<p>Why the OP has an ax to grind when he/she has NEVER been to Oberlin is beyond me - going on about what some parent purportedly said is nothing more than double hearsay: there is good reason why hearsay is inadmissible evidence. And now extending hostility to parents of Oberlin students as hippies who never moved on. Excuse me! I think anyone interested in the branding of Oberlin can get an excellent idea from the student and faculty blogs that are on the website. I have visited Oberlin many times, and my kid is in the con and conservatory, so I think I know whereof I speak when I say that the image Oberlin attempts to, and succeeds in conveying is of an academically enriching, tolerant, creative community. Nothing freaky about it. And if a “guy” wears a dress for fun or any other reason, no big deal. In all of my visits there, I saw one example, and I understand that this person is smart and nice. Everywhere you go these days, including all the Ivy League schools, there are kids with tattoos and piercings: are they freaks? This issue is a nonstarter. I smell a ■■■■■.</p>