Beyond the Byline: Student Journalism, Solidarity, and the Fight for Structural Equity

In this bonus episode of The North Star, guest host Chloe Caldwell sits down with Isaiah Johnson, Oberlin College & Conservatory Center for DEI Innovation & Leadership Changemakers fellow, Opinions Editor of the Oberlin Review, and co-founder of Oberlin's chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Isaiah reflects on what it means to be an agent of change from the inside — navigating the tensions between conviction and compromise, platforming community voices through student journalism, and building solidarity in spaces like the Third World Social Justice Co-op (TWIC).

From the ethics of what to publish to the lessons of the 2024 election cycle, Isaiah offers a candid look at how young leaders learn to hold power responsibly — staying connected to the communities they represent, resisting arrogance, and understanding that lasting change is built on relationships, information, and a willingness to show up even when the path forward is complicated.

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Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi, welcome back to another episode of the North Star Podcast. My name is Chloe Caldwell, and I'll be your host for today. And today I have the honor of interviewing Isaiah Johnson. Hi, Isaiah.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Hey, Chloe. Great to be on the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

I'm just gonna read a little bit about you. Isaiah Johnson is a junior here at Oberlin College who uses writing and organizing as tools for justice. He is an opinions editor for the Oberlin Review, and he uplifts marginalized voices and encourages critical dialogue around policy and equity on campus. He also co-founded Oberlin's chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, where he leads media and outreach efforts. Isaiah's research investigates how DEI efforts in professional spaces often fall short of structural equity despite emphasizing inclusion. Through the Changemakers Fellowship, he hopes to amplify the stories of marginalized workers and reimagine frameworks for justice that challenge and transform existing power structures. Isaiah is also a member of the Changemakers Fellowship, of which I'm also a member. And it's been really wonderful to get to know you, Isaiah, throughout the course of these last this last year and our course together. I remember our very first class that we had last semester. You and I were partnered in like a little discussion group. And I just, that was the first time I'd ever met you. And we had such stimulating conversations and such stimulating discussion about all of the questions that were brought up. And I just remember being so impressed by you and how eloquent you were and how well spoken you were. And it was just so wonderful to get to know you. And so I'm really excited to have the chance to interview you today on today's podcast. So, do you mind telling us a little bit about yourself, maybe things that I didn't mention, you know, where you're from and how you ended up at Oberlin College?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah,

Isaiah’s Path To Oberlin

SPEAKER_01 1:55

for sure. And I will also just say, you're flattering me right now. I mean, I remember that first conversation and also thinking basically the exact same thing about you. It was awesome. But yeah, so I'm Isaiah. I grew up in Stratford, Connecticut, on the East Coast. But for about two summers now, I've been growing up. I've been living in central Pennsylvania, close to State College. And yeah, I guess a little bit about stuff that I didn't talk about on my bio, I guess. I'm now being reminded how much I said. It's like my words um precede me. But since I I wrote that bio, I think I've been doing a lot of the same thing, just continuing like a lot of the work that I've been doing in terms of highlighting the necessity for structural safeguards to ensure that our institutions are promoting justice and equity for all people while continuing its emphasis on inclusion. And I think I've been focusing a lot of that work through my time at the Oberlin Review. I'm still opinions editor and I'm going to be the editor-in-chief next year, which I'm super excited about. I'm really excited about the work that my colleague and I will be doing to foster cross-organizational collaboration between different student publications in order to like bolster all of our capacity to produce like important news and platform important opinions about the news that's coming at a really tumultuous time. I know I think that living in Ohio, being a student in Ohio has been really informative in terms of what it means to be in a place that isn't necessarily on the East Coast, where you're kind of around a lot of people who might be thinking similar thoughts as you, who might be kind of living underneath legislation that is like relatively aligned with like programs for social justice and equity. And I think that I'm really interested, kind of thinking more long term after my time as an undergraduate student, about what it means to be an effective agent of change within communities like Oberlin, Ohio, that don't necessarily live in in areas of really concentrated resources and wealth have been kind of like bearing the brunt of a lot of like institutional inadequacies and inequities in terms of the history of deindustrialization. Ohio is a kind of example. There's a great, it was a perfect example of that, how you can live alongside like the historical shockways of that and also persist and like still advocate for social justice and equity and morality. I think that's gonna be a really important question going into the future. So that's I'm I feel like I'm just like experimenting with that question through my work at the review primarily, also being a student and all that jazz. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

