Senior Week & Commencement Celebrations Calendar
Academic departments and offices will offer their students opportunities to attend virtual events during Senior Week, May 17-23. Activities range from academic open houses to readings and virtual games to recognition programs. If you would like to attend any of these events and have not received an invite, please reach out to the contact person indicated by each event. Senior Week is the precursor to this year’s Commencement Experience on May 25.
Monday, May 25, 2020
10 a.m. Commencement Celebration
To mark Commencement day, Monday, May 25, we will honor our graduates with a virtual celebration featuring President Ambar and Board of Trustees Chair T. Chris Canavan '84. We will also release the Class of 2020 Time Capsule & Virtual Yearbook. This event will be pre-recorded and posted to the commencement website at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 25. You may also view 2020 Commencement on our Vimeo channel.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
10:30 a.m. “The Certainty of Oberlin” featuring President Carmen Twillie Ambar
President Ambar will give her state-of-the-college address “The Certainty of Oberlin”. This will be pre-recorded and posted at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 24th on the commencement website so people across the world can watch at a time that is most convenient for them. To watch, visit State of the College Address 2020.
11 a.m. Cinema Studies Open House
Contact: William Patrick Day pday@oberlin.edu
12 p.m. Musical Studies Open House
Contact: Kathryn Metz kmetz@oberlin.edu
1 p.m. Multifaith Baccalaureate Celebration
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life will host a virtual Baccalaureate Ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 24. “On Parting Again: Saying Goodbye During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” features a student panel representing different faith traditions. Panelists will include Nathan Carpenter (nonreligious), Madeleine Gefke (Christian), Noa Gordon-Guterman (Jewish), Lyala Khan (pluralist), and Kenneth Kitahata (Buddhist). Rising-senior Ivy Miller will facilitate. President Ambar will offer a welcome; music will be provided by violinist Riley Calcagno, who performs both classical and roots music.
To watch, go to the Commencement homepage or visit Baccalaureate 2020 on our Vimeo channel.
Contact: David Dorsey ddorsey@oberlin.edu
2 p.m. English Open House
Contact: Gillian Johns gijohns@oberlin.edu
2 p.m. Sociology Open House
Contact: Greggor Mattson gmattson@oberlin.edu
2 - 3:30 p.m. Creative Writing Program Open House
Contact: DeSales Harrison desalesh@gmail.com
2 - 4 p.m. Russian/REES Open House
Contact: Tom Newlin tnewlin@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Open House
Contact: Greggor Mattson gmattson@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. TIMARA Open House
Contact: Abby Aresty aaresty@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. Anthropology Department and Archaeological Studies Program Open House
Contact: Amy Margaris amy.margaris@oberlin.edu
4 p.m. Posse Scholars X Commencement Reception
Contact: Meredith Gadsby meredith.gadsby@oberlin.edu
7 p.m. Social on the Square and Illumination
Social on the Square and Illumination have a long tradition at Oberlin College. This year, we bring that tradition to you.
View the Illumination photo gallery
8 p.m. Bonner Graduation Celebration
Contact: Brandi McVety bmcvety@oberlin.edu
8 p.m. Stay On It Zoom Discussion - Celebrating the Class of 2020
To celebrate the class of 2020, Oberlin Conservatory of Music has created a digital performance of Julius Eastman's Stay On It. Join a Zoom discussion with some of the staff and students involved in this project to learn how these now-common "tiled" videos come together, from an artistic and production perspective.
Contact: Leah Brockman Leah.Brockman@oberlin.edu
Ongoing
Cinema Studies Screening: The Best Student Films of the Year
This special program features the best Oberlin student narrative, documentary, and experimental films of 2019-20. It has been curated in two parts: pre-COVID and post-COVID films. All are welcome.
Learn more and watch the student films
Faculty Film Screening (through Friday, May 29)
The Return of Elder Pingree — Memoir of a Departed Mormon, a film by Professor of Cinema Studies and English Geoff Pingree, premiered at the 2019 Santa Cruz Film Festival.
Multicultural Resource Center Events
Congratulations to the Class of 2020! To celebrate our graduates, enjoy the congratulatory slideshows! For the best viewing experience, we suggest using Google Chrome.
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Oberlin Lambda Alumni & Multicultural Resource Center Colloquium and Lavender Graduation Ceremony
To respect participants' confidentiality, the Multicultural Resource Center will email all "Lavender" graduates a link to the slideshow.
For more information on all MRC events please contact Zahida Sherman zsherman@oberlin.edu
Sunday, May 17, 2020
The Virtual Obies
Please join us for the Oberlin College Department of Athletics 9th annual awards ceremony. The virtual ObieAwards ceremony will air live on YouTube at 7 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 17. Head to www.goyeo.com for the link the day of.
Monday, May 18, 2020
4 p.m. Comparative Literature Happy Hour
Contact: Kirk Ormand kormand@oberlin.edu
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
3 p.m. Africana Studies Senior Sendoff
Contact: David Divins ddivins@oberlin.edu
9 p.m. Senior Trivia Night
Register online to participate!
Contact: Jessica Bayer Crissman jbayer@oberlin.edu and Thom Julian tjulian@Oberlin.edu
Thursday, May 21, 2020
1 p.m. Undergraduate Research Sendoff
Contact: Diana Tebo dtebo@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. Neuroscience Open House
Contact: Tracie Paine tpaine@oberlin.edu
7:30–9:30 p.m. Chemistry and Biochemistry Open House
Contact: Rachel Wysocki rachel.wysocki@oberlin.edu
8:30 p.m. Politics Department Class of 2020 Celebration
Contact: Steve Crowley scrowley@oberlin.edu
Friday, May 22, 2020
11 a.m. YeoFit EmPOWER Yoga
Join Lisa Thuer for some YeoFit Empower Yoga!
2 - 4 p.m. East Asian Studies Open House
Contact: Dale Alexander dalexan3@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. Virtual Keyes Metcalf (OC 1911) Recognition Ceremony for Libraries Student Employees
Contact: Polly Bratton pbratton@oberlin.edu
Who was Keyes Metcalf?
4 p.m. Virtual Senior Art Exhibition
A year-end show focused on the work of Studio department senior majors.
View the Virtual Senior Art Exhibition
5 - 7:30 p.m. Creative Writing Capstone Readings
Join us for 15 minutes, an hour, or the whole time - students will be presenting their capstones every 5-10 minutes! Register here.
Contact: Emily Barton ebarton@oberlin.edu and Joyce Marshall jmarsha2@oberlin.edu
Saturday, May 23, 2020
1 p.m. Dance Open House
Contact: Kathy Drennan kathy.drennan@oberlin.edu
1 p.m. Theater Open House
Contact: Kathy Drennan kathy.drennan@oberlin.edu
2 p.m. Latin American Studies Open House
Contact: Kristina Mani kmani@oberlin.edu
3 p.m. Geology Open House
Contact: Zeb Page zeb.page@oberlin.edu
4 p.m. French and Italian Open House
Contact: Blanche Villar blanche.villar@oberlin.edu