Reply to Oberlin College ordered to post $36 million bond to delay Gibson’s Bakery collection of Judgment

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I still don't understand the tort here.

Did Oberlin administrators officially declare that the bakery is "racist"? Oberlin has zero control over what its adult students decide to protest (or not protest).

Oberlin cancelled its contract with the bakery. But that in itself does not constitute slander.

Someone please explain to me how Oberlin THE INSTITUTION is culpable?[/quote]

An African-American Oberlin student, Jonathan Aladan, went to Gibson’s Bakery and attempted to leave with two wine bottles under his shirt. The shop-owner’s grandson, Allyn Gibson, called the police and then apprehended the student outside the store, leading to a fight, which, later, also involved two black females. The police broke it up, arrested all three students and charged them with crimes – they later pleaded guilty, and made statements absolving Gibson’s of any misconduct or racial animus.

Immediately after the shoplifting arrests, Oberlin students began accusing the bakery of racial profiling. They launched protests, handing out fliers telling people ‘DON’T BUY’ and alleging that the bakery was ‘a RACIST establishment with a LONG ACCOUNT of RACIAL PROFILING and DISCRIMINATION’. They also began spreading rumours in the town that Aladan was ‘assaualted’ by Gibson even though, when the police arrived, they found the students punching and kicking Gibson. Leaflets recommended 10 rival businesses to which patrons could go instead.

But such a stance misses a major part of the story – Oberlin hasn’t been punished for the actions of its students. Rather, the college itself has been found responsible for getting involved with the smear campaign against Gibson’s.

The court found against the college’s administration, and particularly against its vice-president and dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, because they actively supported the protestors – it’s not necessarily the case that the administrators were leading any campaign against the bakery, but they were certainly working closely together. Raimondo helped to orchestrate the protest, speaking on a bullhorn and handing out the aforementioned fliers (protestors were allowed access to administration offices to make more copies). Students were attended the protest were excused from classes, and officials provided free pizza and drinks for them.

A Facebook post by an Oberlin academic department stated that “Gibson’s has been bad for decades, their dislike of Black people is palpable. Their food is rotten and they profile Black students. NO MORE!” A few weeks later, Raimondo ordered the college’s cafeteria to stop buying food from Gibson’s – another official tried to use this as leverage against the bakery, stating that “once the charges are dropped, orders will resume”. The chief of staff, Ferdinand Protzman, also suggested another reason for this – the administration feared that the students would create a “tantrum” on campus, especially in the cafeteria during dinner, by throwing Gibson’s food on the floor and stomping on it. “Doesn’t that sound more like a nursery school than a college?” asked the bakery’s lawyer.

Because of the college’s war against them, Gibson’s claimed that they suffered damage to their reputation, economic welfare and community standing, and the jury appeared to agree with them. Their sales dropped by roughly 50%, forcing staffing cuts, and many of the family members had to work without pay. Some of their employees had their tyres slashed. On multiple occasions, they tried to settle with Oberlin but, after constant refusals, were forced to bring about a lawsuit.

Members of the local community also turned out to support the bakery, and to argue against any suggestion of racial bias. Over a five-year period, 40 people were charged with shoplifting from Gibson’s, 6 of whom were African-American (percentage-wise, exactly matching Oberlin’s 15% black population). Across the town, 83% of all shoplifting arrests were Oberlin students – in 2017, the ‘Culture of Theft’ was even discussed fondly in the school’s magazine. One local bookstore owner said that she loses $10,000 a year in stolen goods to Oberlin students.

https://theboar.org/2019/07/oberlin-and-the-us-culture-war/[/quote]

WOW!  That is crazy.[/quote]

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