That's amazing. And congratulations on the editor position. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Um,

Why Oberlin And Why Ohio

SPEAKER_00 4:36

so would you say that Oberlin's location in the middle of Ohio was the primary reason that you were drawn to the institution, or is there other reasons why you came to school here?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

I think like the of course the first reason was money. I want to be as I want to be going out with the least amount of deb possible. And I feel like Oberlin gave that, gave me that option. I think that it's like historical legacy as like an institution that is like really at the forefront of social justice within higher education was really attractive to me. And the academics were exceptional, and a lot of the faculty kind of you can tell how passionate how passionate they were about their own personal projects and also looping students into the work that they were doing. And I think that, yeah, the location was definitely, was definitely a pull. I've never lived in a place like Oberlin before. And I think that it's been like really um conducive to just me maturing as a person and my ideas about what it means to just like be an agent of change within the world. And like a lot of that means going out of your comfort zone and being in new environments that you haven't necessarily been exposed to. I think that I don't know, a lot of the conversation I'm a politics major, and a lot of the conversations that I've had with other politics students have been just adjusting to the culture at Oberlin and more generally within its surrounding areas, and how, despite how different of a political terrain this is, I mean, people are people and like you can connect with people. And I think that is the ability to connect with someone, to interact with them, to communicate your thoughts and have them communicate their thoughts back to you is really at the end of the day, what is the foundational kind of elements behind any real, meaningful and impactful, long-standing social and political change. And I think that being at Oberlin, being exposed to just different communities of people has definitely allowed me to see that firsthand.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

I completely agree with you. I think I've had a really similar experience at Oberlin. And I said, I've said multiple times that Oberlin blew my world wide open in terms of my connections with people and my interactions with people. And it's also just made me so much more aware. I mean, I come from a really small town in Montana, and so it's like coming to Oberlin is like this is a total change for me. And I think it's so amazing. And like I have people like you to credit for that, right? You know, getting to meet people and interact with people that I never would have met in my hometown is just such an incredible experience.

First Surprises And Learning Openness

SPEAKER_00 7:00

What surprised you the most about Oberlin when you got here?

SPEAKER_01 7:03

I think honestly, how windy it was. It was like the wind pierces through whatever layer, whatever piece of clothing that you have because it's so flat. And I grew up in the East Coast and it was like not mountainous, but like you still had, you know, you still had your hills and whatnot. It was like, I think the natural, the change in natural environment was definitely like wow. I feel like I I still have yet to get over that. But I think that also that I feel like that change in environment just really it just speaks to how different of a not only natural change in environment this has been for me, but also again, social. I think that this isn't necessarily this isn't really connected to any big, vibrant urban center. Cleveland is about 30 minutes away. But I think that just the how quiet everything is at first glance has been something that I'm not really used to. And I think that I've adjusted to that by just being more open to walking around and being open to spontaneous interactions with people. I think that I never really would have been open to that if I went to a place close to home, which is not far from New York City, where I can feel like I'm wrapped up in a current of social movements, of social movements, not political movements, but just social happenings because of just how populous my area is and without me doing any real work. But I think that Uberly has told me that that has allowed me to see this really is what you make of it in terms of how much you want to put yourself out there, how much you want to connect with other people. I think that it has the capacity to be really loud and noisy if you want it to be that way. And that entails just off offering yourself to people and hearing what they have to say in return.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

What

Finding Grounding In Campus Communities

SPEAKER_00 8:38

communities and spaces do you think have shaped you the most at Oberlin since you've gotten here?

