Issue 1, which will add an amendment to the state constitution protecting the right to abortion, received 56.6 percent of the vote. Issue 2, which will permit the regulated sale and taxation of marijuana, received 57.0 percent of the vote. Both of these ballot measures were also supported by the majority of Lorain County voters. Issue 1 received 62 percent of the vote in Lorain County, while Issue 2 received 59 percent of the vote. Both Issue 1 and 2 will go into effect Dec. 7, 30 days after the election.

In Lorain County, Issue 20, which proposed expanding the County Commission from three at-large to seven commissioners each representing one county district, failed with a large majority voting No. Issue 20 faced opposition from local unions and the Lorain County Democratic Party, which alleged that it would enable gerrymandering and interfere with the role of county-wide elected officials. Voters also approved two tax levys. Issue 21, which approved an additional tax benefiting the Lorain County 911 operation system, passed by a slim margin, and Issue 23, which renewed a tax to fund the maintenance and development of Lorain County parks, passed by a large margin. A third levy, Issue 22, failed with a slim majority of voters choosing No. If it had passed, Issue 22 would have implemented an additional tax funding the Lorain County Crime Lab and Coroner. 

Oberlin City Council elections were also held. Councilmembers Eboni Johnson, OC ’97; Michael McFarlin; Ray English; and Kristin Peterson, OC ’72, all won reelection. Libni López; Jessa New OC ’01; and Joe Waltzer, OC ’98, will join them on Council. Incumbent councilmembers Bryan Burgess and Elizabeth Meadows lost reelection. Joseph Peek and Frieda Fuchs also lost. Kendall Stanley and Janet Garrett won seats on the Oberlin School District Board of Education. Garrett ran as a write-in candidate.

RIPMD is funded through private donations, grants, and public funds. The organization partners with hospitals and purchases medical debt at a reduced price. To benefit from RIPMD’s program, a patient’s houshold income must not exceed 400 percent of federal poverty level income or medical debt accrued must be worth over five percent of their annual household income. RIPMD has canceled debt in Cleveland, Toledo, and Cook County, IL, with help from the local governments in those areas.

Given Oberlin’s population and demographics, RIPMD estimates the cost of canceling medical debt within the City will fall between $23,000 and $25,000. They can purchase and cancel about $100 of an individual’s debt for only $1. Oberlin has not determined how the purchase of medical debt will be funded. Other larger municipalities have allocated funds from the American Rescue Plan for their debt relief programs, and Oberlin may be applicable for federal funds as well. 

Terry Richardson-Sanders, equity coordinator for the City of Oberlin, said that Oberlin became interested in enacting a debt relief program after hearing of the successes in other municipalities.

“In the spring of 2023, the news media ran a story about how the Akron and Toledo City Councils had both received funds for their residents to receive medical debt relief,” Richardson-Sanders wrote in an email to the Review. “After a little research I located the Akron story and reached out to their Ward 1 councilmember who put me in touch with Keith Hearle. Hearle was able to walk me through the debt relief process and how City-directed funds could be used to benefit Oberlin residents.”

Keith Hearle, special advisor at RIPMD, attended Monday’s meeting via Zoom and gave a presentation to City Council explaining the workings of the non-profit and how he believes Oberlin stands to benefit.

Hearle described canceling medical debt as a “win-win-win” scenario, at the meeting. He said that hospitals benefit from receiving payment on outstanding debt, citizens benefit from better access to medical care and more money to spend on necessities, and communities benefit from better community health, greater equity in health care, and a stronger economy.

Richardson-Sanders agreed that the community could benefit from the program, echoing many of Hearle’s talking points.

“It is well-documented that medical debt is widespread, even amongst insured residents,” Richardson-Sanders wrote. “It is more common in communities of color and a contributor to poor physical and mental health. Medical debt often serves as a social determinant of health because patients with burdensome medical debt often delay other needed care.”

City Council gave positive feedback on Hearle’s presentation and expressed interest in working with RIPMD. If Oberlin wishes to work with the non-profit, an agreement will have to be approved by City Council.

