Olive Hwang – The Oberlin Review https://oberlinreview.org Established 1874. Thu, 29 Apr 2021 16:04:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 Chabad at Oberlin, AVI Fresh Partner to Certify Kosher Kitchen https://oberlinreview.org/23712/news/chabad-at-oberlin-avi-fresh-partner-to-certify-kosher-kitchen/ https://oberlinreview.org/23712/news/chabad-at-oberlin-avi-fresh-partner-to-certify-kosher-kitchen/#respond Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:00:15 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=23712 Chabad at Oberlin and AVI Fresh are finalizing plans to have Heritage Kitchen become a certified kosher dining hall this May, according to an announcement last week. Previously, Heritage offered “kosher style” options, which followed most Jewish dietary laws but were still not technically kosher. Rabbi Shlomo Elkan, co-director of Chabad at Oberlin, will serve as the dining hall’s new kosher administrator. The partnership will ensure that Heritage’s operations meet religious standards. 

“Both Chabad [and Oberlin Hillel] have been instrumental in moving forward with a kosher certified kitchen on campus,” wrote Lilkeisha Smith, AVI’s director of operations at Oberlin, in an email to the Review. “Our hope is to provide a space where not only those that practice keeping kosher can have a space where they can dine and commune, but others can share in a dining experience that they may not have had.”

To be certified kosher, a kitchen must be monitored by a trained religious supervisor or mashgiach. Until now, this was not present at Heritage. Elkan will work with the mashgichim to facilitate food preparation that fully adheres to Jewish dietary laws moving forward. 

“My role will be coordinating all kosher operations at the kitchen, which means liaising between AVI and the mashgichim,” Elkan wrote in an email to the Review. “Also Chabad will be responsible for kashering the kitchen and ensuring it maintains its kosher status, fielding kosher questions, and kosher education.”

For those who keep kosher and had no on-campus dining choices this academic year, Heritage will now be a viable dining option. College third-year Noah Plotkin, who keeps Kosher and is active in the Chabad student organization, is happy to see a commitment made to the Jewish community at Oberlin by meeting the necessary dietary needs.

“The kosher dining option makes Oberlin one of the few liberal arts schools accessible to all members of the religious Jewish community,” Plotkin wrote in a message to the Review. “There is a lot of diversity of thought and students that could come through this program.”

Still, the announcement has been met with mixed reactions from some students and alumni. The persistence of Heritage comes in the wake of the closure of Kosher-Halal Co-op, a student-run collective that existed for over four decades.

KHC, which served meals in accordance with Jewish and Muslim dietary laws, formerly operated out of the Talcott Hall kitchen. All campus co-ops were closed this year due to COVID-19, and Heritage opened in place of KHC in Talcott. While many co-ops will re-open in the fall, KHC is permanently closed. Many students and alumni objected to the change, voicing concerns about the loss of a distinctive interfaith community. Former KHC member Jasper Perry-Anderson, OC ’20, believes that hands-on co-op work is a valuable experience that can’t be replicated by a typical dining setup.

“I think cooking, keeping a kitchen clean, and following religious dietary restrictions if we so choose are important life skills that it’s genuinely important to learn,” Perry-Anderson said. “People can learn that from being in co-ops far more than we can by going to dining halls.”

College fourth-year and former KHC member Paige Reinstein believes that co-ops provide a unique means of building community. 

“KHC and Campus Dining Services are two totally different things,” Reinstein said. “If students are going to a kosher dining hall, I’m very glad to know it’s getting certified. … [But KHC offered] social connections and helped us grow as independent Jewish and Muslim adults. We were creating something of our own.”

While a traditional dining hall can’t offer the same experience as a co-op, Heritage’s kosher certification is a positive step for individuals observing these dietary practices. Elkan and Smith both hope that this change will promote discussions around identity and help people grow closer through communal meals. 

“There is a shared history, collective memory, and connection to spiritual identity that has bound the Jewish people for thousands of years,” Elkan wrote. “The Heritage Kosher Kitchen honors the fact that there has been a kosher community at Oberlin for decades in KHC. The co-op paved the way for the newest evolution in kosher at Oberlin and … I feel honored to be a link in the chain in Oberlin’s Jewish food history.”

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ObieGame: Oberlin’s Most Puzzling Tradition https://oberlinreview.org/23550/arts/obiegame-oberlins-most-puzzling-tradition/ https://oberlinreview.org/23550/arts/obiegame-oberlins-most-puzzling-tradition/#respond Fri, 16 Apr 2021 21:00:04 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=23550 For such a wildly popular event, ObieGame remains shrouded in an air of mystery. With this year’s version underway, the two-week alternate reality game melds brainteasers and a treasure hunt into an interactive story, attracting over 300 participants a year. The mission is simple: “Follow the clues. Solve the puzzle. Save the world.” 

In past games, players have faced off with evil corporations, the Illuminati, demons, rogue artificial intelligence, and more. I’m not at liberty to divulge much about this year’s plot, but I can say that players recently began investigating an online forum tied to dark secrets. 

