The Oberlin Review

Newly-Elected City Council Members Set Priorities for Term

November 8, 2019

After a competitive race for Oberlin City Council, voters elected seven of twelve candidates into office on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Four incumbent councilors, Heather Adelman, Kristen Peterson, Kelley Singleton, and Linda Slocum were re-elected for another term. Ray English, Elizabeth J. Meadows, and Mary Price will replace three current councilors. Ronnie Rimbert was the only incumbent candidate who ran but was not re-elected. Bryan Burgess, who served as council president, did not run for re-election because he was term-limited. Councilmember Sharon Pearson also did not run for re-election. Following the election, Councilmembers English, Peterson, and Slocum each spoke of their commitment to environmental sustainability....

Oberlin Finds Great Candidates in English, Price

Kathleen Abromeit, Public Services Librarian

November 1, 2019

Today I have chosen to write in support of Ray English and Mary Price for Oberlin City Council. Oberlin has been fortunate for many years with a wonderful City Council, and I commend those who are currently serving. Ray and Mary are in the mold of leaders who in the past have unselfishly, and with vision, made important decisions to improve our community. Ray English is committed to social justice, environmental sustainability, and community development. He exhibits a remarkable balance of attention to detail and practicality as he navigates conflict resolution, mediation, and community dialogue. He is also a recognized leader in the Citizens’ Climate Lobby working diligently on issues of environmental issues at the n...

City Council Candidates Engage With Voters

Rachel Serna-Brown and Anisa Curry Vietze

October 4, 2019

Eleven local candidates running for Oberlin City Council met with voters at The First Church in Oberlin for Tuesday’s Community Candidates Night. The event was organized by Oberlin’s chapter of the League of Women Voters with the goal of giving voters the opportunity to ask the candidates questions about local issues. In previous years, Community Candidates Night has showcased candidates for other offices in addition to City Council, such as Ohio State Senate, the county auditor’s office, and local judicial spots. College Science Librarian Alison Ricker — who is a member of Oberlin’s LWV and helped organize the event — explained why this year’s event only focused on council. “The only candidates who spoke were ...

The Oberlin Municipal Light and Power plant generates and distributes electricity to Oberlin’s residents. The plant is part of the redistribution process that happens when the city sells Renewable Energy Credits back into the electric grid and funds the Sustainable Reserve Program.

City Council Prepares to Release Next Greenhouse Gas Inventory

September 27, 2019

The City of Oberlin’s Office of Sustainability has completed a 2019 iteration of a greenhouse gas inventory, which will be released on the city’s web page in the coming weeks. The inventory is the latest of four, dating back to 2007, and was performed in order to prioritize how to spend the city’s Sustainable Reserve Fund. “[The greenhouse gas inventory] is what we’re going to look at as a guide when we start looking at what initiatives are really going to be the most important and in...

EICD Act An Essential First Step In Climate Fight

Ray English, Director of Libraries Emeritus

September 20, 2019

Many thanks to the Review for Alexa Stevens’ fine article and your good editorial about the Global Climate Strike (“Sunrise Strikes for Brighter Future” and “Oberlin Climate Strike Engages International Emergency,”, Sept. 13, 2019 ). Your editorial is absolutely right in stating that climate change is “a quickly-approaching emergency” and that “this is a fight of and for our lives.” It’s very heartening to see a worldwide movement of young people raising awareness of this issue and it’s exciting to see such engagement here in Oberlin. I’m looking forward to seeing what I hope will be massive global participation in the strike, accompanied by widespread media coverage. I encourage everyone ...

Students Should Research Carbon Bill

Ray English, Director of Libraries Emeritus

December 7, 2018

I read with appreciation Yan Jin’s fine article in last week’s Review about the Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s efforts to address the risks posed by climate change (“CCL Fights For Climate Change Policies” Nov. 30, 2018). The recent U.S. National Climate Assessment and the October report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscore the urgent need for government action that deals effectively with this major challenge facing humanity. As noted in the article, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividends Act of 2018 — the bipartisan legislation that CCL has lobbied for — was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. I hope all members of the Oberlin College community will take time to ...

CCL Fights For Climate Change Policies

Yan Jin

November 30, 2018

Ray English, Emeritus Director of Libraries at Oberlin College and a member of Oberlin’s branch of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, joined 619 other volunteers from CCL in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Nov. 19, to advocate for bipartisan climate policies. The volunteers participated in over 400 congressional meetings and met with numerous Ohio representatives. Citizens Climate Lobby is a national environmental group which works to educate communities on how to engage with their representatives about Climate Change. “I visited four different congressional offices with teams from the lobby, and we had a very good conversation with Senate and House offices,” English said. “We met with offices of Senator Portman,...

Warfield Represents Change Police Department Needs

Ray English, Director of Libraries Emeritus

November 10, 2017

To the Editors: I am writing regarding the Review’s Nov. 3 article “Oberlin Police Chief Hire Sparks Controversy Within Department.” Readers who did not follow the process closely might not be aware of the thought and care that went into the police chief search. This past spring, Oberlin City Manager Rob Hillard conducted five listening sessions to determine what our community desires in its police chief and police department. Listening session participants — a total of 180 people from all segments of the community — expressed a clear vision for policing that focuses on developing positive relationships between the police and Oberlin residents. A summary of the listening sessions, including details of th...

College senior Miranda Rutherford studies in the Science Library. Last semester, Tim Elgren, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, asked science faculty if a section of the Science Library could be better
used as classroom space.

Administration Mulls Over Library Future, Budgeting Process

March 13, 2015

Discussions about the future of the Oberlin College library system are in full swing as the Strategic Planning Steering Committee makes long-term decisions for the institution as a whole. According to members of the Library Committee, the administration may also be considering possible changes to the library system’s budgeting process, although it’s unclear what those changes would actually entail. “The faculty Library Committee has heard of a change in budgeting approaches on the administrative...