Diva Lounge & Tufts students
Dec. 4th, 2006 11:03 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
tricarbonate.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareAlthough the relationship between Tufts students and the local community is tenuous at times, I thought that community members should be aware of this editorial, and perhaps a dialogue can be established.
Editorial in Tufts Daily - "Racism at Diva Lounge"
[edit 17:55pm EST 2006-12-04: fixed link. Thanks philbot!]
Editorial in Tufts Daily - "Racism at Diva Lounge"
[edit 17:55pm EST 2006-12-04: fixed link. Thanks philbot!]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 04:32 pm (UTC)I am not a lawyer -
Date: 2006-12-04 04:33 pm (UTC)Threaten Diva's liquor license next time, and they may act differently.
I don't like that it happened, and that it was tolerated by the bar owner (who is probably legally responsible as noted above).
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 04:35 pm (UTC)Boycott the hell out of that place! I've never gone to the Dive Lounge because it's totally not the kind of place I'd want a pint and now I never will. Their restaurant sucks too. Drive them out of business, says I.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 04:37 pm (UTC)I've never seen anything like that happen and I feel awful that it did here in Somerville. That kind of behavior is totally and utterly unacceptable.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:16 pm (UTC)Perhaps the owners don't know what their lounge's manager is allowing? Perhaps forwarding (email or snail mail) the article on to the owners might make them aware of the situation.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:17 pm (UTC)A small part of me thinks the author should continue to go there, just to stick it to the management (and the management's sister). To rub it in her face - "I'm still going to come here, no matter what you say. It's your problem."
Obviously there's no way to do that without giving them money, and in the end, it's not worth the author's time to waste it on people like that.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:28 pm (UTC)What I'd like to do is tape a copy of the article to their storefront. I think we all should. Where's the closest place to Davis to pick up that paper? (Or I'll just print it from online.)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:43 pm (UTC)I've never had a bad experience at Diva. I certainly think their food is good.
I just think it is ridiculous, in a manner truly befitting Davis Sq., that there is a restaurant 100ft down the Street, with food arguably at least as good as Diva (and unarguably with better service), that receives only a fraction of the traffic.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:51 pm (UTC)For the record, I generally prefer the food at Diva to Namaskar, but I can say that after reading this I'm making the switch.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:57 pm (UTC)I think that it's unfair to try to take any measures against Diva based solely on this.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 05:59 pm (UTC)Re: I am not a lawyer -
Date: 2006-12-04 05:59 pm (UTC)indeed. After all, money is money :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 06:13 pm (UTC)"money is money"
Date: 2006-12-04 06:26 pm (UTC)get a response?
Date: 2006-12-04 06:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 06:48 pm (UTC)In any case, next time I'm by there (assuming someone else doesn't do it before me), I plan to bring a copy of the piece and ask for their reaction.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:01 pm (UTC)As mentioned above, I certainly have taken issue with service at Diva on occasion.
However, I am struck by the willingness to believe the words of one Tufts student's account, not just without word from Diva, but without any corroboration.
Sometimes, people have an axe to grind.
Re: "money is money"
Date: 2006-12-04 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:17 pm (UTC)....but having said that, Xuth has a point. Was anybody there by any chance, who could corroborate this?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:17 pm (UTC)Do you really think Diva's response is going to be anything other than a very politely-written bit of PR fluff? I'll even write it here, so we can compare it with the real thing when it comes out: Diva deeply regrets any offense or unhappiness felt by the letter writer. It is not the policy of the restaurant to condone racism in any way, and the staff who were present during this alleged incident have been spoken to.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:21 pm (UTC)Sorry, but too many people have had fabricated things printed in newspapers under their real names for me to take this on faith. The first example that comes to my mind is the UMASS Student who claimed to have been visited by the DHS for requesting a copy of "Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung" and carried by the national news media. This was eventually found to be a hoax perpetrated by the student. And saying you have witnesses means nothing at all until you've produced those witnesses.
I still maintain that Diva should have the benefit of the doubt until better evidence is found.
I should note that I'm not saying that I think the student lied. I'm just saying that there's not enough evidence to do anything more than feed a rumor mill or start a lynch mob.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:47 pm (UTC)I would seriously hope that the Davis Sq. community would consider an establishment or person innocent until proven guilty. As has been said elsewhere, instances of fabricated grievances are all too common, even when the name is given.
Moreover, any fabrication, if there is such, might not even be intentional or conscious. In the heat of the moment, sometimes someone says one thing and someone hears something else.
Regardless, I'd just like to hear corroborative testimony, preferably from parties not involved, before I accuse Diva of condoning racist behaviour.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 10:12 pm (UTC)...and yet people keep going back. I walked past there on Saturday, and the lines were unbelievable.
I agree with you on the attitude, which is why I moved on a while ago.
Still, I think there's a gulf between being arrogant and condonimg racist behavior. As such, even despite my experiences there, I just can't take this article from a Tufts student at face value without furhter evidence.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-04 10:23 pm (UTC)namaskar and diva correlation
Date: 2006-12-05 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 05:14 pm (UTC)I wonder if anybody got a chance to stop in and ask them about it. I've been carrying the damn article around for says but haven't been by while they've been open yet. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 06:45 pm (UTC)Who is the owner?
Date: 2006-12-07 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 08:39 pm (UTC)(P.S.: I think
no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 10:25 pm (UTC)