After teaching the book of Genesis for over 30 years in synagogues, churches, and universities, I have published "Reading Genesis Again For The First Time-- A Radical Commentary" (Amazon, July 2024)., It's a very different, but objectively honest commentary: there is a reason there are two Creation stories, and neither one is meant to explain how the world was created; the serpent is not evil, it’s God's agent; Adam and Eve did not sin, in fact God needed them to eat the fruit to get them out of the garden; Cain did not murder his brother, and should be seen as a "tragic hero"; Isaac, far from being a "patriarch," is a weak and seriously damaged child-man; Esau is not the evil twin of Jacob, but a sympathetic character to be pitied; and the Joseph narrative is essentially a story about the rivalry between Reuven and Judah for leadership of the clan.

Zoom on Tariffs -

Tariffs: Theory. Practice. More…Politics.

What’s the “truth” about tariffs? What are tariffs and who pays? What does history tell us about their utility? Can tariffs be productive for a country or are they ruinous by nature? Are the Trump Administration’s tariff policies likely to invigorate domestic industrial product? What do these policies portend for the global economic system?

On Tuesday, June 17, at 6:00 PM ET, the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C., will present a Zoom conversation on these questions with Susan Helper ’79. She was an economist in both the Obama and Biden administrations and is now the Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University.

Click  REGISTER HERE  to sign up for the Zoom session. You will then receive an email labelled Oberlin Alumni Association with your personal link to the program. If you wish to invite others, forward the whole email as each link is personalized.

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Posted on: May 10, 2025 at 10:40 PM

Welcome to the website. Glad to read your comments

Earth Day Program 2025 -

Hello Attendees of our recent More…Road to the Future program "Oberlin City and Oberlin College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality" and to those not able to attend.

Below is the link to the program. Due to a recording glitch, only the first three speakers were captured on the video. However, because we used closed captions and AI Summary, the AI summary at the end of the video description has the summary of all the presentations of the speakers, including the final three.  We hope you enjoyed the program. We are planning additional programs, most likely beginning again in the fall 2025.

https://youtu.be/3B-65Ye2ONA?si=SS8MJDN6V3Tf6Y1L 

Road to the Future Planning Committee, 

Oberlin Alumni Classes -'67-'72

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Oberlin City and College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Oberlin City and College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

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Carbon Neutrality Zoom -

This Tuesday: More…Carbon Neutrality Achieved!

At 7 PM Eastern Time on Earth Day (April 22), there will be an online Zoom program about
Oberlin City and College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Join us for the fascinating story of how their collaboration starting in 2000 was able to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2025.  How did they do it?  With solar panels, geothermal, dashboard energy monitoring, educational modules, home energy upgrades, school and community activities, and intensive collaborative planning.  The speakers will be

John Petersen '88, Oberlin faculty and systems ecologist
Linda Arbogast, City of Oberlin Sustainability Coordinator
Gregory Jones, Energy Advocate for POWER (Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly)
Sami Singleton '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major with a path in urban design
Josette Apple '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major specializing in communications & media
Chris Norman, Oberlin faculty and Senior Director for Energy and Sustainability.

And the moderator will be Walt Galloway '69, the current Chair of the Oberlin College EnviroAlums.  The organizers include Paul Safyan ’68, Dave Tempest ’72, and Susan Buck ’72.  After brief introductions, the speakers will open the program for interactive questions.

This program is part of the “Road to the Future” series sponsored by the Oberlin Alumni Classes ‘67 to ‘72. Click here for detailed biographies of the participants, or click here for links to additional background resources on Oberlin environmental sustainability.

Click  REGISTER HERE  to sign up for the Zoom session.  You will then receive an email labelled Oberlin Alumni Association with your personal link to the program.  If you wish to invite others, forward the whole email as each link is personalized.

View Announcement

Carbon Neutrality Zoom -

Tonight: Carbon More…Neutrality Achieved!

At 7 PM Eastern Time on Earth Day (Tuesday, April 22), there will be an online Zoom program about
Oberlin City and College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Join us for the fascinating story of how their collaboration starting in 2000 was able to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2025.  How did they do it?  With solar panels, geothermal, dashboard energy monitoring, educational modules, home energy upgrades, school and community activities, and intensive collaborative planning.  The speakers will be

John Petersen '88, Oberlin faculty and systems ecologist
Linda Arbogast, City of Oberlin Sustainability Coordinator
Gregory Jones, Energy Advocate for POWER (Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly)
Sami Singleton '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major with a path in urban design
Josette Apple '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major specializing in communications & media
Chris Norman, Oberlin faculty and Senior Director for Energy and Sustainability.

And the moderator will be Walt Galloway '69, the current Chair of the Oberlin College EnviroAlums.  The organizers include Paul Safyan ’68, Dave Tempest ’72, and Susan Buck ’72.  After brief introductions, the speakers will open the program for interactive questions.

This program is part of the “Road to the Future” series sponsored by the Oberlin Alumni Classes ‘67 to ‘72. Click here for detailed biographies of the participants, or click here for links to additional background resources on Oberlin environmental sustainability.

Click  REGISTER HERE  to sign up for the Zoom session.  You will then receive an email labelled Oberlin Alumni Association with your personal link to the program.  If you wish to invite others, forward the whole email as each link is personalized.

