It is a good thing that the uber left-wing Oberlin College charges $70,000 to attend, because an Ohio jury ruled yesterday that the university has to pay $11 million to a local bakery in a racial hoax defamation case after campus administrators wrongly encouraged protests of the century-old pastry establishment due to a supposed "racial profiling" incident that occurred there in 2016. But, as reported by Law and Crime, no such discrimination existed and it was actually the progressive students and the college who acted in the wrong.
According to Elura Nanos, "[t]he day after the 2016 election, three African American students from Oberlin College were arrested for attempting to steal bottles of wine from Gibson’s Bakery, a convenience store located in the nearby town square." But, before even hearing both sides of the story, the student government voted to "cease all support of Gibson's Bakery" and declared the arrests an instance of racial profiling.
The Oberlin administrators doubled-down these efforts and sent an email to the entire student body commenting on the "difficult few days for our community," that were due "not simply because of the events at Gibson’s Bakery, but because of the fears and concerns that many are feeling in response to the outcome of the presidential election." The email was signed Oberlin President Marvin Krislovand Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo and went on to say "We write foremost to acknowledge the pain and sadness that many of you are experiencing. We want you to know that the administration, faculty, and staff are here to support you as we work through this moment together.
According to Nanos, following that email, the college agreed to commit resources to determine whether this supposed transgression was an isolated incident or part of a broader culture of racism at Gibson's. In the ensuing days, "[s]udents began protesting the century-old Gibson’s, and people, including Dean Raimondo herself, handed out flyers urging a boycott because of Gibson’s long history of racial profiling."
Trey James was the employee at Gibson's who called the police and tackled the suspects he thought were shoplifting. He is black himself. At the time of the protests, he told Oberlin's student newspaper “If you’re caught shoplifting, you’re going to end up getting arrested...When you steal from the store, it doesn’t matter what color you are. You can be purple, blue, green, if you steal, you get caught, you get arrested.”
However, when the case went to court all three students accused of stealing admitted they did break the law and attempted to steal from the bakery. They admitted there was no racial profiling and that a physical altercation occurred. As a result, "one of the students, Jonathan Aladin, was charged with robbery, while the other two were charged with first-degree misdemeanor assault. All three pleaded guilty in public proceedings," according to Law and Crime.
Gibson's sued Oberlin for defamation due to their actions. Yesterday, a jury agreed that Oberlin acted in a way harmful to the reputation and business of the bakery and ordered the progressive college to pay at least $11 million. But, now comes "a separate hearing next Tuesday to determine whether the enormous verdict should be tripled to $33 million."
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