-received opener, Sadurn took the stage. After a quick glance at her bandmates, lead singer Genevieve DeGroot, illuminated by purple light, began to...
Fans piled into the Cat in the Cream on Wednesday evening for an intimate performance by Eleri Ward, a New York City-based actress and songwriter who has built a career out of her unique interpretations of musical theater. Ward, who prides herself on creating an alternative space within the musical...
Released Tuesday, Open, Heaven is the debut novel by Irish-British poet and author Seán Hewitt. The novel follows James, a young boy from the small village of Thornmere in Northern England. The majority of the story takes place in analepsis. James is 16 years old and has recently come out as gay. It...
On Wednesday, Oberlin College hosted American author and professor Aisha Sabatini Sloan for a nonfiction reading followed by a Q&A. Sloan read lengthy excerpts from two books she had written; first, a comedic yet somber excerpt from Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit, then a meditative musing on Homer,...
ACROSS 3. “Science Fiction/Double Feature” is the ____ ____ to 1 down 14. Unsettling person, slangily 15. Basque city with a Guggenheim Museum 16. Ceremonial Pueblo room 17. School org. 19. Jug handle, in archaeology 20. Two letters you might regret in Scrabble 21. Janet’s sexuality ____...
For Director of Cinema and Media Geoff Pingree and Professor of Cinema and Media Rian Brown-Orso, the newly revamped Oberlin Film Society is a dream 16 years in the making. When the College first purchased the local Apollo Theatre in 2009, the pair worked extensively with architects to renovate the space...
On Sunday, the first-floor lecture hall of King Building buzzed with anticipation. Theater lovers filled the seats at the Oberlin Musical Theater Association “Quick!” festival. “Quick!” is a semesterly festival hosted by OMTA/OSTA that takes place over 24 hours. Participants register as writers,...
Although the weather might be cold and gloomy, summer is on the horizon. And with warm weather and sunny days come new trends. Coming on the coattails of Brat Summer, summer 2025 has a big shoe — or Steve Madden biker boot — to fill. Obies are eager to think of the warm days ahead, when they’ll...
Created by Judy Cook, OC ’71, when she moved to Kendal at Oberlin, Song Swap is a collaborative event between Kendal residents and Oberlin students. The event focuses on building and maintaining a loving community centered on the joy of folk music. Song Swaps can be attended by any Oberlin student...
Liz Schultz is the executive director of the Oberlin Heritage Center, a member of the Ohio Local History Alliance, and recent recipient of the 2024 Ohio Museums Association Professional of the Year award. Schultz was recognized at the OMA Annual Conference Sunday, March 20, in Athens, Ohio, and gave...
Dr. Dorothy Washburn, OC ’67, donated $2,170,000 to hire a full-time lecturer in Arabic starting next fall. Washburn previously published a Letter to the Editors expressing her desire for Oberlin to have a strong Arabic program (“College Should Reinstate Arabic Professorship,” The Oberlin Review,...
Ani Zakarian is a College fourth-year studying Politics and currently serving as president of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. Next year, OSCA will renegotiate its rent contract with Oberlin College. The last rent contract, negotiated in 2020, ended the Kosher-Halal Co-op and Fairchild Co-op...
Michael Frazier was appointed assistant professor of Composition in 2023 after first joining Oberlin Conservatory as a visiting assistant professor in 2021. As a Black and Latino composer, his compositions have been performed in venues across the world by various groups such as Strings & Hammers,...
George Rogers is a third-year Conservatory jazz saxophonist majoring in Jazz Performance with an individual major in Music Administration and Community Engagement. An avid musician, composer, and educator, Rogers has performed at venues such as Dizzy’s Club, SFJAZZ, the Concord Jazz Festival, the Vail...
Assistant Professor of Trombone John Gruber gave a solo recital with Collaborative Pianist HyunSoo Kim on Sunday. In addition to his teaching and performing on campus, he is principal trombonist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and has held tenured positions at the Adrian Symphony, the Lansing Symphony,...
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you get to be a judge for the National Book Awards? And what is something about that experience you’re looking forward to? The process is mysterious in the sense that you just suddenly get contacted by the National Book Foundation. They...
Skye Jalal, a College fourth-year and a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow majoring in Art History and Studio Art, has been awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which will support her project exploring land relationships for people of the African diaspora in Ghana, Kenya, Ecuador, and Mexico in the coming...
Sophie Kemp, OC ’18, is a writer who teaches at Columbia University and has been featured in publications such as Vogue, The Paris Review, The New York Times, Pitchfork, GQ, and i-D. She recently published her debut novel, Paradise Logic. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How...
Kyle Baxt is a second-year majoring in Economics with a Business integrative concentration. In his sophomore year of high school, he underwent brain surgery to heal a Chiari malformation that had developed in his brain. In his first season at Oberlin, the first baseman broke the school’s all-time record...
Natalie Winkelfoos is in her 12th year as the director of Oberlin Athletics. During her time at Oberlin, Winkelfoos has been named the Division III Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports in 2015 and the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year in 2018. This interview has been...
JJ Gray is a second-year Economics major on the men’s basketball team and the co-chair and founder of the Asian Student-Athlete Group. Last week, Gray was awarded North Coast Athletic Conference second-team honors for his athletic performance this season on the basketball court. This interview has...
Rory McIlroy’s career-defining 11-year wait for a Grand Slam has ended with his first win at the Masters Tournament. On Sunday, Northern Ireland’s greatest golfer earned his first career green jacket and became the sixth golfer in history — joining Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus,...
As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, there are a multitude of prospects that can significantly impact the teams that select them. With quarterback-needy teams, dynamic offensive schemes, and revamped defensive systems all seeking cornerstone players, this year’s draft class offers plenty of elite talent...
Every year in April, the NCAA celebrates Division III Week, a time for student-athletes at DIII institutions to showcase their pride in athletics while helping their communities. The North Coast Athletic Conference has a conference-wide Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that decides how NCAC schools...
Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide. Jarren Duran, an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, had a breakout season in 2024, solidifying his place among baseball’s best. He finished that season as an All- Star and placed eighth in American League MVP voting; Duran quickly became...
March Madness has come to an end, and when the dust settled, the No. 1 seed Florida Gators took home the men’s hardware while the No. 2 seed University of Connecticut Huskies captured the women’s trophy. Both tournaments saw relatively few upsets this year, but just enough to ensure that once...
While most athletes rely on well-timed meals and hydration to fuel their performance, Oberlin men’s tennis player Zain Makada has spent the past month navigating a very different kind of discipline: fasting from sunrise to sunset for Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam. Observed by an estimated...
After a spring break that tested their limits, the men’s tennis team stormed back onto the court this weekend with a stronger command of their game, poised to make waves in North Coast Athletic Conference play. They rolled past the Division II Tiffin University Dragons with a 5–2 win Saturday, and...
Two seasons ago, the Denver Nuggets were on top of the NBA world. Former Head Coach Michael Malone proudly held the Larry O’Brien Trophy after swiftly defeating the Miami Heat in five games to win the franchise’s first-ever NBA championship. On Tuesday, the Nuggets flipped the NBA world upside down....
Two months ago, Roseanna Smith received the news that every woman dreads — she had breast cancer. For Smith, Oberlin football’s chief of staff, special teams coordinator, and running backs coach, it was not the first time that cancer had directly impacted her life. Just six months prior to her...
For the first time since 2008, and only the second time in tournament history, there are four No. 1 seeds in the men’s Final Four. There have been no Cinderella stories, no mid-major madness, no David beating Goliath, and no obscure mascot making an internet-crazed run — shout-out to Sister Jean...