<p>Overall, Oberlin College and the town of Oberlin enjoy a good relationship. The College provides educational and recreational outlets for people who live in the area. College students volunteer in the community. Every once in a while there’s an incident on campus usually involving a young person from the town. But troubles are rare. The biggest security issue on campus is bike theft. Often the bikes are stolen by other students - some are returned (the concept of ownership of bikes seems to be underdeveloped). Free and low-cost bikes are available at the beginning of every school year. </p>
<p>Oberlin’s graduation celebration features a wonderful evening in Tappan Square at which hundreds of Chinese lanterns lit with candles are strung seemingly everywhere and students, their families, and townspeople mingle to eat pie and listen to extraordinary music. Apparently, it is The Event in the town.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the no trespass list. But it isn’t too much of a surprise. Oberlin is an extremely tolerant place. It attracts talented students, many of whom are passionate young people who feel the world’s injustices keenly. Although not terribly common, protesting for the rights of a perceived injustice sounds like an Oberlin thing to do. There are also a few free thinkers that are attracted to the town because of the college - some may have graduated years ago, others just came for the liberal environment and stayed. Most of course, are harmless, but some flout social conventions, so they may create some problems for the college. Oberlin is about as far from a police state as it’s possible to be.</p>