Oberlin College president says Gibson's lawsuit result has 'profound, chilling effect on free speech

[IsailedawayfromFR]

In a Monday morning news conference, Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar said the outcome of the Gibson’s Bakery lawsuit will have a lasting effect on the college and similar institutions concerning free speech.

“The notion that (Oberlin College) can now be held vicariously liable for the students’ speech because of its efforts to de-escalate the protest would have a profound, chilling effect on free speech,” she said.

Due to the recent verdict, Ambar said, many colleges will have to censor and have close control on what debates or speech come from their students.

A jury awarded the Gibson family and Gibson’s Bakery a total of more than $44 million, including $33.2 million in punitive damages in a judgment against Oberlin College, finding that the college libeled the bakery during and after student protests there in November 2016.
The news conference followed a letter Ambar released last week regarding the lawsuit.

The June 17 letter from Ambar, sent to Oberlin alumni, faculty and staff, was an introduction to a set of frequently asked questions to “bring to the fore the facts” of the case. The FAQ letter stated the college stands by the students’ constitutional right to protest the bakery.

The rift between the bakery and college started in November 2016, after a student attempted to buy alcohol with a fake ID and shoplift from the store. Bakery employee Allyn D. Gibson, son of the bakery’s owner, followed the student out of the store and the two got into a physical altercation.

Police stated when they arrived that three students were hitting Allyn D. Gibson while he was on the ground. Allyn D. Gibson is white and the three students are black, which sparked claims during student protests that Gibson’s Bakery was racist.

The students were arrested and pleaded guilty in August 2017 to misdemeanor charges, acknowledging in court that Allyn D. Gibson was within his right to detain the shoplifter and that his actions were not racially motivated.
http://www.chroniclet.com/Local-News/2019/06/25/Oberlin-College-president-says-Gibson-s-lawsuit-result-has-profound-chilling-effect-on-free-speech.html

I wonder how it was racist for a single guy to be beaten up by three thugs?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Another article:

Gibson's Bakery lawyer accuses Oberlin College of pushing 'alternative facts'
The attorney who represented Gibson's Bakery in a recent defamation case against Oberlin College accused the school of pushing "alternative facts."
His statement comes after the college president doubled down, vowing to fight the jury's verdict.

In an exclusive Campus Reform interview, Ohio attorney Lee Plakas, who represented Gibson's Bakery in its defamation lawsuit against Oberlin College, said that in the aftermath of the jury's verdict, the college is continuing to push "alternative facts," which, he says, suggests the college believes it is "above the law" and that the judicial process "shouldn't be respected."

An Ohio jury recently sided with Gibson's Bakery, awarding the small business and the family that owns it $44 million in damages after it determined Oberlin College employees used school resources to defame the bakery over a 2016 shoplifting incident involving three minority students.

"The fact that the college is doubling down and trying to send out its own alternative facts is interesting to me and disturbing to a lot of people"    Tweet This
According to documents obtained by Plakas and shared with Campus Reform, Oberlin College employees stated that the bakery racially profiled the minority students and that the small family-owned business, which relies heavily on the college community for its business, had a history of racial profiling and other racist activity.

"The fact that the college is doubling down and trying to send out its own alternative facts is interesting to me and disturbing to a lot of people because the jury heard the real facts over six weeks time," Plakas said. "The facts that they have now tried to circulate...if the jurors read those, my guess is that most jurors would say, 'well, those aren't really the facts of the case.'"
https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13374

I do not think the college is helping its case whatsoever.  Tone-deaf.

[austingirl]

 

[Bigun]

Seems to me the folks running Oberlin are absolutely committed to their activism regardless of its cost to the university.

[Wingnut]

Seems to me the folks running Oberlin are absolutely committed to their activism regardless of its cost to the university.

Activism has a price.  And we finally found out how much.....if it sticks.

[Wingnut]

Carmen Twillie Ambar, when you reach the bottom.  Stop digging.

[Bigun]

Carmen Twillie Ambar, when you reach the bottom.  Stop digging.

Apparently, the first rule of holes isn't part of the curriculum at Oberlin.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

It is interesting to read from its website one of the college's precepts is toward race relations and how to cope:

Recommendations for Coping with Race-Related Stress
To combat the negative effects of race-related stress and produce positive outcomes, consider the following:

Build a support network. Connect with others who have similar experiences and feelings which can help you cope with and address incidents of racism.

If spirituality plays an important role in your life, utilize your belief system as a way to cope with stress. Connect with others who share your spiritual beliefs, confide in your spiritual leaders, or participate in your spiritual rituals (e.g., prayer, meditation).

