Oberlin College Experiences A Giant Inverse Protest

Fighting a stupid war

In February President Ambar announced that the College would cancel the contract with the UAW for dining and custodial services as part of a cost-cutting program. This caused an uproar from students and alumni who felt that this act of union-busting was uncalled for or worse. See https://www.learning-and-outsourced-labor.com.

Using the Unofficial, Uncensored Oberlin Alumni Facebook Group as a platform, certain alumni launched “The 1833 Just Transition Fund” to oppose the union-busting and help the many affected employees offset their loss of income. They have raised enough money to keep the employees’ pay intact for months! BTW, there really is an official, censored alumni Facebook group.

The 1833 Group gained support, filed for and is receiving 501c3 tax-exempt status, and encouraged alumni to redirect their contributions to the  College to the 1833 Group. The alumni response was overwhelming and big enough that the BOT should have noticed but probably hasn’t.

The union contract was up at the end of June, so contract re-negotiations were launched. The College had established a cost-saving figure for eliminating the union, so the union offered to make changes that would achieve that figure. The college refused to accept this offer, which leaves the impression that the College was negotiating in bad faith.

Many in the Oberlin College community pride themselves on never stooping to the level of business people. Most people in business understand that it is stupid to piss off a union unnecessarily, but some on the BOT and in the Administration are not businessmen. These folks are at the pinnacle of elitism in their egalitarian and progressive worlds.

The Giant, Inverse Protest

Professor Jacobson of Legalinsurrection.com has covered many stupid university protests, but this inverse protest may not interest him because it is too sensible and could bore his readers. Moreover, it is a subtle and better thought-out protest than having a group of Antifa goons shoot up and bomb the place.

So how does an inverse protest manage to fly under the good professor’s radar? One reason is it is not a protest (at least on the surface) but is a thank you celebration for their many years of satisfactory employment at Oberlin College! This type of “protest” gains support and sympathy in ways that a sick pack of Antifa terrorists could never match. The picture below shows all the “protesters” wearing masks, keeping some distance between themselves, and not threatening anybody or anything. Also, see news photos of protesters.

Some people at Oberlin have not forgotten decency and manners even when they are the victims of a pack of Neo-puritan ideologues. Had the BOT shown some decency, manners, and concern for other people, this mess would not have happened. The participants in this “inverse protest” have shown themselves to be much higher class people than those engaging in the vendetta against them.