My kid from an ivy knows several Oberlin SWEs in FAANG. No effect on student outcomes. Silicon Valley political culture is very similar to Oberlin's. They are all about shaking up the status quo.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still haven’t seen any evidence this is hurting Oberlin in terms of applications, ranking, employment for graduates, etc.

Nor its endowment which surpassed 1 billion in 2021--very healthy for a small liberal arts college.

So they have plenty of money with which to pay up. Good to know.

Actually their school paper reported that they were cutting costs due to fiscal constraints. Given the many covenants on spending endowment funds I’m curious how they’ll pay the settlement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would not send my kids to this school. Totally Democrat all my life, but their bullying behavior was disgusting. Even after the kid who was arrested came out and said he didn't think he was racially profiled, Oberlin did not back down.

They basically sunk this 180 year old family business over nothing. And then the administrators move on. Gross.

+1

+2

Anonymous wrote:+1
This former prof’s opinion piece said it all:

https://www.commentary.org/articles/abraham-socher/o-oberlin-my-oberlin/

Also a Great Bari Weiss podcast on it came out today: https://www.honestlypod.com/podcast/episode/e765b3b3/oberlin-accused-the-gibsons-of-racism-now-it-owes-them-dollar36-million

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:99 percent of the people opining on this have absolutely no idea what actually went down. (Much like the banh mi story that conservatives freaked out about, which turned out to be completely anodyne and unremarkable.) Oberlin is a very good school that produces some amazing graduates. The fact that the administration mishandled some aspects of the lawsuit isn't even newsworthy except to conservatives trying to cherry-pick examples of a preset narrative. It's not going to hurt employment prospects for grads, because most employers DO NOT CARE about stupid crap like this.

X a million, all of this.

But, hey, this thread gives a certain segment the opportunity to express faux outrage and use the word "woke" today. So, I guess this is a good day for them.

It's not that complicated. The owner of the bakery called the cops on three shoplifters who happened to be black, and an Oberlin faculty member organized a student boycott that sunk a family business, defaming that business for being racist. Now they have to pay. There have to be consequences for reflexively slandering people. Now, Oberlin can claim that $36M is too much, but if you honestly believe that a company isn't responsible for its employees' actions while acting as employees, then I don't know what to say.

You're rehashing the alleged facts. Which has nothing to do with the post you're responding to (i.e., effect of the lawsuit on school and grads). Thus, proving my point about providing a place for faux outrage.

LBH, you don't REALLLLY care about the facts. But, just like trying to stick to a "woke" high academic school. We get it. Trust me.

DP. Adjudicated facts - not “alleged.” Be honest - this was execrable behavior and that the admin did not recognize that or refused to ignore it reveals a slavish desire to “virtue signal” rather than actually be virtuous.

As if relying on tropes like "virtue signal" isn't bad enough you go and use "slavish" in this way! It's just amazing to me how language reveals your underlying world view.

Oh wow. You are not making the point you think you’re making. Quite the opposite, in fact.
DP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear Oberlin's appeal, and the college owes $36 million to the Gibsons. The college has still not admitted they or their administrators did any thing wrong, and may choose to try to appeal to federal court in their continuing effort to exhaust the resources of the Gibson family.

The $36 million doesn’t include Oberlin’s own legal fees. The total cost is probably more than half of the college’s total annual budget. It’s amazing that the college has chosen this path when an apology early on would have made the case go away.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/ohio-supreme-court-rejects-oberlin-colleges-appeal-of-36-million-defamation-verdict.html

Here’s a few articles from “National” sources for those who want to say it’s a “non-story:”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-wont-hear-appeal-in-oberlin-college-25m-judgment/2022/08/30/42de1850-288c-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oberlin-court-wont-hear-appeal-in-25-million-judgment/

So glad to hear this. I can’t even fathom the arrogance from Oberlin. Unreal.

They've had to limit comments on their facebook page posts. Also, they don't have a "message" button on the page to contact them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still haven’t seen any evidence this is hurting Oberlin in terms of applications, ranking, employment for graduates, etc.

Nor its endowment which surpassed 1 billion in 2021--very healthy for a small liberal arts college.

So they have plenty of money with which to pay up. Good to know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:99 percent of the people opining on this have absolutely no idea what actually went down. (Much like the banh mi story that conservatives freaked out about, which turned out to be completely anodyne and unremarkable.) Oberlin is a very good school that produces some amazing graduates. The fact that the administration mishandled some aspects of the lawsuit isn't even newsworthy except to conservatives trying to cherry-pick examples of a preset narrative. It's not going to hurt employment prospects for grads, because most employers DO NOT CARE about stupid crap like this.

