<p>I check in on this site because my college freshman looked closely at Oberlin and I have another high school student who may be interested in Oberlin when the time comes. </p>
<p>I understood that classes were cancelled for a community “teach-in” type day – where the college community gathered together to discuss and share. Not that classes were cancelled so students could sit in their rooms and watch netflix. As someone who attended another LAC which took seriously its commitment to inclusiveness and community, canceling classes to focus the entire community on what is happening seems entirely appropriate.</p>
<p>Agreed. One thing I noticed about many Oberlin classmates was that if anything, many tended to take way too much on their shoulders and overextend themselves in trying to tackle their studies and be actively involved on the campus, political activism, community service.</p>
<p>I think it’s unlikely that anybody faked hate speech in order to get a day off.</p>
<p>I do think it’s possible that somebody did such things to “get a reaction” or as a “joke” or for some motivation from a sick mind–as opposed to an organized effort by a hate group.</p>
<p>As to the Klan robes–somebody was going to parade around in Klan robes and only ONE person saw him? It seems extremely unlikely. I have to say that it sounds more likely that this was a case of somebody who was sensitized by previous events projecting something that wasn’t really there.</p>
<p>My point is that I’m not sure the proper reaction to this sort of event is a campus shut-down and teach-ins that suggest that everybody needs to have their consciousness raised–that gives too much power to the lone malcontent. In my opinion.</p>
<p>Someone is paying for the day of instruction that was just canceled. They were not paying for a teach-in. </p>
<p>And how are the students supposed to get to the teach-in on this super dangerous campus where they feel so unsafe? What if someone is carrying a throw pillow?</p>
<p>It seems to me that if a bumptious person is trying to get attention with stupid pranks, the university just played right into it by overreacting. They are the ones who decided to put this on the headlines of a dozen newspapers with their actions before it was even clear what the situation really is.</p>
<p>For me, it’s good to see a college take this seriously rather than just ignore it. How many times do the stories of a tragedy include comments from people saying that they reported incidents prior to the tragedy, but no one took them seriously. In any case, I guess we’ll know more eventually.</p>
<p>I still can’t get behind the day off for a teach-in, but I am becoming convinced, chiefly by the posts of Midwestmom and cobrat (#61 and 62 above) that might be because I just don’t get the culture of Oberlin, or perhaps of many selective LACs.</p>
<p>But I am rapidly reaching the point at which I think this arguing–which I admit I previously participated in–is just plain silly. Oberlin did what it did. Either you think it was a good idea or you don’t. But, honestly, even if it wasn’t a particularly good idea, it wasn’t an especially bad one, either. Nobody got killed. Nobody got hurt. Maybe the College wasted some of its resources. But unless you’re an Oberlin student or parent (groups who don’t seem, by and large, to be upset with what the College has done), they weren’t wasting your resources. (Perhaps someone will reply that they wasted instructional time bought with federal financial aid dollars; I simply don’t care.) </p>
<p>Honestly, it’s not as if Oberlin invaded the rest of Lorain County looking for WMD, or something.</p>
<p>Argybary: I pay Oberlin tuition, however I’m not paying for instruction, I’m paying for education. As it happens, my H was at Oberlin and went to the teach-in. He’s satisfied we got money’s worth from it, but thanks for your concern.</p>
<p>Sikorsky. Nice post. Wish I had your restraint.</p>
<p>According to the Cleveland.com article 2/3rds of the students didnt go to the teach in. Its great that you thought this arbitrary substitution was value for money, but you have to admit that possibly not everyone shares that opinion. </p>
<p>I really dont like these generated media events where we get a blizzard of Editorials and coverage early on with ginned up outrage based on loose facts. When the real picture emerges a month later the press has moved on leaving a false narrative behind them. </p>
<p>At least with the FBI getting involved it sounds like they are back tracking the IP’s and might be able to wrap this up soon.</p>
<p>Surely, you’re not suggesting that the College should instead have followed a course of action that everybody agrees with. Obviously, there is no such alternative in this case. Or any case, really.</p>
<p>After reading through these posts, I’m stunned that so many second guess the decision Oberlin made to cancel classes for one day due to what appears to be an orchestrated attack of hate speech - both physical and electronic at the college. People are fixated on the KKK sighting - that is only one of many incidents. The first job of any college administration is to keep students safe. Oberlin students are not the type to pull a prank to get out of class. As the parent of a recent graduate, I’m proud of the Oberlin community for standing up against intimidation and hatred.</p>
