Since the 1970s Oberlin College, one of the most liberal colleges in the nation, has maintained a secret “No Trespass” list which barred members of the community from campus, usually without telling them they were on the list .
The secret list stood in contrast to the college’s emphasis on its mission page to a “commitment to social engagement and diversity,” and the loud demands for diversity voiced after the racism hoax last February and March. Apparently that diversity did not include townies.
Oberlin treated town members “differently from students, creating an atmosphere akin to a gated community,” reports the Plain Dealer.
The list was controversial because many members did not know they were on the list, and even after learning about it, they were not told the reason for the barring. This made the ban virtually impossible to repeal.
If the person on the secret list was caught on campus, he or she could be arrested.
“I’ve been on that list for two years, and I couldn’t believe what I received in the mail,” said Shane Brendes, a 1996 Oberlin College graduate, reported the Plain Dealer. “I was put on the No Trespass list and banished without knowing what the charge was. How could I defend myself?”
Now, after a campaign against the policy, trespassers are allowed to find out why they were barred from campus, and have an opportunity to repeal the ban. The new policy will provide “detailed information, in writing, about the basis for their trespass orders when issued,” according to an Oberlin press release.
Ironically, the college’s website aims to recruit applicants with the phrase, “We welcome young passionate intellectuals who are eager to help make the local community and the world a better place.”
In February 2013, the same campus was outraged when a series of bias incidents occurred, going so far as to cancel class in an “act of solidarity.”
As it turns out, the acts of bias were perpetrated by two students, one an Obama-supporting liberal activist, (despite what Huffington Post commentators might assume), in order to “troll” and raise controversy on campus.
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