To the Editors:

I wanted to thank Takuya Murata for his letter to last week’s review, in which he pointed out that 70 percent of Oberlin’s top administrators pass as male, 90 percent pass as heterosexual and 100 percent pass as white.

These demographics are not remotely representative of Oberlin’s student body, let alone the town, the state or the people living within the boundaries of the U.S.

Why? What processes have shaped candidate searches, retention and hiring so that Oberlin has ended up with such a skew?

When privileged groups are severely overrepresented in leadership positions, it is our responsibility to act as community to make representation more equitable and accountable.

We must make these considerations not just for the administration, but for faculty positions and curricular decisions as well, in all departments.

Takuya’s suggestion of pushing the administration to specifically consider qualified queer women of color for the new dean position is a way to move Oberlin in the right direction.

–Sarah Schreiber
College senior