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Yeah, I think I have the Africana Heritage House to thank for providing me a safety net of people that kind of share my experiences in a place that is so radically different from anywhere that I've grown up in the past. I think that's really allowed me that that really grounded myself, allowed me to be grounded when I first got here and acclimate in a way that didn't necessarily make me have as many self-doubts as I would have otherwise. It's a vibrant community. The people there are great. The people there, again, they just share my experiences. They're also adjusting to really big cultural shifts. For the most for a large part, a lot of the people are doing so to more of an ex more of an extent than I am. There are some international students there. But I think that's the place to really tap in and just visually see solidarity. And I think that from there, I've been able to connect to a lot of really interesting communities that I've that are like really, really unique. I think like I'm living in third world social justice housing, which is located in Hartness Hall, which is a co-op. I think that Oberlin's cooperative space, there, I think it's the acronym is OSCA, is also very unique. And I think that it's kind of shown me what it means to live according to norms of like reciprocity and like mutual aid in a way that's like that's very intentional. And I think that's been really productive for how I just think about my responsibilities to other people and my obligations. Like they're like cook shifts that you have to be a part of and even be that you're assigned to, but even beyond that, the kind of like unsaid norm is that you pick up shifts whenever someone like is unable to do their shift because that's what kind of keeps the boat moving. And I think that like just that unspoken obligation that you have to other people that directly just relates to the well-being of the whole is something that I have hardness, that I have third world social justice co-op to thank for, as well as AHOS.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yeah, that's amazing. I know I've heard a lot of a lot of people say that TWIC, which is Third World Social Justice Co-op acronym, is one of the one of the last POC safe spaces that we have here on Oberlin College campus. And I think it's such an incredible resource. Can

TWIC As A Home And A Fight

SPEAKER_00 10:59

you speak a little bit more to the experience of being involved in TWIC and its relationship to other co-ops on campus and its relationship to the rest of the community?

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that Twik is so unique. I think even from even like I would say more you more, not more unique, but just like more peculiar than a place like Ahouse, just because of how many different experiences are all like culminating in that space. Like it's all POC, and like the POC experience is so so various depending on like where you're from. And so like we have a lot of these different people that like have an experience of being like basically non-white, but that meaning has taken up different shapes and forms depending on like the history of whatever one person is coming from. And I think that with that, it's been it's just so productive to be in a space like that. It hasn't like always been easy, of course. We like do have regularly have conversations about the implications of these different experiences of people who are not white, but are also operating, enjoying certain privileges depending on like other forms of oppression that exist beyond like just race. And I think that it is one of the souls, places where you are able to do that very regularly. And I think that it's so it's really precious because of that. And I think like obviously there has been like a recent pattern of like Oberlin, the administration, I guess, don't giving less and less of their funds directly in order to support that space, like with the rent contract renegotiation controversy that kind of started right before or right after COVID-19. And I think that with that, there's just been a lot more of an intentional kind of effort from students directly to preserve the space themselves. And I think that has its benefits. I think that people are kind of forced to exercise like their passion for the space in a lot more ways than they would have otherwise done so. But at the same time, it's just like the ability to have that space is more conditional based on like how much effort you can put in as a full-time student. But I think that I really do want to be in the space more often because like I am a full-time student who's doing a lot of things that I I don't go to as many meals as I wish I did, but whatever I do, it's like it is one of the one places where I feel like this is my this is my home. There are other places that might be that might have friends and that might have like really peers, but I feel like Twick is one of the one of the few spaces on this campus that like I can feel like that I like truly belong here and I could just feel at place. And I think that's super precious, and we should have more of those spaces. And students are like students through OUI who had like their immigrant narratives like I think last week is it's like a key example of how they can they've worked to expand these spaces more temporarily, but I think that there is always room for more of these spaces on campus.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for speaking to that. I think it's really important to amplify the perspective being within TWIC and especially with the rent contract renegotiations. It's really important to be speaking up about how important a space like that is, especially on a college campus that's primarily white and like that's such an important safe space for people to have. I

