13 I The Blue Banner I 3J0.2011
Restraunt has right to
deny Spanish speakers
Alicia Adcox
aradcox@unca.
edu
Asst. Campus
Voice Editor
No English,
no service.
That was the message the
owner of North Carolina res
taurant Reedy Creek Family
Diner, Greg Simons, conveyed
to customers when he posted
a sign on the door that read,
“God bless America and all
those who protect and serve
our great country. We only
speak and understand Ameri
can.”
Simons reportedly posted
the sign after a few encoun
ters with customers who did
not speak English made his
employees feel uncomfortable.
When the situation sparked
controversy, he admitted it
was wrong and removed the
sign.
Many people may have had
the same immediate reac
tion to this story as I did; that
the sign is a discrimination
against immigrants from other
countries. But I wonder how
many people, like myself,
stopped and thought about it
and came to a different con
clusion.
As wrong as it sounds,
Simons has a point.
A lot of people who have
worked in the restaurant
industry, myself included,
have been that uncomfortable
server.
They have been thrown into
a situation where they had
to decipher the requests of a
customer who could not speak
English.
According to a report by the
United States Census Bureau,
released in April 2010, more
than 55 million people in
America speak a language
other than English at home.
Almost half of those people
reported speaking English less
than very well.
A study by the American
Library Association in 2007
reports about 21 million
people in America speak little
or no English.
So, that little sign posted
in a little family diner poses
a very big question. Should
businesses be allowed to deny
service to those who do not
speak English?
It is a controversial subject
with an even more controver
sial answer. Yes, they should.
The U.S. has a current
population of more than 300
million people.
By comparison, 21 million
is only a fraction of that. And
that small fraction should
not mean that the other 270
million Americans should be
required to speak and under
stand the multitude of other
languages spoken by immi
grants.
The ability to be bilingual
is an excellent skill that can
prove very helpful in today’s
society, but it is not a required
one.
It would make sense that
those people who choose to
come to America learn to
speak the national language,
and yet it sometimes is not the
case.
It sounds wrong for a
restaurant in America to deny
service to people who do not
speak English.
After all, the Statue of
Liberty tells us to welcome
the tired, poor and the huddled
masses yearning to breathe
free.
We are a culture of mixed
backgrounds.
We are a country that prides
itself on this unique charac
teristic.
But it also sounds wrong
that a restaurant owner is
being criticized for not hiring
employees who speak multiple
languages.
The sign was wrong, dis
criminating against people
who speak a language other
than English is wrong, but
maybe his point was right.
This is America, the melting
pot, but the national language
is still English.
Cops invade Grove apartments
Chris Fish
I cafish@unca.edu
1 Staff Writer
Ladies and
I gentlemen,
I everything you
I are about hear
is true. Only the
names have been changed to
protect the innocent, but the
situation, time and actions
will still remain the same.
It was a cold March 20
around 1 a.m. I had just
finished smoking my third
cigarette for the night, an
unusual number since my
girlfriend made me quit, and
I was standing outside of
a Grove apartment while a
party raged inside. It was an
especially loud party with it
being someone’s birthday,
and I was fairly surprised the
law had not made an appear
ance yet.
I went back into the apart
ment to see what all of the
other partiers were doing.
The main interest was a beer
pong table where numerous
drinking games were tak
ing place. A large crowd had
gathered around to watch
the tenth beer pong game
of the night. Beyond that, a
marijuana circle had begun
on a few couches. In another
room, people were playing
instruments.
Yes, it was a pretty typical
college party with only one
thing missing: a raid by the
police.
It began with a loud boom
on the door and the words
“Asheville Police Depart
ment” bellowed from behind
it. The owner of the apart
ment drunkenly staggered
towards the door and calmly
answered it.
The police said they were
here due to a noise complaint.
The owner of the apartment
said she would shut the party
down without any trouble,
but the alpha-cop of the group
was not having that.
He was a boorish looking
fellow.
He was around 5 feet 9
inches, a little overweight and
extremely angry. He began
screaming about how he
We were up to no good, but we were
not causing harm to anyone. We did
not physically hurt someone, cause
a national security risk or have a large
number of dead bodies under the
floorboards.
could smell marijuana, and
how he was going to come
into the apartment and teach
all of us a lesson.
The owner, with the most
courage she could gain, told
the alpha-cop she would
much rather talk about this
outside.
Redneck alpha-cop was not
having it.
He immediately put his
foot in the door so it could
not be closed, and forcefully
pushed his way around the
slightly intoxicated female
homeowner.
She pleaded for a search
warrant, but alpha-cop in
sisted he would get one as he
barged in her apartment.
To say everyone at the party
was innocent is an understate
ment, but I feel like the few
political science classes 1
have taken taught me a search
warrant is still needed to enter
someone’s home, no matter
what the police assume is
happening inside.
The Grove has recently
been victim to numerous acts
of the Asheville Police De
partment overstepping their
boundaries.
Students have complained
about APD walking up to
their windows and shining
flashlights into their homes,
looking around resident’s
vehicles without their permis
sion and coining into people’s
apartments without warrants
or a justified reason.
One Grove resident had
an officer from the APD spy
through his roommate’s win
dow while she was tweezing
her eyebrows. The cop as
sumed the tweezers were used
for grabbing a small joint, and
they forced their way into the
apartment without a warrant
or reason.
I guess they automatically
assume college areas are
riddled with drug use, prosti
tution rings and Vietnamese
Russian-roulette pallors,
so they feel like they have
the right to look in people’s
windows and come into their
homes.
Parties happen.
There is really nothing a
cop can do to prevent this
fact, and, with the Grove be
ing a predominantly college-
related apartment complex,
it should be no surprise there
was a rowdy party on a Satur
day night.
The night ended with police
searching through rooms,
tossing property on the floor
and hauling away partygoers
to jail for what was originally
a noise complaint.
We were up to no good, but
we were not causing harm to
anyone.
We did not physically hurt
someone, cause a national
security risk or have a large
number of dead bodies under
the floorboards.
We were just trying to have
a good time.
The police can suspect all
they want, but just because a
cop hears Middle Eastern mu
sic coming from an apartment
does not mean Osama Bin
Laden is hiding in it, and if
the smell of marijuana lingers
around a college apartment
building in Asheville, it does
not mean they can illegally
burst through the door like a
fascist regime.
As Jay-Z famously said,
“Nah, I ain’t passed the bar,
but I know a little bit. Enough
to know you can’t legally
search my shit.”
Grove, if you’re having cop
problems, I feel bad for you,
son.