Looking Ahead, With Trepidation Despite more than a year of saying I’m ready to leave and growing excitement for the next phase of my life, I realize that maybe I’m really scared about closing the Oberlin chapter. I remember contemplating giving myself over completely to senioritis in February....
Editors' Note: This is a revised version of an article that appeared in the Review's May 5 print edition. Oberlin College and Conservatory prides itself on being progressive. From the very beginning, Oberlin stood for change and equality of access to education. I’d even argue that it very closely...
On Monday, the College announced in the Campus Digest that it will be replacing its goal for a carbon-neutral 2025 with a new, more exciting one: Mission Mars: Oberlin Occupy 2035, or, as the Board of Trustees has affectionately been calling it on its Discord server, Mission MOO. In Oberlin’s ongoing...
Asia House is having an identity crisis. Located at the center of campus, anyone can go there to eat at Pyle Inn Co-op, rummage through items at the Free Store, or — though frowned upon — study in the library. As much as I love and appreciate these places, their current functions and placements...
For many of us, the highlights of student life at Oberlin are student-led events and organizations. Being able to share space and responsibility with our peers and facilitate meaningful experiences is, without a doubt, a privilege, and one that is enabled by the efforts of the Student Finance Committee....
Last September marked the conclusion of the Oberlin College v. Gibsons Bros., Inc. lawsuit, with the institution paying out $36.59 million to the local business. Following the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision to not hear Oberlin’s appeal to the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas’ ruling, the Review...
Oberlin’s collection of instruments is dispersed throughout Conservatory buildings, like Bibbins Hall and the Kohl Building, in display cabinets...
On Feb. 6, Türkiye and Syria were devastated by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the largest the region had seen since 1939. Over 18 million people...
The R. Nathaniel Dett Music Society is a newly formed group dedicated to educating Oberlin College and Conservatory students, as well as community...
In his recent piece (“Jazz Forum Has Become too Performance Focused,” The Oberlin Review, April 7, 2023), second-year double-degree jazz...
This Sunday from 2–4 p.m., the Oberlin Crimson Collective will host its second annual roundtable discussion titled “Our Community” in StudiOC....
Oberlin College students within the POLT 411 practicum, taught by Robert S. Danforth Professor of Politics Eve Sandberg, were recently able to submit a consultancy report to the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The class, also called the Oberlin Research Group, was tasked...
For the first time since spring 2019, Oberlin College will hold a regular commencement celebration. In past years, events have been limited due to COVID-19. Leading up to the ceremony, there will be various events to celebrate the accomplishments of graduates and their families. In 2020, there were...
In December 2022, Oberlin bought 211 acres of land from Pittsfield Township for $2.4 million for a new industrial park. According to City Council President Bryan Burgess, the current industrial park from the ’60s is full, so the City felt that it needed to buy property to open the possibility of expansion. “Oberlin’s...
Drone attacks over the Kremlin in Russia On Wednesday, two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The attack has led to accusations by Russia claiming that the drone attacks were a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate Putin. Experts believe that Ukraine...
Friday, May 5 5 p.m.: ’Round Midnight A Cappella Spring Concert in Fairchild Chapel Join the folk and jazz a cappella group for their final concert of the year, performing songs arranged by members, including one piece written by Vikram Perry, OC ’21. 7:30 p.m.: Oberlin Orchestra in Finney...
Obies for Undocumented Inclusion has grown its public presence in recent years through outward-facing events, some of which — like Immigrant Narratives Night and the El Centro Volunteer Initiative Art Gala — have seen significant turnout from members of the Oberlin community. However, the organization’s...
Since 1833, Oberlin has been a site of progressive thought and activist initiatives toward making a better world. Over time, the definition of progressivism has changed, along with the values of this place and its residents. Through various forms of activism — be that protest, organizing committees,...
This past Thursday, the BadArtCo Gallery Show exhibited the Experimental College course’s investigation of terrible art in Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space. It was a vibrantly experimental event complete with bloody performance art, bad comedy on loop, and effigy burning to a live opera...
This Thursday, musicians from Oberlin and other areas of Northeast Ohio performed at the Allen Memorial Art Museum to conclude the year-long Shared Art program. In the courtyard behind the museum, the group of musicians debuted an original composition by Caleb Smith, OC ’19, inspired...
Solarity and the Asian Diaspora Coalition will combine for Asian Night Market x Solarity RADIANCE tonight. The leaders of both organizations hope that the event will chart a new course of outreach for each event. “I feel like we’re definitely being a little bit insane,” College fourth-year...
“I just don’t like Musical Theater.” It’s time I talk about my problem with that sentence. And with Tony nominations being released, I feel it is timely to speak on the hate for musical theater. I acknowledge this sentence is often said to me in an attempt to thwart me from playing Hamilton on...
Any Met Gala that allows celebrities to delve deep into archival, vintage looks is a win. This year, the theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” was simply stated and left relatively little room open for interpretation, unlike themes of years past, which have led to all sorts of fashion...
Last week, Professor of Integrated Media and Chair of the Studio Art department Julia Christensen presented her ongoing project, The Tree of Life, at the California Institute of Technology. Christensen’s work explores the intersection of art and technology. This interview has been edited for length...
Two blonde braids thin and bent frame that small, serious face tiny pink elastics holding them together. There are bees swarming splintered wood, wind messy-ing wispy hair I am small and trusting and safe with my legs swinging in the empty space beneath me, half-smiling for my mother who crouches...