What The Opinion Section Is For

SPEAKER_00 14:12

want to shift our focus a little bit back to your role at the Oberlin Review and dive really into the responsibilities that you carry as an opinions editor this year and future editor of the Oberlin Review. So, as an opinions editor, what like how do you go about deciding what voices and what perspectives get amplified?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Yeah, that's a great question. And it's been like the guiding question for like just figuring out what I'm doing in that role. I think like I famously got the job of opinions editor without ever writing for the Overlin review beforehand, which is like insane to think about, really. But and I think that with that kind of came the learning curve of like, first of all, what is journalism? What is journalism at Oberlin? And what is the opinions section's role in that? And like I the from there's like I think there's been like a pretty linear progression of like how I've come to understand that from when I first started to now. And I feel like that makes sense. I feel like that, but I think that entails kind of me feeling that before there was a point where we didn't necessarily have a very established base of writers regularly contributing to the section. So I feel like my first semester or my first two semesters, I was like really desperate in terms of, oh, you have an opinion that's amazing. How can we publish this? And it was more just like the fact that you did have an opinion was like so great, and we wanted to publish it regardless of what the content was. But I think that as I've grown as just someone who's advertising my section and workshopping with writers, I've come to understand the opinion section as a way to analyze the news. And I think that the news section of the urban review is essential to us as a newspaper, of course. But I think that I think that it equal it's it's of equal importance for the opinion section to exist and be a thriving kind of platform for people to contextualize the news and analyze the news according to specific kind of viewpoints around campus. Because I think that news, what it means to write news is you just are communicating the facts. It's a very passive, very neutral way of communicating, which is great. But I think that everyone is operating on very limited time and you can allow yourself to be inundated with information and just move on because it's I don't even have the time in my schedule to really sit down and reflect on what's happening on a daily basis. And I think that the new the opinion section is there to highlight people who do have the time to maybe analyze this in more depth and kind of communicate to other people the short-term and long-term implications of a given of a given topic. And I think that is so important because without the opinion section, I think that you just have a readership that doesn't necessarily know what to do with the news that they're given. And that's not to say that people in general are like incapable of coming to their own opinions or whatnot, but I just think that there are so many different moving parts for any given question. And I think that the opinion section is there to highlight people with either the expertise or just the general passion for the well-being of the community, to tell people, you know, this is a really glaring and concerning implication of X issue. And here's why you should care and here's what you should do about it. And that's like an essential kind of next step to journalism that kind of makes the review stand out as the newspaper of record for the town. There's a reason why. And I think that the well-being, the quality of the opinion section is part and partial of that obligation that we have to our community. And I've loved a lot helping the section be that for people.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah, that's amazing. I think important context is that Oberlin, the town, doesn't have a classical news source. There's no newspaper in Oberlin, the city, the surrounding community. So the primary newspaper or news source that other than things that happen in Cleveland is the Oberlin College Review that is primarily created and published by Oberlin College students, which is a really important context in terms of the responsibility that you carry as the opinions editor of the Oberlin Review.

When Publishing Becomes An Ethical Call

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Have you ever published or chosen not to publish something that felt especially like especially difficult?

