News Briefs

Vandalism In South Hall Continues

Last semester, while students were preparing for finals, vandals ran amok through South Hall, spray-painting the walls and stacking furniture. That incident was resolved, but incidents have plagued South Hall all year and continue this semester.
The vandals came forward and confessed shortly after the incidents, and the situation was considered resolved.

More recently, students have reported more acts of vandalism in the same halls, which is most likely an independent occurrence. The students reported the burning of bulletin boards and other papers. Although the burnings weren’t large enough to set off the dormitory’s fire alarms, the incidents were serious enough for the Oberlin Security turned the case over to the Oberlin Police and Fire Departments.
An official with the Oberlin Fire Department said, “It’s under a full investigation, and because of that, we can’t divulge any information.”
Interim Assistant Dean of Residential Life and Services Tracy Murry said, “We feel that it is dangerous enough that we need to get it resolved as soon as possible.”

Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith said, “The incidents in South are matters of grave concern, especially those involving fire. Residential Life will be aggressive in doing what’s necessary to put it to an end.”

The most recent events are the latest in a series of events that occurred last semester. “It’s pretty much dorm-wide,” said sophomore Hannah Logan, a residential coordinator in South Hall. “I was disappointed that people would undertake vandalism in the place where they lived.”
“People would run around here spray-painting the walls,” a resident of South Hall said.

According to Residential Life and Services, those who were responsible for the spray-painting and furniture-stacking came forward within a short period of time, and volunteered to help pay for the damages, which Murry estimated to be between $4,000 and $5,000.
“The students were wonderful in that they accepted the responsibility for their actions,” said William Stackman, the assistant dean of students. The students went through the judicial process with the Judiciary Board.
“I think the people who admitted responsibility felt that we had been fair, and the sanctioning had been fair,” Murry said. “I think that there wasn’t...an intent to destroy property. I think that it was only afterwards that they realized the extent of the damage that they caused.”
–Alex Parker

Finalists for Assistant Dean Selected

The dean of students’ office released the names and bios of the two finalists for the assistant dean of students position. The position will also require the recipient to serve as class dean.
The first candidate, Carol Sedgwick, will meet with students on Monday, March 5, from 8:45-9:30 p.m. in Wilder 112. 
She is currently an academic advisor at Cleveland State Universty in the Division of University Studies, advising 350 students. Before working in Cleveland, Sedgwick taught voice, music appreciation and music history. She also directed ensembles and opera at Eisenhower College, the University of Wisconson-Parkside and the University of North Dakota. In North Dakota, she was Associate Professor of Music. 
Sedgwick received a Bachelor of Music for vocal performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory, proceeding to a Masters of music in vocal performance and literature and Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance and pedagogy from the Eastman School of Music. She recently earned a Master of Arts in speech language pathology from Cleveland State University.

The second candidate is Kimberly Jackson Davidson. Davidson will meet with students on Thursday, March 15, from 8:45-9:30 p.m. in Wilder 115. 
Davidson is currently interim assistant dean of students and fourth-year class dean at Oberlin College. 
In addition to her administrative duties, she offers courses at Oberlin. This semester she is teaching “Race and Imagination in Writing” in the Rhetoric and Composition Program. Last year, she served as a Visiting Instructor in African American Studies. Before coming to Oberlin, Davidson was Project Coordinator for the Boston Education Collaborative at Emmanuel Gospel Center. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Spelman College, a Master of Arts in African Literature from the University of Wisconsin and completed doctoral course work in English literature at Emory University.
–Adrian Leung