Video shows a confrontation between the president of Rodrigue’s Coffee House – a student-run store – and Forham College Republicans. The store prides itself on welcoming diversity but asks patrons to be considerate of others
Members of Fordham University College Republicans appear to have cried wolf on a student-run coffee shop when they went with Make America Great Again hats to ‘test the unwritten rule’ of conservative discrimination.
Rodrigue’s Coffee House’s ‘President’ can be seen on video telling the group members that they needed to leave the shop on the Bronx campus in five minutes.
‘This says nothing about supporting political identities. This says nothing about politics and you have no right to do this’ a member of the College Republicans tells the President after she tells them that they need to leave, in a video posted Friday.
‘I am protecting my customers,’ the president added to which the cameraman retorts that they are customers.
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Wearing MAGA hats, the College Republicans (left) are told by the president of the shop (right) that they need to leave the store for violating their ‘safe space policy’
She responds by claiming that she doesn’t want people like that supporting the club and ‘no one here wants people like you supporting our club.’
The mostly white male members of the College Republicans then start asking for refunds as one of their members waves to the camera and laughs.
The woman – with assistance from the background – retorts: ‘you had some coffee… do not try to outsmart me.’
The mostly white male members of the College Republicans then start asking for refunds as one of their members waves to the camera and laughs
Michael Esposito, 19, then ask to take a picture of the policy as the president then points out that they now have four minutes and ask them to pack their items and leave.
‘You are trying to be threatening, why are you trying to be threatening,’ said the student.
‘You are threatening the integrity of our club. This is a community standard—you are wearing hats that completely violate safe space policy,’ the Coffee shop boss added.
‘You have to take it off or you have to go.’
The arguing College Republican member snaps a picture of the safe space policy
The College Republican presses the woman if the MAGA hat has a racist logo on it to which she yells ‘Yes it does!’
And the man smugly ask what the acronym stands for to which she added: ‘Fascism, Nazis! You have three minutes.’
Responding with seeing America on the hat, the members scoff at the ordeal and finish recording.
While engaged in the back and forth, the woman running the coffee shop handed the College Republican member guidelines explaining the Safer Space Policy.
The same member who waved in the camera can later be seen drinking from his cup of coffee, after having asked for his refund earlier
‘Rodrigue’s strives to be a safer space on Fordham’s campus. For these reasons, consider the following: Do not make assumptions about someone’s gender, sexuality, race, class, or experiences.
‘Be aware of your own identity, while being considerate of the personhood of your peers. Be mindful of the ways in which your words and actions impact others. Be aware of the boundaries of other’s space, physical or otherwise, and respect their consent.
‘No racism – No sexism – No homophobia. If you feel that someone has transgressed this policy, we want you to feel comfortable confronting them or approaching a member behind the counter, who is available as a resource to assist you.’
Speaking with Campus Reform, a member of the College Republicans claimed that the whole encounter was staged by the group to attempt to see what would happen if they went into the space.
‘We went there because we wanted to test the unwritten rule that conservatives were banned from that coffee shop,’ he said.
‘We went there and just started doing some homework and studying. Then we were asked to leave.
The coffee shop’s Safer Space Policy details was snapped by the College Republican member during the altercation
‘We are tuition paying students, therefore we should be able to use any building on campus that we want. This school is over $70,000 a year in tuition, therefore I feel that I have the right to go into all of the buildings that other students are allowed to go into.
‘I also have the right to wear what I want to wear and express my own political views.’
But on Fox News, College Republican member Aaron Spring, 20, told Martha MacCallum that the group going to the coffee shop to harass the policy was not the intention when she asked if they went to provoke the group.
‘We were just a couple friends going to get coffee, having a talk,’ he added. Spring can be seen in the video wearing a star tie and american flag hat while listening to the other College Republican member speak.
And while there seems to be confusion among the College Republicans as to why they decided to go to the coffee shop, the attempted gaslighting by the group did not go unnoticed by students in the school, with many rallying behind the coffee shop.
Fordham Students United, an ‘intersectional coalition of student leaders, activists, faculty & alumni’, condemned the demonstration and claimed that the gang of College Republicans tried to pull a ‘stunt.’
‘FSU stands with Rodrigue’s Coffee House and its community after this ridiculous smear campaign,’ the collective said in a statement on Saturday night.
‘A club having a safer space policy simply means that all people inside the space are held to the same standard of respect. Being conservative is not a violation of their safe space policy.
‘On the other hand, ten to fifteen people wearing MAGA hats and recording themselves walking into a building with the intent of getting kicked out as part of a publicity stunt certainly is.’
Fordham Students United, an ‘intersectional coalition of student leaders, activists, faculty & alumni’, condemned the demonstration and claimed that the gang of College Republicans tried to pull a ‘stunt’
Student Claire Del Sorbo said: ‘FYI I remember college republicans talking about doing this at the Roger Stone event, so there’s no chance in hell this wasn’t premeditated, don’t even come at me with “they just wanted coffee”‘
According to students in the comment of the post, the group has attempted to be incendiary in the past.
Student Claire Del Sorbo said: ‘FYI I remember college republicans talking about doing this at the Roger Stone event, so there’s no chance in hell this wasn’t premeditated, don’t even come at me with “they just wanted coffee”.’
Fordham University released a statement saying that the college itself has no safe space policy, and does not have one that excludes members from the Fordham community to public spaces on the basis of their political views.
They added that they are investigating the incident.
Tuition and fees at Forham University were reported at being $47,317 with the total cost of room, board and other fees rounding out to $67,457.
The private Catholic University has been under fire after students sought an injunction with the New York Supreme Court after the school refused to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as an official club.
They also received flack after a protest in support of faculty’s rights turned violent and video surfaced of a Fordham Public Safety official allegedly assault a student demonstrating.