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah. I feel like I'm glad that I'm leaned towards publishing stuff rather than not publishing. I think that we really have towed the line of what is a good, responsible opinion this semester. Maybe I shouldn't be saying that on the record, but it it's okay. I think I think that okay, I have two examples. The first is what something that we did publish, which was a professor was talking about a teaching that our local young democratic socialist of America chapter organized about Iran and the US-Israeli war in Iran right now. And I think that this professor had a lot of opinions about how the war was being covered, how the war was being depicted by this in a way that kind of one, absolved the Iranian state of the responsibility in what led to this war in the first place, and two, dismissing any like legitimate interests that the Israeli state might have for like its own security. I think that the way that it was worded was a bit of a misrepresentation of what the teaching was actually saying. And I think that we did work very intentionally with this professor to ensure that these opinions were accurate to what was actually said at this teachin. And I think ultimately we came with an opinion that that that may have told the line, I think, between between objective fact and personal interpretation. But I think that we ultimately decided to publish this because, you know, this is such a contentious issue. And I think that this is a person with a vested interest in ensuring that students, faculty, and overly community members alike are able to have this information communicated to them by organizations that are tapped in to this types of to these types of conversations in a way that that allows them to know what's happening and allows them to form their own opinions and be engaged citizens that are engaging with these broad national affairs. And I think that I think that ultimately was the main reason why we decided to go ahead with this opinion because of the fact that it was someone who felt so passionate about how things were happening. It was a direct kind of like point of dialogue to an event that happened about the event, to an event that happened about the Iranian war. And I think that that point of dialogue is really something that we try to platform and prioritize with the opinion section to give the sense that they these things are like actively engaging with members in such a way that they want to posit a response back. So, yeah. And then another thing that we decided not to publish was an engaged community member was talking about this development that's happening about this recently closed elementary school in the town. And there was some con there's been a lot of controversy about the developer who's going to be constructing it and their connections to the Israeli defense force. And this member felt extremely passionate about the subject and felt that the fact that we were outsourcing developments into someone who was not directly connected to the Oberlin community was a glaring red flag. And we needed to all kind of like do our part to stop to prevent our city council to enable this um this transfer of ownership. But I think the reason why we decided against publishing it was first of all, it was I think that the language that was being used about this developer's lack of connection to the community was a bit incendiary in a way that kind of I think ultimately were to I think validate a lot of the types of ideological standpoints that one who is against the current war on Gaza, I think that the way that they were portraying it was basically validating a lot of the sentiments that people would critique the Israeli state for perpetuating itself. That makes sense. This kind of like roundament. Reasoning, like the terms like foreign agents, and yeah, like foreign agents was a big terminology that we wanted to see cut down. But I think this person felt very passionate about keeping the language that they felt was necessary to address the issue because that was how they felt, and it's an opinion for an opinion section, and they felt that they should publish it. And I think that was it was a reasonable, it was a reasonable position to have, but I think that ultimately we felt that the imp the balance between what this opinion can do in terms of allowing other people to interpret how things are happening in a certain way versus the priorities of having people know that it's happened, having people know this is an event that's happening. I think that ultimately it meant that it would be best for the community for this to be published elsewhere and not on the review. That was a lot of words, I'm sorry. But I think that ultimately, like there are a lot of priorities that the opinion section has to juggle in terms of first of all letting people know that these informing people about the things that are happening, but also kind of like platforming opinions that are productive. And that's like a tricky balance to to navigate a lot of the time. And we probably don't always get it right, but I think that it's always enriching to engage in that debate.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Absolutely. So I think from my perspective, a lot of the times that I read the opinion section or that I'm engaging with the opinion section in any kind of news, it's to read things or engage with things that challenge my own beliefs and that start to push me outside of my comfort zone or what I previously knew.

Conviction Versus Compromise In Politics

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Is there anything, any example in your life of a belief or a perspective that you've questioned or challenged within yourself?