RIPMD has already worked with Mercy Health, which runs a branch in Toledo. Hearle said RIPMD’s preexisting agreement with the health care company could speed up the process of purchasing medical debt. According to Hearle and Richardson-Sanders, letters to citizens announcing that their medical debt has been cleared could potentially be sent in February 2024.

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, voters in Lorain County will decide on Issue 20. If passed, the ballot measure will expand the number of county commissioners from three to seven, and implement geographically-defined districts to replace seats elected by the entire county. 

Traditionally, Lorain County has been governed by three countywide commissioners. 86 out of 88 of Ohio’s counties use this form of government. If passed, Issue 20 will create seven districts each with roughly 45,000 people, and represented by a single commissioner. The plan stipulates that the commissioners will make 60 percent of their current salary, or $56,000. 

Proponents of Issue 20 say the plan will allow for greater representation in a diverse county and make it easier for citizens to run for commissioner. Critics contend that it will enable gerrymandering, increase government expenditures, and undermine the authority of countywide elected officials, including sheriff, prosecutor, treasurer, and auditor.  Political action groups in support of and against the measure and current commissioners, political leaders, and labor unions have all taken stances.

The Lorain County Democratic Party and Lorain County AFL-CIO are opposing Issue 20. Lorain County Republican Chairman David Arredondo said that while the Lorain County GOP has not officially endorsed the ballot measure, he and other members of leadership are in support of the measure and are working to promote it. Despite the endorsements of party leaders, the debate over Issue 20 does not fall entirely down party lines. Democrat Brian Hoagland and Libertarian Homer Taft are leaders in the campaign to pass Issue 20, while Republican commissioner Michelle Hung opposes it.

“It is more participatory whereby the seven districts can have their own representative on this council,” Arredondo said. “Right now, there are only three that represent them at large. So historically, there’s no one from Oberlin that I’m aware of [who] was ever elected to the County Commission, nobody from Wellington, nobody from LaGrange. Mostly it’s been Lorain and the major cities that have dominated the County Commission.”

Amherst City Councilmember Martin Heberling, a Democrat who sits on the board of Citizens Opposed to Issue 20, believes that the seven district plan will decrease representation.

“Lorain County currently has three county commissioners who represent … every voter within Lorain County, so when you vote for your county commissioners here in Lorain County, your votes go to a person who’s going to be representing the entire county,” Heberling said. “If we were to reduce that … or increase the amount of commissioners to seven, … we’re going to be reducing the power of your vote of anyone who votes in Lorain County. You’re going to go from 100 percent representation down to 14 percent representation.”

The campaign to expand the Lorain County Commission has been active for years, but it has not managed to get any initiative on the ballot until now. Supporters of Issue 20 say that it is too difficult for ordinary people to campaign countywide, leading to a lack of candidates in recent elections. 

A website sponsored by Citizens for Equal Representation, a political action committee in favor of Issue 20, says that the cost for running for commissioner countywide is $100,000, while the cost of running in one of the proposed seven districts is only predicted to be $25,000. The website also claims that a seven-district commission will benefit Lorain County by allowing for greater interaction between commissioners and citizens and for committees focused on specialized policy areas. 

Issue 20 does not abolish or alter the role of countywide officials. However, some critics have expressed concerns that the increase in the number of commissioners and their staff could give them greater power to exert pressure on these elected positions, all of which are currently held by Democrats. The current sheriff, prosecutor, and auditor are all opposing the plan, as are organizations representing county officials, such as the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association, Ohio Clerk of Courts Association, and Ohio State Coroners Association. 

“A good way to describe it would be more cooks in the kitchen; more people overseeing things rather than having a person of dedicated leadership under strict control, [who] knows exactly what’s expected and does well, and has proven themselves well,” Heberling said. 

Arredondo dismissed these concerns as conjecture, pointing out that Issue 20 does not change the official role of the Commission.

“There are possible actions that the Commission could take, but it’s ultimately going to be the seven commissioners who decide on whether in fact they’re going to proceed with any kind of changes to county offices, like the auditor’s office or the sheriff’s office,” he said. “So there’s no guarantee that any changes would be made to any other office. And that’s no different than it is now with three commissioners.”

