‘We Need to Rethink’

When Marvin Krislov announced that he would end his decade-long presidency of Oberlin College after this academic year, some wondered whether the college’s recent public battles had taken a toll.  The president publicly challenged the students who had issued the demands for rejecting the prospect of negotiation, but he says he is proud of them for engaging in causes they believe in — and proud of Oberlin’s progress in making its campus more welcoming. He has sought to reassure alumni that while underrepresented students have legitimate grievances, which the college takes seriously, Oberlin is far from a hotbed of unrest.