Each edition of ObieGame is made possible by a team of roughly 15 volunteer planners. Meeting in secret, they work together to orchestrate the riddles, events, and acting that make each story come to life. According to College third-year and ObieGame planner Ava Simon, the group works year-round to make the event possible. 

When Oberlin’s campus abruptly shut down in March 2020, ObieGame coordinators creatively reimagined the tradition. In a record-smashing two weeks, the group wrote a new story and restructured the game for online play. Then that summer, they made a groundbreaking decision — for the first time in its history, the game would take place in both the fall and spring semesters. This plan gave nearly every student the chance to take part on campus. Even though all puzzles can be completed remotely this year, organizers believe that on-campus participation is offering players a richer experience. 

To say that people take ObieGame seriously would be an understatement, though this intensity is all in good fun. Teams take part in heated negotiations, offering up one bit of information in exchange for another. Others will resort to sneakier tactics — some players craft fake clues and unsolvable puzzles to throw off opponents. According to College third-year and planner Carl Hausman, such red herrings are an ObieGame staple. 

“At this point, it’s practically tradition for at least one team to lay out some kind of a false trail for other unwitting teams to follow,” Hausman wrote in an email to the Review

ObieGame has come a long way since its inception in 2004. The game’s first iteration was more or less a trail of puzzles with a loose spy theme. Since then, ObieGame has transformed into a vibrant ARG experience, each year offering a new, interactive story. The game’s creator, Aaron “Mooch” Mucciolo, OC ’02, is thrilled to see the strides ObieGame has made and the evolution of its legacy. 

“When I roped a friend into helping me write some bad rhymes in spring 2004, I did not foresee a 19th iteration,” Mucciolo wrote in an email to the Review. “I am truly, truly delighted and just a bit awed by that number.”

The community among ObieGame planners and players is remarkably tight-knit. Mucciolo was involved in ObieGame for over a decade, devising puzzles and training others in the art of game planning. Organizers and players alike treasure the relationships they’ve built through ObieGame. College fourth-year Renée Geyer, who first played as part of an eight-person team, remains close with several individuals from that group. 

“Some of my strongest friendships I’ve made in college were solidified in intense puzzle-solving sessions spring semester freshman year,” Geyer wrote in an email to the Review

Just as players connect through solving puzzles, organizers grow closer writing riddles and stories. College fourth-year Jacqueline Steel, a game planner for the last three years, has enjoyed contributing to the team’s collective imagination. 

“It’s really just fun to create a story with people and get to see it come to life,” Steel said. “The collaborative nature of it is definitely one of my favorite things about ObieGame.” 

College first-year Ale Jorge, a new member of the planning team, echoed this sentiment. 

“I love writing fiction, and ObieGame is a story unlike any other,” Jorge wrote in an email to the Review. “To be a part of writing and telling its story has been so fun and fulfilling, and I’m so happy to be a part of the team for that reason.”

After pouring months into planning, organizers are eager to see students’ reactions as the plot unfolds. College third-year and planner Mistral Newman encourages players, both current and prospective, to be playful with the elaborate story that planners have created. 

“If you engage more with the world we’ve built, most of the time you’ll get more out of it,” Newman wrote in an email to the Review. “We love people interacting with our characters and making content related to the world of the game. Sometimes, we’ll even change parts of the game in response to what we’ve seen our players do.”

After a long day of work or school, being able to enjoy the company of friends is always important. ObieGame provides a whole new realm for you to experience together. So why not take a break from real-world drudgery? You never know what quests await you. 

“Play is important; it keeps us from getting too down on ourselves and the heavy things happening in our lives,” Mucciolo wrote. “Oberlin students deserve a little break from changing the real world to spend time having fun saving a fictional one.”

If you were hoping to play ObieGame this semester, I’m afraid you’re too late. But keep your eyes peeled… you never know when disaster will strike again. To learn more about the event, including past storylines and winners, check out the ObieGame site.

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Students Create Art in Support of Workers’ Rights https://oberlinreview.org/23464/news/students-create-art-in-support-of-workers-rights/ https://oberlinreview.org/23464/news/students-create-art-in-support-of-workers-rights/#respond Fri, 09 Apr 2021 20:51:37 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=23464 Obies designed posters in support of dining hall employees at the recent Student-Worker Solidarity Art Build. The event, hosted by the Student Labor Action Coalition, was part of last week’s TGIF gathering in Wilder Bowl. 

College third-year and SLAC Treasurer Mira Newman believes that students have unique leverage in the push for workers’ rights on campus. 

“As students, we have a lot of privilege, and the institution cares what we think and what we do,” Newman said. “So our job is to help support unions in any way we can to increase visibility.”

The 80 posters created during the event will be displayed in dining halls around campus.

“It’s so management knows that we are still paying attention to what is going on and watching how they treat workers, and also just general support for the union,” Newman said.