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Yeah. Shoot, where do I even start? I think there have been a lot of there's been a lot of that since I came to Oberlin. I think that people here are super smart, but I think I think even more importantly, people here are so can be very convicted in their own like moral values and general, like moral worldviews. And I think that I don't know, I don't want to say that I was I've been like this mindless chameleon or something like that, but I think that I just don't think that I've ever really been challenged in such a way to really stand by what I believe before coming to Oberlin. And I think that I wouldn't have necessarily understood what that meant before if I didn't, if I never came here. So I think that I'm not sure if there's been a general opinion that I've been like a general real world view that I've been like called on to second guess or like trade out for another person's opinion, but I think that like I've been forced to reckon with the fact with the fact that if I do believe this certain thing, I feel like I should be able to, I should be able to make sacrifices in order to stand by that conviction and not contradict myself. I think that 2023 and 2024, like spring of 2023, wait, no, spring of 2024, when I think the debate about Israel and Palestine came to this campus, like that will always be like a such a flashpoint milestone for me in terms of like how I'm thinking about politics and my own personal relation to these like broad national things. Like it's more than just like it's so much more than just like uh an argument that you're talking, like a talking point that you communicate to someone or like a post that you make on Instagram or something like that. It's like how much time and energy and like personal convenience are you willing to sacrifice to what you claim to stand behind? And I think that's such a important question that I've been forced to always wrestle with, no matter what the debate is and what the topic is. And I think that that will definitely I will be endlessly thankful for that education as I I grow up and continue to engage with the world politically, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Have a very similar experience at Overlin. I think it's a place that's so full of people that are so passionate and so set and convicted in what they believe. And it makes it, I think, in my perspective, a slightly difficult place to engage in dialogue or debate because there is no flexibility. And I think it's such a beautiful thing when someone is so convicted, but I also think it can it can really harm our ability to learn and to engage critically with ourselves. And when we're in college, I think that is the number one thing that you should be doing is engaging critically with yourself and being in a constant criticism of your own opinions and making sure that everything that you think that you believe gets pushed a little bit. You just poke at it and you say, Is that right? Do I actually think that? What's my evidence? Where did I put this together? And like to really engage in those debates. And I think that's a really important thing to do at Oberlin. And I really want to see more of that on campus. And like every year, I think maybe it's just the fact that I've been here for longer, but I think I see it a little bit more, which gives me a little bit of hope. But I really still think we need a lot more of that.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah, definitely. I think, yeah. I think I don't, I don't, yeah, I guess I I do want to respond, but I if you have any other questions, I don't want to necessarily no, you respond, please. Okay, okay. Sorry. I'm new to this whole podcast thing. I think, yeah, I think definitely that it's like how much people are willing to compromise. I feel like compromise also has such like a bad connotation at a place like Oberlin. And I think that I've had to kind of like reckon with how much that could be impacted by the amount of privilege that someone might be like coming to the conversation with. Like I think that I think again, I I always talk about 2024 as being like such a like locus of education for me in terms of what politics means on the interpersonal level, because like that was also the 2024 general election. And I think that people had a lot of really I think like really crazy takes about what it means, like what it means to engage in electoral politics. And it's I think that at the like we do need to kind of we do need to stand firm by our ideals through action and through engagement. And action and engagement mean sometimes least worst option voting. Like that kind of is the fundamental inherent nature of voting in this point, and you can have opinions about whether or not that structure is right, whether or not that structure is just, but you also need to engage and to change that structure. And that does not mean refusing to like abstaining to engage or like refusing to vote or stuff like that. And I think that yeah, there is like a very fine line between a refusal to compromise on your on your like personal and moral principles, and like a vain attempt to just like a one broad stroke create your own ideal world with one action that I think just amounts to like not doing anything. And it's like the exact opposite of engagement. So yeah, like juggling those two things, compromise and conviction, in a way that like allows you to be the best suited to respond and adapt to the change to like what's happening on a day-to-day basis to preserve the interest of those that you care about is like a really, really important lesson that I've gained from these and from these discussions on at Oberlin.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Yeah, absolutely. I think at Oberlin we also see a lot of conflict and a lot of very loud voices about everything that happens, right? There's so much conflict on this campus, there's so much discussion. Everybody wants things to go in their the way that they think is right, which I think is totally amazing. And it's wonderful to see students really fight for what they believe in, whether it's with the administration, whether it's with local politics, federal politics. But I also think that we haven't seen as much progress as I think a lot of the student body wants to see. And I personally think that it has to do with some of the tactics that we're engaging, but I also think that there needs to be more flexibility when it comes to having these conversations and the presence of these conversations needs to increase. But I wanted to hear, I remember you and I having a conversation in class one day about what needs to happen on this campus to get voices amplified and to really start those dialogues and engage in those discussions

Making Change With Clear Public Information

SPEAKER_00 30:15

on campus. And I'd love to hear you talk a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that information in a way that's accessible is like a key part of that equation in terms of enabling a form of engagement from the pe from people. Information is so crucial to that. And I think that when I was a Changemakers fellow, I had the idea of potentially creating some type of, I don't know, town hall, if you will, in order for people on the administrative side of Oberlin to communicate their main rationale for the decisions that they're making about like where their funds are going to students directly. I think because, first of all, I just think that when you are operating with a difference in power dynamics like that, I think that the just the basic effort of those with power to come to the body that they're representing and speaking with them in person, just I think on a again, like a very basic level, communicates that you are like hearing the interests of these people, you're caring, you're willing to give it your time and your energy to just listen and directly respond. That's something that I wanted to see whether or not that could happen as a change makers. And it just because of so many different things related to time and and logistics that that didn't pan out. There always is this chance in the future. But I think that I've kind of moved, I've maintained that ambition through my time at the review as I'm currently right now working on a series of articles that are like trying to break down a lot of the college's like financial operations in a way that is just like giving students and anyone who's interested in that type of discourse, like the ability to harness a lot of the key facts related to this in a way that enables them to make the most rational types of decisions and come to the most like logical conclusions about what needs to happen. And I think that is like the a very, very basic like first step in terms of like good pragmatic engagement, good dialogue. Yeah, exactly. Empowering like dialogue. And I think that once you do cross the next step, there also is the necessity for action that kind of enables like your that that kind of positions whatever interest group to be seen as someone whose approval is essential to just the regular functionings of the Oberlin administration. And I think that I think that if we do want to empower ourselves, those who are interested in like changing the general like outlook of how like our the college's financial operations are moving, I think that there does need to be a very basic level of compromise on behalf of like within different student groups and like non-administrative power holders in terms of forming coalitions. Like it's all a compromise. It's like you internally you're compromising with like your peers to to position yourself as like the most effective power interest. And then once you do that, it's like you have to be prepared to compromise with those that you're directly engaging with in order to effectualize any real outstanding change. But I think being open to that, honestly engaging with people in like in a way that's informed are two really important parts that I've like really tried to help people engage in.

