Remember that bar near the University of California Santa Barbara which was under attack a couple of weeks ago … for daring to ask for alternate forms of ID from a couple of students?
Now, the UCSB Associated Students Senate has taken the bold and daring move of condemning Giovanni’s Pizza for its “unjust discriminatory practices” … and is advocating a boycott of the establishment.
According to The Bottom Line, the Senate vote was 24-0-1, the “1” being the lone abstention.
Two students, Oscar Zarate and Stephanie Periban, accused the pizza joint/bar of racial discrimination after their IDs were challenged during beer purchases. Zarate had tried to use his Mexican government-issued ID, while Periban her EAD card, an ID issued to DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — students.
The UCSB Campus Democrats had jumped into the fray, saying Giovanni’s “enforced racist and deeply problematic ID policies.”
The Associated Students resolution reads “It is unjust to be supporting an institution that condones practice of hatred against University of California, Santa Barbara students based on their personal identities and backgrounds.”
The AS will now “prescribe entities ‘to not purchase or give funds to purchase’ from Gio’s ‘until conditions are met and unjust discriminatory practices are not exercised.'”
One of those conditions is an official apology.
Senator Derek Yang spoke in defense of Gio’s, saying that it’s wrong to assume the worst intentions of someone else.
“Private businesses, they have the right to refuse service to anyone they want,” Yang said, “and there might have been so many other factors that went into this other than blatant discrimination. While I agree that discriminatory practices are disgusting and they should not exist, we can’t just cry discrimination every single time.”
Senator Grecia Martinez expressed that her responsibility as a senator wasn’t to pass legal judgement on who the guilty party was but rather to make a statement that shows support for the students she represents. Asking for physical evidence, she explained, is “really insensitive” because it places the burden of proof on the students at risk. …
MORE: UC-Santa Barbara students allege bar questioning their IDs is racist
Much of the contention surrounding the resolution involved the language Senator Steven Ho and Senator Andrea Reyes’ authored, specifically as to whether or not the Senate would be overstepping its boundaries by encouraging a boycott of Gio’s institution.
“This isn’t as big of a deal as we’re making it seem. By using the word boycott, we’re not ripping thousands of dollars out of Giovanni’s hands,” said Senator Stoddy Carey. Senator Reyes elaborated that the boycott wouldn’t be a complete attack on the local business. Instead, to her, it’s a recommendation that students support a different pizzeria in I.V. such as Woodstock’s.
“I really don’t understand what the issue with the word ‘boycott’ is,” said Senator Dhishal Jayasinghe. “This is a case of racism, and the boycott is temporary based on an apology. And again, it recommends, it doesn’t actually bar anyone from going and eating at Gio’s.”
According to AS member Felipe Recinos, it doesn’t really matter what Giovanni’s intent was — y’know, like making sure the students were actually 21 years of age so the bar wouldn’t get in any trouble.
“It’s up to the person to decide if they felt something racist towards them,” he says. “It’s not up to you, it’s up to the person who lived through that situation.”
So there, Giovanni’s!
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