<p>I don’t think these incidents are “hoaxes”. More likely they’re pranks done by young adults, whether Oberlin College students or Oberlin’s local HS kids, displays of poor taste and bad judgment, without consideration of consequences. Cable TV and movies sure have enough “prank-related bad-taste” media content. </p>
<p>Spent some time researching Grinnell, which shares some commonalities with Oberlin. Recalling another non-urban highly-regarded LAC’s experiences, Grinnell had a grossly inappropriate “sex party” hosted by some male students last year, as well as several other student harassment incidents. Also recall reading online last summer that Grinnell townies on occasion harrass Grinnell College students. After driving around Grinnell’s working-class neighborhoods and seeing some “young adults” hanging out, I thought it a very plausible story.</p>
<p>These campuses aren’t Shangri-La. A fair amount of stupid stuff can still occur, even if the student body models itself as relatively politically-correct and well-intentioned.</p>