A seven-district map has been approved by the current County Commission and will be used if Issue 20 passes. The map was proposed to the Commission by Citizens for Equal Representation, and drawn by Mark Salling, senior fellow and research associate in the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, and Consultant Robert Dykes of Triad Research Group. According to  Citizens for Equal Representation’s website, the political action committee gave no guidelines to Salling and Dykes except to create a minority-majority district and avoid splitting city wards. Still, many Democrats contend that the map favors Republicans.

“The districts are based on population, but the way that they drew the lines would ensure that four out of those seven districts would always be reliably Republican-led districts,” Lili Sandler, founder of Lorain County Rising and a member of the executive committee of the Lorain County Democratic Party said. “As far as the Democratic Party is concerned, this is unfair. [The map] draws lines right through cities. It doesn’t even try to keep communities together. It puts the city of Oberlin in the middle of an exceptionally rural district.”

The map would place the City of Oberlin within District 2 with New Russia Township, LaGrange, Wellington, and much of southern Lorain County. Some residents of Oberlin are concerned that, as a heavily Democratic city within a predominantly rural and conservative district, their voices will not be heard. 

“Though Oberlin is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, our representative commissioner would not likely ever be a Democrat based on how the proposed maps are drawn,” Oberlin resident Katie Ashwill wrote in an email to the Review. “Currently, if there is a problem with a commissioner, all of Lorain County can address it. If Issue 20 passes, and there is a problem with a commissioner in the new District 2, for example — where Oberlin will be, we likely won’t have power to address it unless the rest of the district agrees. Further, if there is a problem with a commissioner in the proposed District 3, for example, that commissioner is only accountable to the people in that district, and therefore citizens across the rest of the county can’t do anything about it.”

Citizens of Lorain County will vote on Issue 20 on Tuesday. The next County Commissioner election is scheduled to be held in 2024.

At the grand opening, artifacts were on display in an exhibit curated in collaboration with the Oberlin College Special Collections along with artwork by Oberlin High School students. The Oberlin Underground Railroad Center Implementation Team envisions the Center will be used to showcase historical and artistic exhibits and hold performances focusing on the experiences of enslaved people, according to those working on the project. 

 “The space will be really dedicated showcasing some of the art and history of the slave times,” City Council Member Elizabeth Meadows, who serves as City Council liaison to the Implementation Team, said. “City officials have visions of it being able to be used by regular citizens for celebrations, but for the most part, the vision is mainly for it to be a good, comfortable place for Black history to be housed, celebrated, and preserved.”

Exact plans for how the Underground Railroad Center will be used have not been finalized. Currently, the Implementation Team is in the process of transitioning to become a nonprofit that will decide how the space is used. All their decisions will have to be approved by the City, which owns the building. 

Oberlin City Code Administrator and City Liaison to the Implementation Team Chris Yates mentioned the City’s interest in renting the space out for private events such as weddings and family reunions in addition to its use as a cultural center. He also said that telling the stories of enslaved individuals was a major part of the center’s vision.

 “Most of the stories in Oberlin revolve around … the abolitionist movement in Oberlin,” Yates said. “The Oberlin Underground Railroad Implementation Team wanted this building to be dedicated to and tell through exhibits the life that the slave led.”

The Gasholder building was built in 1889 to store coal gas that was used to power street lamps around town. It was used only briefly before falling into disuse and disrepair. The structure was almost torn down, but an effort led by citizens to save the building resulted in it being donated to the City in 2004. The Gasholder building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. 

Meadows said that there was already an interest in creating an Underground Railroad Center when she moved to Oberlin in 2001. In 2007, a design team was assembled, but the team lacked the funds to fully renovate the building. The team fundraised, and some construction was completed. However, the space remained unusable until the City agreed to put up the funds to finish the renovation in 2019.

Yates described the extent of the renovations necessary to bring the building up to code and make it a usable, public space. Proper drainage had to be established, a concrete support beam had to be installed in the basement, and the floor had to be leveled and finished. Additionally, the City installed heating and air conditioning, built a small stage for performances, and widened the entrance to allow for an increased capacity of 272 people. The cost of the project totaled over $500,000.

