Hello prospies! My name is Alice Ollstein and I'm a senior at Oberlin College double-majoring in English and Latin American Studies. I've taken lots of fun, challenging classes in tons of different departments and I hope to continue to do so in my remaining time at this wonderful place.
I'm a proud member of Keep Co-op, where besides cooking and cleaning, I serve as Coordinator of the Nicaragua Sister Partnership Committee, which facilitates our connection with and support of a group of impoverished female farmers in northern Nicaragua. This January, I will lead a school-sponsored delegation of co-op members to live with these farmers in Nicaragua and develop our relationship with them.
I came to Oberlin from a big public high school in Santa Monica, California, so the weather and culture here in Ohio were somewhat of a shock, but in general I've loved every minute of my time here. If you have any questions about journalism, activism, the campus environmental movement, co-ops, making friends or anything else, please feel free to comment on my blog. I hope to hear from you soon!
Entries from this blogger
August 4, 2014
All life is an adventure, and moving to a new city, building/finding a new community, and scrambling to make it in a uncertain field definitely qualifies.
August 13, 2010
Even in the worst economy ever, we ex-Obies find a way. Glimpses of the post-college lives of the Class of 2010.
August 6, 2010
From job hunting to house hunting to cheap cultural activity hunting, I don't think I'm in Kansas (or Oberlin) anymore.
June 13, 2010
My goal was to graduate without any lingering "I should have done X, Y and Z!" I (almost) succeeded.
May 21, 2010
Not that I dislike Oberlin's small, enclosed environment. It's been an incredible space to figure out who I am, what I like, what I don't like, what matters to me, and what I want to do about it. But it is time to leave.
April 15, 2010
Times in recent memory where my brain has screamed I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LUCKY I AM TO GO HERE
April 2, 2010
See Alice network with alums. See Alice shamelessly beg for a job. See Alice hobnob with reporters from Bloomberg, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and National Geographic.
March 1, 2010
Free New York Times, talented friends, and Oberlin's love of puzzles.
February 23, 2010
Long, cold winters, unethical fruits, and other Oberlin oddities.
February 9, 2010
I've transitioned very quickly from seeing suffering and resilience to silliness and pleasure, and it's been difficult to rationalize and connect these two parts of my life.
December 27, 2009
Keeping vegetarian in Oberlin is easy. In rural Nicaragua? Not so much.
December 22, 2009
Going back through the many pages I scribbled two years ago has been extremely helpful, and alternately depressing and entertaining.
December 15, 2009
How to get money at Oberlin to fund your meaningful ideas
December 6, 2009
Why is it that the one time of year we're too busy to do anything we are presented with a plethora of incredible performances and events?
November 19, 2009
My waking self was indecisive, but my subconscious knew.
November 7, 2009
Why it's much easier to join organizations than quit them, and why quitting is sometimes the right move.
October 28, 2009
I didn't win. But I was proud to remember both the 3 D's of apparition AND Ron's favorite Quidditch team.
October 20, 2009
The drugs, plus several more days of going to bed at grandma hours, eventually cured me.
September 29, 2009
I'm always the first on campus to bust out my winter coat, scarf, boots, and hat. Am I ashamed? Not in the least.
September 10, 2009
Finally, after almost 20 hours of waiting, I had original paintings by Goya and Toulouse Lautrec in my hands.
August 27, 2009
A few changes around campus since my freshman year, for better and for worse.
August 10, 2009
It suddenly hit me that I have only four days left at my internship at La Opinion, and only two weeks left in LA.
August 3, 2009
Sure, there are a few bloodthirsty, ambitious climbers at Oberlin, and a few deadbeats content to coast on their parents' funds, but the majority have found a healthy middle path.
July 16, 2009
In the life of an intern, just about anything can happen. Well, almost anything.
July 13, 2009
At first I was annoyed at the little assignments Oberlin's making me do to get credit for my summer internship, but now I'm grateful.
June 30, 2009
Upon learning I attend Oberlin, many people ask if I go into Cleveland every weekend. Usually my facial expression is enough of an answer.