X a million, all of this.

But, hey, this thread gives a certain segment the opportunity to express faux outrage and use the word "woke" today. So, I guess this is a good day for them.

It's not that complicated. The owner of the bakery called the cops on three shoplifters who happened to be black, and an Oberlin faculty member organized a student boycott that sunk a family business, defaming that business for being racist. Now they have to pay. There have to be consequences for reflexively slandering people. Now, Oberlin can claim that $36M is too much, but if you honestly believe that a company isn't responsible for its employees' actions while acting as employees, then I don't know what to say.

+ a million

Anonymous wrote:The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear Oberlin's appeal, and the college owes $36 million to the Gibsons. The college has still not admitted they or their administrators did any thing wrong, and may choose to try to appeal to federal court in their continuing effort to exhaust the resources of the Gibson family.

The $36 million doesn’t include Oberlin’s own legal fees. The total cost is probably more than half of the college’s total annual budget. It’s amazing that the college has chosen this path when an apology early on would have made the case go away.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/ohio-supreme-court-rejects-oberlin-colleges-appeal-of-36-million-defamation-verdict.html

Here’s a few articles from “National” sources for those who want to say it’s a “non-story:”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-wont-hear-appeal-in-oberlin-college-25m-judgment/2022/08/30/42de1850-288c-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oberlin-court-wont-hear-appeal-in-25-million-judgment/

So glad to hear this. I can’t even fathom the arrogance from Oberlin. Unreal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear Oberlin's appeal, and the college owes $36 million to the Gibsons. The college has still not admitted they or their administrators did any thing wrong, and may choose to try to appeal to federal court in their continuing effort to exhaust the resources of the Gibson family.

The $36 million doesn’t include Oberlin’s own legal fees. The total cost is probably more than half of the college’s total annual budget. It’s amazing that the college has chosen this path when an apology early on would have made the case go away.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/ohio-supreme-court-rejects-oberlin-colleges-appeal-of-36-million-defamation-verdict.html

Here’s a few articles from “National” sources for those who want to say it’s a “non-story:”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-wont-hear-appeal-in-oberlin-college-25m-judgment/2022/08/30/42de1850-288c-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oberlin-court-wont-hear-appeal-in-25-million-judgment/

Oberlin’s insurance carrier paid the legal fees.

Cite for this? Last I saw, Oberlin’s insurance carrier is disclaiming liability and the Board was making the calls on the litigation. Error and Omissions policies don’t cover intentional torts.

One of Oberlin’s carriers, Lexington, filed a motion to intervene in 2019 that indicated that it and/or one of the other carriers was providing a defense, and seeking to address certain issues related to indemnity coverage. Modern liability policies, particularly those obtained by sophisticated entities, typically include some kind of final adjudication requirement in the intentional conduct exclusion that means the insurer has to provide a defense unless and until there is a formal determination or legal admission of intentional conduct.

As for Oberlin controlling the defense, given the nature of the claim and the likely coverage defenses, most likely Oberlin has a right to independent counsel based on a potential of conflict of interest between the insurer and the insured. In that case, Oberlin would be entitled to control the defense while the insurer would pay the bills.

PP again. Also, the relevant coverage part may be CGL rather than E&O, since defamation is more of a “personal and advertising injury” thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear Oberlin's appeal, and the college owes $36 million to the Gibsons. The college has still not admitted they or their administrators did any thing wrong, and may choose to try to appeal to federal court in their continuing effort to exhaust the resources of the Gibson family.

The $36 million doesn’t include Oberlin’s own legal fees. The total cost is probably more than half of the college’s total annual budget. It’s amazing that the college has chosen this path when an apology early on would have made the case go away.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/ohio-supreme-court-rejects-oberlin-colleges-appeal-of-36-million-defamation-verdict.html

Here’s a few articles from “National” sources for those who want to say it’s a “non-story:”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-wont-hear-appeal-in-oberlin-college-25m-judgment/2022/08/30/42de1850-288c-11ed-a90a-fce4015dfc8f_story.html


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oberlin-court-wont-hear-appeal-in-25-million-judgment/

Oberlin’s insurance carrier paid the legal fees.

