Ma'ayan Plaut

Major: cinema studies

Hello, Class of 2013! My name is Ma'ayan (my-ahn), and I am a senior cinema studies major. I am originally from Kentucky, but I arrived at Oberlin by way of the big island of Hawaii. Since my move there, I discovered my love for the visual arts and have been pursuing photography and filmmaking through a variety of courses and opportunities on campus.

I have found wonderful niches for two of my passions, food and photography, here at Oberlin. I have spent three years living and dining in Harkness co-op, and will continue to eat there this coming year. I work at the Decafe in the basement of Wilder Student Union to fulfill my food quota.

My first contact with many student groups was as a photographer, and I am now an active participant in OCircus!, Oberlin's student-run circus, and Piscapo's Arm, a student sketch comedy group. I also work as a sports photographer for athletics, as a docent at the Allen Art Museum, and as a photo editor of The Oberlin Review. I also do video and photography work for the Oberlin Office of Communications. Anyone with an interest in doing freelance work for the Review, or do anything photography related, should definitely find me. I'll be around with a camera round my neck, snapping away at the beauty of Oberlin campus. There is a really talkative girl behind the camera, though, so feel free to introduce yourself, as I might as well have an undeclared minor in conversation.

Short List of Favorites

Local Cuisine: I actually don't get out much, since I really enjoy eating within the Oberlin co-ops, so I recommend checking out special meals at every co-op. In co-ops, weekend meals (Saturday dinner in smaller co-ops; Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch in larger co-ops) are a rotating shift of co-opers who usually plan and cook a theme meal or a generally delicious meal. I've frequented a variety of special meals, both in Harkness and in other co-ops, including made-to-order restaurant special meals, the Ninjas vs. Pirates special meal, and the musical special meal.

Writer: I'm a huge fan of the complex storytelling styles of Barbara Kingsolver and John Irving. Shipping books from Hawaii proved to be a bit difficult, but I brought my dog-eared copies here for some well-loved and well-worn paper comfort during the stress of the semester.

Under-advertised Resource at Oberlin: The Cat in the Cream coffeehouse, located in the Hales Annex. It's a wonderful performance space, which hosts a variety of musical and comedic shows, open mic hours and study hours during finals. The performances provide a welcome study break, and the delicious, typically just-baked cookies are only a dollar—both non-vegan chocolate chip and vegan oatmeal raisin!

Favorite First-year Courses

ANTH 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. This course allows you to take basics of field work and ethnographic writing from paper to the real world. I had a invigorating introduction to the field with lots of hands-on experience and, since that class, I have taken three more anthropology classes.

ECON 101: Principles of Economics, Professor Kasper. Though I took it first semester sophomore year, I'd highly recommend taking it as soon as possible. Professor Kasper manages to present the principles of economics with thorough explanation and a great deal of practical application.