Irony: Oberlin College, This Week
[Headlines from DRJ]
Earlier this week in punitive damages hearing:
The defense then argued that notwithstanding the Form 990, the college had cash flow and liquidity issues that would make a large punitive award difficult for the college. The defense compared the relatively poor financial condition of Oberlin College to other colleges and universities in Ohio. The defense argued that students would be harmed by a large verdict because the college might have to cut back on grants given to students.
Public statement after punitive damages verdict:
By now many of you will have heard about the latest development in the Gibson’s Bakery lawsuit, a jury’s declaration of punitive damages against Oberlin. Let me be absolutely clear: This is not the final outcome. This is, in fact, just one step along the way of what may turn out to be a lengthy and complex legal process. I want to assure you that none of this will sway us from our core values. It will not distract, deter, or materially harm our educational mission, for today’s students or for generations to come.
— DRJ
I so want to be a fly on the wall at the next Oberlin Trustee’s meeting.
Kevin M (21ca15) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:22 pmProles are free to think as they please, but Party members must have the mental capacity to entertain two (or more) mutually contrary beliefs at the same time.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:31 pmNice catch, DRJ. That administration seems to be an absolute clown car.
JVW (54fd0b) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:31 pmThere’s always Faber; where ‘knowledge is good.’
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:36 pm4. I hear the South Harmon Institute of Technology has great intersectionality and gender studies programs. 😉
Gryph (08c844) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:41 pmWho put that ridiculous notion in your head?
Dave (1bb933) — 6/14/2019 @ 4:54 pmProles in Oceania enjoy absolute freedom, comrade.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2019 @ 5:15 pmMeh. Two statements aimed at two entirely different audiences. Audience 1 being the judge and potential appellate judges, Audience 2 being most everyone else.
I so want to be a fly on the wall at the next Oberlin Trustee’s meeting.
I would be the fly on the other wall.
Kishnevi (378575) — 6/14/2019 @ 5:29 pmThe purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought — that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc — should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and by stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meanings whatever. To give a single example. The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ‘This dog is free from lice’ or ‘This field is free from weeds’. It could not be used in its old sense of ‘politically free’ or ‘intellectually free’ since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/14/2019 @ 5:33 pm– George Orwell, The Principles of Newspeak
Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods.
….
The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ‘This dog is free from lice’ or ‘This field is free from weeds’.
You are making progress, comrade. Now, one more time: How many fingers am I holding up?
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2019 @ 5:51 pmI would most definitely be rotflmao if I could.
mg (8cbc69) — 6/14/2019 @ 7:47 pm
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2019 @ 8:36 amTheSome kids are all right.RIP – Franco Zeffirelli
harkin (b7bcc1) — 6/15/2019 @ 8:49 am12, work permit? Is that a thing for under 18s in California, or is she of mixed status/commutes in from TJ? (shes a “Haiku kid” but perhaps a stronger accent)
urbanleftbehind (77ec94) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:18 amIf you look up Oberlin’s F/S you’ll learn that:
1) They gave $64 million in student aid per year. This includes a large amount of Discounted Tuition.
2) They have $258 million in UNRESTRICTED ENDOWMENTS.
3) They have a total endowment of $900 million
4) They have an operating budget of $184 million.
IOW, the idea they can’t afford $33 million is ridiculous.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:24 am12, work permit? Is that a thing for under 18s in California,
Under 16 in Illinois.
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:31 amThomas Sowell wrote a wonderful book called “The Vision of the Anointed” some years ago. It helps explain the bizarre “cluelessness” of some academic administrators. They are so certain that they are cosmically correct that it is like they don’t hear the funeral march.
In my experience, any Board of Trustees tends to be more reality based. It is clear, for example, that several administrators and faculty members directly ginned up the student mob, and were aware they were doing so. So their “politics” is going to cost Oberlin a LOT of money. My guess is that those people will shortly be promoted to positions outside of Ohio.
But no one—not one person—at Oberlin will admit wrongdoing. Endowments and cash flow talk. And bad publicity leads to fewer enrollments…even for politically progressive types.
Simon Jester (22ef00) — 6/15/2019 @ 11:52 am15. rcocean (1a839e) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:24 am
The question is:
How much did they give (or collect for) the student government?
(They can say they gave nothing and all the money the student government has is collected from student activity fees, but they probably reimbrse he stdents for that or make sure it’s included in the student loans.)
Because that’s the root of the problem.
The student government is most probably a political machine (tied into some faculty) that spends money in ways that redound to the benefit of the people who are in charge of making decisions about how to disburse the money; that gets re-elected, or gets its allies in the next classes elected because of low turnout and a small group of highly motivated voters, and that part of what builds up its base of support, is that it defends shoplifters – and how!
All disguised by a patina of ideology, so you can think all this is about something else other than political corruption.
Sammy Finkelman (d542b2) — 6/15/2019 @ 8:00 pmIts always humorous how the Center-Right always believes that the Liberal Grown-ups are going to step in and stop all this childish SJW nonsense – why heads are going to roll over this $33 million blunder because money.
Nope. There are no “Grownups” and they don’t care about money. No one will be punished for this. Even is Oberlin ends up paying the $33 million, the liberal trustees will pride themselves on the Not giving in to hate and will continue to support the SJW Policies that resulted in this craziness.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/16/2019 @ 1:49 pmIts like all the liberatrians and their “Muh free market nonsense” – CNN’s reputation is in the dumpster. Its rating have gotten so low, its a joke. So why is Zucker still in charge? Why hasn’t CNN changed in coverage? Why is it doubling down?
The Free market has spoken and CNN doesn’t care. Gee, its almost like the people who own CNN don’t care about $$.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/16/2019 @ 1:52 pmAre you boycotting AT&T, rcocean? Have any AT&T cellphones?
DRJ (15874d) — 6/16/2019 @ 1:57 pm