Cafe Prytania controversy resolved

Two male Tulane University students were told to leave Café Prytania after kissing at an Alpha Kappa Psi date party Oct. 23. The students then waited outside the bar for more than an hour before buses came to bring all the attendees back to campus. Both the owner Jason Comboy and General Manager Mike Twillman stated that they were not aware of the incident at the time it occurred.

Student and ownership settle dispute after last week’s incident.

Shortly after the incident, another Tulane student created a Facebook group entitled “Boycott Café Prytania.” This group drew much ire from both supporters of Café Prytania, and students present at the event. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign were contacted and determined that the occurrence was an isolated incident. Both organizations declared that the incident was in no way a reflection of Café Prytania’s policies or management.

Local musician Jesse Moore, a frequent performer at Café Prytania, posted on the Facebook page in support of the bar.

“If the boycott were really successful, it might eliminate Café Prytania as a music venue all together, which is one less place musicians can make a living in New Orleans,” Moore said.

According to Comboy, Café Prytania intends to hold a diversity training for all employees headed by a member of the Human Rights Campaign to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. Unspecified actions have been taken to deal with the employee, who acted of his own accord.

Café Prytania was unable to comment on the specifics of the incident. However, manager Mike Twill said that they are not taking the issue lightly.

“Tolerance and diversity are fixtures of the culture at Café Prytania, and the ownership is taking care that all parties are treated with dignity and respect,” Twill said.

The Facebook page calling for the boycott has since been renamed “Let’s Work Together to End Discrimination Against Gays.” Its creator called on the group’s members to accept Café Prytania’s apology and “join them in a dialogue of acceptance.”