Three Oberlin College students — two black, one white — were arrested by three Oberlin police officers Saturday outside of a N. Main Street party. It is clear that the police responded to the students with excessive force, as all three officers tackled a 115- pound black female who walked onto the scene, leaving her with a gash beneath the eye. It is also evident that the officers dealt with the situation harshly, arresting the black male for urinating in the bushes, a misdemeanor which has historically garnered only a summons. He was then imprisoned overnight. There is a less-confirmable — but in no way less serious — racial subtext to this power abuse, one that has inspired considerable dialogue on campus regarding the recurring theme of Oberlin police targeting people of color.

The weekend arrests seem to have brought long-standing discomfort among many Oberlin students to a boiling point with the way Oberlin police officers — three in particular — have been treating students of color. The arrests have awakened seemingly suppressed tension. Personal stories of various students’ past experiences with Oberlin police are surfacing — over ten have been sent to the older sister of the girl who was tackled. Professors in the African American Studies department are referring to past incidents of black students being targeted by Oberlin police, like students being pulled over in cars for no apparent reason and asked for licenses and car ownership documents, or being treated with excessive roughness.

If this is just one in a series of incidents, why have racial tensions escalated to this point? Students of color, even now that dialogue is being openly encouraged, are hesitant to divulge their first-hand experiences with the Oberlin police out of discomfort or fear, doubting what needs to be said, or what negative effects telling their story might have. The College has not done anything to help these students, who need communal safe spaces and confidence that there is somebody who cares enough to respond in an effective way.

At yesterday’s noon open forum, Dean of Students Linda Gates directed students to a variety of campus resources: the Dialogue Center, class deans, Safety and Security, the Counseling Center, the Chaplain’s Office and the Dean of Students and Studies offices. But to relate a story that may be emotionally jarring to any of these offices is an individual endeavor, intimidating especially to offices without a public history of helping students. There is little incentive to use these resources until it is made clearer that they are safe spaces, and worth visiting.
Before this can happen, the College needs to weave together systems of support. At the open forum, students suggested a variety of things they would like to see happen in response to this incident, including accessible archives of past incidents: information including the recent flood of personal stories, an easilyaccessible police blotter and more forums for discussion, to be held off campus to involve townspeople in addition to students.

All Oberlin students need to be informed of their rights under Ohio Law. As it is, many do not know how they should or are allowed to respond when an officer approaches and asks to search them.

Besides inspiring dialogue between students and faculty, passionate responses to these arrests have encouraged the College to make significant moves in working with the Oberlin Police Department and the City. In President Krislov’s prompt campus-wide message, he explained that a mediator will oversee College and City discussions regarding how to proceed from this point and overseeing the formal investigation. For many, this is the first test of Krislov’s presidential mettle. These discussions will begin next week.

The initial responses, including the forum and a similar meeting last night in Afrikan Heritage House, are just the beginning of what will likely be a lengthy process of rectifying long-standing systemic problems.

As of now, the racial demographics of the OPD are far from proportional to those of the city of Oberlin. In addition, many police officers do not live in Oberlin, but in neighboring areas of Lorain County. As it stands, much of the city is not being represented in its police force.

But issues of racial targeting by the OPD cannot be successfully addressed without also taking a close look at the dynamic of town-college interactions, which have proven to be very shaky. It is easy to sympathize when the victims are our fellow students, but we must remember that this is a larger problem, extending to not only the college, not only the city, but the country and world. But we do have to start at home.

There have been instances of college students rudely kicking town kids out of parties and college kids passing by town houses and yelling provocative and derogatory statements. This needs to stop. In order to improve relations between people, regardless of class, race and walk of life, we need to treat each person with dignity.

Editorials are the responsibility of the Review editorial board — the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Commentary Editor — and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the Review.