Hello Oberlin College! 

I was recently hired as the College’s environmental sustainability coordinator and have been on campus since Feb. 1.   I would like to take this opportunity to let you know a little about me and my vision for sustainability at Oberlin.

I was born and raised in DeKalb, Illinois; hometown of Cindy Crawford, barbed wire and seed corn giant DeKalb Agricultural Genetics. I attended a small private liberal arts college in northern Wisconsin, Northland College, where I double majored in environmental studies and sociology. I also have a Masters Degree in sustainable design from the University of Texas School of Architecture.

Before coming to Ohio I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, where I ran Wisconsin’s residential green building program, Green Built Home. Prior to that I worked for a state energy conservation program for public and private schools and municipal government facilities. I have also been involved in green building as a partner with my brother in a small residential building company.

I applied for this position largely because of the college’s reputation as a leader in campus sustainability efforts. I accepted the job because of the enthusiasm and passion I discovered when I came to campus for my interview. I was thoroughly impressed with the people that I met here, their ideas and the vision that they have for a sustainable world.

Which brings us to the office of environmental sustainability. Our mission is to provide leadership to the Oberlin community in implementation of the College’s environmental policy. We will interact with the administration, faculty, staff and students and focus attention on ways to maximize the environmental performance of Oberlin College.

We will also reach out to the campus and wider community and provide a connection between Oberlin and regional and national activities.

While our work plan for the coming year is still evolving, one of our highest priorities will be to conduct a greenhouse gas inventory for the college and a climate action plan to assess the impacts of the college’s current level of emissions, develop indicators and targets for continual emissions reductions, outline a specific implementation plan and priorities for improvement.

We will also assist in implementing the College’s LEED Silver commitment for new facilities and major renovations, work with OMLPS to pursue investing in additional renewable energy resources and help finalize the college’s purchasing policy.

If you have an idea you’re passionate about pursuing here on campus, the Sustainability Office is accepting proposals to hire students on a per-project basis to complete their own student-led initiative. Contact us for more information on submitting a proposal.

One of my primary goals for the office of environmental sustainability is to make it transparent, accessible, accountable and visionary.  Anyone with ideas, concerns, criticisms or suggestions is encouraged to contact us. We’ll provide any assistance we can to get things done.  Please don’t hesitate to call, e-mail or drop by for a visit.

–Nathan Engstrom
Coordinator
Office of Environmental Sustainability

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To the Editors,

When I turned to the Commentary page of the first issue of this semester’s Review, I got really, really excited…why? Because he’s back in black, ladies and gentlemen, Jonathan Bruno, a stunning patriot and president of the OC Republicans.

I have to say that I was even more impressed by this past week’s “The Right Stuff” than I was the day the Red Sox took the series. Well, maybe not, but I was still enthused. Mr. Bruno not only made it all the way through his piece without even mentioning September 11, a task previously thought impossible, but also waited until at least the fourth paragraph before mentioning the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I was continually amused by Bruno’s disgust at the fact that “Americans” would value flesh-and-blood human beings over fictional characters. Nonetheless, this opinion is not meant to be a commentary on old news but rather a reflection on events to come. In fact, in the true nature of Republican politics, “some people would say” that this is a sort of “pre-emptive mission,” “in order to further political debate on Oberlin’s campus.” My fellows from the Banana/Nut House Co-operatives might refer to it as “Pure Gonzo Journalism,” whereas I would like to call it Story Time. So without any more of this dung piling, this one goes out to those who know their political philosophers:

One Saturday during Winter Term I found my house buzzing with energy. I mean the walls were positively dripping. Miles hovered over my head, and the room pulsed as drums conducted the movements of the carpet. The living room curtains drifted to and fro with the sound of the flute and one of my housemates, (let’s call him “Uncle Sam” for now), was bemused by the soft licking of the mascot of the Stones.

However, all this pleasantness was interrupted by a sharp winter breeze that crept in from our front stoop and whispered, “Life is nasty, brutish and short.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I thought about breaking out the caulk and giving the door a good job, but I was lazy and afraid.