SLAC meetings take place on Sundays from 2–3 p.m. Email oberlinslac@gmail.com for more information.

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Faculty Research Psychological and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 https://oberlinreview.org/23124/news/faculty-research-psychological-and-economic-impacts-of-covid-19/ https://oberlinreview.org/23124/news/faculty-research-psychological-and-economic-impacts-of-covid-19/#respond Fri, 12 Mar 2021 21:57:07 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=23124 One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many questions remain about the virus itself and its impact on society. To find answers, Oberlin faculty across departments have been leveraging their existing academic interests to better understand the pandemic. Across disciplines such as psychology, environmental studies, and economics, their work has contributed to a growing body of research and understanding.  

Cindy Frantz, professor of psychology and environmental studies, is investigating COVID-19’s impact on perceptions of climate change action. When the pandemic lockdown curbed transportation and commercial activity, many areas around the world saw short-term improvements in environmental health. News outlets highlighted these developments, sharing stories about decreased carbon emissions and cleaner water with the public. 

“[These news stories] made me wonder whether these examples of successful collective human behavior change, and nature’s quick response, might make people more hopeful and feel greater efficacy about taking action on climate change,” Frantz wrote in an email to the Review. 

Through online sampling, Frantz has collected data on how people think about this issue. She has conducted this project with the help of many students, including College fourth-years Jessie (Jingyi) Yuan and Mikaela de Lemos. Yuan and de Lemos recently presented the study’s findings at the 2021 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention. 

“We found that making an explicit connection between the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and the resulting environmental ‘boost’ increased participants’ sense of response and performance efficacy at the individual, group, and government level,” de Lemos wrote in an email to the Review. “This means that after reading about how India’s environment bounced back due to COVID-19, people felt that they could and would take action to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

De Lemos notes that this messaging even increased a sense of efficacy and behavioral intention among climate change deniers. The study suggests that highlighting this link between collective behavioral change and environmental benefit could be a powerful tool in promoting climate change action. 

“The global experience of COVID has proven that people around the world were able to make rapid behavior changes such as staying at home or wearing masks,” Yuan wrote in an email to the Review. “Acknowledging the ease of such behavior shifts and the positive impacts of them are crucial predictors of protective behaviors for the environment.”

Associate Professor of Economics Martin Saavedra is also researching COVID-19 by looking into the economic consequences of epidemics in the United States. In particular, he studies the “fetal origins hypothesis,” which posits that being in utero during a pandemic is linked to poorer adult labor market outcomes, in addition to adverse health effects. Factors like disease exposure and prenatal stress during early development may have consequences that aren’t apparent for years down the line. In other words, future wages, educational achievement, and occupational status can all be tied back, in part, to one’s environment before birth. 

Recently, Saavedra co-authored an article comparing the COVID-19 pandemic to the 1918 influenza pandemic, a subject of renewed interest in the academic world. Though they are separated by over a century, the two pandemics bear major similarities — such as viral respiratory disease spreading rapidly through close contact, for example. Moreover, social distancing measures led to temporary business and school shutdowns in both cases. 

The 1918 pandemic triggered an economic contraction, due in large part to disproportionately high mortality rates among working-age individuals. With COVID-19, however, people in this age group are among the most likely to survive the disease. For this reason, Saavedra and his co-authors do not foresee the current pandemic causing the same level of labor supply shock. 

One key difference between the pandemics, he pointed out, is that Americans were used to lower life expectancy and worse health outcomes in 1918 than they are today. 

“For example, the 1918 pandemic happened during a time when people were more accustomed to living with dangerous infectious disease and for that reason, society didn’t shut down as stringently as it did in March of 2020,” Saavedra wrote in an email to the Review.

Additionally, the coincidence of the influenza pandemic and the end of World War I makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Even so, the parallels between the pandemics have challenged economists to think critically about what lies ahead. 

As the coronavirus continues to mutate and spread, people worldwide remain wracked with uncertainty. Society’s understanding of the pandemic, however, is continually growing, and investigating these uncertain times across disciplines — as Frantz and Saavedra have — can offer models for a path forward.

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Ben Jones, OC ’96, Named Assistant VP of Admissions Communications https://oberlinreview.org/22393/news/ben-jones-oc-96-named-assistant-vp-of-admissions-communications/ https://oberlinreview.org/22393/news/ben-jones-oc-96-named-assistant-vp-of-admissions-communications/#respond Fri, 05 Feb 2021 21:54:38 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=22393 Ben Jones, OC ’96, has been appointed the College’s first assistant vice president of admissions communications, starting next fall. Jones has served as Oberlin’s vice president for communications, and this past year he was instrumental in sorting out the challenges that COVID-19 posed to student recruitment. After 13 years heading the Office of Communications, Jones is excited to play a greater part in bringing the Oberlin experience to a new generation. 

The appointment was announced in a Jan. 29 email from President Carmen Twillie Ambar. 