Develop a positive cultural identity and strong sense of self, which is particularly helpful in combating race-related stress and the stereotype threat.

Take classes that focus on the historical experiences and contributions of your cultural group and join campus organizations that celebrate your cultural norms and ideals. Visit the Multicultural Resource Center to start forming connections.

Make positive reinterpretations of negative thoughts and reframe negative situations with a three step process:

Become involved in social action.

Document acts of racism or intolerance. Don’t ignore or minimize your experiences, and think broadly about what could be an act of racism. It doesn’t have to be an overt act (e.g., professor consistently not calling on you or minimizing your contributions, curriculum racially biased, etc). Talk to someone you trust and report it.

Be strategic in social action. When attempting to change policy or procedures, it is important that you do this effectively by:

Be clear about what it is you want to see change.

Be clear about how you see that change being implemented.

Make sure you talk to the person/department that will most likely be able to get you want you want.

Be mindful about timing (e.g., when is it the time to share your experiences and frustrations, when is it time to work on change and demands, when is it time to negotiate).

Don’t work in isolation. Get a team so that the work on these tasks aren’t so daunting for any one person.

Call people out when you witness acts of injustice and intolerance.

Try not to get discouraged. Change doesn’t happen overnight and movements are a long process. Remember that you are one cog in the wheel, and your contribution, no matter how small you may think it is, is a vital component of the movement.

Don’t underestimate the power you have to make change. Student involvement has been instrumental in starting major movements throughout history.

The college is fomenting this type of behavior from its students and faculty as it is endemic to its identity.  No wonder they refuse to apologize for egregious acts.

https://www.oberlin.edu/counseling/specific-issues/race

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Seems to me the folks running Oberlin are absolutely committed to their activism regardless of its cost to the university.

@Bigun see post #8

[Cyber Liberty]

It is interesting to read from its website one of the college's precepts is toward race relations and how to cope:
The college is fomenting this type of behavior from its students and faculty as it is endemic to its identity.  No wonder they refuse to apologize for egregious acts.

https://www.oberlin.edu/counseling/specific-issues/race

They can't apologize, they have no other course than to double down on the lies.  To do otherwise would be to admit they're liars.

[Wingnut]

Apparently, the first rule of holes isn't part of the curriculum at Oberlin.

They did manage  to put the "A" in thier holes though!

[Sighlass]

The college is an enablier of bad behavior, no wonder it's students think it is ok to stick it to everyone else with impunity. Hope this bastion of communism chokes itself to death.

[goatprairie]

Virtually all liberal arts colleges/universities (and probably most colleges and universities) have for long time established a dictum that in a case of a white person versus a black person, the white person is always guilty. The white person is always a racist. Facts do not matter. The Cause/Struggle is what is paramount.

[Bigun]

Virtually all liberal arts colleges/universities (and probably most colleges and universities) have for long time established a dictum that in a case of a white person versus a black person, the white person is always guilty. The white person is always a racist. Facts do not matter. The Cause/Struggle is what is paramount.

Sadly, this is very true.

[Fishrrman]

I sailed wrote:
"I do not think the college is helping its case whatsoever.  Tone-deaf."

This is A GOOD THING.
Let them grow more and more "tone deaf", and keep diggin' that hole deeper.

How's it gonna look for them on appeal...?

[Cyber Liberty]

I sailed wrote:
"I do not think the college is helping its case whatsoever.  Tone-deaf."

This is A GOOD THING.
Let them grow more and more "tone deaf", and keep diggin' that hole deeper.

How's it gonna look for them on appeal...?

   I want to see them made an example of.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

An update on a saga that will leave you happy and racists crying

Appeals court upholds $25M judgment against Oberlin College
MARK GILLISPIE
,
Associated Press
April 1, 2022
Updated: April 1, 2022 11:47 a.m.
An Ohio appeals court has upheld a $25 million judgment for a business that successfully claimed it was libeled by Oberlin College in the aftermath of a shoplifting incident that roiled the historic liberal arts school and music conservatory's campus outside Cleveland.

The 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron on Thursday rejected all of Oberlin College's claims and upheld a judge's ruling that attorneys for the owners of Gibson's Bakery and Food Mart should receive $6.3 million in legal fees from the school.

The three judge panel also agreed with Lorain County Judge John Miraldi's decision rejecting Oberlin College's motion for a new trial and denied the store owners' claim that the damage awards did not sufficiently punish the school.

In a statement, Oberlin College officials said they were disappointed by the ruling. They said they were reviewing the court's 50-page opinion “carefully as we evaluate our options and determine next steps.” Officials acknowledged that issues raised by the case have been challenging “not only for the parties involved in the lawsuit, but for the entire Oberlin community.”