“It’s [an] exhibition room, basically short of a museum,” Yates said. “They didn’t think we could get the air quality in there for museum quality. I think now with the system we have in there, we can, so that changes it a little.”

During the grand opening, artifacts from the Oberlin College Special Collections’ Anti-Slavery Collection were on display. It  included shackles, a piece of a whipping post from a jail, and illustrations of the African coast from the era of the slave trade. Special Collections and Preservation Assistant Gena Reynolds said that these items were chosen from the collection by the members of the Implementation Team. The Anti-Slavery Collection was compiled throughout the 19th century and incorporated in Oberlin College’s first library in 1885. Most of the items in the collection pertain to the abolition movement, but some artifacts, like those displayed at the Underground Railroad Center opening, are directly related to slavery.

“[The artifacts] were collected following the Civil War as proof of what had happened and because people were interested in preserving that history,” Reynolds said. 

The one permanent exhibit in the Underground Railroad Center will be the tombstone of Lee Howard Dobbins. Dobbins was a four-year-old child, born into slavery, who came to Oberlin in 1853 with his adoptive mother who was fleeing enslavement with her other children. Dobbins was ill and had to be left in Oberlin as the family continued on their journey to freedom. He died shortly after, which left a large impact on the Oberlin community. His funeral at First Church was attended by over a thousand people. 

“I think it was a very tragic moment for the community and drove home the horrible things that were happening at that time,” Reynolds said. “It’s an event that I think the people in Oberlin really talked about a lot and wanted to make sure that people knew what had happened. There are multiple anti-slavery newspapers that run stories about it and talk about Dobbins’ death in our collection.”

Dobbins was buried under a tombstone emblazoned with the words “Let Slavery Perish!”

“The sandstone tombstone was removed from the graveyard to save it from rain damage,” Reynolds said. It remained in the Special Collections, despite belonging to the City, until it was returned to become part of the Underground Railroad Center. 

Meadows described the public’s response to the Underground Railroad Center as positive.

“On Juneteenth, there was a soft opening. Some of the community members were invited to come in,” she said. “And I have to say that the people who came in were just joyous. I like to use that word, because they were all smiling and happy and came inside and just walked around and made very positive comments about the interior of the building because they had seen it as an eyesore for many, many years, and now it’s not.”

Yates said that there are plans to install bathrooms in the center to accommodate for times when the restrooms at the nearby picnic pavilion are closed. He also said he hoped the Center would be able to collaborate with the Oberlin College Special Collections on another exhibition in the near future.

“Making changes to our commissioning plan is the right thing to do at this time,” EDL CEO for North America Richard DiGia said, according to a press release. “We recognize the facility has been loud and share our neighbors’ frustrations.”

Alan Margocs, who lives near the EDL plant off of Oberlin Road, said that the noise has been very disruptive, making it difficult to sleep or spend time outside. Since Monday, the noise has ceased, though it resumed Wednesday afternoon as part of the 48-hour sound testing. Margocs said he was glad EDL was responding to the concerns of nearby residents and is hopeful the changes will improve conditions in the area.

“I’m willing to give them a chance,” Margocs said. “I’m trying to not be upset, trying to let them do their good-faith testing that they need to do and correct this problem.”

The commissioning process is a necessary phase during which equipment is tested before the plant can begin processing gas to export. The statement released by EDL said that slowing the process would give the company time to work on noise mitigation. 

“This will allow our team to design and implement measures that will reduce the noise and make other improvements to our operations before we restart the commissioning process and begin producing renewable natural gas,” DiGia said. “We’re disappointed that commissioning at our Oberlin facility has moved too slowly. Making changes to our commissioning plan will allow EDL to work with our project contractors to address all operational issues and complete the commissioning process in a safe and orderly manner.”

DiGia attended the Oberlin City Council meeting on Monday where he announced that EDL would alter its commissioning schedule. DiGia announced that the plant had been shut down and that operations would resume for a 48 hour period on Wednesday and Thursday to allow for sound testing. He promised that the facility would be shut off again by the weekend and that EDL had contracted an independent acoustical engineering firm to assist with noise testing and mitigation.

Following the recent Oct. 3rd Candidates Night, City Council candidate Frieda Fuchs spoke to the Review about the facility.

