Oberlin College may face a very costly reckoning for its cries of ‘racism’

By Thomas Lifson November 12, 2017

I am cheered by a story from Friday that seems to have received little notice. Rachel Frommer reports for the Free Beacon:

Oberlin College and its vice president have been accused of libel and slander by a local bakery, the owners of which allege in a suit that administrators supported students in an unfounded campaign to paint the establishment's owners as racist.

The suit against the college and Meredith Raimondo, who is also dean of students, was filed on Nov. 7 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Gibson Bros. Inc., and owners David and Allyn Gibson, the Morning Journal reported.

The account presented in that local news report highlights allgations that could be extremely damaging to Oberlin:

The complaint arises from protests some Oberlin College students held in front of Gibson’s Food Mart and Bakery, 23 W. College St., in November 2016 as a response to three of their classmates being arrested and charged with attempting to steal from the store.

Jonathan Aladin, 20, Cecelia Whettston, 19, and Endia Lawrence, 20, pleaded guilty in August to charges of attempted theft and aggravated trespassing. Aladin also pleaded guilty to underage purchase of alcohol...........The suit alleges, despite the Oberlin Police Department releasing the incident report refuting the racial narrative, the college persisted in assisting students in protesting the store to bolster an attempt to brand the college as having a ”legacy of being a strong advocate for and a strong supporter of African American students and racial minorities.”............Read more