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turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:27 PM May 2018

University official allegedly didn't like the music in a coffee shop, forced firing of barista

Britni Brown, who is Black, claims the school also fired a white co-worker not involved in the incident to avoid charges of racism.

MELANIE SCHMITZ MAY 9, 2018, 3:12 PM

A Duke University official allegedly forced the school to fire a campus barista who played rap music inside the store last week, despite the fact that the barista immediately turned off the song at his request.

According to Indy Week, barista Britni Brown was working the cash register at Duke University’s Joe Van Gogh on Friday when Duke Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, a regular at the coffee shop, entered the establishment amid the “afternoon rush” to order his usual, a “hot tea and a vegan muffin.” While Moneta waited in line to place his order, “Get Paid” by Young Dolph was playing over the store’s speaker system.

The song contains a number of “f-bombs” and the phrase, “Get paid, young n—a.” According to Brown, who was in charge of selecting the music that day, the song was part of a random playlist curated by Spotify, meaning Brown had no control over the specific selection.

When he reached the counter, Moneta, who is white, told Brown, a Black woman, that the song “was inappropriate.” Brown quickly apologized and shut off the music. She then offered Moneta his vegan muffin free of charge, which Moneta declined. “You need me to ring me up for it right now,” he replied, after Brown offered him the item for free a second time.


https://thinkprogress.org/duke-university-official-allegedly-forced-school-to-fire-barista-44f54ef46a67/


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University official allegedly didn't like the music in a coffee shop, forced firing of barista (Original Post) turbinetree May 2018 OP
Goddamn snowflake dalton99a May 2018 #1
Why is such an uptight, racist asshole Duke's VP for Student Affairs? SunSeeker May 2018 #2
+1. dalton99a May 2018 #3
"f-bombs" and the phrase, "Get paid, young n--a." left-of-center2012 May 2018 #4
The song was randomly chosen by the Spotify app they were using, and she immediately shut it off. SunSeeker May 2018 #12
A tough lesson to learn, but I agree with it. If you're in charge of the music that day, what does politicaljunkie41910 May 2018 #14
I totally disagree. The employee didn't deliberately choose that song. yardwork May 2018 #16
The article said that the Vice President was a regular at the coffee shop to get his usual order. politicaljunkie41910 May 2018 #29
You have a lot of facts wrong. I recommend that you do some more reading on this. yardwork May 2018 #30
Oh, so now you're saying it was the first time, contrary to your earlier assertion. SunSeeker May 2018 #40
This message was self-deleted by its author GeorgeHayduke May 2018 #41
You're making up facts ("wasn't the first time") to justify this decision. SunSeeker May 2018 #17
What facts did I make up? If you don't agree that's your perogative. You know what they say about politicaljunkie41910 May 2018 #23
That it wasn't the "first time." There are absolutely no facts to back that up. SunSeeker May 2018 #24
The only lesson to learn is that management can be chickenshit Major Nikon May 2018 #21
I really wish Spotify had an option to either exclude songs with profanity mythology May 2018 #19
Whose Spotify account was it? Dr. Strange May 2018 #35
Re-read my post left-of-center2012 May 2018 #32
Try re-reading my post and answering my question. nt SunSeeker May 2018 #37
Nah left-of-center2012 May 2018 #39
I wouldn't want to listen to that garbage in a coffee shop. SMC22307 May 2018 #27
Two additions though. SaschaHM May 2018 #5
Yepper, spot on the same "Duke" dude..................... turbinetree May 2018 #6
Wow. That dude should not have a job dealing with students. SunSeeker May 2018 #8
"You want to react appropriately" dalton99a May 2018 #10
Dude is a stone cold racist. SunSeeker May 2018 #13
So this guy. This overly sensitive dickbag is the same guy who said this??!!: Guy Whitey Corngood May 2018 #7
Yepper, spot on, same fucking dickbag................the very same...................... turbinetree May 2018 #9
It's like these assholes are born with some kind of hypocrisy gene or something. nt Guy Whitey Corngood May 2018 #11
his comment on being called a hypocrite Demovictory9 May 2018 #20
He still managed to say nothing. He didn't go after the rapper, did he. He Guy Whitey Corngood May 2018 #22
Sounds like Larry Moneta's tightass who needs to throw his weight around gratuitous May 2018 #15
thats crazy talk! high paid elite school vp needed to fire young powerless employee!!! Demovictory9 May 2018 #25
You don't know what this means to me, as a lowly African American barista working on a white suprema Demovictory9 May 2018 #18
Duke University is putting this all on coffee shop's shoulders Demovictory9 May 2018 #26
Duke's response is making this worse. yardwork May 2018 #28
This seems like a case where the barista should have been given a warning and that's all. jalan48 May 2018 #31
Could have been worse. Dr. Strange May 2018 #33
So it seems two people got fired over this ornotna May 2018 #34
Starbucks shouldn't allow him Corgigal May 2018 #36
I hope his ears did not get burned off... LuckyCharms May 2018 #38

