Six years ago, in 2016, an Oberlin College student with a fake I.D. got carded by a clerk at Gibson’s Bakery. Unable to buy wine legally, the student attempted to shoplift several bottles. When the store clerk took out his cellphone to take a picture of the student, the student tried to slap it away—hitting the clerk’s face.
The incident devolved into a physical altercation between the student, two friends, and the clerk. By the time the police arrived, they found store owner David Gibson lying on the ground, while the three Oberlin students punched and kicked him. The police arrested all three students. Eventually, in August 2017, all three students would plead guilty to shoplifting and acknowledge that Gibson’s response was justified.
Six years ago, in 2016, an Oberlin College student with a fake I.D. got carded by a clerk at ... [+]
But that reasonable resolution came only after Oberlin College managed to transform this routine bit of youthful delinquency into a vicious attack on a local mom-and-pop business. Now, Oberlin is finally set to begin paying Gibson’s $36.59 million in damages that the courts have awarded the bakery for defamation.
When the incident first occurred, because the shoplifters were black, the Oberlin community quickly accused Gibson’s of racism and discrimination in a series of high-profile attacks. Gibson’s and the college had a longstanding relationship, students regularly frequented the bakery, and there had been no prior suggestion that the owners or employees were racist. All of that context was conveniently ignored.
The day after the incident, faculty and students lined a park across from Gibson’s to accuse the store of racial profiling. Protest erupted on campus, facilitated and supported by various Oberlin staff. The college stopped doing business with the bakery. Oberlin allowed the student senate to issue a statement declaring that, “A Black student was chased and assaulted at Gibson’s after being accused of stealing . . . Gibson’s has a history of racial profiling and discriminatory treatment of students and residents alike.” That statement was mounted in a display case in Oberlin’s student center, where it remained for a year.
Students and staff fanned a media brush fire that tarred the reputations of Gibson’s owners and devastated its business. Lorna Gibson, the owner of the bakery, has written movingly about the trauma the family endured due to the false allegations.
Ohio’s courts found Oberlin guilty of defamation. While the college has contested the decision through a series of lower courts (during which the initial jury award was lowered a bit, due to state law governing punitive damages), Oberlin has finally reached the end of that road with the Ohio Supreme Court rejecting its final appeal.
Why did Oberlin defame a longtime partner rather than simply confront three students who’d engaged in misconduct?
One former administrator wondered if Oberlin was simply fearful of angering students, musing, “A freshman from an East Coast big city might come to Oberlin and find there is little for a social justice warrior to do in a small town like this, so they get frustrated and make issues like this shoplifting thing bigger than it should be, and the school follows along.”
Given that the incident came on the heels of Trump’s 2016 election, campus officials might’ve feared further discomfiting the left-leaning campus community. As Oberlin president Marvin Krislov wrote in a letter to faculty and students, “This has been a difficult few days for our community, 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.”
But the rationalizations just don’t matter that much. Racism is far too serious a thing to serve as a shield that allows students to escape accountability.
Look, colleges are in loco parentis. That carries certain responsibilities. It’s admirable that campus officials want students to feel safe and empowered but that doesn’t relieve adults of their duties when their students transgress.
Oberlin’s grown-ups had an obligation to teach students there are consequences for misconduct and to help ensure that justice was done. Instead, they found it more expedient to defame a community business and ravage the owners’ lives. Well, Oberlin is finally paying for that mistake. Campus officials, there and elsewhere, should take note.