SPEAKER_00 33:16

I think you and I and the rest of the change makers fellows have a really unique place on this campus, but also hold a really unique privilege of being so close to the administration, having opportunities to go speak to the Board of Trustees. And you, as well, as the editor of the opinion section, you hold that responsibility and that privilege of being able to decide what comes out when information goes out to the community.

Staying Accountable With Real Influence

SPEAKER_00 33:42

What do you think that you and I need to hold in our minds or in our hearts in terms of what responsibility we bear by existing in these places on this campus, maybe places that other individuals don't get the opportunity to exist in?

SPEAKER_01 33:56

I that's a good question. I think it has to do, I think one of the biggest things is keeping yourself connected to the communities of people that don't necessarily have the access to knowledge and influence that we might have in order to ensure that we're best representing them. Because I think that these powers at the end of the day are positions where we're trying to represent as accurately as possible, just like the general kind of body of opinions and sentiments that students, faculty, staff, just the general over the community have. So I think that remaining on the pulse for me as a journalist at the review is essential and kind of nothing can happen if I don't have that. I think at the same time, ensuring being responsible with the power that that the influence that we have is really important. And I think that kind of is a shifting definition that depends on the context of whatever is like whatever we're engaging with in the current moment. I think that it could have to do with ensuring that you're not necessarily pulling your punches in terms of what critiques we're delivering to certain people. And I think in other cases you're you have to juggle the types of power imbalances that a certain critique might have in terms of ensuring that the conversation remains productive and constructive. I think that both of those things are really it's that's a really nebulous description. I but I think that it is really tough to kind of know what the best way to operate using this position of influence, what that means at any given moment. But I think that you just have to make you I think talking to people, getting their opinions, not getting arrogant is really important. I think holding on to a humility, to the humility that comes with the basic fact that people chose us to be in these positions. We didn't get here by ourselves, and we can never like enjoy the the types of privileges that come with positions like these without kind of holding ourselves and remaining accountable to the interests of those who kind of place us in these in these positions. So, yeah, responsibility and accountability are two things that I keep close to my heart.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Absolutely. That makes a lot of sense. Is

Optimism, Action, And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 36:05

there anything else that you want to say or before we close out today?

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Yeah, yeah. So many things to say. What how can I choose? I think like I think we're almost done with with the semester, guys. I don't know who the I'm not sure who the direct audience is, but if you are a student watching this, we're almost done. Don't suck off on your studies, but also have fun. I think also it's okay to be you can be optimistic about a lot of these broad, these broad local discussions about politics, but also national. People who who are interested in social justice and equity are in a position to fight back against these really broad degradations in the amounts of safeguards that we have for people of historically marginalized communities. We can always fight back, and people are actively doing that right now. And you should be doing whatever you can to kind of figure out how you can best include yourself in these broad movements, talking to people, listening to people who are like vocal, and just trying to see what you can do to help, rather than necessarily like judging people for the absolute max validity of certain of a certain person's political take. I think if there is just a kernel of a genuine interest to see what's best for the communities that you're a part of, I think that alone is enough for you to operate in good faith and dedicate your time and your energy if you have it to helping other people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

It's really well said. Thank you so much for your time today, Isaiah. And this has been such a wonderful discussion. And I think we've covered a wide breadth of topics today. But yeah, thank you so much for your time. And thank you to our listeners for listening to this episode of the Nell Star Podcast.