Point by Kat Connors

With the new changes in the bar scenery downtown comes a new set of problems that pertains to Second Street. Dale Jacobs, owner of Brothers on Second and Players has added three new places to his possession of bars. Roosters, Two Bucks and the Holiday have now become School Girlz, Camaraderie and The Brat Cabin respectively. I have two issues with the new change in the bar scenery.

First, requiring female employees to wear a uniform as a school girl is disrespectful and demeaning to women while the male get to wear white tuxedo shirts and have no dignity to lose. Wearing school girl costumes plays to the egotistical male sexual fantasy. It is a uniform, and yes, the girls make good tips, but it is just as degrading as Hooters.

The second problem I have is the sale of brats at The Brat Cabin for 50 cents on Friday and Saturdays. Every time I have been meandering around Second Street there has been a stand run by a student organization selling a brat for $1 and two brats for $3. I have gladly purchased from the student vendors to support the people who freeze their butts off for a fundraiser and because of the love I have for brats. I have been on the other end of this situation too selling the brats until 2:30 a.m. It is a process that is easy to set up and execute for an organization that may not have many opportunities to raise money for events needed to build character in the students. Selling ultimately promotes teamwork within the organization and now that there is a cheaper way for bar attendants to obtain their brat fix.

Yes, I realize Jacobs has been selling food at Brothers and he is a business man looking to make a living but have some respect for the patrons that may be in an organization who has or hopes to fundraise on second street selling brats. They can’t compete with fifty cent brats during the peak selling times of the week and organizations were there first.

Counterpoint by Randall Stricklin

The changes being made at The Brat Cabin and School Girlz bars are not as objectifiable as some would like you to think. The first complaint raised against the new downtown scene is the fact that the female employees at what is now School Girlz wear uniforms that are well… schoolgirl outfits. While I can certainly understand how some might find this offensive and degrading towards women, there is a simple solution for people with these feelings: don’t work there. While some find it degrading to women, the women who agree to work there and wear these uniforms obviously do not. People are certainly allowed to decide for themselves what is tasteful and appropriate for their own attire. Whether they pick the outfit themselves, or simply agree to wear it for their job, they are still electively choosing to wear it, and of course have the option not to.

In regards to the second complaint that The Brat Cabin undercuts the ability of student organizations on campus to successfully fundraise by selling brats at 50 cents on Fridays and Saturdays, I have two words to say. Free Enterprise. The owner of these downtown bars has the right to sell brats at whatever price he chooses, and the notion that the student organizations can bully him out of it is ridiculous. If the student organizations can no longer raise enough funds by selling brats, perhaps the should try a different method. There are certainly other ways to raise money aside from selling brats. They can grill burgers, hold bake sales, or employ any number of other fundraising techniques. Many other organizations have held successful fundraisers without relying on selling bratwurst or discouraging the growth of local businesses.

Even if you don’t like the changes made to the new bars, there is no basis in an arguement that the changes shouldn’t be made. These new changes will enourage patronage and growth among our local businesses and generate more revenue for our local economy, which is always something that can be appreciated.