As we spend more time at this institution, the memory of why we chose Oberlin in the first place can fade. Our collective apathy, resentment toward authority, and a weaponized sense of self-deprecation make it easy to forget that perhaps there was a time when we would have sworn by the lanyards hanging around our young necks that this was the place for us. Because of this memory, I was heartened to see the Oberlin administration recognize and celebrate one of our school’s greatest strengths: choosing April 20 — more commonly known as 4/20 — as one of the days for its admissions event “All Roads Lead to Oberlin.” This kind of event comes at a time when reaching admissions goals is no less than vital. The unde...

Editor’s Note: The following is an email sent June 14, 2017 to the Oberlin College faculty and staff by the chair of the Board of Trustees. This was not submitted to the Review as a Letter to the Editors, but as it is addressed to the Oberlin community, we feel it appropriate to publish the text in full. To the Oberlin community: Oberlin’s Board of Trustees met last week. It was a bittersweet meeting because Oberlin is going through so many transitions. President Marvin Krislov will soon depart for Pace University. We bid farewell to Mike Frandsen, Sandhya Subramanian, and Debra Chermonte. But we also welcomed Oberlin’s 15th president, Carmen Ambar, and we’re lucky to have Alan Norton, Donica Varner...

Members of Student Senate formed a task force in response to the efforts of student activists, who expressed concern at a recent plenary that the percentage of black students and other students of color at Oberlin is too low. According to College junior and Student Senator Nick Canavan, the new task force that Senate unanimously voted to create is currently organizing a panel discussion for next semester about increasing diversity at Oberlin. “We want to have as many different people with different types of knowledge because this is such a far reaching issue. ... Having not only student leaders for groups on campus but also having representatives [who] know how our finances work,” said Canavan. Using the U.S. Depar...