Oberlin Observer. 1993-04-01

              Oberlin ColCege VBservef
Volmne 14, Numbex 14
OSerCin, Ohio
Thursdiay 1 Aprfl 1^93^
Two seniors win Watson fellowships
After graduation in May, Naeem
Mohaiemen will collect oral histories
of survivors of the 1971 Bangladeshi
war, and Sonia Kroth will study the
relationship between crop biodiver¬
sity and indigenous cultures in
Mexico. Mohaiemen and Kroth are
1993 winners of Thomas J. Watson
fellowships, which provide $15,000
for independent travel and study
outside the US ($21,000 for fellows
accompanied by a dependent). The
two Ooerlin seniors are among 65
fellows selected from nearly 200 final¬
ists nominated by 52 private liberal-arts
colleges and universities.
Rediscovering history
"History has not only been dis¬
torted, it has almost disappeared/'
says Naeem Mohaiemen of the 1971
war in which Bangladesh won inde¬
pendence from Pakistan. During this
10-month war, he says, 3 million
Bangladeshis—most of them civil¬
ians—were killed, and 10 million
became refugees in India, but this
history is actively suppressed in
Bangladesh and unacknowledged in
Pakistan. Mohaiemen plans to spend
next year in the two countries con¬
ducting interviews with relatives and
friends "of those who died in po¬
groms targeting leading intellectu¬
als." He will then prepare transcripts
of the interviews for publication in
Bengali and English.
After Pakistan was separated from
India, Mohaiemen says. East and
West Pakistan were ostensibly one
country, but East Pakistan—now
Bangladesh—was in effect a "colony"
of industrialized West Pakistan. In
1970, when a candidate from the
more populous East Pakistan won an
all-Pakistan election. West Pakistan
did not accept the result. "In 1971,"
Naeem Mohaiemen
Mohaiemen says, "Bangladesh began
agitating for autonomy Finally,
on the 25th of March, a brutal mili¬
tary crackdown by the Pakistani
Army precipitated the beginning of
full-scale civil strife and the declara¬
tion of war."
Until recently, the Watson Founda¬
tion limited its awards to US citizens,
and it still prefers that its fellows
work in a country other than their
own. It made an exception with
Mohaiemen, a Bengali citizen of
Bangladesh. Before the war his father
was a major in the Pakistani Army.
When the war began in 1971, all
Bengali army officers were arrested,
and Mohaiemen, who was bom in
1969, was imprisoned in Pakistan
with his family. They remained there
until December 1973, when Pakistan
Sonia Kroth
and Bangladesh exchanged prisoners.
An economics honors student,
Mohaiemen notes that of the 10 eco¬
nomics majors taking honors this
semester, four are Bangladeshi and
three are Pakistani. The relations be¬
tween students from the two coun¬
tries are very good at Oberlin, he says.
Mohaiemen is senior class president.
Varieties of com
Sonia Kroth, who is a religion ma¬
jor with an environmental studies
minor, explains that crop biodiversity
is maintained through cultural and
religious practices as well as through
direct methods, such as seed banks.
In Mexico one variety of corn "is
necessary to make tortillas, a different
one for po'osh (a beverage reserved
for religious ceremonies) and yet
another for the flour used to make
tamales, and so on." If the religious
ceremony, for example, were to dis¬
appear, the particular variety of com
used for making po'osh would disap¬
pear with it. In addition to studying
corn in Mexico, Kroth will do a simi¬
lar study of the potato in Peru, if po¬
litical conditions permit travel there.
If they don't, she plans to go to Gua¬
temala or Bolivia instead. In each
country she will first meet with an¬
thropologists, biologists, and re¬
searchers doing related research, then
live in a village for two or three
months to learn first hand of cultural
traditions, religious practices, and
local marketplaces. Finally, she will
study conventional methods for pre¬
serving biodiversity, visiting seed
banks and demonstration farms.