“It is crucial for the city to encourage EDL to join OSHA’s voluntary compliance program. While EDL claims to have met and exceeded federal safety standards, we must explore additional safety measures,” Fuchs said. “The plant’s proximity to residential areas and use of methane processing technology make it imperative to prevent a possible gas leak. Furthermore, we need to determine if EDL follows EPA noise regulations and can address the issues that bother nearby residents.”

 “[The JVS internship program] gives [students] an opportunity to go out into their trade and work with one of our employer partners so they can gain skills and get that real-world experience, not only just within their trade but also those soft skills that go with employment as well,” JVS Director of Communications Heidi Clevinger said. “It’s really a win for our employers who are able to sort of build a pipeline of employees that they can train and work with throughout a couple years in their high school experience. Our hope is that they hire them full-time after they graduate from high school. It’s also a win for our students, who have the opportunity to earn high school credit [and] to get more experience within their trade, as well as earn money over the summer.”

The program’s application is open to rising seniors who have completed a year at JVS with good grades and teacher recommendations. This summer, 99 students from across Lorain County participated, including two from Oberlin High School. The students were employed by 38 companies in fields ranging from auto repair to cosmetology. Students received one and a half academic credits for completing the program in addition to a paycheck. 

“The staff strives hard to have their students experience an internship in the field they have chosen with the outcomes always being positive,” President of the JVS Board of Education Rex Engle said. “Many students get offered employment their senior year and offered a full time job upon graduation. The JVS prides itself in having many of their graduates employed upon graduation.”

Clevinger said the JVS has a good relationship with local businesses. Each technical program has an advisory committee made up of business leaders and community members in the field. Some internships are with employers from these groups, others are with other businesses JVS has developed a reputation with.

“We have an excellent reputation in the community,” Clevinger said. “We have several employers who approach us throughout the school year talking about … how they can get to know our students and work with our students. Any employer that comes through here is vetted by us. We do safety site visits; we meet with them to make sure it’s an appropriate place for a student to be. And, over the years, we’ve been really fortunate to cultivate those partnerships and keep them long term.” 

Clevinger expressed her view on the importance of trained tradespeople to our economy.

“I think the importance of the trades is something that a lot of people realize, but it’s nice to see how many of our students are excited about going into the trades,” she said. “As different generations continue to retire early, … a lot of the skilled trades are really finding a shortage of labor right now. And so, we feel that the work we do here is so critical to keeping the American economy running smoothly, to keep providing the services that people need.”

Longtime educator and School Board candidate Janet Garrett also expressed a belief that JVS’ mission benefited the community.

“I see the JVS as a great resource and opportunity for high school students to graduate into a skilled job,” she said. “Good for them. Good for society.”

In early 2023, the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, working with KM Date Community Planning, OHM advisors, and Downtown Strategies, Inc, released a survey, hosted an open house, and held a series of small-group conversations with community members to gather public input on what citizens would like to see in the new plan. At the input sessions last weekend, the Steering Committee presented a list of goals and objectives and a preliminary future land use map based on the results of the survey and public meetings. 

“All goals, objectives and action steps will be pursued under two overarching lenses: environmental sustainability and social equity,” the preliminary plan framework reads. “They overlap each goal, objective and action step in the plan, and will broadly influence City policy and decision making as the plan is implemented.”

Also in the framework, the Committee established five broad goals they aim to address through the Comprehensive Plan: “expand diversity and affordability of housing,” “continue and expand economic development,” “continue to provide quality community services,” “promote community arts and culture,” and “improve and expand communication and collaboration [between Oberlin’s government, schools, businesses, and Oberlin College].” 

Kirby Date, principal of KM Date Community Planning, and Carrie Porter, director of planning and development for the City, said housing was the most common concern that community members voiced in the survey, town hall, and small groups.

“[Affordability of housing] is on everyone’s mind,” Date said. “The most important thing to them is that Oberlin’s housing be more diverse and … be more affordable and in better condition so that … a more diverse set of people can live here who would like to.”