“Out of the pandemic, we had to really rethink our admissions recruitment efforts and our marketing of the institution — particularly around our academic programs and the key ways that our students are drawn to Oberlin,” President Ambar said in an interview with the Review. “We’re really excited about [Jones’ appointment] because you typically wouldn’t have that level of seasoned professional — who knows Oberlin and understands Oberlin and has done other work for Oberlin — ready and poised to do that role.”

For over a decade, Jones has overseen the design of the College’s website, social media, editorial services, and more. Last spring, he facilitated Oberlin’s sudden shift to remote recruitment. Jones poured much of his time into restructuring and developing online programming for prospective students. 

“When the pandemic hit and we realized quickly that an in-person All Roads Lead to Oberlin would not be possible, we had to coordinate a campus-wide effort to recreate All Roads in a virtual space, on very short notice,” Jones wrote in an email to the Review. “This was a true community effort that went well beyond Admissions and Communications — faculty, staff, and students across campus were enthusiastic partners throughout that adventure. It was a moment in which Oberlin shone incredibly brightly.” 

In spite of many challenges, the College brought together an impressive class of new first-year students. Jones wants to sustain these new recruitment strategies moving forward, even when in-person offerings can be fully resumed. He and President Ambar believe that this enhanced outreach will be essential to the College’s success.

In his new position, Jones will collaborate with Vice President and Dean of Admissions Manuel Carballo, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Kamitsuka, and Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen. As an Oberlin graduate, Jones is especially excited to engage young adults with what the school has to offer. 

“My education here has had a profound impact on my life that continues to this day,” Jones wrote. “I guess what means the most to me about working here is simply the ability to be able to make a career out of serving a place that I love so much and help others find their way to this incredibly special place.”

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OC Taiko Preserves Community and Culture https://oberlinreview.org/22218/arts/oc-taiko-preserves-community-and-culture/ https://oberlinreview.org/22218/arts/oc-taiko-preserves-community-and-culture/#respond Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:58:34 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=22218 Three nights a week the booms of Japanese drums shake the halls of First United Methodist Church, as eight members of Oberlin College Taiko perform in remarkable synchronicity. Striking their drums with determination and confidence, they build up a rhythm sure to invigorate any audience, virtual or live.  

In North America, taiko refers to the art of Japanese ensemble drumming. Taiko drummers use large wooden sticks called bachi to hit their taiko, which means drum in Japanese. This style of drumming traditionally accompanied religious services, war communication, court music, and noh and kabuki theater. Taiko, however, was not a standalone art form until the 1950s, when drummer Daihachi Oguchi popularized the idea of a percussion-only ensemble. This surge in recognition in the U.S. was, in part, a response to watershed moments in Japanese and Asian American history. 

“In the U.S., a lot of Japanese Americans learned to assimilate to white America and intentionally not engage with their Japanese [heritage], especially because of WWII and internment,” wrote College fourth-year Akira Di Sandro in an email to the Review. 

Faced with adversity, many Japanese Americans began to practice taiko in an attempt to build community and reconnect with their culture after years of repression and assimilation. The style has since evolved, appealing to a broader audience and gaining traction around the world.

OCT honors this tradition by performing and sharing taiko’s rich history. While public shows have been limited this semester, the team is still hard at work. After presenting at this year’s Virtual Parents Weekend, OCT is now working with percussion group Oberlin Steel on a collaborative piece. Together, the groups are melding OCT’s “Matsuri” with OSteel’s “This Melody Sweet.” They are now in the process of digitally merging the recordings, which were recorded independently. 

College fifth-year Eleda Fernald and College fourth-year Matthew Sato, who play in both groups, are excited to see the teams join forces. 

“This semester it was especially nice to collaborate since we’re all so desperate for connection and community,” Fernald wrote in an email to the Review. “[We have] hopes to one day play it together outside in a joint show. It’s been so nice to finally show each other our spaces and our different modes of rehearsing!” 

Of course, this semester has not come without challenges for OCT. Due to the risk of airborne COVID-19 transmission, drummers aren’t allowed to do kiai —  sharp, emphatic vocalizations used to build energy — while playing, even with masks. Fernald feels that this has taken away an integral feature of taiko. 

“[Kiai is] such an important part of songs and supporting each other that the music feels empty and cold without it,” she wrote.

Other team members are also disappointed by this restraint, though they are doing their best to adjust to the new restrictions in a way that maintains the character of the performances. According to Sato, auxiliary percussion now stands in for the usual shouts and exclamations. Di Sandro remains hopeful that the team’s enthusiasm will still shine through. 

“We still can’t kiai so it won’t be the same as our usual concerts but we hope you will still feel our passion for taiko through our music,” Di Sandro wrote in a Facebook post about the Fall Show. 

Maintaining a sense of community among the performers has also been trickier this year. The College’s three-semester plan means that out of OCT’s 13 members, only eight are currently on campus and able to perform. Still, off-campus OCT members are kept in the loop through a Facebook group chat and Zoom, over which rehearsals are streamed in case off-campus students wish to follow along. As for those on-campus, Sato said the group spends time outside and has individual check-ins before, during, and after rehearsals. 

