The Oberlin LJ (original) (raw)

Previous 25

Hi there! I'm the theory & history coordinator for OSCA and we were looking to do an article on the Fairkid mural/poem in the dining hall and I was wondering if anyone has any information about where it came from, when, why... all those great 'w's. Any information is more than I have! Thanks so much! You can e-mail this info to me at jgraham@oberlin.edu. (We won't use your name in the Publication if you tell us not to!)

- Jen

I graduated from Oberlin in 2008 and am now living in Wisconsin. When I was an Obie, the library sold these awesome travel coffee mugs that were short, squat, and bright red. Now that I'm living in an even colder state than Ohio, I'm kicking myself for not buying one when I had the chance. The library website doesn't mention anything about library-related paraphernalia. The bookstore website is similarly useless.

So, three questions:

  1. Does the library/bookstore still sell these awesome mugs?
  2. Is there anywhere to buy them online?
  3. Failing that, is there a current Obie who would be willing to buy a mug and mail it to me? I'm willing to pay for the mug as well as for shipping.

Thanks!

Three of my close friends, 2010 Oberlin grads, are launching a new company called geakStudios, a video game development company to put power back in to the hands of the people. They earned a Creativity and Leadership grant to get started, but need more funds to begin production, and have entered this cool grant competition. Check out their pitch, and vote for them here! Your vote gets them a web page, web support, and seed money to make this baby happen.

Right here::
http://pitch.co/entry/56322

This is their dream: please help them accomplish it.

Thanks,
Aries '09

So, I'm an out-of-towner trying to find some Oberlin apartments online. I'm not familiar with the area and a lot of my searches haven't yielded the most ideal results. Any suggestions on apartment finding? Thanks!

Any Obies interested in subletting a place in Chicago this summer?

Details:
- sublet for July and August
- $466/mo
- three blocks from Wicker Park
- Damen blue line in walkable/bikeable distance
- wonderful/awesome Obie alums!

For more info, post here or email henry.mccaslin@gmail.com.

Hey guys. My family is switching from Verizon to Sprint... bad idea for service at Oberlin? I've looked through this site, so I know this has been asked before, but I think the last post was in 2008 and I wanted to see if the situation has changed. Verizon seems to have gotten good reviews and Sprint mixed... is this accurate still or is Sprint service as good as Verizon... or at least passable nowadays? Thanks!

Hi Obies!

Anybody interested in helping out a fellow Obie? I'm an alumn, looking for a place to crash for a few nights near Kimberton (that's roughly an hour approximately northwest of Philly) around the last week in June. Can I camp out on your couch/floor? Pitch a tent in your yard? I obviously can't afford a hotel, but I would be able to pay you something. The best way to reach me is to email me directly: jenny.r.sage@gmail.com. Here's hoping...

Hi Obies!

Need a summer job? Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs Ohio is in need of a male dorm counselor! It's a great job and you get to work with awesome people (including myself!) For more info, see the link below:

http://antiochcollege.org/glen_helen/629/630/ecocamp_dorm_counselor.html

Rumours true? Is Drag Ball cancelled? Not? Anyone know anything?

Can anyone tell me if a particular room in Noah is a single? Ehrai told me it was, the college billed me for a single, but the (admittedly 4 year old) floor plan says it is a double. Who do I trust? Who to believe?

It's on the third floor and is between 316 and 314.

thank you.

a "returning" student

Have any of you ever stayed in Oberlin during the summer? Is it fun? Will I go crazy?
Is it easy to find a place to live? How do I go about that?
Is it easy to find work? How do I go about THAT?

Anyone know of any clothing/shoe/blanket collections for Haiti in/near Oberlin?

I'm an alum/townie, so I'm not completely in the loop.

I'm also super short on cash and blood, but have things I can give.

Thanks in advance for any info!

I just got expelled from Oberlin with no chance of re-entry. I had one semester left. I was supposed to graduate this spring. I didn't do anything badass or illegal; I just had been previously suspended for poor academic performance and failed one class last semester, thus earning too few credits. Apparently at Oberlin this warrants dismissal. I didn't appeal because I thought my failure of the class was due to a misunderstanding with the teacher and that she would rectify it; she didn't and was extremely cold and impassive when I told her I would be expelled as a result of failing the class, and now my appeal date has passed and I am definitely not coming back.