The Steering Committee sees more diverse housing options, including multi-family residential homes, as a way to make housing more affordable and accessible. The “single-family district” distinction on the current zoning map is eliminated in the new future land use map, replaced by “suburban residential” and “traditional neighborhood”. According to the map, “traditional neighborhood” is “characterized by residential communities with a range of small-lot detached or attached single family types with multi-family options” while suburban residential maintains “the fabric and character of existing suburban Oberlin residential neighborhoods and subdivisions,” yet can allow “diverse housing typologies to maintain and grow the Oberlin fabric.”

“Right now, the city doesn’t have a multifamily zoning district, so I think that’s an issue that we’re going to tackle here very soon,” Porter said. “Right now, if you want to do any kind of multifamily development, you have to go through the plan development process, which is more lengthy than a regular rezoning process.”

City Council Member and Steering Committee Chair Ray English used the term “flexible residential” to describe the Committee’s vision for residential areas. 

“The comprehensive plan survey indicated that residents want Oberlin to expand the quantity and diversity of housing,” he said. “Suggested housing types include things like tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, cluster homes, duplexes, and quadplexes. Our residential zoning focuses mainly on single-family homes and basically does not allow the diverse options that are being suggested by our community. That’s why we need more flexible residential zoning.”

Attendees gave specific suggestions on the future land use map, as well as feedback on the general ideas laid out in the framework. Date said that community input is essential to the process because city planners can never completely anticipate the particular interests of citizens.

“One of the things that came up — which is exactly what we want — is people pointing things out to us and saying, ‘Well, you know, that’s not really a conservation area there, that’s a farm field and it’s a good place to put housing,’ or … ‘This bikeway over here isn’t really a bikeway, it’s all gravel and it’d be great [if it] started to serve a real use in the community,’” Date said. “We got a lot of very concrete ideas from people.”

Economic development was also an important issue for citizens, according to Date and Porter. Date said that more economic development could potentially decrease the tax load on citizens.

“One of the other big concerns … is that taxes are very high, and taxes plus the higher cost of housing together is what is squeezing people out,” Date said. “So there is a wonderful understanding … amongst the folks we’ve been talking to about the connection between the need to have economic development and reducing taxes. … The more companies you have that are actively thriving in Oberlin [means] … those companies [and] those employees are paying income taxes to the city, which helps to reduce the need for resident income taxes.”

Some of the business development will happen south of town along the State Route 58 corridor. The land use map proposes mixed-use commercial and residential development designed to give residents easy access to nearby businesses. 

“You see rural communities saying, ‘No more growth,’ ‘We don’t wanna change.’ ‘We don’t want anything new,’ ‘We don’t want new people here,’” Date said. “That’s not what we heard in Oberlin. We heard, ‘We want Oberlin to grow.’ We know that’s important for Oberlin’s sustainability. That’s a community that really is looking realistically at the future. There was a condition on that, though, which was, ‘We want to grow, we understand we need to grow, but we wanna do it right. We do not wanna sprawl, we do not want more highway commercial.We want more of what Oberlin is now.’”

The Steering Committee will use the feedback from the public input sessions to create a first draft of the Comprehensive Plan that will be presented to the Oberlin Planning Commission and City Council. City Council is scheduled to vote on approving the plan by the end of the year.

Citizens still have an opportunity to give their input through a survey on the Oberlin Comprehensive Plan Website.

Over a dozen community members, most of whom live near the EDL plant, expressed their unhappiness about the facility during a public comment section of the meeting. Residents complained about the smell of burning gas, and the noise produced by the plant. Many said the noie made it difficult to sleep. Residents also had concerns about the safety of the plant and their homes’ values decreasing.

“At times, it’s like you’re in a room with an industrial vacuum cleaner running,” Alan Margocs, who lives near the plant and commented at the City Council meeting, told the Review. “It makes it [so that] when it’s running you can’t open the windows – even with the windows closed I have to put on a white noise machine [to sleep].”

EDL officials responded saying that they are currently working on noise mitigation and are committed to remaining within local noise ordinances. The officials also said they had followed all federal and state safety requirements, and included further measures to ensure that the plant was safe for people living nearby. When asked, they said they did not have the necessary information to answer questions about the blast radius of the plant, but that the information had been submitted to the Ohio EPA and was publicly available.