Kroth spent last summer in Mexico
working in the Ecology Research
Center of the Southeast, doing a gen¬
eral study of indigenous agricultural
practices. The summer before that she
worked with American chestnuts,
hazelnuts, and Christmas trees, as
well as an organic garden, at the
Badgerset Research Farm in Canton,
Minnesota. The farm is run by Mary
and Philip Rutter, '69 and '70 {Ob¬
server 12 April 1990). At Oberlin
Kroth has studied sustainable agri¬
culture and forestry with professor of
environmental studies David Orr and
taken a private reading course on
native American religion with associ¬
ate dean for student academic affairs
Edith Swan.
Oberlin and Watson
Since the Watson program began
in 1969, Oberlin students have done
well in the competition, and at least
one has won a fellowship every year
since 1983. —Carol Ganzel
More student participation in mid-week 'All Roads'
"Visiting a campus can be one of the
most important factors when choos¬
ing a college," says associate director
of admissions Martha Allen, co-chair
of the "All Roads Lead to Oberlin"
program. "All Roads" is being held in
the middle of the week this year—
Tuesday 13 April and Wednesday 14
April—to provide more opportunities
for classroom visits. By coming dur¬
ing the week, admitted students may
"experience what being an Oberlin
student is all about," says Allen. "The
entire campus community has been
very helpful in planning 'All Roads,'
especially the students."
158 years of diversity
Tuesday evening begins with a
reception for parents, with music
provided by the Tappan String Quar¬
tet. "Celebrating 158 Years of Diver¬
sity" is the theme for this year's
Vernon Johns dinner. Stacy Penson
'96 will play the piano, and Samuel
Betances, professor of sociology at
Northeastern Illinois University, will
speak on "Multiculturalism and our
Collective Responsibility." Betances,
who received the MA and PhD de¬
grees from Harvard University, has
taught almost every area of sociology
and has been on the faculty of North¬
eastern Illinois for the past 18 years.
American educators, he says, must
now accept the fact of multi¬
culturalism in our schools or fail to
educate: "We must face the challenge
of making the world safe for differ¬
ence."
Dwight Hollins, assistant director
of admissions and director of the
multicultural admissions program,
says "We're fortunate to have Dr.
Betances as our featured speaker for
this special occasion. Not only is he
recognized as a scholar in his field,
but his spirit of social activism
complements that of the Reverend
Vernon Johns."
Following the dinner and lecture,
Oberlin students and prospective
students are invited to attend a panel
discussion in Third World House on
what it's like to be a multicultural
student at Oberlin. This discussion,
presented by multicultural students,
is intended to tell prospective
multicultural students about campus
resources, says senior intern in the
admissions office Angela Ingram.
Afterward, also at Third World
House, a coffeehouse, with poetry
readings, singing, dancing, and per¬
formance art, will demonstrate "how
Oberlin students express themselves
Where are they coming from?
The road to Oberlin—measured in miles—is not very long for eight high-school
seniors admitted to the college from the Lorain school district. Five
of them are from Southview High School. They and their families are
among those invited to attend this year's "All Roads Lead to Oberlin" pro¬
gram tor admitted students.
This year's pool of admitted students comprises all 50 states, Puerto Rico,
and the District of Columbia. In descending Order, New York, California,
Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are most represented. International
admitted students represent 44 foreign countries, including several coun¬
tries not represented in the present student body: Albania, Afghanistan,
Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Slovenia (formerly part Of Yugoslavia) have
one admitted student each. Canada has the largest number of admitted
students—12—and four countries have three admitted students each: India,
Japan, France, and Germany.
Twenty-four percent of the admitted group are members of American
minorities. Seventy-four students are double-degree, admitted to both the
College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music (figures from
the conservatory are not yet complete). Sixty-five admitted students are
children of Oberlin alumni.
The academic quality of this year's admitted students is at least as strong
as that of last year's, as measured by rank-in-class, grade-pxnnt average,
and scholastic aptitude tests (SATs), according to director of college admis¬
sions Debra Chermonte.
through art," Ingram says.
President S. Frederick Starr will
welcome the visitors Wednesday
morning. Prospective students may
then take a tour of the campus, visit
with faculty members—some of
whom will hold special office
hours—or attend any of several panel
presentations held throughout the
day. Assistant dean of the conserva-
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