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
2. Why is such an uptight, racist asshole Duke's VP for Student Affairs?
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:35 PM
May 2018

It's HIM that should have been fired.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
4. "f-bombs" and the phrase, "Get paid, young n--a."
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:39 PM
May 2018

I too would find that offensive,
especially in a public place like a coffee shop.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
12. The song was randomly chosen by the Spotify app they were using, and she immediately shut it off.
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:57 PM
May 2018

So if she immediately shut it off upon you voicing your objection, and she apologized and offered you a free muffin, like she did for Moneta, would you still call to complain afterwards, like Moneta did?

politicaljunkie41910

(3,335 posts)
14. A tough lesson to learn, but I agree with it. If you're in charge of the music that day, what does
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:18 PM
May 2018

that mean? It means that you are in charge. Something tells me that wasn't the first time music like that was played there; and if I was the Dean someone's head would have rolled as well. Maybe the young people there have grown accustomed to and immune to that type of language, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate for an on-campus college coffee shop. It was a tough lesson to learn, but hopefully both learned, or will learn something from it.

yardwork

(61,415 posts)
16. I totally disagree. The employee didn't deliberately choose that song.
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:39 PM
May 2018

When the customer complained, the employee immediately turned off the music, apologized, and offered to comp his meal.

She didn't choose the song. She was using a music service that randomly plays songs. I listen to Spotify in my car. Plenty of songs come up that o dislike. I skip them.

The better response would be to take steps to ensure that the coffee shop has guidelines in place for employees to follow. There were none. This is a system failure. Firing the employee does nothing to address it.

And firing the employee who had nothing whatsoever to do with the music and didn't even interact with the customer just shows how badly this was handled.

As of today, both the university and the coffee shop owner are falling all over themselves apologizing. People are furious. This was a ridiculous overreaction.


politicaljunkie41910

(3,335 posts)
29. The article said that the Vice President was a regular at the coffee shop to get his usual order.
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:26 PM
May 2018

This tells me that the language he heard that day was not something that he was accustomed to hearing. I assure you had he played this in any responsible workplace and the VP walked in, more likely than not, he would have met with the same fate. Young people need to learn to be responsible for their actions and stop making excuses when they screw up. Perhaps he felt the penalty was too harsh, and maybe he's right. But I assure you it's a mistake he won't make again. Perhaps it's better he learned it in the Duke University coffee shop/store than later in a workplace in a job he truly valued.

"...According to Indy Week, barista Britni Brown was working the cash register at Duke University’s Joe Van Gogh on Friday when Duke Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, a regular at the coffee shop, entered the establishment amid the “afternoon rush” to order his usual, a “hot tea and a vegan muffin.” While Moneta waited in line to place his order, “Get Paid” by Young Dolph was playing over the store’s speaker system.

The song contains a number of “f-bombs” and the phrase, “Get paid, young n—a.” According to Brown, who was in charge of selecting the music that day, the song was part of a random playlist curated by Spotify, meaning Brown had no control over the specific selection. ..."


SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
40. Oh, so now you're saying it was the first time, contrary to your earlier assertion.
Wed May 9, 2018, 08:23 PM
May 2018
This tells me that the language he heard that day was not something that he was accustomed to hearing. 


VS.

Something tells me that wasn't the first time music like that was played there; and if I was the Dean someone's head would have rolled as well. 


So which is it?

Response to yardwork (Reply #16)

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
17. You're making up facts ("wasn't the first time") to justify this decision.
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:40 PM
May 2018

It is Duke that needs a "tough lesson," and Mr. Moneta in particular.

politicaljunkie41910

(3,335 posts)
23. What facts did I make up? If you don't agree that's your perogative. You know what they say about
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:03 PM
May 2018

opinions; we've all got one.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
24. That it wasn't the "first time." There are absolutely no facts to back that up.
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:10 PM
May 2018
Something tells me that wasn't the first time music like that was played there; and if I was the Dean someone's head would have rolled as well. 

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
21. The only lesson to learn is that management can be chickenshit
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:49 PM
May 2018

No policy existed for what was or wasn’t appropriate and the employee was doing what they were told. There’s no way an employee can be expected to comply with something that was never even suggested. Firing someone for a minor incident is in no way reasonable and is clearly capricious. If it truly was a fireable offense they should have fired someone in management for not establishing clear expectations.

There’s other simpler explanations for this anyway.

 

mythology

(9,527 posts)
19. I really wish Spotify had an option to either exclude songs with profanity
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:45 PM
May 2018

or play clean versions. That seems like a really basic functional option.

It doesn't really make sense to fire the barista, given Spotify won't give you an option to filter that out.

Dr. Strange

(25,898 posts)
35. Whose Spotify account was it?
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:57 PM
May 2018

If this was one of those Spotify Business accounts, then I would think it would have that kind of option.

If it was a personal account, then someone was violating Spotify's Terms of Service, and the RIAA may show up to bust some kneecaps.

Okay, I'm kidding about the RIAA. (Probably.)

SMC22307

(8,088 posts)
27. I wouldn't want to listen to that garbage in a coffee shop.
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:23 PM
May 2018

That said, no one should have lost his or her job over it. Unless it wasn't a random playlist and the employee did have control over it...

SaschaHM

(2,897 posts)
5. Two additions though.
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:43 PM
May 2018

1. The song came up on spotify. It wasn't chosen by the baristas.

2. The snowflake that had the issues is a "Freedom of Speech is paramount" conservative who was defending the use of N****r by racists less than a month ago.

dalton99a

(81,065 posts)
10. "You want to react appropriately"
Wed May 9, 2018, 05:52 PM
May 2018
http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2018/04/racial-slur-written-on-300-swift-residents-door-overnight

Racial slur written on 300 Swift resident's door overnight
By Staff Reports | 04/27/2018

Shortly after a Snapchat with a racial epithet was exposed through Duke’s meme page, another racially charged incident has struck Duke’s campus.

A racial slur was written outside the door of a 300 Swift apartment complex resident overnight, wrote Janine Weaver-Douglas, associate dean of Central Campus residence life, in an email to Central Campus residents Friday morning. ...

Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, said Friday afternoon that he hopes there is no relationship between the two incidents.

“Wherever derogatory language appears is just distasteful," he said. "I mean, I would repeat some of that, that I find it terribly distasteful and inappropriate."

“I don’t have a plan for a major initiative,” Moneta said. “You want to be careful—you want to react appropriately and not just run around to do things that have no meaning. I think we need to just sit back and think about what is going on that a few people would feel like that was a good way to behave.”

“As far as we know, it’s just hit-and-run graffiti," Moneta said.


SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
13. Dude is a stone cold racist.
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:16 PM
May 2018

Racial slurs spray painted on a residence is a hate crime, not mere "hit and run graffiti." The fact that Moneta refuses to see that tells me he is a racist. Which also explains why he was so harsh with the black barrista over a much milder offense.