Another voice curled in from behind me, my electric blanket: “If you plug me in, I will protect you from the winter breeze.” I did so, but I was interrupted by the ants who had been feeding off the mold growing on my socks. They pleaded to me to stop shocking them, but I was lazy and afraid. I did not see the fuel my housemate “Uncle Sam” had spilt on the carpet in our once cozy living room. Now the walls were dripping with flame. I thought I had nothing, so I wept in the street. I awoke in the Serengeti and asked, “What if the sun melts the caps of snow on Kilimanjaro?” One ant replied, “Then you will drink glaciers.” I asked again, “What if our gardens dry and turn to dust?” Another reply, “Then we will all eat sand…”

–Billy Noseworthy, OC ’07

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To the Editors:

I just made my airline reservations and in early March I will be back in Oberlin for a weekend combining business and pleasure. The business part of it is that the commitment that I made to serve Oberlin as chair of the Career Services Advisory Committee entails some real work.  The committee has conference calls and meetings; we help drum up alumni support for internships and Winter Term housing; we work with the Career Services office on their programs and Web presence.  But the pleasure part…that’s what makes the business part worthwhile.

In order to attend these meetings I get to come back to Oberlin.

I meet with students by doing practice employment interviews. On a more informal basis, I dine with students at the alumni-student exchange sponsored by the Career Services Office.  Alumni Council members like myself are also lucky to be able to meet with other alumni from many different decades. The opportunity to interact with Obies who graduated in the 1950s (or even earlier) all the way through to the most recent class who will graduate (if all goes well) in 2010 is an amazing and energizing experience.I hope that you, as current students, will take advantage of the energized alumni who will be on campus in early March to find out what I am talking about.

On a more personal note, I will enjoy being back in Oberlin just a few days short of the 25th anniversary of my first “date” with my husband. On March 9, 1982, in the second semester of our freshman year, we shared our first kiss in a hallway in Dascomb. Maybe it’s not the most romantic spot in the world, but that’s a happy memory that is part of Oberlin for me.

I feel very lucky to have wonderful memories of Oberlin from 25 years ago and to be able to continue to enjoy current-day Oberlin.

For current students reading this, I hope that in the future you too will take advantage of the benefits of participation in the Alumni Association, whether it is active involvement or just staying in touch by checking out the Web site, reading the Oberlin Alumni Magazine and donating to the school, so that Oberlin never becomes just a memory but stays a part of your life.

–Susan Schwarz Rudzinski OC ’85
Chair, Career Services Advisory Committee
Executive Board Member
Oberlin Alumni Association

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To the Editors,

Interested in making a difference? Visit the Spring 2007 CSL Community Service Fair!

Students interested in sustainable agriculture, education, labor, health and other social issues can get involved right away at the Spring 2007 Community Service Fair, to be held this year on Tuesday, February 13, from 4-6 p.m. at the Science Center Commons.

At the Fair, students will have the opportunity to sign up for volunteer positions and meet representatives from various community groups. This is a chance to become more involved in events outside the campus sphere and give back to the local community.

Some of the community partners participating in the fair include: Lorain County Habitat for Humanity; Hard Hatted Women; Juneteenth Oberlin, Inc.; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County; the New Agrarian Center; Main Street Oberlin, Inc.; Old Woman Creek; Lorain County Labor Council and the Oberlin City Schools Athletics Department.

The Community Service Fair itself is sponsored by the Center for Service and Learning, located in the Lewis House, 68 S. Professor, provides Oberlin College students with a wealth of opportunities for civic engagement and community service opportunities that cover a range of issues affecting our society.

–Avery Book, OC ’07
Community Service Coordinator
Center for Service and Learning

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To the Editors,

Thank you for including photographs of last week’s reading of the Vagina Monologues. I was a bit disappointed, however, that the caption accompanying the photographs failed to mention any details about the event, where it was held, or whom it benefited. Katie Mauck, OC ’09, and I organized a reading of the Vagina Monologues to benefit the Lorain County Rape Crisis Center. On the evening of February 14, the first floor lounge of Baldwin Cottage was packed with smiling vaginas (and aspiring vaginas) who braved the arctic weather to attend this important event. Thanks to the generosity of the attendees and performers, we raised over $200 for the Lorain County Rape Crisis Center.

–Zoe Fisher, OC ’07