Oberlin Blogs

Tess Yanisch ’13

Hi! I'm a senior from western Washington (graduating in January). I love books, long walks, and meandering conversations. I am proud to declare myself a huge geek, especially about social science, interesting people, and great writing. An unabashed genre fiction fan — as you can see, I own a cloak and Lord of the Rings leaf pin — I am currently living on Sci-Fi Hall with similarly insane people. I'm also friends with people I've met through other groups and activities I'm involved with, such as OCircus!, Oberlin's entirely-student-run circus organization.

While I love books, my interest in understanding people's personalities, priorities, and decision-making in various social contexts has led me to declare a psychology major. I'm a "stats geek" — data-crunching research assistant — for one of my psych professors. I also work as a lifeguard, volunteer at Oberlin Community Services, and clean litterboxes/socialize foundling kittens at the Ginko Gallery!

I'd love to answer any questions you have about any of the above, so feel free to leave a comment on any blog post.

Entries from this blogger

Interfaith Service: Success!

Pretty much the whole student body cares about community service, and we got good stuff done. We still need a deeper discussion about "interfaith," but that's next on the list . . . Many Oberlin students have a tendency to be dismissive of religion or openly religious classmates. I think they're responding more to the political end of religion (as we know it) than to any actual beliefs.

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Election 2012

I think I was happier this time than when Obama won in 2008; this year, I was more involved, I knew more, I canvassed, I voted--I was able to be a part of it. This win was my win, in a tiny, tiny way, and I had seen more of the other people whose win it was too.

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Comment on this Post

This is a chance for you to talk to me, whether you are a prospie, prospie's parent, current student, or alum. Feel free to ask questions about Oberlin, tell me what you want to read about, or just say hi.

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My To-Do List

I love to make lists. My room is covered in them. Now my blog is too--a giant list of things to do before I graduate!

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Oberlin Accounting

I have made an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I spend my money on. 81% goes to Oberlin and other necessities (airfare, textbooks, snowboots) and 11% to personal indulgences (goofy t-shirts, eating out). Is this a decent balance? I welcome your thoughts!

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Chalk Walk

Every summer, Oberlin has a citywide "Chalk Walk," a civic day of doodling on the sidewalk. Though most of the art is done by average citizens--including plenty of enthusiastic kids--the event also attracts stunningly good artists. Among this year's coolest pieces were a giant cupcake, the Beatles, and George Washington riding a walrus into space carrying broccoli.

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Oberlin Etiquette

Remember, the cardinal rule of politeness is to make the other person comfortable. In some situations, this calls for dressing up and shaking hands. In others, it consists of yelling and backslapping. Among Klingons, you say whatever's on your mind and be prepared to back up your words in battle if necessary. And so on.

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On Study Breaks

The last few weeks of the semester are always incredibly full with people working on final projects, last ExCo or club performances, studying their brains out, and attending study breaks to cram their brains back into their skulls.

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Summer Hobbies

Last week, I wrote about the work I'm doing this summer. However, summer is also about fun, and I've been having lots of that. PLUS: My brother is a genius.

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Is College Hard?

What is "hard"? The pace is faster in college than in high school, but it's mostly notable in comparison. For example, in the first three weeks of Research Methods, we covered at least half of the material in my year-long A.P. Statistics course.

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Gloria Steinem, Activism, and Oberlin

Oberlin's second convocation of the semester took place last Wednesday. The speaker was Gloria Steinem. It wasn't the first time the famous feminist has been at Oberlin--she was here in 1972--and, listening to her talk, I wondered how the political and activist atmosphere here has changed since then.

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Sci-Fi Hall!

Most colleges give their students a choice between traditional housing and fraternities or sororities. Oberlin, being Oberlin, has a different--and much wider--array of choices. Case in point: Sci-Fi Hall, where I now live.

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All Roads Go Ever On and On

One choice--to visit a college--can be the first step on that much-talked-of journey of a thousand miles. No, I'm not referring to the famous Confucius quote, actually--I'm thinking of The Lord of the Rings. Although Oberlin is a lot more fun than Mount Doom.

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Campus Visits: How to be a Prospie

This blog gives you a few pointers for getting the most out of your campus visit. I don't usually go in for grandiose, sweeping statements, but I think I can say without (much of) a doubt that this blog could be the most important thing you read during your college search. I can say this because I have learned from experience.

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Interdisciplinary Extracurriculars

Oberlin is more than living up to my expectations about both interdisciplinary material and extracurricular opportunities. However, I must say that I never expected the two to combine as they have in my life. That is to say, I'm finding that skills I've learned working on improv are helping me with my genre fiction writing.

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American Graffiti

More about latrinalia, Winter Term, statistical analysis (and not doing it), and a whimsical, completely unrelated movie review for variety. Pictures included, of course.

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Application time!

"You haven't written your application essays yet? Well get crackin'!" --A Pamphlet on applying to (not too many!) Colleges; Plus, a few modest Examples are included for the perusal of the curious Reader.

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Happy Halloween!

Greetings, children of the night! Today's entry is a series of snapshots of my triumphant return to Oberlin, including lectures, geeky joy, and local apple cider.

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Fall Break: Social Justice Institute

I first heard about the SJI in the admissions packet I got at the beginning of the summer. It wasn't terribly clear about what exactly the SJI was going to be, but I filled out the application anyway and sent it in, figuring it would be interesting if I got in. I did, and I attended the first session of it today. I still wasn't very clear about what it was until it started. . .

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