ACROSS 1. Atilt: 9. Exhibits restlessness: 14. Pink Floydʼs The Wall, e.g.: 16. Thus far: 17. Helpful device for colonizing Mars, perhaps: 18. “Listen here!” Sp.: 19. ___ evil, of three wise monkeys 20. Big ___, California: 21. One of three on a piano: 22. Boarʼs defense: 23. Opposite...
Ada Ates is a fourth-year who managed the Review’s social media and website from summer 2021 through fall 2022. Her dedication to curating the Review's online presence gave every writer the sense that their stories were meaningful, and made everyone in the office feel like their contributions were...
Addie Breen is a fourth-year who worked as a Review Production editor for both semesters of their last year at Oberlin. In that time, Addie carved out their niche as the editor who will rephrase a clunky sentence with a subtlety and elegance that’ll leave you wondering how the solution eluded you for...
College fourth-year Kushagra Kar has worked at the Review for the entirety of his Oberlin career, as a Production Editor, Layout Editor, Opinions Editor, and then Editor- in-Chief. At the Review, his coverage has focused largely on the Gibson’s Bakery lawsuit and on administrative changes at the College....
Edwin Huizinga, OC ’06, is the visiting assistant professor of baroque violin. In addition to teaching private lessons, historical improvisation, and directing the Baroque Orchestra, Huizinga is offering a brand-new course, Fiddle Ensemble, in the fall 2023 semester. This ensemble will merge improvisation...
Marley Howard is a third-year Conservatory student majoring in Jazz Voice and minoring in Studio Art. She incorporates protest and activism into her art. Her mediums include singing, poetry, printmaking, charcoal, ceramics, and paint. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How...
Sullivan Fortner Jr., OC ’08, is a Grammy-winning, world-renowned jazz pianist with numerous other accolades to his name. This spring he returned to Oberlin to fill in as Associate Professor of Jazz Piano while his former teacher, Associate Professor of Jazz Piano Dan Wall, is on sabbatical. On the...
Richard Powers is a novelist with a background in environmental and computer science whose work focuses on the relationship between humanity and the natural world. He has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel The Overstory. Powers will give the Commencement address...
Dr. Lady J is a non-binary trans woman and drag performer. She received her Ph.D. in Musicology from Case Western Reserve University in 2017. She gave a talk on the history of drag titled “The War on Drag” on April 19 and performed an act in armor destroying posters representing trans issues...
Roya Hakakian gave a talk this past week titled “The Women of Iran Have Risen Up: Should You Care?” Hakakian is a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, and The New...
Since 2021, John Elrod has worked as a Contributing Sports editor and Sports editor at the Review. His coverage has been dedicated to local sports — including his tribute to National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell, a narrative about LeBron James’s journey from the perspective of a Northeast Ohio...
Chris Donaldson, OC ’97, currently works as the assistant dean of inclusion and belonging at the Multicultural Resource Commons. As a student at Oberlin, he was a baseball player and was inducted into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame as the first winner of the Moses Fleetwood Walker Memorial Award, which...
During her time as a student at Oberlin, Assistant Professor of Sociology Alicia Smith-Tran, OC ’10, was a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and a member of the women’s basketball team. After graduating, she received an M.A. from Newhouse School at Syracuse University and a Ph.D. from Case Western...
For much of my life, following sports has been synonymous with newspapers. I remember waking up early in the morning as a little kid to read about how Cleveland’s professional teams did the night before in The Plain Dealer when I was still too young to stay up for night games. I remember thinking it...
Last weekend, two members of the track and field team traveled to Delaware, Ohio, to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Heptathlon at Ohio Wesleyan University. Third-year Hayden Hill and first-year Celia Vaughn earned the team 13 points over the two-day competition, with Vaughn earning a...
Over Winter Term and during the spring semester, Oberlin athletic teams accumulated a collective record of 77 wins to 118 losses. Women’s basketball has won the most games — 17, while softball had the most losses with 25. Track and Field On day one of the NCAC semi-finals Feb. 24 in Greencastle,...
As they are in a far more casual environment than varsity teams, club and intramural sports offer students the opportunity to rekindle their love for athletics. The perfect example of this at Oberlin is the club soccer team. The focus of club soccer is not winning but rather enjoyment and fun. “As...
On March 31, the Oberlin Athletics Instagram account posted eight photos of Oberlin transgender student-athletes in celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility. Student-athletes posed in creative ways in front of a black background, which made the colorful expressions and unique poses stand out. Maggie...
Founded in 2019, the Black Student- Athlete Group has played a pivotal role in helping Black athletes find community on campus. According to the BSAG webpage on GoYeo, the mission of the group is to “create a united community for Black student-athletes on Oberlin College’s campus [and] to provide...
This past March, a group of Oberlin student-athletes organized and held two One Love workshops to raise awareness about the warning signs of abuse. Using the training and facilitation available on the One Love websites, they organize the workshops to help inform students about what healthy and unhealthy...
Amid unrest after the Vietnam War, one of the societal values that was called into question was a term known as SportsWorld, the idea that sports were known for sacrifice and honor, coined by journalist Robert Lipsyte. From the arrest of Muhammad Ali to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics protests, more people...
When talking about Oberlin football, the conversation eventually diverges to the legendary Heisman era. But what about the other contributors during this time period, and what legacy did they leave behind at Oberlin? John Henry Wise was born in 1868 to a German father and a Hawaiʻian mother. Originally...
Some might assume that such an intellectual group as the Review staff would not have many experiences in the sporting world. However, after conducting extensive interviews with my co-workers, I discovered that we are a staff of athletes with incredibly interesting sports stories to tell. You will notice...