Ananya Gupta, Arts & Culture Editor
December 8, 2017
Filed under ARTS, Features
In this particularly stressful time of year, various groups on campus are organizing events oriented around self-care, some of which include inviting visiting speakers to bring their perspectives to the topic. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh-based Rabbi Shais Taub was invited to Oberlin by Chabad to offer insights on creating a healthy environment within one’s own mind, and ignoring that which distracts you from your purpose.
Rabbi Taub, a scholar, teacher, and author who NPR has referred to as “an expert in Jewish mysticism and the Twelve Steps,” provides spiritual guidance to people facing stressful situations in their lives. After studying at the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, he combined his relig...
Nina Li, Contributing Writer
December 11, 2015
Filed under Commentary, OPINIONS
As a student, exams are one of the most important things in my academic career. However, school and tests don’t always go as well as I expect, especially because I suffer from insomnia. At first I didn’t think my sleeping habits were a problem, because they did not affect me much. I’ve had insomnia since high school, and my mom also suffered from insomnia, so I thought it was normal if a person just couldn’t sleep well — which is why I had never tried to find a solution. During my first year at Oberlin, I had a biology final exam and stayed up late preparing and reviewing the materials. I went to bed at almost 2 a.m. Because I was exhausted, I thought it would be very easy to fall asleep, but I was totally ...
Isabel Hulkower, Columnist
December 4, 2015
Filed under SPORTS, Sports Column
News flash, Oberlin! Finals are coming faster than you can say “December breakdown.” No matter how prepared you think you are for the impending storm of academia, this time of year is still extremely stressful, so now is a great time to engage in some necessary self-care to help ease your perilous journey toward winter break. Here are some chill practices, both basic and more obscure, for increasing focus, calming the mind and maybe even improving academic performance.
The most tried-and-true way to do your best work is to get enough sleep. Though this seems obvious, it still bears mentioning because sleep deprivation has a Pandora’s box of negative side effects. Loss of sleep impairs attention, concentration,...
Jolie De Feis and Mike Plotz
March 13, 2015
Filed under Columns, OPINIONS
You’re stressed. We get it; you’re an Oberlin student (or alumnum, or prospie, or professor, or townsperson, or random internet surfer who was searching for “views in Berlin” and stumbled upon our little website), life is hard and, according to my great-uncle, it’s all downhill from here. Sorry. But, that’s why, as you get older, you have to learn to enjoy the little things in life. And let us tell you, the littler the better! Have you ever seen a 90-year-old blow bubbles? It’s fucking magical. We know you’re thinking that there are no “little things” in Oberlin, but that’s where you are wrong. We believe that there are plenty of bubble-blowing 90-year-old equivalents here in Oberlin — it might...
CJ Blair, Columnist
October 10, 2014
Filed under Columns, OPINIONS
This week not only ushers in a slew of students stressing over midterms but also signals that Oberlin is about to begin its annual descent into the unending bleakness of winter. Especially at a college with such a geographically diverse student body, the emotional shock of this cold can be unforgiving to those unaccustomed to it. While many may feel affected by the change in weather, most of them will grow used to it after a while. Some of them, however, will not. These students suffer from seasonal affective disorder, also known as seasonal depression, a very real condition that most people don’t realize or believe exists.
Attitudes toward seasonal depression — and depression in general — often reflect indifference...
Isaac Hollander McCreery, Columnist
February 7, 2014
Filed under Columns, OPINIONS
There is a common refrain that murmurs its way through Oberlin at the beginning of every semester, one full of wild hope that is always dashed. It’s a hope that, somehow, this time, we’ve learned to do Oberlin differently. It goes something like this: “I’m trying really hard this semester to be less busy.”
But then there’s that all-to-familiar moment, when we look at our schedules and say to ourselves, “Eh, I’m not doing anything Wednesday between seven and eight; I can do that.” We’ll pack our schedules, not taking into account that we need to sleep, breathe, eat, and all the other little things, not to mention the problem sets and papers and practicing. This heavenly and hellish vibrancy is what...
Joshua Kogan, Contributing Writer
December 13, 2013
Filed under Commentary
It’s officially finals period in Oberlin. Students have tons of work to do and not much time to do it. Many people simply accept the fact that they’re going to be stressed out in college. Students don’t fully know how stress can affect them and how easy it can be to combat. I want to explain the stress response from a biological perspective, emphasize the importance of stress reduction and discuss ways to reduce stress during finals period.
First off, why does stress exist? What possible evolutionary advantage could being stressed out about a biochemistry exam provide to humans? The acute stress response is a good thing for the body, increasing blood flow to critical organs like the brain and muscles so they...
