If you’re reading this, you’re holding a copy of The Grape – a labor-of-love for baby-journalists and music dweebs and impassioned activists and every other so-and-so who has graced this funny little campus for going on 24 years now. We’re Oberlin’s alternative student newspaper. And we’re so happy to be here.
And we think you’re in good hands. We, Teagan and Saffron, are so passionate about this thing. We love The Grape so damn much and we think it shows. During our years with The Grape, we’ve written many articles exploring many topics. The Grape is such a beautiful, humble, entirely student-led endeavor where young writers can try on new, more confident voices. You can truly write about anything and that can feel, well, empowering! Is that corny?
Maybe. But it feels true. We EICs have sometimes (often) felt alienated at this strange little bubble of elite academia. Teagan’s from Appalachian Ohio – a rare Ohioan at Oberlin, we know! – and Saffron’s from working-class Texas. We’re small-town editors of sorts and we share a passion for socioeconomic and regional justice – we’ve bonded over a mutual interest in giving those points-of-view a voice. It feels special that we’re here writing you this editor’s note. We cherish the goofy, clunky Grape and all those who have written and created for it over the years, especially those who needed a place to feel heard. It’s endlessly rewarding to carry on such a tradition…even if it’s starting to induce stress dreams.
Our wonderful staff & our lovely contributors have put together an amazing first issue of the semester (a massive thank you to them for all of their hard work!), and we sincerely hope you enjoy it. As always, if you would like to contribute to The Grape (in the form of writing or visual art!), our contributors’ meetings are open to all! You can follow us on Instagram or Twitter @TheOberlinGrape for more info. If you’d like to join our mailing list (or if you have any general questions or comments!), you can shoot us an email at thegrape@oberlin.edu.
We dearly appreciate everyone who reads The Grape. We hope you have a wonderful Fall Break, and a wonderful semester overall.
All the best,
Saffron & Teagan, Editors-in-Chief of The Grape