Oberlin in the News - Winter 2003

January 2003
January 29--Oberlin's David Orr Endorses County's Interest in Fuel Cell Technology Jobs
Cleveland's Plain Dealer featured input from David Orr, director of Oberlin's Environmental Studies Program. During the interview, Orr commented on Lorain County's interest in using the growing market of fuel cell technology to create local jobs."There is nothing unrealistic about this idea," Orr said. "We can attract businesses here. Someone is going to make this stuff somewhere, and it is a billions of dollars market. Why not build it here?"

January 24--Bobby McFerrin Comes to Oberlin with Radio's From the Top
Grammy award-winning vocalist Bobby McFerrin is coming to Oberlin on February 28--to tape an episode of Public Radio International's show From the Top. McFerrin will perform with young musicians from around the country, adding his unique vocalizations to their instrumental pieces. Both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram featured a lengthy article on McFerrin's upcoming Oberlin performance.

January 23--Get Your War On: David Rees '94 Makes the Cover of the New York Press
The New York Press, a New York City newspaper, featured David Rees '94 on last week's cover. Rees, who has gained a cult following for his highly political cartoons, recently published a book titled Get Your War On. Rees' cartoons use clip art and extreme language to get his points across--whether these points deal with the attacks on the World Trade Center or America's foreign policy.
Related Link:
Get Your War On (this site contains very explicit language.)

January 21--Plain Dealer Music Critic Gives Conservatory Senior Positive Reviews
Donald Rosenberg, a music critic for Cleveland's Plain Dealer, recently delivered a valentine of a review for soprano Malia Bendi-Merad '03, a vocal performance major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. "Celestial is perhaps the best word to describe the artistry Merad offered during her recital at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium. With a compact voice that gleamed from top to bottom, she performed an hour-long concert of songs in four languages, providing everything with pinpoint accuracy of pitch and expressive subtlety," said Rosenberg.

January 15--Sharon Patton Named Director of Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art
Both The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Washington Post reported this week that Sharon Patton, director of Oberlin College's Allen Memorial Art Museum, was named director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. Patton will leave Oberlin February 8 and start March 17 at the Smithsonian.

January 13--Oberlin Graduates Work to Revitalize Downtown Oberlin
A group of Oberlin College graduates--including Josh Rosen '02, Ben Ezinga '01, and Naomi Sabel '02--have presented a development proposal to Oberlin's city council that will revitalize the east side of town by bringing in mixed income housing and several new businesses. An article in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported that the group, known as Sustainable Community Associates, is working with urban development specialists McCormack Baron and Associates of St. Louis, Missouri, to develop the entire east-side block of town that encompasses Main, College, Pleasant, and Vine streets.

January 6--The New York Times Examines the Role of Parents in College Students' Lives
An article in the January 6 edition of The New York Times examined the changing generation gap between parents and their college-aged children by citing the influence of e-mail and cell phones--and the tendency of parents over the past decade to be more involved in their childrens' lives. Professor of Rhetoric and Composition Anne Trubek, who graduated from Oberlin College 15 years ago, was quoted as saying, "The kids I teach say they love their parents. They aren't as anti-authoritarian as we once were. They are more comfortable with adults and less cynical. Where we took a critical stance to authority figures, they see it more as, 'Hey, people want to help me.'"

January 3--Alumni Comedienne Featured on NPR
On a recent edition of NPR's Tavis Smiley Show, Nancy Giles '81 spoke about her rocky start in show business, and the direction her career is currently taking. An actress who spent three seasons on "China Beach," Giles is best known for her comedic take on racism, with television specials including "Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism" and "Notes of a Negro Neurotic."

January 2--Pittsburgh Post Interviews Coach "Happy" Dobbs
The January 2 edition of the Pittsburgh Post featured an interview with Oberlin's new assistant athletic director and head coach for the men's basketball team, Frank "Happy" Dobbs. A graduate of Villanova, Dobbs was drafted in the eighth round by the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association in 1984. In addition to coaching at Oberlin, Dobbs has coached at Boston College, Brown University, Cleveland State University, and Dartmouth University.

January 2--Alumni's Work with Pre-College-Aged Musicians Recognized
An article in The Boston Globe featured an interview with Scott Schillin '70, co-producer of the weekly classical-music program "From the Top," which airs Saturdays on Boston's WGBH-FM, Schillin, who spent 11 years as the operations manager for the Boston Pops, gathers and records performances by pre-college-age musicians that are then aired on more than 230 stations by Public Radio International. "Working with the kids one-on-one about things like nervousness or careers in music is what I enjoy," Schillin says. "I have some very strong feelings about what it's like to work in the music business. There's a certain level of negativity, so I have an interest in making this a positive experience for the next generation of performers."