Oberlin’s bond rating was put on negative watch back in 2012, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the negative momentum has picked up speed given the administration’s inability to effectively address many of the underlying issues.
That said, Kenyon College, The College of Wooster, Xavier University and Case Western University all received A1 ratings, which are characterized as “upper-medium grade and low credit risk” so Oberlin is still standing tall amongst others in Ohio.
I would like to meet someone who NEVER complained about food in their college’s cafeteria. For the umpteenth time, this thing has been blown way out of proportion to make it sound like a higher education crisis. At Oberlin, at least, you have another option of joining the coop system if you are unhappy with the dining system. In fact, you might end up cooking the meals for the coop, and you could make the dishes as “authentic” as you wish.
Dustyfeathers, if you think about it, the demands of the Oberlin black students are not as outlandish as the abomination in the White House, and his supporters, who want to repeal all social welfare and consumer protections going back to the New Deal, besides causing war with North Korea. His agenda needs to be stopped, and I can assure you that students at Oberlin will be galvanized in their opposition. Hundreds will work on campaigns, and will demonstrate against specific actions. It is the perfect place for student activism(for students who wish to do so), and to learn about and participate in the political system firsthand.This is besides the strong academic and musical culture. In this thread, there have been a few testimonials from parents of what a fine institution Oberlin has been for their children.
There are many LAc’s that are very liberal today and since this country is about evenly divided its not suprisinging that enrollment would be off at schools that have hit the press in a negative light as those with different views would not feel welcome or at least perceive that.
My daughter’s experience has been very similar to @Hellofagal 's child. She has found the coursework rigorous, the music glorious, and hasn’t experienced PC excesses. Most of her friends seem to be cheerful, hardworking, socially engaged, and a bit nerdy, in a good way.
She even likes the food. 
@dustyfeathers and @wisteria100 The New Yorker article certainly didn’t help Oberlin’s cause. IIRC, it focused more on student demands than administrative responses, and I think that was unfortunate. The dining hall incident was a blip. The African American students’ demands showed little understanding of how colleges hire and fire. Then President Kristof, to his credit, said he did not respond to “demands” but would be willing to meet and have a conversation. The activists who wanted to be excused from exams because it took away from their activism? I don’t know the outcome but I doubt any professors agreed to that. My daughter reports that the academic standard there is very high.
Oberlin wasn’t the only school to have African American students make demands in recent years, but it was certainly one of few that had focused attention from a respected publication. The below is an article about a similar set of demands made at Hamilton College.
The real world impact on each campus community seems similar, yet the demands made at Hamilton seem forgotten. If the Daily Beast had written their brief piece on Oberlin, and the New Yorker a more detailed expose of the demands at Hamilton, would Hamilton be the school fighting the lingering impacts to its image in the public’s perception?
I think we need to be far more cognizant of the impact of the press when it comes to on campus issues.
The activists were not excused from taking the exams, per then President Krislov and others.
@Hellofagal, the Daily Beast article isn’t the reason for the decline in enrollment, student retention rate, or the drop in the bond rating at Oberlin - that’s too easy an out.
@Hellofagal, I do believe the political climate shifts in that neck of the woods did have an impact with applications, and then post election with matriculation .
^^ Not sure the fact that Ohio went red was the big reason for the decline. After all NC had the very controversial bathroom bill which cost the state a lot of lost revenue with sporting and other events pulling out of the state, yet Duke had a record number of apps and other NC schools did not seem to suffer.
Oberlin may be having a problem specific to the conservatory. But do agree the press seemed to jump on the Oberlin story (and the Yale one) more than Hamilton’s and other schools. Could have to do with fatigue for these kind of stories, but also probably had to do with the complaints on food names. That was an easy headline to showcase and mock, and even though it wasn’t the primary demand of the students, it was the most memorable and a bit silly which kept it in the news
States that recently developed a strong red presence may have created a greater issue for colleges that have traditionally enrolled a large number of liberal-leaning students. Relative to other schools, I wouldn’t associate this with Duke.
I agree that the fact that a state is red does not affect applications to colleges within that state. Michigan has becom a red state, except for its two US senators, and applications to Ann Arbor are at records.
When some Oberlin or Hamilton students make ridiculous demands, the bad publicity can taint the whole school and affect applications and enrollment. .
The Kenyon administration, after analysis, arrived at at least the preliminary conclusion that political factors impacted its recent admission cycle:
https://kenyoncollegian.com/news/2017/04/political-divide-impacts-class-of-2021-admissions/
The same article suggests Oberlin may have been subject to the same dynamic.
It was the campaign signs that spooked the Kenyon applicants. Ohio and Iowa(where Grinnell is) have been red states for many years, except when Obama squeaked out a win. The University of Chicago is in a Democratic stronghold, yet saw a drop in admissions as well.
Look at the great colleges in Pennsylvania which turned red. Did they lose applicants?
We had considered Oberlin at one point but cost compared to scholarships my son faired way better at other colleges. Also if you are waitlisted you may have chosen to go with a second choice rather than wait for an acceptance.
Just chiming in - my daughter who is a freshman at Oberlin College is having a fantastic time - the academics are rigorous she finds her courses interesting. She has made new friends and found kindred souls and feels that she belongs. There are lots of things to do apart from the academics - lots of concerts and shows, and all sorts of activities that keep a geeky, somewhat socially awkward and brilliant child happy. It is absolutely not a school where everyone gets drunk all the time. The lack of sororities and fraternities was actually a big draw for her.
The kids seem intellectually engaged. It is truly a haven for those kids who may have not found their place socially in high school and felt different, who are highly creative and unique. Many of them congregate at Oberlin and are elated to find each other. The town itself is very safe and has quite a few lovely coffee shops, restaurants and funky stores.
re #36: "The town itself is very safe and has quite a few lovely coffee shops, restaurants and funky stores. "
Becomes a lot less safe when those kids don’t look out for cars when crossing the street from the college to get to those lovely coffee shops, restaurants and funky stores.
Used to drive me crazy…
At least they are not real busy streets like State street in Ann Arbor, Grand River in East Lansing, Woodward near Wayne State, or Euclid in Cleveland, which bisects CWRU. But, anywhere, the kids have to be careful.
I could have written your post as my daughter’s experience has been very similar to yours as a first year at Oberlin!