Oberlin College Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Emily

The captian of the football team often feels uncomfortable at Oberlin. Sometimes I have to admit I too felt uncomfortable with amount of openess others had regarding their sexual identities or personal choices. On a funnier note I remember students wearing everything from a bear suit to the pink panther suit to class. Which is maybe why it seemed weird to most people that I was the girl always in heels. There are cliques at Oberlin, just like in high school, but occasionally classes will bring people together. Stevenson is where this is most visable, the football players at one table, the other athletes at another, gays and transgenered sit together and then the people who still at Oberlin have social problems, they come and eat by themselves early.

Zach

I was kind of thrown off when I first got here, I kept hearing about how diverse and excepting oberlin is, but then they have housing where only members of a certain race, gender affiliation, or religious beliefs are alowed to live. Not to mention the fact that most of the campus is white and asian, so I think that the concept of Oberlin being so diverse is a little hypocritical. Also, in my experiance most students seem to be from wealthy families in the north east and lean toward the left politically, as I've stated earlier. There is diversity, for sure, but not to level that is advertised or probably like some of the student body would like to believe.

Tammela

-Predominantly LEFT & very politically active & aware

Dancer

Everyone stays to themselves at Oberlin. Very few individuals interact outside of their social group. It's really sad. Athletes are looked down upon.

Parker

There are a lot of white people. The majority of kids are from white suburbs in the east or west coast.

Chris

I have had many experiences with a lot of different people. Its a campus that allows all walks of life to live as one. I have friend who I would never have thought I would have in a million year. Sexual preference, skin color, ethnicity, etc. don't matter. Get to meet the person. A very close-minded person would feel out of place. You gotta be able to open up and learn new things. You've got to learn to accept people for who they are. Students wear clothing for whatever the weather is. You've got hipsters, jocks, vegans, neat freaks, so sometimes walking to class can be interesting. Once again, Oberlin College is a perfect place for different types of students to interact, because it helps one to learn about different people. The four tables are made up of all different people. You have a real variety when checking out the dining hall. Most students on the campus are from New York, California or Ohio. Pretty affluent backgrounds tend to walk the sidewalks of Oberlin College, but you've got some from every other aspect as well. Very politically aware and very politically active. Predominantly left, right and center. Students talk a lot about how much they hope to earn, and being at Oberlin College, you can bet it will be some good money.

Kris

The student body is very diverse and extremely accepting. A wealthy, egotistical, narrow-minded, Republican, devout Roman Catholic, sports-obsessed, music-hating, sheltered prep from the South would probably feel out of place here. People wear what they want to class. It's not exactly a huge school so all types of people interact and get along pretty well. Students sitting at four tables would be: Musicians, Athletes, Hipsters, and Hippies. Most students are from the East Coast, specifically NYC. I'd say most students are middle to upper class. Personally, I'd say students are less politically aware than I expected but they're still much more politically aware than college students in the rest of the nation. We're definitely left-leaning.

Harper

Oberlin is a very accepting/diverse campus in terms of race, religion, gender identity, economic status, and other groups. There are program houses if you wish to experience a support group and these living arrangements have campus wide programing, special events, and great resources at your service. People here don't judge you by what you are classified as in terms of religion, economic status, gender, race but they consider your talents, your strengths, your personality, your knowledge, your capacity to share that knowledge, and to make a difference in the lives of others at Oberlin and in the world while becoming a stronger person yourself, whoever that may be. Students will be supported with their needs and their beliefs in many ways and other students always reach out and help. There are many groups and if the one you want doesn't exist, start it and chances are you'll quickly have others joining in with you. A student that is very close-minded, materialistic, and unmotivated would probably not fit in here. But the thing about Oberlin is, everyone fits in...when you add your own strokes to the painting and the overall picture is even more interesting than it was before. Students where what they feel like wearing. In class you could see someone dressed as a clown next to someone wearing a business suit, next to someone who didn't want to get out of their pj's, who's across from someone dressed head to toe in Abercrombie and Fitch. It just doesn't matter what's on your head, it's what is in it that we care about. And not necessarily in class, but nakedness is OK here too. The four tables question. Hmmm. Alright. Table 1 - International students (You're sitting in the next table with your friend from Hong Kong who is translating what they are saying for you so you both can laugh) Table 2 - Conservatory voice majors (Singing between bites. Obviously) Table 3 - The Cross Country team (usually discussing robots or indiana jones, possibly spring break plans or a super awesome dance party in the making) and Table 4 - Freshman Crazies. (Tightly bonded groups of freshman who like to play with their food, make loud animal noises, do spontaneous performance art pieces, and sometimes discuss the implications of spatial awkwardness created by the layout of the mailroom. Again generalization (there are SO many exceptions) But Oberlin students are generally from bigger cities in New York, Chicago, California. Most students come from middle class-upper middle class families whose parents are college graduates and hold good jobs. This campus is one of the most politically aware and active in the country, historically and presently. It's a good reputation to have. Stuents for the most part are quite left-wing but there are also many exceptions to this rule. And it goes without saying that all views are accepted, sometimes questioned, but definitely accepted. I mean, talking about your future job/pay doesn't really dominate conversation here. We're more of a live-in-the-moment type crowd.

