The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has expressed outraged over reports of racism and anti-Semitism at Ohio’s Oberlin College and praised the college’s swift response in condemning the acts.
A series of up to 15 hate-motivated incidents took place on Oberlin campus this month, with the latest resulting in college administrators calling for an emergency meeting, asking faculty and staff to "gather for a series of discussions of the challenging issues that have faced our community in recent weeks," according to the institution’s website.
The campus received several reports, including a swastika found on the Science Center, Black History Month posters being defaced with racial epithets and an individual wearing a KKK-style white robe and hood on campus.
Oberlin College administrators have reported that they are investigating each incident.
“The campus community is meant to be a place of understanding and learning, not of intolerance and racism,” said Nina Sundell, ADL Cleveland Regional Director. “We praise the administration and faculty of Oberlin College for addressing these incidents head on, and for their decision to immediately cancel classes and convene a campus wide community event.
“Their actions made clear that Oberlin College is no place for hate and are a model for other campus communities when they are faced with racism and anti-Semitism,” Sundell added.