Evergreen Settles with Bret Weinstein But Admits No Liability

ashley.rae | September 18, 2017
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Evergreen State College has agreed to settle with Bret Weinstein, the professor whose safety on campus was jeopardized after he spoke out against the school-sanctioned “Day of Absence,” for $500,000 on Friday.

The saga began when Weinstein, a biology professor at Evergreen State College, wrote an email criticizing the school’s “Day of Absence and Presence” that instructed white people to leave campus for a day. After the email became public, students held protests demanding Weinstein’s resignation, who they branded a racist. Weinstein was eventually forced to conduct classes off campus, as police told him they could not guarantee his safety.

In response to the way he was treated by the university administration, Weinstein and his wife, who is also a professor at the university, filed a $3.85 million tort claim against Evergreen State College. The Olympian reports the school has now settled with Weinstein for $500,000.

The Olympian states in an email sent to faculty and staff on Friday that the school agreed to pay $450,000 to the couple and $50,000 in their legal fees.

Despite the payment, the email to staff claims the settlement means the school does not take responsibility for what happened to Weinstein as a result of his remarks.

“In making this agreement, the college admits no liability, and rejects the allegations made in the tort claim," the email states. "The educational activities of Day of Absence/Day of Presence were not discriminatory. The college took reasonable and appropriate steps to engage with protesters during spring quarter, de-escalate conflict, and keep the campus safe."

Evergreen spokesman Zach Powers said the settlement was in the school’s best interest.

“Years of expensive litigation would drain resources and distract from our mission to provide an outstanding education at reasonable cost to the veterans, first-generation college students, creative thinkers and future leaders who study at Evergreen,” Powers said.

Weinstein and his wife, Heather Heying, both resigned from their positions at Evergreen on Friday.

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