Tom Reeves, director of project delivery, said that the emissions from the current plant are cleaner than the old electrical plant that used to operate at the landfill, and are mostly composed of carbon dioxide and water vapor. He said that toxins are filtered out before emissions are released.

Numerous City Council members expressed unhappiness with EDL’s handling of the plant.

“I am disappointed that, during the City’s review of its plans, EDL was not more forthcoming about the noise disruption now being caused by machinery at the renewable natural gas plant during the commissioning process,” City Councilmember Ray English wrote to the Review in an email. “EDL indicated to the City’s planning commission that it was common for such facilities to be located in close proximity to residential neighborhoods without causing problems. I’m also disappointed that EDL has not given a clear indication about when the noise disruption will end. There are residents living not far from the plant who can’t sleep at night. To me that is simply unacceptable.”

Citizens also complained that they were not given an opportunity to give feedback during the planning and approval phase of the plant. 

“I feel that the City of Oberlin really failed to do due diligence,” Margocs said. “They made no attempt to look and talk to residents before this project even started, and it just got quietly put through.”

English said that the location and functioning of the EDL plant was discussed and approved in numerous public City Council, Public Utility Commission, and Planning Commission meetings, at which there were opportunities for the public to comment.

“I think it is true that there was not broad awareness in the community aWbout decisions related to the plant, as evidenced by the fact that there wasn’t much comment from the public at the various meetings,” English said. “It’s really the commissioning process — with the landfill gas flaring and the noise from the machinery — that has raised community awareness of the plant.”

EDL officials will return for City Council’s next meeting Oct. 2. to answer questions raised this week and address further concerns.  

In the latter half of the meeting, City Council renewed the City’s partnership with LCCC. The program allows Oberlin residents to take free 16–32 week courses and receive certificates in high-demand fields such as advanced manufacturing and healthcare. City Council also approved a zoning request for a parcel of land on State Route 58 that could allow mixed-use residential and commercial development. English said this is only one step in the development process. If the owners of the land want to build there, they will need to have their plans approved by the Planning Commission and City Council.

“We love Oberlin College and want to support it to the best of our abilities and circumstances,” the petition reads. “This major change regarding the timing and off-campus accommodations for the reunion is alienating many of us at a time when the College needs our financial support more than ever.”

The petition, launched on the site Change.org, details the reasons why alumni are upset over the change. Lisa Freiman, OC ’89, who started the petition, said the complaints listed were compiled from discussions within Facebook groups of various class years going back to the 1960s. 

According to the petition, the new meeting time makes attendance difficult for teachers and professors, for whom the reunion falls in the middle of the semester, and for Conservatory alumni, many of whom work as professional musicians and often have weekend gigs. The petition also points out that the fall dates frequently coincide with Jewish high holidays. Signers of the petition also express disappointment with not being able to stay in campus dorms,  ending a tradition that they found meaningful.

“The spring reunions are special precisely because they are tied to graduation, allowing alumni to remember those very special moments in their lives and to ensure (through gifts) that what makes Oberlin unique remains,” the petition reads.

Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement Terry Kurtz said that positive feedback from alumni about the fall reunion times contributed to the change. Kurtz also identified logistical concerns with housing alumni on campus as a factor in the decision. 

“Oberlin’s executive leadership team had reviewed the ability to effectively turn over dorms in the short timeframe between the departure of students and the arrival of alumni guests, and alumni satisfaction with dorm accommodations,” Kurtz said. “Those factors led to the determination that on-campus housing for alumni was not practical moving forward.”

A release from the Office of Communications announcing the change Aug. 4 mentioned the burden imposed by housing logistics and suggested potential benefits of having the reunion at a time when classes are in session.

“Over the past two years, as Oberlin emerged from the pandemic, several reunion classes and clusters held successful fall reunions,” the release reads. “Attendees reported fun and meaningful experiences during their return to a campus in full swing.”

Kurtz also mentioned how holding a reunion during the semester would allow students and alumni to connect. 

“We have intentionally built schedules for both spring and fall to provide alumni with a wide array of connection points throughout the College and Conservatory,” Kurtz said. “We also know that student connections are made during both times of year, through formal and informal interactions, whether those are happening through alumni visits to classes, attendance at concerts or athletics events, hanging out at The ’Sco, or enjoying Illumination on Tappan Square.”

