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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- • Continued on page 5
Object Description
Title | Oberlin Observer. 1993-04-01 |
Description | volume 14, number 14 |
Subject | Oberlin College--Periodicals |
Editor | Ganzel, Carol |
Contributors |
Palmieri, Joseph (au) Gabrielli, Betty (au) Baumann, Roland (au) Wargo, Scott (au) Care, Norman (au) |
Topics | Suggestions for stationery wanted; Boston fifth-graders to visit; Archives buys papers of 'Madam J.'; Article on sucess of swimming team; Oberlin's self-definition problem |
Date | 1993-04-01 |
Year | 1993 |
Month | April |
Day | 1 |
Type | text; image |
Format | |
Identifier | Oberlin_Observer_Vol_14_No_14.pdf |
Publisher | Oberlin College. Library |
Language | English |
Relation | http://www.oberlin.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/library/ref/index.php?db=observerindex |
Number of pages | 6 |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Transcript | 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- • Continued on page 5 |
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