Oberlin Blogs

Obies are continuing to have conversations about progress. But in order for these conversations to be productive we must all commit to open-mindedness. It will be difficult, but ultimately necessary.

Marching forth on the fourth of March, for a cause that goes beyond Oberlin

This is my voice; it stands with you. I stand with you.

Last week, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to join 45,000 activists to protest the Keystone Pipeline.

This is a place with an aura of calm, a history of progress. But Oberlin is a part of the rest of the world, which means that the world's problems are ours, too.

Oberlin was supposed to exemplify the post racial, post discriminatory society we hope to converge to. Instead, we are served with piercing words that are so unspeakably prejudiced.

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.

The Interfaith Day of Service is this Friday, 3:30 - 5:30. "Interfaith," in this case, means both among people of different religions and between people who are religious and those who aren't--an important factor to consider when dealing with Oberlin students.

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.

My semesters usually end up organizing themselves around a few different themes or shared ideas. This semester, the themes seem to be bodies/physicality, communities, and, to a somewhat lesser degree, stories.

She conducts extensive interviews with people across the country and uses their words verbatim to develop and tell their stories that address the larger commentary such as the race relations, discrimination, poverty, injustice.

Thoughts on my human rights internship at People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) in Cape Town, South Africa.