Off-campus students, including College third-year Sarah Wong, are eager to return to their campus, friends, and drums. Wong sees taiko as a means for Asian Americans to explore and share their vast cultural history. This ensemble is not just a performance group, but a place of belonging and celebration.

“Taiko is fun and exciting, and most of all, it’s empowering,” Wong wrote in an email to the Review. “I love playing an instrument that is both a cultural ambassador and a fixture of many Asian American communities with Japanese-American populations.”

While it has been a long time since many have felt safe watching an exhilarating performance in a crowd, there are still ways for students to share their art with one another. Tonight, OCT will drum up that excitement online, showing Oberlin the strength of both their bachi and their community. 

The OCT Fall Final Show will be streamed on Vimeo tonight, Nov. 20, at 9 p.m. EST. Students interested in joining OCT should look into the introductory and intermediate taiko ExCos.

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Oberlin Co-founds Inter-Collegiate Alliance for Racial Equity https://oberlinreview.org/22168/news/oberlin-co-founds-inter-collegiate-alliance-for-racial-equity/ https://oberlinreview.org/22168/news/oberlin-co-founds-inter-collegiate-alliance-for-racial-equity/#respond Fri, 13 Nov 2020 21:56:21 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=22168 Oberlin College is one of six institutions collaborating to form the Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance. This partnership aims to facilitate the sharing of resources and strategies to address issues of racial inequity in higher education. 

“When I announced the Presidential Initiative [on Racial Equity and Diversity], the Oberlin community embraced the concept and recognized its important role during these challenging times,” President Carmen Twillie Ambar wrote in a Nov. 9 email. “LACRELA will accelerate our work in Oberlin and help liberal arts institutions across the country benefit from self-examination, improvement, and collective examination of how we all can improve circumstances for people of color and make a difference in this world.” 

The alliance has been organized with guidance from Shaun Harper, executive director of the University of Southern California Race & Equity Center. Other founding institutions of LACRELA include DePauw University, Macalester College, Occidental College, Skidmore College, and Pomona College. According to Harper, another 53 colleges have already signed on to become inaugural members. 

One challenge faced by liberal arts colleges is what Harper calls a “cultural mismatch” between some colleges and their surrounding communities. Multi-institutional collaboration enables the pooling of resources and sharing of ideas, equipping small colleges with tools they might not otherwise have. 

“Trying to think about these issues in a broader way needs a larger number of people to be able to look at the data and to get a sense of whether a particular practice is applicable across all types of institutions,” President Ambar said in an interview with the Review. “Most of us have a small number of students and therefore not that many students of color, frankly. That’s another reason to work collectively.”

Member colleges will have access to monthly eConvenings on specific aspects of racial equity; three campus climate surveys focused on students, faculty, and staff; and an online collection of resources and tools available to all of the colleges’ employees. Additionally, presidents of the alliance’s member colleges will have confidential, quarterly meetings to discuss goals and strategies for effecting collective change. When faced with events of national importance, presidents will be able to take part in rapid response strategy meetings. 

While LACRELA aims to help liberal arts colleges improve racial equity, the Alliance also hopes to become a national voice. 

“When there are times to speak about issues that come to the fore — when you have something as tragic as the George Floyd’s murder — having a common voice about it, I think, is helpful to the national discussion and to national thinking,” President Ambar said. “If the commission’s work was only to think internally, I think that would be missing the national moment and missing an opportunity for Oberlin to continue to do what it’s always done — which is to be a leader in higher education in general, but certainly also to be a leader in issues of race and gender equity.”

For President Ambar, national engagement has always been one of her biggest visions for Oberlin.

“One of my first speeches to students when I came here to Oberlin was, ‘Let’s turn our gaze outward,’” she said. “Let’s turn our gaze outward because that is where the work is. That is where the issues are that make a real difference. That is where the need is.” 

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Off the Cuff with Selene Siyun Pan, Nudge Founder and Director https://oberlinreview.org/21873/news/off-the-cuff-with-selene-siyun-pan-nudge-founder-and-director/ https://oberlinreview.org/21873/news/off-the-cuff-with-selene-siyun-pan-nudge-founder-and-director/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2020 20:59:04 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=21873 College second-year Selene Siyun Pan is the founder and director of Nudge, an intercollegiate mentorship program for international students from the greater China region. Originally from Shanghai, Pan studied in Costa Rica for two years before coming to Oberlin College as a Bonner Scholar. In the few months since the program’s inception, she has recruited mentors and mentees from around the globe. Pan is an East Asian Studies major and currently serves as a co-coordinator for El Centro Volunteer Initiative.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What inspired you to develop Nudge?