Illumination is a long-held Oberlin tradition where Japanese lanterns are strung up and lit around campus. It began in 1860 in celebration of the election of Abraham Lincoln and has happened almost every year since. Illumination has historically been held during Commencement & Reunion Weekend, but this year will occur during Homecoming week to accommodate the reunions.

Freiman and other alumni who signed the petition feel that staying on campus is an integral part of the reunion experience, and that the symbolic tie between Commencement-week reunions and graduation makes the tradition worth preserving. 

“Commencement Weekend is about coming home,” Freiman said. “Home is not staying in a hotel in Elyria or North Olmsted. We want to be in Oberlin. … [The school] always made [on-campus reunion housing] work before, because the tradition was sacred.”

Freiman said she spoke with College administrators who said they do not have plans to change the reunion times. She views the school’s lack of transparency surrounding the decision as a major threat to institutional integrity and good relations with alumni.

“I started seeing bits and pieces of information trickling in online and on Facebook about the fact that the reunion was being moved from Commencement Weekend to the fall, and that the [Office of Advancement] and the [Office of Alumni Engagement] had decided to make the change with the support of the President and senior leadership of the College,” Freiman said. “It was a total shock to all of us because there had been zero communication. … Many alumni are worried that the College’s wall of silence with alumni and its lack of willingness to engage in any open and sincere dialogue about any of these issues is beyond troubling  [and is] putting the College at major risk.”

Ted Gest, OC ’68, Alumni Leadership Council member and 1968 class ambassador, holds a different opinion on the change.

“I think the jury is still out on the change,” Gest said. “Some of my classmates don’t like it — they miss Commencement, they have to stay in hotels and say that Homecoming weekend isn’t a big Oberlin tradition. … I don’t have a firm opinion now about the change. [I] will be out there in a couple of weeks and will assess. One advantage of fall reunions might be that classes are going on.”

Professor and Director of Musicology Charles McGuire, OC ’92,  also saw both benefits and drawbacks to fall reunions.

“Fall in Oberlin is beautiful, not too warm, and holding reunions then gives alumni an opportunity to see the institution as it is, not just devoid of most students besides graduates,” McGuire said. “I just wish there were more infrastructure available in town for alumni to stay; driving in from the cities around us is not ideal.”

“We’re having ongoing conversations,” Oberlin Chief of Staff David Hertz said. “We have a call every Thursday that senior members of administration participate in with UNITAR and GFPA, and we’re talking about a variety of different programs and relationships and approaches.” 

UNITAR is an arm of the United Nations focused on education. It has partnerships with several other U.S. educational institutions, though Oberlin is the only one focused solely on undergraduate education. According to its website, UNITAR’s vision is to create a “world in which individuals, institutions and organizations are equipped with the knowledge, skills and other capacities to overcome global challenges.”

 “Our goal is to provide the kind of liberal arts education that Oberlin provides to more people from around the world,” Hertz said. “Our partners at UNITAR call it education and cultural diplomacy, which is a concept that we find very attractive because it’s within our mission of … educating students so they can go out and do good in the world.”

As a result  of the partnership, Oberlin plans to bolster its English for Speakers of Other Languages program. Before they matriculate, students who demonstrate low proficiency in English will be able to participate in an on-campus English immersion program. While this program was announced last December and slated to occur the summer of 2023, it was delayed. 

“The ESOL program we are envisioning would assist students who are speakers of other languages in gaining the proficiency in English to thrive in Oberlin classrooms and classrooms at other predominantly English language institutions of higher education,” Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Kamitsuka said. 

Kamitsuka said that he felt Oberlin benefits from students from diverse geographical backgrounds. He hopes the partnership will lead to internships and other educational opportunities for Oberlin students with U.N.-related agencies. Both Kamitsuka and Hertz stressed that the specifics of the partnership were a work in progress. 

“The collaboration between Oberlin and UNITAR and GFPA has been very constructive,” Kamitsuka said. “We look forward to being able to announce the initial fruits of this collaboration in the near future.”