Oberlin College cancels classes over racial, anti-Semitic incidents
Oberlin College canceled classes to convene a "day
of solidarity" following a series of racial and anti-Semitic incidents.
Classes at the school in northern Ohio were suspended on
Monday after someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan-like hood and robe was seen walking
on campus, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
"This event, in addition to the series of other
hate-related incidents on campus, has precipitated our decision to suspend
formal classes and all non-essential activities for today, Monday, March 4, 2013,
and gather for a series of discussions of the challenging issues that have
faced our community in recent weeks," read a statement on the college's
website signed by the president of the college, Marvin Krislov, who is Jewish,
as well as the deans of the individual schools.
The statement asked all students, faculty and staff to
participate in the day's events.
Swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti were discovered
on the campus at the beginning and end of last month, according to reports.
Racist and homophobic graffiti also was discovered in early February.
“It’s really strange and sad in such a lovely environment
that someone would come in and do something so inflammatory in order to make
Jews and other people feel uncomfortable,” Rabbi Shimon Brand, director of the
Oberlin College Hillel, told the Cleveland Jewish News.
Guides to colleges routinely list Oberlin as among the
most liberal, activist and gay-friendly schools in the country, according to
The New York Times.
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