I think one thing I learned through diverse environments is that the environment that we grow up in — our family background, the resources that we were given when we were a child and throughout our process of learning, going to school, and getting internships — really has a big impact on us. I wanted to create Nudge because I saw that there were so many talented people around me, and [United World College Costa Rica] was sort of an opportunity for us to pursue our dreams. For me, I would have never had the opportunity — or I would have struggled to study abroad, especially at such a young age, if not for a scholarship. So I wanted to create something for youth that are really hard-working, talented, and great, who just need a push or two to reach their dreams. We give them a “nudge” so that they can have the resources to reach something.

Regarding that resource gap in international education, what are some common barriers that you see international students facing?

I think the main thing is about [lack of] understanding. But to be honest, I think Oberlin is such an inclusive environment, and everyone’s so incredibly nice. When I came to Oberlin, I was like, “Wow, everyone’s so nice. Why are they so nice to me?” But … I think there are a lot of resources and opportunities at Oberlin for international students to — I don’t like using the word “fit in,” but I can’t find a better word for it — to just blend in with the rest of the students, namely Americans. At the same time, I feel like there are not enough opportunities for [domestic] students to get to know about the stories of international students. And that’s something I would like to either work on or help contribute to as well.

Has the pandemic affected how Nudge operates?

I think the pandemic actually pushed Nudge to be born because if there was not a pandemic, I wouldn’t be at home for such a long time. I wouldn’t have the time to work on a project outside of school that requires so much energy and resources and networking. I wouldn’t imagine operating a platform that is mostly online or that people from different parts of the world can join. I know that completely online-operated education platforms like this have existed, and a lot of them have succeeded. But I think the pandemic opened a new door to me and made me realize that a lot of things can operate online, and they can still work almost the same as working in person — it sometimes even increases our work efficiency and enables us to reach out to more people.

Nudge was born in August, and it was really random. I was at this pottery workshop with a friend, and we were just playing with the clay. I’m just a person with a lot of ideas in my head all the time —And I was telling her, “There’s so many things I want to do: this and that and this and that.” And she was like, “Wow, they all sound great, but maybe we can start with one of them.” And I was like, “Cool, sure.” I think that having a team right now, having the opportunity to get to know so many great people from different schools, different backgrounds, and across the world working together on one common mission is an incredible chance, and I would not have imagined that.

What made you decide that Nudge mentees should have the final say in who they’re paired with?

There’s an organization called Teach North Korean Refugees. It’s based in Seoul, South Korea. I was their summer intern for two summers, and also I volunteered with them this past summer with another friend at Oberlin College. Their program basically is dedicated to supporting North Korean defectors in South Korea by providing them English tutoring and career opportunities — that’s their new track right now. I had the chance to work closely with [one of] the founders, and what he taught me is that many of them back in North Korea were not given choices … So one of the most important things is to let them know the choices are theirs, and that they own them. That really moved me.

In terms of this mentorship program, I was just thinking, “Wouldn’t it be better if we can let the mentees choose mentors for themselves?” Even if it’s not [choosing from] one out of 10 mentors, just one out of three mentors. That’s still a lot better because it is their choice. It is their career or school that they’re applying to. I’m not going to cook a soup and just be like, “Hey, here it is. Drink it.” You know, it’s better if there’s a buffet and they can choose what they want to eat.

Nudge’s work goes beyond Oberlin’s campus. Could you talk about how other schools are involved with this program?

Our team comes from four different countries. So we have mainland China, we have Singapore, we have Peru, and we have America. We have another applicant that we will be talking to from Palestine and Jordan. So yeah, it’s pretty interesting. I posted in my alumni group chat [for recruitment] — maybe that’s why we got people from really different places. 

For our mentors, we require them to at least have a pretty good understanding of Chinese culture, just to have smooth communication and understanding with their mentees. But for our working group and board members, we really are open to everyone. Regarding schools, we have two [mentors] from Amherst, one from Yale. … We have New York University, Mount Holyoke College, Vanderbilt University, Smith College, Leeds University, Rhode Island School of Design, and University of California Santa Barbara. We have a very diverse pool, which is great because everyone’s just learning different things, doing different majors. There’s someone that’s working full-time already, and there’s someone that’s pursuing their master’s and doctor’s. 

Our target group for mentees is the greater China region. So that includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. But our long-term goal is to perhaps reach other regions as well. I think I’d like to … somehow reach out to more students in Hong Kong because right now all of our students are either in or from mainland China. And then I would love to reach [the rest of] East Asia. … We’re accepting mentees from underprivileged and underrepresented backgrounds. I think underrepresentation is a huge point that a lot of people are ignoring. When we think of Chinese students studying abroad, most of the people are more well-off and are more privileged students. And I really want to … [demonstrate] more diversity in the group and let students have the chance to show themselves, to present themselves, and for more faces of one identity to show.

Looking toward the future, what else do you hope to see Nudge accomplish?

