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DOSSIER – In this photo of November 22, 2017, pedestrians pass by the window of the Gibson & Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio. On Thursday, June 13, 2019, a jury awarded $ 33 million in punitive damages to the bakery owners as part of its lawsuit against Oberlin College. The same jury awarded David Gibson and his son Allyn $ 11 million in compensatory damages last week. The owners of the market claimed that the student demonstrations had ruined their business. (AP Photo / Dake Kang, File)
CLEVELAND – An Ohio college was sentenced to pay $ 44 million in damages to owners of a market who said the school had ruined their activities by accusing them of racist prices. of the jury being "not the end result".
"We are disappointed with the decisions of the jury and the fragmented and sometimes distorted public discussion of this case," said Carmen Twillie Ambar, president of Oberlin College, in a letter to teachers, students, parents and to former students. "But we respect the integrity of the jury and attach importance to our relationship with the city and region where we live, and we will learn from this litigation by strengthening our relationship with our neighbors. "
The Ambar letter stated that the verdicts were "only one step on the path to a judicial process that could prove to be long and complex".
David Gibson told the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram that these awards constituted a "clear claim" for his family, their business and their reputation.
Oberlin College has long been a bastion of idealism. He began admitting blacks and women in the 1830s, became a center for the abolitionist movement, and served as a stopover at the Underground Railroad for slaves fleeing the South. Among his graduates include playwright Thornton Wilder, author Sinclair Lewis, singer Liz Phair, actor John Cazale and actress Lena Dunham.
But over the last four or five years, alumni have attracted the attention of conservatives who consider liberal arts colleges to be politically correct epicentiers. National narratives report complaints from Oberlin students about the cultural appropriation of food in the cafeteria and an assistant professor who, on Facebook, suggested that "Zionists" were involved in a plot to destroy the towers of the World Trade Center on 11 September.
Then, in November 2016, students and Oberlin staff members began to gather in front of the Gibson & Bakery to protest what they called the long-standing racist policy of the store after the arrest of three black students. A police report stated that one of the students had been confronted with Allyn Gibson, a white man, after stealing wine. The confrontation took a physical turn and the students punched and kicked Gibson as he lay on the ground, the report said.
The student caught in the act of stealing theft was charged with theft. The three students then pleaded guilty to misdemeanor and read statements in court stating that the acts committed by Allyn Gibson that day were not racially motivated.
Demonstrations, leaflets posted around the school denouncing the Gibson and the decision of Oberlin Vice President Meredith Raimondo, defendant of the lawsuit, to end Oberlin's long-standing business relations with Gibson, have put the case into economic failure, announced the lawsuit. Oberlin finally resumed its relationship with the market, but again ceased operations when the Gibson complained in November 2017.
Some former students are dismayed.
Jerry Helfand, a 1976 Oberlin graduate and commodity trader residing in St. Paul, Minnesota, told The Associated Press Friday that the news about Oberlin had been "brutal". The wife and daughter of Helfand are also graduates of Oberlin.
"I am shocked and disappointed with the verdict and very concerned about how it was run by the college," said Helfand. "It's obvious that they misjudged their relationship with Gibson and mishandled him."
Helfand said that he was rethinking the annual rite of sending checks to the school that sent him to the world.
"We have been giving for a very long time," said Helfand. "My wife and I will talk about it."
Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and former president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, rejected the argument that the Liberal colleges were "brainwashed" students and no longer of reason to be. But she added that Oberlin needs to reconnect with those who live and work outside his walls.
"They need to restore trust, and this requires being present in the community and listening to people's real concerns about what Oberlin is doing," she said.
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