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I think Oberlin as an institution has been "fearless" since it was founded, in positive ways; it has always been a frontrunner in social justice, which is, for me, one of its most appealing features, and distinguishes it, at least historically, from its northeastern "peers" - like Amherst and Williams. Apparently the marketing team that came up with "fearless" was trying to change the image of Oberlin from what their research had found was a common view, i.e., Oberlin = weird. Problem is a lot of the students themselves don't feel "fearless" - they feel creative, explorative, curious - and some fear that "fearless" is code for "athletes" and that the college is trying to change its image to attract a more "boring" student body. At least that was what a lot of the student response was when the fearless theme was initiated. In fact, some of the response seemed to lack a sense of perspective, but maybe it was partly a function of it having been the product of marketing under the previous administration. The new communications czar has handled it brilliantly, tamping down the anxiety that the "fearless" theme generated. I don't see why "We are Oberlin" raises anyones hackles - especially because the stories that are attached are mostly delightful and offer quite an impressive portrait of the college for the past many decades.
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