Store owners Allyn Gibson and his son, David Gibson, sued Oberlin College in November 2017 claiming they had been libeled by the school and their business had been harmed. The lawsuit was filed a year after David Gibson's son, also named Allyn, chased and tackled a Black male student he suspected of having stolen a bottle of wine. Two Black female students who were with the male student tried to intervene. All three were arrested and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

The arrests triggered protests outside Gibson's Bakery where flyers were handed out, some by an Oberlin College vice president and dean of students, accusing the Gibsons of being racist. A Student Senate resolution condemning the Gibsons was emailed to all students and was posted in a display case at school's student center, where it remained for a year. Oberlin College officials ordered its campus food provider to stop buying bakery items from Gibson's.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Appeals-court-upholds-25M-judgment-against-17051097.php

[Cyber Liberty]

An update on a saga that will leave you happy and racists crying

Thanks for the update!  I did not realize that was like 5 years ago. "Gibsmedat wine!"

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Thanks for the update!  I did not realize that was like 5 years ago. "Gibsmedat wine!"

The patriarch of the bakery has passed on, but am so glad to see the family continuing the fight to pursue justice and cause accountability on the school and its administration.

The Oberlin administration has learned nothing.  Its president in the aftermath of the 2017 hate crime against the bakery was selected due to being a social justice lawyer.  She is a racist bigot who is dedicated to turning America into a cesspool of hate. Here's her latest pronouncement on her website.  https://www.oberlin.edu/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity

This Presidential Initiative seeks to address issues of violence, police-community relationships, and racial injustices.

In her charge to the commission, President Ambar wrote:

The work of dismantling the vestiges of white supremacy, anti-Black policies, and gender inequality has long been embedded in the promise of Oberlin College. This work in the 21st century, however, looks different than it did in 1833. The work of this commission in part will help Oberlin lead in a moment critical to higher education and to the nation. This commission will work to evaluate our current programming, look broadly across our curriculum in both the college and conservatory, review our hiring practices, and examine divisional and departmental climates to identify areas for mission-centeredness and policies/practices that elevate our long-standing commitment to equity. This work will reflect the times and the issues that George Floyd’s murder invoked. This work is now more critical than ever as we look both internally and externally.

[Cyber Liberty]

The patriarch of the bakery has passed on, but am so glad to see the family continuing the fight to pursue justice and cause accountability on the school and its administration.

The Oberlin administration has learned nothing.  Its president in the aftermath of the 2017 hate crime against the bakery was selected due to being a social justice lawyer.  She is a racist bigot who is dedicated to turning America into a cesspool of hate. Here's her latest pronouncement on her website.  https://www.oberlin.edu/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity

This Presidential Initiative seeks to address issues of violence, police-community relationships, and racial injustices.

In her charge to the commission, President Ambar wrote:

The work of dismantling the vestiges of white supremacy, anti-Black policies, and gender inequality has long been embedded in the promise of Oberlin College. This work in the 21st century, however, looks different than it did in 1833. The work of this commission in part will help Oberlin lead in a moment critical to higher education and to the nation. This commission will work to evaluate our current programming, look broadly across our curriculum in both the college and conservatory, review our hiring practices, and examine divisional and departmental climates to identify areas for mission-centeredness and policies/practices that elevate our long-standing commitment to equity. This work will reflect the times and the issues that George Floyd’s murder invoked. This work is now more critical than ever as we look both internally and externally.

Leftists will never learn they themselves are the real problem.  Well, they can continue to slice off chunks of their Endowments as we go. 

[GtHawk]

An update on a saga that will leave you happy and racists crying

We can be sure that if race baiter Barry were still the resident he would have made inflammatory statements about the the appeals court ruling, I wonder if he still will ?

[Hoodat]

Seems to me the folks running Oberlin are absolutely committed to their activism regardless of its cost to the university.

This is correct.

[Hoodat]

An update on a saga that will leave you happy and racists crying

In a statement, Oberlin College officials said they were disappointed by the ruling. They said they were reviewing the court's 50-page opinion “carefully as we evaluate our options and determine next steps.”

Let me help you out with that.  Your "next step" here is to fork over $25 million to the plaintiffs.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Let me help you out with that.  Your "next step" here is to fork over $25 million to the plaintiffs.

That is what they should do as the community is against them and their radical behavior.  I doubt they will do that, though.

Meantime, they keep upping the cost of this high-priced radical college whose only apparent purpose is to train Marxists.

[Fishrrman]

The school will drag this out by appealing upwards to the Ohio Supreme Court (if there is one).
Another 2-3 years before they have to pay out.
(but they're probably never going to pay out, anyway...)