voting – The Oberlin Review

Congressional Candidates Campaign in Oberlin

Ella Moxley, Senior Staff Writer

March 13, 2020

Despite fears over the novel coronavirus — or COVID-19 — community spread, Democratic candidates running in Ohio’s fourth Congressional district have ramped up their campaign efforts. Some candidates, including Shannon Freshour and Jeffrey Sites, have increased their presence in Oberlin in recent weeks. Freshour, Sites, and Mike Larsen will all be on the ballot during Tuesday’s contest for the Democratic congressional nomination. The winner will face incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, the founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus who has represented the district since 2007. Independent candidate Chris Gibbs also plans to run in the general election against Jordan. Sites, a warehouse assistant manager a...

Simply Voting Is No Longer Enough

Leo Hochberg, Columnist

February 7, 2020

Today, citizens and residents of the U.S. are more angry, emotional, and divided than we’ve ever been — and, doubtless, there’s plenty to be angry about. Children remain separated from their parents and locked away in prison camps on the southern border; successive conservative administrations have all but annihilated the pro-poor welfare policies of the mid-20th century; and now, the president has been acquitted by spineless politicians who seek to avoid accountability for aiding and abetting high crimes and misdemeanors. The racist and colonialist foundations of the U.S., which have driven this country in a conservative arc for centuries, have now given rise to an administration so thoroughly invested in m...

Iowa Caucuses Must End

Ilana Foggle, Contributing Writer

February 7, 2020

As I am writing this, nearly 72 hours after the Iowa caucuses took place, roughly 97 percent of the caucus results have been released. Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg are neck-and-neck, with Senator Sanders receiving 26.1 percent of the vote and Mayor Buttigieg receiving 26.2 percent of the vote. When I originally decided to write about the Iowa caucuses, I thought I would be breaking down the results and predicting what they indicate about who will become the future Democratic nominee for president. Obviously, that will not be happening after the chaos that ensued in Iowa on Monday night. Perhaps I could write about Pete Buttigieg’s unexpected surge in Iowa or Bernie Sanders’ consistent bas...

Independent Congressional Candidate Visits Oberlin on Listening Tour

December 13, 2019

Chris Gibbs, who is planning to run for Representative Jim Jordan’s seat in Congress as an Independent, met with potential constituents at The Corner Joint on Wednesday. Gibbs is currently traveling around Ohio’s fourth congressional district, which includes Oberlin, on a listening tour as part of the exploratory phase of his campaign. Gibbs is a farmer, the former chair of the Shelby County Republican Party, and a former supporter of President Donald Trump. After becoming frustrated with politi...

Student Voting Participation Higher Than Previously Reported, Says Professor

December 6, 2019

Since 2012, reports generated by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement have calculated voter participation at Oberlin College as below national averages for college students across the country. Now, independent research undertaken by Associate Professor and Chair of Geology F. Zeb Page reveals that the NSLVE numbers may be inaccurate. Page was initially motivated to examine the NSLVE numbers because of a hunch. “When we look at [low turnout numbers], we imagine our student bod...

Ohio Remains a Swing State

Editorial Board

November 15, 2019

This weekend marks exactly four months before the Democratic presidential primary election in Ohio. The fate of the 2020 presidential election hinges partly on the outcome of swing states, such as Ohio, so it is crucial for the Democratic Party to swing this state in their favor this time around. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by eight points in Ohio. However, the final tally does not tell the whole story, as the race was extremely close or skewed toward Clinton in several counties across the state. In Lorain County, Clinton won by only a tenth of a percent, but in Cuyahoga County — Cleveland’s home county — she won with 65 percent of the vote. Despite winning al...

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 ...

Oberlin Primary Election Looks to Renew Key Tax Levies

April 26, 2019

Ohio’s primary election on May 7 will decide whether the city of Oberlin will renew two pre-existing taxes — an income tax that supports the city’s general fund and a tax levy for the benefit of the public library. The five-year, 0.2 percent income tax levy supports the operating and capital improvement expenses that go toward the City’s general fund. The levy is estimated to generate $618,889 in 2019 alone and city officials predict that this number will stay consistent for years to co...

Students Should Recognize Ohioans as Neighbors, Not Just Voters

Elmo Tumbokon, Contributing Writer

February 15, 2019

Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers and organizer of the Delano Grape Strikes, reminded a crying audience the day after the 2016 election, “This will not be the first time your country will break your heart.” Hearing that from the crowd, my heart pulled. And my heart sighed. And my heart grieved. But we picked ourselves up. That election energized my generation. It made us eager to campaign harder next time, and it made those of us who didn’t campaign regret it. In the 2018 midterm elections, voter turnout of people ages 18-29 increased by 10 percent since the 2014 midterms. This has much to do with the rise in young campaign volunteers knocking on doors and ringing telephone lines, many...

Students Must Vote in Upcoming Senate Elections

Cecilia Wallace, Contributing Writer

February 8, 2019

This article is part of the Review’s Student Senate column. In an effort to increase communication and transparency, student senators will provide personal perspectives on recent events on campus and in the community. Today’s seniors have lived through wild times at Oberlin College. There were high-profile protests and thinkpieces, President Carmen Twillie Ambar was inaugurated, and the College began teaching spin classes. The College will continue to make serious changes as it grapples with the evolving landscape of higher education through the Academic and Administrative Program Review process. In that time, Student Senate has transformed itself as well. Over the past couple of years, student governmen...

Dear Senator Sherrod Brown, Please Run

Ilana Foggle, Columnist

November 30, 2018

The time has come for politicians all over the country to decide whether or not they will be running for president in 2020. The process is starting now, before candidates officially declare their candidacy, so they can put together presidential exploratory committees, build campaign teams, and start hitting the campaign trail. People like Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, have already begun the process of declaring their candidacy. However, there is one person who is missing from this robust list of qualified candidates: Senator Sherrod Brown. Unlike many of my past articles, this article is not a call-to-action for Oberlin...

Thank You For Passing Issue 11

David Hall, Superintendent, Oberlin City Schools

November 30, 2018

Oberlin City Schools would like to thank all of our parents, staff, students, and community members for supporting Issue 11. It has been a long journey. The district has been engaged in exploring and researching new school facilities for over 10 years. The vision for the district is to design and create a new state-of-the-art facility for our students and community. This will provide the district with future cost savings, security enhancements, and advanced technology. With the passing of Issue 11, the vision has become a reality. I would like to thank our Bond Committee, Facilities Committee, previous superintendents (John Schroth and Geoff Andrews), the School Board, and community members for all of the hard work...