Oberlin in the News - Summer 2003

AUGUST 2003
August 28--Advice to Freshmen: What to Bring to College
With legions of new freshmen flooding campuses across the country, The Boston Globe recently printed a list of "must-have" items that will make the first year away from home easier on everyone. Crys Latham, senior assistant director of admissions at Oberlin College, recommended an address book, basic first-aid supplies, and handfuls of pens, pencils, and highlighters.

August 26--Messages of Hate: Anti-Semitic Sentiment Rises on Campuses Around the World
In an article that explores the growing tide of anti-Semitism on campuses around the world, the Cleveland Plain Dealer quoted History Professor Shulamit Magnus. After a spring filled with anti-semitic graffiti, Magnus reported the atmosphere on Oberlin's campus as "increasingly strained." "It was startling to have the feel of vigilantism and bullying," she said. "When the phrase 'Zionism is racism' was written in Hebrew in a rough hand, that seemed meant to intimidate the students who can read Hebrew."

August 25--Oberlin's New Student Journal Leads the Pack in Technological Revolution
According to the Associated Press and CNN.com, a large number of web-savvy freshmen are turning to the Internet to find out more about their roomates-to-be. Google searches are becoming antiquated, however, as colleges and universities are providing freshmen with new ways of contacting each other before the academic year begins. The article sites Oberlin Online's "new student journal entries" as an example of this new trend, along with the University of Dayton's "virtual orientation" chatroom.

August 25--Conservatory Faculty Participate in New York Jazz Festival
Billy Hart and Gary Bartz, members of Oberlin's jazz faculty, recently participated in the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Harlem. According to a review in The New York Times, the duo "tore through bebop, making it the stunning, sparkling thing it can be."

August 23--Donald J. Pease Papers Now Available in Oberlin College Archives
In a recent edition of the Plain Dealer's "Higher Learning" section, Jennifer Gonzalez reported that more than 200,000 documents chronicling the career of the late U.S. Representative Donald J. Pease are now available in the Oberlin College Archives. A 136-page guide, titled "A Resercher's Guide to the Donald J. Pease Papers," will make it easier for the curious to find documents that are of interest.

August 22--Oberlin Alum to Perform at Blossom Music Center
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently ran a full-length article on violinist Jennifer Koh '97. Koh performed at Blossom Music Center Saturday, August 23, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Festival Director Jahja Ling. A champion of neglected music, Koh spoke to reporters about her performance of Gian Carlo Menottie's long-lost violin concerto and her relationship with the composer himself.

August 12--Oberlin College Celebrates 125 Years of the Artist Recital Series
The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram featured an article on the upcoming Artist Recital Series at Oberlin College this past week. The paper also included a full listing of the series' acts in Friday's Encore magazine.

August 10--Cleveland Plain Dealer Quotes Campus Musicologist
Claudia McDonald, a professor of musicology, was recently quoted in a Plain Dealer article dealing with the way music can transport its listeneners to different times and places. "The rise of nationalism in the 19th century helped spark the composition of music associated with place," McDonald says.

August 8--Oberlin's Yeomen Look Forward to a Breakout Season
Plain Dealer reporter Joe Maxse recently covered Division III's football preview gathering at Denison College. While Wabash, Wittenberg, and the College of Wooster are favored for this season, Oberlin College's Yeomen have set out to shake up their losing streak. "I would say we were cautiously optimistic in 2002," Ramsey said. "This year, we are very optimistic. We are looking to have a breakout season."

August 6--Obie Named Features Editor for The New York Times
The New York Times announced today that Adam Moss '79 has been named the paper's assistant managing editor for features, a newly created post. Moss previously served as editor for The New York Times Magazine.

August 3--Oberlin Student Discovers Treasures Under the Lawn
Oberlin student Amy Golladay has been participating in a rather unusual archeological dig this summer. The New York Times recently ran an article about the excavation at Sylvester manor, a 275-acre estate on New York' s Shelter Island. Each summer for the past 10 years, college students have descended on the manor with a crew from the Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archeological Research at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, hoping to uncover clues about life on a Northern plantation farm, an unusual and often unexplored area of North American history.

August 1--Jazz at Oberlin
The August 2003 issue of Chamber Music America features Oberlin in its "American Ensemble" section. ("Jazz at Oberlin," p. 9) The article, illustrated by the cover art of the landmark recording, of the same name, by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, recounts the 50th anniversary of the album, and notes the influence that the concert had on the Conservatory curriculum. The article also notes that this year is the 125th anniversary of the Artist Recital Series, under whose auspices the current Dave Brubeck Quartet performs on October 4, 2003.

JULY 2003
July 31--Winners of Oberlin Piano Festival Announced
The Cleveland Plain Dealer announced the winners of this year's Oberlin International Piano Competition and Festival. Rachel Kudo, a 16-year old from Northbrook, Illinois, was the first-place winner, taking home $4,000 after performing works by Haydn and Chopin. Local pianist Kei Niedra, 13, of North Ridgeville, took home fifth place, and was the subject of an article in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

July 27--Los Angeles Times Travel Writer Cites Professor Claudia Macdonald
Susan Spano's regular travel column in the Los Angeles Times ("From 'The Moldau' to the Mississippi, a Flood of Images,") cites Associate Professor of Musicology Claudia Macdonald: "Claudia Macdonald, a musicologist at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, said the rise of nationalism in the 19th century helped spark the composition of music associated with place. An example of this is Robert Schumann's "Rhenish" symphony, which claims the Rhine Valley, oft contested by France and Germany, for Deutschland--in music, anyway."