I think [one goal is] definitely to attract more passionate people and motivated peers to join the program, to reach out to more high school students … because I think right now it’s easier to get mentors compared to mentees. And I think another thing is to really just create a sustainable and long-term platform that attracts more talents and provides more resources, for example, through partnership. And [I hope] mentees today can be mentors in two years, or maybe even next year, and they can … in the near future provide assistance to their peers or people who they want to help, to just make a positive impact in general.

Is there anything else you want to add?

A lot of the time I’m really thinking about why I created Nudge and how I am feeling as a participant in this program. I was actually talking with two mentees in the past few days. One of them, when I first talked with him, I was so tired. I was just so done with everything. But when I talked with him, I was like, “Oh my God, this is why I wanted to do this — they are the reason. My heart is so full.” He was telling me that he didn’t really understand the difference between Early Decisions I and II. And I was like, “No worries! I’ll give you what we can, and you take what you need!

I think through working with mentees, I kind of went back to two years ago. It was a very interesting experience because I realized how much I forgot about my [college] application process and who I was, how I was as a high school student. So I realized how sometimes we’re so focused on the present that we forget about the past, and we forget about who we wanted to be. And sometimes we go a bit further when we’re walking alone, but we can walk a longer way when we’re walking with others. … If we want to look into the future, it’s really just about carrying that past with us instead of throwing it away, because when we carry it as a part of us, it’s not baggage.

More information about Nudge can be found on the program’s website.

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No Radio Silence From WOBC https://oberlinreview.org/21800/arts/no-radio-silence-from-wobc/ https://oberlinreview.org/21800/arts/no-radio-silence-from-wobc/#respond Wed, 07 Oct 2020 20:58:24 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=21800 While much has changed this year, dialing the radio to 91.5 FM will still bring you creative, local radio shows all day, every day. At a time when student organizations are confronted with a host of pandemic struggles, WOBC has managed to broadcast 24/7 and remain engaged with the community.

ObieSafe guidelines dictate that only College students, faculty, and staff are permitted to use campus facilities during the pandemic. Consequently, a lot of committed DJs can’t work in the studio, including community members, remote students, and unenrolled students. WOBC’s board, however, refused to let these regulations restrict their broadcasting. Now, approximately two-thirds of the station’s DJs are contributing prerecorded shows. 

Prerecording offers new ways for radio hosts to flex their creativity. College third-year and DJ Alex Adelman was initially intimidated by the new format. However, she has found ways to make the prerecording process personally rewarding. 

 “Of course, I feel like my show has lost a little ‘soul’ from recording it like a podcast rather than riffing and improvising my commentary on air,” Adelman wrote in an email to the Review. “However, I find the at-home recording of my show to allow for more experimentation in my broadcast. I’ve been really enjoying adding sound effects and transitions, so it’s not even that difficult to be recording from home.” 

College second-year and radio host Sarah Naiman has also taken advantage of these changes. 

“On the plus side, [my co-host and I] have been able to refine our show a lot because of the prerecorded format,” Naiman wrote in an email to the Review. “Now, we have PSAs and station ideas that sound more professional. Additionally, it is easier to time out the segments when we record the show.”

Because WOBC operates 24/7, inconvenient late-night spots used to be a painful rite of passage for a handful of unlucky DJs. Remote prerecording has removed that potential stressor, which College fourth-year and Station Manager Bridget Conway hopes will benefit the continued health and well-being of WOBC’s DJs as well as the quality of their broadcasting.

“Now if you have a 3 a.m. show … you can record it on your own time, send it in, and then you can have a good night’s sleep,” Conway said. “So instead of having to ask people to do [late-night hosting], we can kind of be a little bit more realistic with people’s time and shows.” 

In the face of dramatic upheaval, radio serves as a sliver of normalcy. It offers distraction, routine, and familiar voices. For College fourth-year and DJ Bri Hayes, WOBC provides community and a feeling of security during a time of collective unease. 

“For me, having radio is a great way to provide information to others as well as … use music as a sort of catharsis for everything happening around us, especially because we are all living under this vast cloud of uncertainty at the moment,” Hayes wrote in an email to the Review. “WOBC has definitely become a small safe haven for me on campus and is just a great organization to be a part of, even if we can’t all be in the same physical space at this very moment. 

Tune into 91.5 FM while on Oberlin’s campus or visit https://www.wobc.org/ from home to listen to WOBC’s 24/7 live programming. Oberlin students or community members who want to get involved with the station can contact wobc@oberlin.edu for more information.

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Student-Led COMA Fund Provides Support for Obies in Need https://oberlinreview.org/21424/news/student-led-coma-fund-provides-support-for-obies-in-need/ https://oberlinreview.org/21424/news/student-led-coma-fund-provides-support-for-obies-in-need/#respond Wed, 09 Sep 2020 20:55:29 +0000 https://oberlinreview.org/?p=21424 The Coronavirus Oberlin Mutual Aid Fund, a student-led initiative to assist low-income and first-generation Obies during the pandemic, has raised $45,000 of its $60,000 goal. In the two months since its inception this June, the project has seen an outpouring of community support. COMA will supplement the College’s various emergency funds, offering flexible funding to students who have exhausted other options. 