Cite for this? Last I saw, Oberlin’s insurance carrier is disclaiming liability and the Board was making the calls on the litigation. Error and Omissions policies don’t cover intentional torts.

One of Oberlin’s carriers, Lexington, filed a motion to intervene in 2019 that indicated that it and/or one of the other carriers was providing a defense, and seeking to address certain issues related to indemnity coverage. Modern liability policies, particularly those obtained by sophisticated entities, typically include some kind of final adjudication requirement in the intentional conduct exclusion that means the insurer has to provide a defense unless and until there is a formal determination or legal admission of intentional conduct.

As for Oberlin controlling the defense, given the nature of the claim and the likely coverage defenses, most likely Oberlin has a right to independent counsel based on a potential of conflict of interest between the insurer and the insured. In that case, Oberlin would be entitled to control the defense while the insurer would pay the bills.

Anonymous wrote:Would not send my kids to this school. Totally Democrat all my life, but their bullying behavior was disgusting. Even after the kid who was arrested came out and said he didn't think he was racially profiled, Oberlin did not back down.

They basically sunk this 180 year old family business over nothing. And then the administrators move on. Gross.

+1

Would not send my kids to this school. Totally Democrat all my life, but their bullying behavior was disgusting. Even after the kid who was arrested came out and said he didn't think he was racially profiled, Oberlin did not back down.

They basically sunk this 180 year old family business over nothing. And then the administrators move on. Gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still haven’t seen any evidence this is hurting Oberlin in terms of applications, ranking, employment for graduates, etc.

Nor its endowment which surpassed 1 billion in 2021--very healthy for a small liberal arts college.

Oberlin was running deficits *before* the litigation.

And for those blaming people here for not letting this matter rest, Oberlin itself has chosen to prolong litigation in an attempt to put a family-owned bakery out of business rather than admit wrongdoing and apologize. They could have easily made this go away five years ago, if they had just admitted their mistake.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/18/amid-budget-deficits-and-unfavorable-demographics-oberlin-pushes-do-more-less

Like many other small private colleges, Oberlin faces challenging financial times ahead. In addition to structural deficits that could last several years if unaddressed, Ambar said, Oberlin is confronting the reality of smaller numbers of high school graduates in the Northeast that puts it at a distinct disadvantage, since unlike many larger colleges, it primarily serves traditional-age students.

The extra revenue from more liberal arts students can’t come fast enough. Last June, the board approved a $160 million budget that included a projected $4.7 million deficit. Without making cuts, the college’s deficit could have been as high as $9 million this year, an "unsustainable" figure that would hamper Oberlin's ability to offer financial aid "and to invest in our faculty, staff and campus," college officials said in an open letter to campus.

Ambar, along with Chris Canavan, Oberlin’s board chair, and Chesley Maddox-Dorsey, the vice chair, said the college last year raised enrollment. "But we’ve also had to contribute more financial aid, so the net revenue gain from improved enrollment has been modest. In other words, we are exhausting our pricing power," they wrote.

For new students, fall 2019 tuition and fees, along with room and board, are expected to be $73,694.

Raising tuition, they said, "only increases the demand for financial aid. It also adds to the financial strains on our students and their families, making it harder for us to keep them at Oberlin from the day they matriculate to the day they graduate. This weighs heavily on Oberlin’s finances."

The college has said that if it doesn’t trim expenses, Oberlin’s deficit could reach $162 million within a decade. It relies on net student income for 83 percent of operating revenue.

In its most recent audited financial statement, Oberlin said 97 employees took voluntary buyouts in 2016, with another 17 in 2018. It reported $184 million of outstanding bonded debt.

With an $887.4 million endowment last year, 186-year-old Oberlin is wealthier than most small private institutions, but far behind its wealthier peers -- colleges like Amherst, Swarthmore and Wellesley all reported endowments at or near $2 billion. For the past few years, Oberlin has drawn about 5 percent of its endowment for operating expenses, a standard distribution. Last year, that amounted to about $44.1 million.

Anonymous wrote:Where did the administrator go who was involved?

The Administrator that was a defendant in the case is now part of the “Senior Leadership Team” at Oglethorpe College. Not only did Oberlin not sanction her in any way, she retained her position and they lauded her as she recently moved on to her new job.

Great ethics that Oberlin is modeling for their students.

https://chroniclet.com/news/285648/meredith-raimondo-wont-return-to-oberlin-college-takes-new-job-at-university-in-georgia/