Please don't lambaste me for fucking up or not appealing my dismissal -- what I would like is advice from anyone here who knows anything about how one should proceed after getting expelled from college. I realize that if you are an active poster in the Oberlin LJ, you probably have not been dismissed from school, but this has to have happened to SOMEONE at SOME POINT in Oberlin's history, since I didn't do anything particularly egregious and evidently getting expelled from Oberlin is relatively easy. Most colleges will not accept transfers who are not in good academic standing with their previous institution (I'm not, obvi). Most colleges will also not accept transfers with the credit equivalent of senior status, so I would probably have to attend at least 1-2 years of another college to earn a degree, even if they would accept me.

Is it worth it to try to matriculate at another college? I'm 23 and am really, really over the college thing, so applying all over again seems really tedious and possibly unnecessary. I know Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and Albert Einstein didn't graduate from college but George W. Bush did, and I know that Woody Allen was expelled from NYU; I also know that many of my Obie alum friends are now unemployed. I get almost giddy when I think about being expelled in this pseudo-Nietzschean context -- good riddance, right? College is at once a total joke and a kind of huge fuckin deal. But if you ask my parents, then, yeah -- my prospects sound really grim now. Not that I can't write on resumes that I attended Oberlin for four years, because I did -- who's gonna ask to see my diploma?

If anyone has any insights or experiences with friends or something getting kicked out of school, or has any advice to offer, I'm feeling very lost right now and any counsel or support would be much appreciated.

Dearest Oberlin Alumni,

Some exciting news: this year, Oberlin will receive more applications than ever.

While this is great, it means that we’re inundated with prospective students who need interviewers… outside of Oberlin.

This is where you come in.

Under the cut is a list of where Oberlin is hosting Interview Days, where prospies interview with alums. If you’re free that day, morning or afternoon, please sign up to talk to talk to some awesome prospies. We *really need* your help, to give prospies an expert view of Oberlin. We’ll also order in lunch!

How to do it:
- Send an email to the ARN at arn@oberlin.edu
- List the subject line as “Volunteer for ARN!”
- Say what time you can interview (morning or afternoon) and in what city.

Interviews are informal conversations- times for students to meet with a representative of the college, talk about themselves, and ask questions about Oberlin. If you’d like to know more about interviewing, check out the Interview Page at the ARN site.

( Cities!Collapse )

If you’re a current student and would like to meet future Obies, you’d also be very welcome. Outside of interviews, prospies and their parents are brimming with questions, and really love to speak to real students.

The longer you can stay, the more helpful. But any time you can give will be great.

Thank you!
Aries

"A Year in the Life of Oberlin College"
A photo a day in Oberlin, mostly taken by Ma'ayan Plaut '10.

( Read more...Collapse )

Cinema studies major Ma'ayan Plaut '10 chronicled her experiences as an Oberlin student by taking a photo each day of the year. This web site features a selection of her images, beginning with those taken in the fall of 2006. Ma'ayan's photographs reflect her personal interests and Oberlin experiences - living and eating in a co-op, art, music, OCircus!, and observing the changing seasons on campus.

Go here to see it! It's really awesome!

Yours,
Aries

Hi Obies,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good party supply store in the Lorain County area. (I'm throwing a NASCAR-themed party and was looking for some decorations.)

Thanks!

Dea Goblirsch, Oberlin '12, has locked her body in the way of explosive blasting at the West Virginia mountaintop removal mining site on the mountain closest to her heart: Dea and her friend Nick are locked inside a drill rig on Coal River Mountain. I love his kid so much. I'm not in Oberlin anymore-- Please spread the word.


Open Letter to Friends & Family

This morning, I locked down inside a drill rig on Coal River Mountain, the last high elevation mountain in the Coal River Valley that hasn't been mountaintop removed. This rig is being used to build a road that will facilitate mining. My affinity group has taken action to stop mountaintop removal before it even begins- if completed, it will render the last high elevation range in the range in to a series of pancake-like plateaus.

