News Briefs

College Sends Out Security Alert

On Feb. 13, Oberlin students received a report of a security incident that occurred on Saturday, Feb. 10. At approximately 1:30 a.m. a female student walking alone on Woodland Street was reportedly approached by a man in a parked car. He grabbed her arm and the victim escaped and ran to her residence. The man, in his 30s to 40s and not known to the victim, then drove away in his car.
The matter is currently under investigation by Safety and Security and the Oberlin Police Department. The police will not discuss the investigation except to say that they have a suspect and will release all relevant information once they make an arrest. Safety and Security is reminding all students to be cautious, both on and off-campus, especially at night and when traveling alone. They are also urging students to report any similar incidents of harassment.
Some students are concerned by this latest incident, especially considering past assaults that have occurred on the Oberlin campus. Said senior Kate Silverman, “It’s disturbing since there have been several other attacks in Oberlin in recent years. Oberlin isn’t as safe as we all like to think it is.”
-Sarah Miller-Davenport

Creative Writing Prof. Wins Award

This week, Professor Dan Chaon, visiting assistant professor in the Creative Writing Program, learned that his short story, “Big Me” was selected as the second-place winner of the O. Henry Prize. Chaon’s story was first published in The Gettysburg Review.
Chaon currently teaches the Poetry/Prose Workshop and the Non-Fiction Workshop. He also teaches the Fiction Workshop in the fall. 
The prize is given to the three best stories published in North America each year. The O. Henry Awards have been published annually since 1918. They single out 20 outstanding stories from among approximately 4,000 stories published in the U.S. and Canada during a given calendar year, and are widely regarded as among the most prestigious awards for short fiction. The judges for this year’s prizes were authors Michael Chabon, Mary Gordon and Mona Simpson. 
An anthology of the prize-winning stories will be published in August of 2001 by Anchor Books. Professor Chaon’s book of short stories, Among the Missing, which includes the prize-winning story, will be published in July of this year. 
-Nina Lalli