Demovictory9

(32,320 posts)
20. his comment on being called a hypocrite
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:48 PM
May 2018

Moneta, who has previously opposed efforts to restrict hate speech on college campuses, told the Chronicle that he was not being hypocritical: “To those who feel that I’ve flipped on my positions on free expression, I say this. The artist who wrote, recorded and performed the music is absolutely entitled to do so, however offensive I might find the lyrics.” (In an op-ed for The News & Observer, Moneta has also argued against the vandalism of Confederate monuments.)

ttps://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2018/05/08/a-duke-university-vp-walked-into-the-campus-joe-van-gogh-heard-a-rap-song-demanded-that-the-employees-be-fired

Guy Whitey Corngood

(26,481 posts)
22. He still managed to say nothing. He didn't go after the rapper, did he. He
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:57 PM
May 2018

went after whoever happened to be working there. And even after a perfectly reasonable explanation. Still decides to fuck these workers over. What a dick.

Now I would love to see that little whiny voiced chode Shapiro and that asshat Sam Harris swoop in and defend the staff in the name of free speech on campus. But I won't hold my breath.

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)
15. Sounds like Larry Moneta's tightass who needs to throw his weight around
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:25 PM
May 2018

And who better to push around than a young black barista?

Ready for a game of "What If"? I am. What if, instead of Larry Moneta, an actual mature human being (call him "Marry Loneta&quot had entered Joe Van Gogh that day and heard the song? Let's further posit that like Larry Moneta this human being had a lot of power and weight to throw around. How might this totally hypothetical and clearly non-existent person approach this very same situation?

What if, instead of being all pissed off at the lyrics, Marry had simply approached the counter when his turn came, and calmly said to Britni Brown, "Is that an appropriate lyrical selection for an on-campus coffee shop?" As she did with Larry, Britni apologizes to Marry and shuts off the music. Instead of being an authoritarian jerk like Larry, what if Marry said, "No problem, but there are children coming through here as you know, and as a responsible official of the University, it will surely come back to me if a parent with her child hears f-bombs and young nigga. I don't know about you, but I don't need that headache. Can I help you select music more appropriate to the University, its faculty, students, and visitors, or is this episode over?"

What if the lesson taught in this teachable moment wasn't "I can push you around, so I will, you're fired" but "Let's maintain an atmosphere that everyone can enjoy"? And then leave a $20 in the tip jar.

Demovictory9

(32,320 posts)
25. thats crazy talk! high paid elite school vp needed to fire young powerless employee!!!
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:13 PM
May 2018

he is getting slammed on his twitter account. lol

Demovictory9

(32,320 posts)
18. You don't know what this means to me, as a lowly African American barista working on a white suprema
Wed May 9, 2018, 06:42 PM
May 2018

"You don't know what this means to me, as a lowly African American barista working on a white supremacist campus."

said the barista

jalan48

(13,797 posts)
31. This seems like a case where the barista should have been given a warning and that's all.
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:41 PM
May 2018

Why fire someone over this unless they had been given a prior warning. The Dean sounds like a power tripper.

ornotna

(10,763 posts)
34. So it seems two people got fired over this
Wed May 9, 2018, 07:56 PM
May 2018
http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2018/05/what-larry-moneta-could-learn-from-young-dolph

I work in the Office of Student Affairs making $9.50 an hour and have been fielding the majority of phone calls coming in expressing anger and frustration over the decision to fire two Joe Van Gogh employees, Britni Brown and Kevin Simmons, for playing a rap song during their work shift (by the way, the song slaps).

Corgigal

(9,291 posts)
36. Starbucks shouldn't allow him
Wed May 9, 2018, 08:03 PM
May 2018

back into the store. It's private property so they can do it. Serve him the papers, let him play victim but this guy isn't worth the hassle. He's a person looking for a news story, or making himself feel important. Kick him to the curb, and keep your staff.

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