July 23--Alum Brings Lion King to Town
Julie Taymor '74 is bringing The Lion King to Cleveland. Five of the original 230 masks from the Broadway show will be on display at the Contessa Gallery during the production's run at the State Theater. "At rest, a puppet is just a facsimile of a human being or animal," says Taymor, The Lion King's Tony Award-winning director and costume designer. "The pleasure of watching that facsimile turn into a being with recognizable emotions in the pinnacle of this type of theater experience."

July 22--Local Papers Announce College Appointment
Both the Lorain Morning Journal and the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported that Ernes I. Iseminger has been appointed Oberlin College's Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs. Iseminger previously worked for the development office as assistant director of major gifts and director of principal gifts.

July17--Innovative Summer Program Gets Airplay on WCPN
Professor of Viola Peter Slowik and violist Ayn Balija '03 appeared on WCPN's Around Noon to talk about Slowik's summer string program, CREDO.

July 15--City, College Putting Bite on Mosquitoes in Oberlin
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently ran a feature on Oberlin's innovative mosquito-control program. The program, which combines science and community service, is now in its fifth year. Associate Professor of Biology Mary Garvin trains Oberlin College students to make "house calls," dispensing environmentally friendly larvicide that kills mosquito larvae to home owners and trapping the insects to test them for the West Nile Virus.

July 13--World-Class Goalie Returns to Oberlin to Offer Soccer Camp
The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported the return of world-class goalie Brad Friedel to Northeast Ohio. The first American to be named to the prestigious League Team of the Year, Friedel returned to his home turf this week to conduct a soccer camp for area youth. The camp, which he promises to make an annual event, took place in Oberlin.

July 2--Vin Lananna Named Oberlin's New Delta Lodge Athletics Director
Newspapers around the country reported today that Vin Lananna, Stanford's track and cross-country coach, has left to join the staff of Oberlin College. Lananna, who replaces interim athletic director George H. Andrews as the College's Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education, was named NCAA national coach of the year four times during his tenure at Stanford. Lananna was also recently appointed the U.S. middle-distance coach for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

JUNE 2003
June 30--Chronicle of Higher EducationAsks "Where Do Faculty Brats Go to College?" The Answer--Oberlin
According to this week's Chronicle of Higher Education, Oberlin is the first choice of colleges in the Northeast among the children of professors who are "trying to get away from their home region." Carleton and Stanford Colleges tied for second place.

June 22--College's Dean of Admissions Interviewed for Cleveland's Plain Dealer
Deborah Chermonte, dean of admissions, was quoted in a Cleveland Plain Dealer article that examined the criteria colleges and universities use to admit the incoming freshman class. The article investigated the process that is used to select students, and questioned why certain students are chosen and others are not. Chermonte cited Oberlin's long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusiveness as a key factor in the College's admissions process, noting that "Oberlin has been practicing affirmative action from our earliest existence. It's a sensitivity." The Plain Dealer's article also addressed the two University of Michigan cases that are pending before the United States Supreme Court.

June 22--Obie Liz Phair '89 Releases Fourth CD
Newsday.com recently declared that Liz Phair's fourth CD, Liz Phair, is causing nothing but confusion among her longtime fans. Phair, a 1989 graduate, gained fame as an indie rocker with her previous releases Exile in Guyville, Whipsmart, and Whitechocolatespaceegg. Her newest effort, however, is being touted as "more Avril Lavigne than riot grrl."

June 20--The Ann Arbor News Interviews Professor Involved in Recovery of Iraqi Antiquities
The Ann Arbor News recently interviewed Yasser Tabba about his participation in the search to recover antiquities stolen from the Museum of Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Tabba, a professor of art history, joined other experts at a conference convened by Interpol and the International Council of Museums in an effort to alert law enforcement officials to the illicit art trade. An expert in Islamic art and architecture, Tabba was invited to the conference because he has visited and photographed art collections in the Middle East, and is familiar with several of the missing artifacts.

June 13--Free Press Interviews Obies Who Travel in Style--in a Car Fueled by Vegetable Oil
The Detroit Free Press recently interviewed two Oberlin College students who will be driving across the country this summer in a car powered by vegetable oil. David Brown and Rachel David, both art students, modified a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta and installed a 22-gallon steel tank in the car's back seat to carry the oil. Although rare, the idea of powering cars with vegetable oil is not new, and the duo will join approximately 10,000 other Americans who prefer to use environmentally-friendly fuel in their vehicles.

June 1--Ship with Oberlin Ties Docks in Cleveland this June
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported today that the Freedom Schooner Amistad, which has ties to Oberlin College, will be docked in Cleveland June 14-29. The schooner was launched three years ago in Connecticut as a living tribute to the Mende men and women who were kidnapped, sold as slaves, and loaded onto La Amistad in 1839. They overwhelmed their captors en route, but were imprisoned when they reached North America. The men and women eventually gained their freedom and returned to Africa. One of the original captives, Sarah Magru Kinison, returned to America later in life, enrolling as a student at Oberlin College.