Oberlin College cancels classes

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OBERLIN, Ohio, March 4 (UPI) -- Ohio's Oberlin College cancelled classes Monday after the latest in a string of vandalism and hate-related incidents on campus in the last month, it said.

Early Monday morning a person in a white hood and robe was seen near the school's Afrikan Heritage House, a development that followed a number of racist and anti-gay messages left around the campus in the past month, the New York Times reported.

College guides routinely list Oberlin, southwest of Cleveland, as among the country's most liberal, activist and gay-friendly schools, the newspaper noted.

The sighting Monday, "in addition to the series of hate-related incidents on campus, has precipitated our decision to suspend formal classes," a statement from Marvin Krislov, Oberlin's dean, said, adding the day would be spent "in a series of discussions of the challenging issues that have faced our community in recent weeks."