Disabled Student-Athletes Must Have Accessibility Needs Met
Jackie Brant, Opinions Editor
In light of the Academic and Administrative Program Review and financial stress at Oberlin College, there has been a lot of student concern surrounding physical accessibility. We know that there will be absolutely necessary cuts in order to secure the financial longevity of the institution. However, one thing that cannot be sacrificed is accessibility for disabled students. The resources for disabled students are already slim. Despite the genuine effort, care, and concern that Disability Resources staff provides, the department is drastically under-resourced. Some academic buildings and dormitories are not up to code, and others are entirely inaccessible to those with physical disabilities. Work orders are often ...
Oberlin Should Invest More in Honors Program
When I visited Oberlin as a junior in high school, I was intrigued by the College's honors program. Though the speaker did not go into detail about what the program entailed, it sounded exactly like the sort of thing I would be interested in doing, as well as something that might seem impressive to future post-graduate programs or employers. However, after attending two Senior Symposiums during my first and second years as a student, I realize the honors program at Oberlin is much more than I originally thought. It is more than just an opportunity for students to say they graduated "with honors," or a way to impress future employers and universities. Rather, honors incorporates many elements that draw prosp...
Wind Farms Do Pose Health, Procedural Justice Concerns
Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief
At a recent Republican Party fundraiser, President Donald Trump made headlines for yet another bizarre, unprompted statement, remarking that the noise from wind turbines has the potential to cause cancer. As many scientists, journalists, and politicians on both sides of the aisle immediately pointed out, there is no evidence to corroborate this claim. Several Democratic presidential candidates chimed in, mocking Trump's ignorance. Iowa's senators, both of whom are Republican, weighed in against the president, as representatives of a state significantly invested in wind energy. Even Kellyanne Conway's husband, George, got a piece of the action, adding "Windmill cancer survivor" to his Twitter bio. While t...
Heartbeat Bill Represents Skewed Priorities for Ohio Governor, State Legislature
The infamous "heartbeat bill" passed the Ohio state legislature this Wednesday, and after several years of emotional debates, numerous vetoes, and amendments to the bill, Governor Mike DeWine officially signed the bill on Thursday night. The passage of this bill effectively hinders every woman's ability to get an abortion in the state of Ohio. Ohio now has the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. The bill bans abortion after six weeks into a pregnancy and makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Furthermore, doctors who do not test for a heartbeat or proceed with abortion procedures if a heartbeat is detected will be charged with a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to a year in jail and a ...
Scuba Diving Can Help People Deal with Physical, Mental Challenges
Ananya Gupta, Managing Editor
I must be the only 20-year-old who, when presented with the opportunity to travel to Goa, the party state of India, decided to spend it all several meters under water. Under the tutelage of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, I underwent rigorous training and testing over the span of a week to become a certified Open Water Diver. I am now qualified to dive up to a depth of 18 meters (60 feet) when accompanied by a dive buddy or dive professional anywhere in the world. While scuba diving had already been on my bucket list — courtesy of elitist Bollywood films and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — I also seem to be a part of the generation of "conscious travelers." Traveling with purpose seems to...
Women's Rights Discussions Should Not Focus on Abortion
At the State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump asserted a harsh anti-abortion stance. This comes after several weeks without mention of abortion policies from the Trump administration; of the past four addresses to Congress, the State of the Union address was the first time Trump has even mentioned abortion to members of Congress. Many have been quick to assert that the reason Trump commented on abortion at all was to attempt to fire up his religious base for his upcoming re-election campaign. However, I would argue that it is highly significant that this sudden harsh stance just happened to coincide with one of the most powerful displays of women's solidarity in congressional history. The...
Diverse Language Offerings Vital
During this time of financial crisis at Oberlin, students understandably feel an urgent need to defend their interests against potential budget cuts. Everyone wants to save programs from being cut, and everyone has programs and classes they want to be added to the Oberlin experience. A frequent complaint from Oberlin students is about the lack of diverse foreign language options. Problems cited include a drastically underfunded Arabic language program and a lack of any African language or Hindi language programs. Overall, I agree with the general arguments in favor of adding more foreign languages to the Oberlin curriculum. These languages are useful for many post-grad careers, and Oberlin does currently offer a...
Don't Be A Voluntourist
Kameron Dunbar, Columnist
The first time I realized I was voluntouring, my group had just left a monastery and orphanage in Yangon, Myanmar, after spending about an hour surveying the grounds. Just before we left, we bestowed "ceremonial gifts" of pencils and school supplies through a dramatized exchange that was perfectly staged for the iPhone videos fellow Americans took. We left feeling good about ourselves, but the kids there barely benefited at all. This type of travel experience is not uncommon, and the issues noted here are not unique. The story of the Christian missionary who recently died after disturbing a remote island community close to India has brought several important concepts and considerations to a national stage: "mission...
Dear Senator Sherrod Brown, Please Run
Ilana Foggle, Columnist
The time has come for politicians all over the country to decide whether or not they will be running for president in 2020. The process is starting now, before candidates officially declare their candidacy, so they can put together presidential exploratory committees, build campaign teams, and start hitting the campaign trail. People like Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, have already begun the process of declaring their candidacy. However, there is one person who is missing from this robust list of qualified candidates: Senator Sherrod Brown. Unlike many of my past articles, this article is not a call-to-action for Oberlin...
Oberlin's Foreign Language Offerings Fall Short of Demand
Despite the availability of an annual Winter Term project, two Shansi opportunities for graduates, and two study abroad programs in India, the languages of Hindi and Urdu are left out of the Oberlin academic scene. Over half a billion people speak Hindi globally, second only to Mandarin Chinese. While this number is largely concentrated within the Indian subcontinent, it is also spoken in countries such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Nepal, and among immigrants in the U.S., U.K., and Australia — to name only a few. This figure surpasses the number of global Spanish, Italian, Russian, French, German, Japanese, and Arabic speakers — all languages which are, at least to a certain...
Wildfires Highlight Inequity in Environmental, Climate Crises
Nathan Carpenter and Jackie Brant
In recent weeks, footage of the fires currently raging through the state of California has appeared in the news and on social media. We have seen houses destroyed, communities devastated, and families left without clear options. As of Nov. 11, more than 1.5 million acres had burned — the most ever recorded in a single fire season — which has caused nearly $3 billion in damages and control operations and has killed more than 50 people and left more than 130 people missing. Even as firefighters across the state are working overtime to get the blazes under control, communities and neighborhoods continue to be overwhelmed. The threat has caused some wealthy homeowners to take matters into their own hands by hiring...
Voter Suppression Threatens Democracy
After more than a year of local and state politicians campaigning around the country, the midterm elections are finally over and the results are in. The much-discussed "blue wave" dominated in states like Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan, but failed to reach key races in Florida, Texas, Georgia — and Ohio. Regardless of whether or not you are pleased with Tuesday's outcome, now is not the time to rest. The midterm election results show us a couple of things. First, there are many voters in key states who are discontent with the Republican Party and have mobilized to create change. This phenomenon was exemplified in Texas, where Democrats campaigned on both a state and national level for Representative Beto...