<p>I’m glad the FBI has agreed to investigate. Whether the perpetrators are students or community members, or a combination, they need to stop the harassment. Unfortunately, Ohio has an active white-supremacist presence, and Oberlin makes an inviting target. It would have been a mistake if the administration had not taken this seriously.</p>
<p>Why is the focus of anger of some posts Oberlin not racism? Perhaps a teach-in is the perfect reaction or perhaps a bit of an overreaction? Why is this a significant issue?</p>
<p>When there was racist graffiti a Williams when my S attended the president issued a strong statement decrying the graffiti, but classes when on. Williams was equally criticized for not canceling classes.</p>
<p>There is no one perfect administrative relation, but our focus should be the continued proliferation of racist ideas. Any school is vulnerable to these random acts.</p>
<p>The argument about money spent strikes me as petty and a misunderstanding of how education actually happens. I say this as a college professor on a very diverse campus.</p>
<p>It’s just extremely unlikely that there is an “orchestrated attack of hate speech” or a “proliferation of racist ideas” unless those terms can be applied to one or two people. I think that’s why some of us doubt the helpfulness of a “teach-in.” Does anybody think for one second that the perpetrators of these incidents will be shown the error of their ways by a teach-in? A teach-in might make sense if you have a rash of incidents showing insensitivity–chants at sporting events, racist “theme” parties, blackface Halloween costumes, etc. But I think responding to the kind of incidents at Oberlin is really more of a law enforcement responsibility.</p>
<p>
Well, maybe a teach-in would be helpful for some people. The sort who might make intemperate comments to “get a reaction,” as I mentioned before.</p>
<p>I’m not talking about racist ideas at Overlin. I’m talking about the society at large. I agree that a teach-in doesn’t matter at all in the grand scheme of things. That’s why I don’t think it matters whether or not Oberlin has a teach in. I just can’t see it as something to be upset about.</p>
<p>If you mean those who would engage in the non-internet version of internet forum ■■■■■■■■, then it would appear that, if that was the intent, they were spectacularly successful at getting the desired reaction.</p>
<p>the advantage of a small LAC is that all events on campus are teach-ins. You learn inside and outside the classroom. All of my family has gone to various small LAC’s and I believe it is the among the best educations you can get. A teach in as a reaction to the events on campus at Oberlin is exactly what students should expect, even if they all don’t attend…they all are aware of it. We do not have enough community based experiences anymore. That is the problem. The idea that everything one needs to know and learn is in a classroom is too shallow, in my opinion. I pay Oberlin’s tuition for my DD and I know it is well spent. She is learning more than she ever would in just a classroom…or, might I say, now…over internet-driven classes that all colleges are considering.</p>
<p>i would imagine that one of the main points of having a teach-in would be to signal to those groups who were targeted that hatred is not a value at this school. it lets students know that the administration values their safety and their presence on campus. it also sends a clear signal to those responsible for the acts that they are outnumbered. i think that this type of response is admirable, and other campuses can learn from it.</p>
<p>to suggest that these incidents were ‘staged’ or that the teach-in was a waste of tuition money is simply chuckleheaded nonsense.</p>
They have the legal right to do so. They may not have the right to do so under the rules of the private college they’ve chosen to attend. But even if they have the right to do and say offensive things, a private college might decide that it’s part of its mission to try to teach them how to behave.</p>
<p>A public college might want to do this too.</p>
<p>I have a section on my syllabus that outlines proper classroom decoram. While sitting in my classroom students are prohibited from making racist or homophobic statements.</p>
<p>They are also prohibited from texting friends.</p>
<p>I am not being flippant. I am pointing out that a college may have a vested interest I regulating student behavior in many ways.</p>
<p>I once had a student who was a neo-Nazi and threatened the life of students in the class. At the time the First Amendment absolutists ensured that I could do nothing about this behavior. Since then, this hate speech and threatening others in classrooms stopped being protected speech in classrooms so my students ( and I) no longer have to listen to a student ranting that he wants to kill us.</p>