Kelly

The diversity is great- the problem is, sometimes groups can be exclusive. But I suppose you'll find that anywhere and at Oberlin it's less exclusive than it might be. A hardcore jock or preppy cheerleader type would feel out of place here. Students wear all sorts of strange things. Different types of students definitely do interact, but you might push people's buttons if the topic of safe spaces comes up. There really is no typical Oberlin student, except to say that most of us were sort of outcasts or weird in high school and most of us are very liberal. Many students are very politically active. Most are aware but don't really discuss it much or do anything about it. There are also a bunch who just don't really care about politics, but the admissions office wants you to think they don't exist. Students definitely do not talk about how much they'll earn one day. Ever. Except to say that many of us worry (jokingly) that we will one day be living in a box.

Alex

I am a member of La Alianza Latina and a member of Third World Co-op, a safe space primarily for low-income, first generation, LGBTQI, international and/or POC students. It has been an enlightening experience being in both of these groups, because I didn't grow up in a community that addressed many issues. My community is very liberal and there isn't much debate over how things should work. Because Oberlin is an academic environment we talk a lot about the issues of marginalized people often, both within the context of Oberlin and the greater world. A student who isn't very open-minded would probably not feel very comfortable at Oberlin. Students wear clothes to classes, only some people wear sweats or pajamas, though there are some people who do and it isn't weird. It isn't like many people really dress up for class though, except for some Conservatory students. Most students at Oberlin come from the NYC area or the San Francisco Bay Area, but there are people from all over! It seems like students are predominantly from the upper middle class background, though there is a pretty tight-knit group of low-income students, as well as low -income students that are extremely integrated within the Oberlin community. Students tend to be more politically aware and active than most, but not as much as one might think considering the stereotypes about Oberlin students. The student body is predominantly left. Students talk about how much they'll earn one day, but not that often.

Vincent

What are your experiences with racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic, and/or other groups on campus? none. · What kind of student would feel out of place at Oberlin? Too serious people, uninspired people. · What do most students wear to class? relax pants and t-shirts · Do different types of students interact? not so much. · There are four tables of students in the dining hall. Describe them. The football team table, the hipster/or hippes table, the black table, mainstream white table. · Where are most Oberlin students from? New york, elsewhere, and international · What financial backgrounds are most prevalent? 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} well-off, and 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} are not so well off. · Are students politically aware / active? Yes Are they predominantly left, right or center? Left, and a center · Do students talk about how much they'll earn one day? Never.

Casey

Conservative students would feel out of place here. There is a good effort to make Oberlin an all-inclusive, and socio-economically/color blind. Oberlin is more successful in that vane than most other places in the world, but does not realize utopic proportions. Modes of dress: there is the bathrobe guy, the guy wearing a onezie he made out of leaves, the guy dressed as dick tracy, the girl who looks like Flashdance, the girl who is wearing the same jeans and a sweatshirt from 7th grade, the girl dressed as Rocky from 3 Ninjas, others with thick-rimmed glasses and a melange of neons...very wide range of self-expressions. Many students are from NYC, the DC area, the Bay Area, and other wealthy liberal-minded places. The average quotient of political awareness far exceeds the majority of the U.S., and it is considered a mark of soullessness to be politically conservative.

Bree

People are SO PC IT HURTS SOMETIMES. on the other hand, people here will accept you for anything weird you want to do. Most people here are either economically well off or pretty poor, but either way most people aren't pretentious about it. In fact, i don't really know how wealthy my friends here are, with the exception of people i've visited on breaks and stuff.

Andy

The student body is liberal to the sake of absurdity in every sense of the word--overly politically correct, Marxist economics, communes, hippies, you name it. I don't really think sexuality exists here--I could call myself straight and hook up with thirty guys and no one would blink an eye. Sex is an extremely open discussion on campus. Two huge events, Safer Sex Night and Drag Ball, promote the pro-sexual, anti-gender-norm environment. Geographically, Obies are an extremely diverse bunch. I know someone from almost every state, along with a handful of internationals. There is a bias against greed and materialism, thankfully--the on-campus "Free Store," the co-ops, and frequent crews of anti-capitalist dumpster divers enforce this image.