Senior Josh Raisler Cohn, who is facing charges related to the blockading of a Pennsylvania wood chip mill in October, will face a pre-trial hearing Monday, Dec. 21. The hearing was originally scheduled for Monday, Dec. 7.
Raisler Cohn said local supporters of the timber industry seem to be planning protests to coincide with his court appearance. He said he has been the victim of intimidation and harassment stemming from the protest and his ongoing opposition to the factory, located in Allegheny National Forest.
Raisler Cohn faces three misdemeanor charges and up to five months in jail.
On Nov. 15, 13 initial proposals were submitted to the Hewlett Grant Committee requesting funds for either a campus-focused or community-focused endeavor that deals with the theme of "racial legacies, learning and reconciliation."
The Center for Service and Learning then screened the proposals and offered advice to each of the applicants on how to further refine their proposals for the Dec. 1 deadline. Shilpa Dav�, Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs said there was a wide variety of proposals submitted which were "really in the spirit of the grant." Dav� said the committee was very encouraged by the responses and is hoping to see even more applications next semester.
Project proposals range from holding conferences in effort to increase dialogue among different student groups to encouraging Oberlin High School students to get involved in Prison Activism. There are monies allocated in the budget to sponsor an average of 13 campus-focused projects and 10 community-oriented endeavors per academic year. Awards will be announced some time next week.
Ohio Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) is leading yet another public information campaign. This time the focus is on off-campus housing.
For the past several years, off-campus housing surveys have been mailed out to all students living off-campus. This semester's surveys include questions about rent, lease conditions and the condition of the property and heating.
The bulk of the survey is focused on each landlord's attitudes and professional actions. It includes room to comment on discrimination, disagreements and possible legal problems encountered.
"We've found a lot of specific housing problems," said Margaux Shields, chair of Oberlin's OPIRG chapter. "It's also pinpointed some major issues." A major area of concern is general safety in the houses.
According to Shields, students are asked to write the name of each property's landlord on the survey, so that other students can look up each landlord individually.
This year, for the first time, OPIRG plans to compile the survey results. Previously, surveys were simply bound and provided for students to look up specific properties.
The report from last semester is available at the Wilder front desk. It is heavily used during this time of year as students arrange housing for next year, according to Shields.
Loretta Ross, exective director of the National Center for Human Rights Education, spoke at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) last weekend in First Church.
Ross's speech was also in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the local non-profit organization Grassroots Leadership Development. The group runs training programs for human rights groups organizations, as well as promoting human rights awareness.
A number of activists who had been trained with the group shared their stories before Ross's speech. Each of the Declaration's 30 articles were read by individual activists.
Ross spoke on the importance of educating Americans about the UDHR. She sees education as the main tool to elevating its position in America. Ross also chided the U.S. government for not having ratified the UDHR convent and for not committing funds to educate citizens about human rights.
Over 100 community leaders and about 10 students attended the celebration. College sophomore Felicia Kazer said that Ross had a strong impact on her. "She made you think that [the UDHR] was the answer. She really broke it down," she said.
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 127, Number 12, December 11, 1998
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