June 9, 2009
My own computer, grammar errors, and what it's like to be the only Anglo at the country's biggest Spanish paper.
June 3, 2009
There's a flower shop on S. Main that writes a different name on their sign every day, and if you are blessed with that particular name, you get a free flower. I had never seen my own name until this past Commencement.
May 7, 2009
Dan stood in front of the bulldozers and blocked the construction for hours before they hauled him away. Why weren't there hundreds of people with him? Thousands?
April 27, 2009
As my time in Arizona draws to a close, my thoughts drift away from the mountains of work I have to do to how excited I am for senior year at Oberlin. Here are some of my top fantasies.
April 19, 2009
I can't decide if I'm excited to go back to a traditional academic setting--to actually read novels again and discuss theories in the safe confines of a classroom--or apprehensive that I'll be frustrated not to be learning by doing, not to be out on the frontlines of the issue that moves me the most.
April 7, 2009
Some seem to think I've strayed from the original purpose of the blog--giving prospies an unmediated account of Obie life--yet here are the ways my experiences here in Arizona have a great deal to do with far-off Oberlin.
April 4, 2009
"The people who come here illegally across the border are not educated people," Ms. Richardson said. "They don't have any culture or any respect for ours."
April 2, 2009
A few things I learned on yesterday's patrol with the Samaritans, a group that sends a group out to the desert every day looking for migrants in need of water, food, medicine or simply a friendly face.
March 30, 2009
Amnesty International just released a pretty horrifying report on immigrant detention in the U.S. calling the system "broken." What can we do about it?
February 7, 2009
To learn the routes of migration, we did in a couple of easy hours what takes most migrants four excruciating days.
February 3, 2009
Today my program spent the afternoon in court. It's not what it sounds like.
February 1, 2009
What if good intentions and a strong desire to "make a difference" aren't enough?
January 30, 2009
Living with a host family is a difficult adjustment after two and a half years in Oberlin's dorms.
January 28, 2009
Drugs, thugs and racism: a smidgen of what I've learned so far on the border.
January 20, 2009
Tomorrow marks both the end of the Border Studies program orientation and the end of Bush's reign. Now the real work begins.
January 19, 2009
I crossed the border for the first time today, and witnessed firsthand the tragedies and ironies of our immigration system.
December 17, 2008
It took putting 3 ten-page papers, a five-page paper and two exams behind me to realize that I just might miss this ol' place after all.
December 11, 2008
Off-campus status is both a blessing and a curse...but mostly a blessing.
November 16, 2008
It's a bummer to be sick at school, but not as bad as you might think.
October 30, 2008
I had the distinct pleasure of flying to Rome for fall break to see my S.O., who is studying Classics there, and I got to employ a lot of what I've learned in classrooms and the coops during my stay.
October 11, 2008
To my delight, a prospie e-mailed me last week and asked if she could spend some time with me during her visit to Oberlin. We had a good time, but here's how to have an even better stay.
September 24, 2008
The election results may come down to our little state, and the town and college of Oberlin is rising to the challenge.
August 10, 2008
With our independent magazine finally published, now we just have to get people to read it.
July 18, 2008
Why everything is easier at Oberlin and harder out in the real world.
July 9, 2008
When confronted with wastefulness and hostility, what's an Obie to do? It ain't easy being green...
June 5, 2008
I'm back home in Santa Monica with a real job at a real newspaper, and I'm realizing that my time at the Oberlin Review has been the perfect preparation for the journalism world.
May 20, 2008
The end of sophomore year brought the stress of finals, but also the fun of commencement week and parties at professors' houses.
May 5, 2008
I received a request to elaborate on my experience going from a big, urban California environment to Oberlin, Ohio...so here goes!
April 22, 2008
A bit about how I ever left L.A. sunshine for Ohio and why I'm so glad I did.
April 13, 2008
My packed day of activities this weekend was a perfect example of Oberlin's environmentalism, and I'm glad there were a ton of prospective students (aka prospies) here to see them.
April 7, 2008
All about Drag Ball, arguably the biggest yearly event at Oberlin.