Mountaintop removal is the most egregious example I know of humanity's reckless abuse of nature. It is much more than just a stark metaphor, however- it causes real, tangible effects on the lives of folks in the coalfields and the lives of those downstream. Residents of the Coal River Valley struggle daily for their health, air and clean water. Sludge impoundments threaten the lives of valley residents, keeping them up at night, worrying- it is incomprehensible to me that coal barons can sleep soundly (do they?!). Yep, part of why I'm locking down is a big “Fuck you!” to King Coal (and, in a broader sense, Big Energy).

I'm also thankful for the things I've learned in the Valley and for the people who have been fighting mountaintop removal. Our best organizers are local residents who have worked tirelessly to expose the illegality of MTR and valley fill permits, win over supporters and get the word out about this devastation- I am so completely humbled by the work they do. I'm also humbled by friends and fellow activists who have been arrested multiple times taking a stand against mountaintop removal, the least I can do is step up and take my turn.

I'm a New Yorker and college girl who has only been here a few months, but the Coal River Valley has altered my perceptions of what it means to live with the land. A friend and I were talking the other day about geography- about how people build their homes in the natural hollows carved in to the mountains and how the main road follows the curve of the valley. There are cultures of knowing here- knowing how to use and respect the land through hunting, foraging and gardening. In the midst of one of the most egregious ecological catastrophes exists incredible pockets of sustainability.

Civil disobedience is hard (sometimes scary) work, but it is just that- work. As you read and think about this action, challenge yourself to come down and pitch in. Our needs don't end with arrestables- we have a lot to do and all good work, including washing dishes and mixing compost, is important work.

Thanks for your support!

Love & Mountains,

Dea


Press Release from Climate Ground Zero
Daily Kos: Blasting Halted on Coal River Mountain
Coal Tattoo blog post: Blasting on Coal River Mtn is illegal & pre-emptive according to the EPA
Coal River Mountain Watch
Coal River Wind Project
Send an e-mail to Obama about it (hehehe)

Can anyone who has Justine Pas for English 275 (Intro to Comparative Literature) tell me how she is? New teachers are always risky...

Firstly, yo! Do y'all have suggestions for fun and/or interesting and/or lightweight courses that a second-semester senior really, really should take?

Two specific questions:
Has anyone taken the 1-credit Hatha Yoga with Eric Stewart? Is it relaxing/painful/any of the above?

Same question about "Intro to Somatic Studies" with Deb Vogel -- what is this class, exactly?

Could anyone in oberlin host an alum for the night on saturday? I'm an '07 grad traveling with a close friend cross-country. We'd be arriving saturday night, leaving sunday morning. We're both women, and we're quiet, neat, excellent couch surfers. Tank never got back to us about sleeping in their lounge, couch surfing has been fruitless; we're just a wee bit desperate. Alternatively, anyone have a backyard we can camp in? the best way to find me is to email me at marne dot litfin at gmail.com. many thanks oberlin!

can someone tell me who tank's current hlecs are/how to get in contact with them? i'm not sure if the osca website is up to date. i'm an alum passing through, hoping to stay on their couch for a bit.

Hello!

The Oberlin Blogs needs new faces!

Things we’re looking for in a blogger:
- quality writing
- diverse perspectives
- humor
- willingness to share the things you love with the whole, wide internet.

How to apply? Visit:
http://blogs.oberlin.edu/apply

… and send in your application (writing sample/blog + answers to questions) by Monday, September 14th.

We’re excited to read your work!

Best,
Aries

Hey Everyone! Hope classes are going well.

A quick google revealed a list of Exco classes, but there are no course descriptions anywhere. Any ideas? I am really curious as to what SPARKs is?

Also, is there any kind of resource where ex-exco students have left reviews of classes taught repeated each year? Particularly, I am looking at American Indian Movement and Beginning Swedish Language/Culture. I know I've seen them before.

When is the fair this year?

Does anyone know the hours for the mailroom this coming week?

Thanks!

Hello, Obies past and present,
My partner and I, plus a friend, are going to be passing through Oberlin on our move to Madison. (Oberlin is coincidentally a good half-way stopping point)

There are 3 of us, plus our big moving truck, and not a lot of money.

Is there any place in Oberlin, or near Oberlin (between Oberlin and I-90, which is the road we'll be coming from and returning to) where we can camp? Can we sleep in womb chairs?

I haven't been through the area since 2004, and this is the first time my partner will get to see my college town, so any help is very appreciated.

Thanks!

-Rek

Previous 25