Perhaps a small-town bakery has finally gotten the triumph it deserved over a left-wing college that ruined its reputation.
The Free Press has followed the case of Gibson’s Bakery, which, as multiple courts have now determined, was falsely accused of racism by Oberlin College in 2016.
The College Fix, a conservative news website devoted to higher education, reported on Tuesday that the Ohio state Supreme Court refused to consider Oberlin’s appeal.
That decision should clear the way for Gibson’s, a family-owned bakery that has been in business for more than a century, to collect its $36 million judgment against Oberlin.
“On behalf of the Gibson family and the trial team, truth still matters, David can still overcome Goliath,” the family and their lawyers said in a statement, according to The Fix.
On the other hand, the administration at Oberlin said the college is “disappointed” that the Supreme Court turned down the appeal.
“The issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved, but for the entire Oberlin community,” the college said.
“We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. We will continue in that important work while remaining focused on our core educational mission.”
The Fix quoted William Jacobson, a law professor at Cornell University who had followed the case closely and weighed in on whether Oberlin could opt for federal court, after losing time and again in state courts.
“Several commenters mention Oberlin College going to federal court. That is a long, long, long shot,” Jacobson noted on his blog, called Legal Insurrection.
“The appeal would be from the Ohio Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. The likelihood the U.S. Supreme Court would agree to hear a case the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear is not zero, but it’s approaching zero.”
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The case began in November 2016.
A Gibson’s employee caught and confronted a black Oberlin student attempting to steal two bottles of wine. The employee, who was white, chased the suspect, and wound up wrestling with him and two accomplices, who also were black, before police arrived.
The three suspects were arrested and several months later pleaded guilty to assorted crimes.
Student groups, led by the Oberlin Student Senate, led the charge to label the bakery owners as racists. Meredith Raimondo, an Oberlin dean, publicly joined a boycott of Gibson’s and proclaimed them “racist.” pressured by left-wing students and faculty, the school severed its ties with the bakery.
Yet in August 2017, as the would-be thieves pleaded guilty to attempted theft and aggravated trespassing, they also issued statements, as required by their plea deal, that their actions were wrong and that the store was not racist.
Yet the boycott and the ill will from Oberlin continued. The college’s president even praised the protesters, saying he was “grateful for the determination of our students and for the leadership demonstrated by the Student Senate.”
Undoubtedly, Gibson’s will be grateful for his $36 million check.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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