View Announcement

Carbon Neutrality Zoom -

Earth Day 4/22: More…Carbon Neutrality Achieved!

Save the date — Tuesday, April 22, at 7 PM EDT — for the online Zoom program
Oberlin City and College Collaboration for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Join us for the fascinating story of how their collaboration starting in 2000 was able to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2025.  How did they do it?  With solar panels, geothermal, dashboard energy monitoring, educational modules, home energy upgrades, school and community activities, and intensive collaborative planning.  The speakers will be

John Petersen '88, Oberlin faculty and systems ecologist
Linda Arbogast, City of Oberlin Sustainability Coordinator
Gregory Jones, Energy Advocate for POWER (Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly)
Sami Singleton '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major with a path in urban design
Josette Apple '25, OC senior and Environmental Studies Major specializing in communications & media
Chris Norman, Oberlin faculty and Senior Director for Energy and Sustainability.

And the moderator will be Walt Galloway '69, the current Chair of the Oberlin College EnviroAlums.  The organizers include Paul Safyan ’68, Dave Tempest ’72, and Susan Buck ’72.  After brief introductions, the speakers will open the program for interactive questions.

This program is part of the “Road to the Future” series sponsored by the Oberlin Alumni Classes ‘67 to ‘72. Click here for detailed biographies of the participants, or click here for links to additional background resources on Oberlin environmental sustainability.

Click  REGISTER HERE  to sign up for the Zoom session.  You will then receive an email labelled Oberlin Alumni Association with your personal link to the program.  If you wish to invite others, forward the whole email as each link is personalized.

View Announcement

All In 4/8/25 -

All In on April 8

Each year since More…its founding in 1833, Oberlin expands the world’s supply of compassionate, rigorous, pragmatic visionaries—people who make an exceptional impact on the world.

In every field, on every stage, Obies find the way forward.

On Tuesday, you can go All In For Oberlin and create opportunities for current Oberlin students through participation in our annual giving day. Your gift—of any size—will directly impact the student experience.

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New World Disorder -

America vs. China and Russia

More…style="font-size:14px;">China, Russia, and the U.S. are leading a “New World Disorder,” and two experts with Oberlin connections will discuss the implications this Thursday evening.

In 1968, Ronald Grigor Suny became a young assistant professor of history at Oberlin, where he remained for 13 years.  Now he’s an emeritus professor at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.

Mark Blecher has taught at Oberlin since 1976 and now, as the James Monroe Professor of Politics and East Asian Studies, is the most senior member of the faculty.

They will hold a Zoom conversation on Thursday, March 13, from 6 to 7 p.m. Eastern time.  Click  here  to register.

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Shaftel -

Buddhist Treasures

More…style="font-size:14px;">

Ann Shaftel ’69 tells us about three days of workshops at the Gesar Palace Hotel in Yushu. Visit
https://teahouse.buddhistdoor.net/preserving-buddhist-heritage-in-qinghai-treasure-caretaker-training-goes-to-yushu/
to “read all about my conservation work on the Tibetan Plateau! And in 2025, I will be working on preservation of Buddhist treasures in monasteries in Nepal, Ladakh, Darjeeling, Tibetan Plateau, and Australia and lecturing in USA, Shanghai, Beijing, etc. Please contact me for more information at annshaftel@me.com.”

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Zoom with Les Leopold -

Why Is the Working Class Leaving the Democratic More…Party?

Les Leopold ’69 asks why many workers are no longer voting for Democrats.  There are two major theories to account for the extensive working-class shift to the Republicans since 1996.

Economic issues:  job insecurity, stagnant wages and declining prospects for the future push workers away from the Democrats.

Social issues:  resentment against immigrants, women, LBGTQ+ communities, and other "woke" concerns result in an embrace of right-wing candidates.

Les, who co-founded and currently directs The Labor Institute, will offer an assessment in a Zoom conversation on Tuesday, January 14, from 6 to 7 p.m. Eastern time.  Click  here  to register.

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forums -

Forums with Faculty and Staff

More…style="font-family:verdana,geneva,sans-serif;">A committee of class officers and reunion chairs from the classes of '67 through '72 are meeting to plan forums for those classes and for other interested alumni to take place via Zoom. The consensus among them is to invite current faculty and staff to speak and answer questions about their research interests, their involvement with students in this research, and the progress of the new majors that have been added or will be added.  If you have any ideas along these lines, please email me at safyone@gmail.com or through this website.

Thanks.

Paul Safyan '68

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John Lawrence -

What Happened?! Election Results Discussed on Zoom

They’re More…back! Eleven weeks ago, just after the Democratic National Convention, John Lawrence ’70 (for eight years the Chief of Staff to Speaker Nancy Pelosi) was part of a lively and well-attended Zoom program sponsored by the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C.

He and Holly Fechner ’85 and moderator Larry Jacobs ’81 (below) agreed to return in November for a post-election session to dissect the results. That program will be on Tuesday, November 12, from 6 to 7 pm Eastern time. Click here to register.

And in the meantime, John has shared this article. He warns, "No one should be under any misimpression that Trump will be tempered or measured in his second term."

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