“As a community of Oberlin students, we need to do everything we can to ensure that our peers have the resources they need in order to find safety outside of their Oberlin career as well as the adequate financial resources to succeed,” reads COMA’s mission statement. 

Mutual aid is a form of political participation rooted in voluntary community care and cooperation. It aims to provide immediate relief to people in need, holding the belief that existing institutions do not protect — and were never designed to protect — marginalized groups. The practice is often described using the motto “solidarity, not charity.” Rather than having fixed roles of donor and beneficiary, mutual aid emphasizes reciprocal exchange of resources, asserting that interdependence is necessary for human survival. 

“When you’re helping your own community, it isn’t an act of charity, and we live out this mission of solidarity by centering non judgment and care for one another,” the COMA team wrote in an email to the Review. “We all understand struggle and the importance of collective care in helping lift up all of a community.”

COMA is headed by a collective of six Oberlin students. College second-year Diana Montero is the only public team member — the other five organizers have elected to remain anonymous until the end of this school year. All six identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and most are low-income or first-generation students. 

On June 30, COMA went public and received over $10,000 within 24 hours. The group hit its initial $30,000 target in less than three weeks, prompting a new goal of $60,000. Using these funds, COMA will aid at least 100 students during the 2020–21 school year. Applications will be anonymized and considered based on need, with low-income and first-generation students receiving priority. 

Mutual aid projects like COMA are springing up across the country as the pandemic continues to exacerbate inequalities along the lines of race, class, and more. For college students, abrupt campus closures in the spring left many individuals’ safety and education in jeopardy. 

“The pandemic has highlighted inequalities between Oberlin students, especially since we were asked to leave campus,” Montero wrote in an email to the Review. “Differences in home environments, resources, and countless other things have suddenly become more clear and more pertinent.” 

While the College cultivates a sense of community, the COMA team notes that students come to campus with varying challenges, and that disparities between students still hold true in the virtual classroom. 

In May, Student Senate released results from a survey about Oberlin students’ transition to remote learning. Many individuals reported that they lacked access to the resources necessary for online coursework, including computers, printers, scanners, and stable Wi-Fi connection. Others were working from environments that were loud or unsafe. Although many students wrote that their professors had been accommodating, others reported increased workloads and no flexibility. 

“At a time like this, it’s more important than ever that we come together and support each other in any way that we can,” Student Senate Chartering Liaison and College second-year Owen Pazderak wrote in an email to the Review. “It’s our responsibility to ensure that each and every one of us is safe, healthy, and cared for, and COMA is doing an extraordinarily commendable job in leading this charge.”

Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo also lauded the initiative the COMA team is taking to support the Oberlin community.

“I was heartened but not surprised to see Obies working to support other Obies at this challenging time,” Raimondo wrote in an email to the Review. “That community care is one of my favorite things about this place. I think they are a wonderful supplement to support funds available through the Dean of Students office. I encourage any student who is experiencing financial need to reach out to all available resources. Our shared goal is for students to flourish.”

COMA organizers assert that the absence of adequate federal support in this time of crisis highlights the importance of mutual aid initiatives. 

“The pandemic has heightened [the necessity of mutual aid] because the complete lack of governmental support has highlighted how crucial it is to care for one another since institutions will always let people slip through the cracks,” COMA members wrote in an email to the Review.

They urge individuals with financial means to continue funding COMA and other mutual aid projects. They also point out that the median family income of Oberlin students is about $178,000, putting most in the top 20th percentile of American households, according to a 2017 New York Times project

For anyone looking to support the cause in other ways, COMA encourages people to spread the word about donating and to volunteer skills and services. This could include free rideshares, tutoring, assistance with job and graduate school applications, and emotional support. Finally, COMA organizers stress that individual choices around social distancing hold political significance. 

“Remember that your decisions about COVID safety will impact low-income people and Black people the most,” the team wrote. “Support COMA’s mission by wearing your mask, avoiding large gatherings, and practicing social distancing.”

The organizers behind COMA express gratitude for the overwhelming community response. Without any institutional backing, this team has built up an extensive network — one which they say has come together to make a tangible difference. 

“It’s always incredible to me how much us students can accomplish on our own — no bureaucracy, no corruption, just passion for serving each other as a community,” Montero wrote in an email to the Review. “I want everyone at Oberlin to know that feeling anger about the inequalities around you is a great way to fuel passion for change. There is power in organizing, and COMA is proof of that.”

Applications to receive COMA funding for the fall semester are currently open and will be accepted until Sept. 18. A second round of fall applications will take place Oct. 26–Nov. 20. Additional information can be found on COMA’s Linktree and Instagram pages. Reach out to coberlinmutualaid@gmail.com with any questions.

COMA accepts donations through @comaoberlin on Venmo, $comaoberlin on Cash App, and the team’s GoFundMe campaign. 

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