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Dining Hall Workers Not Allowed To Speak Spanish Around Columbia Students Columbia University dining hall workers are circulating a petition against “arbitrary and racist policies ” that allegedly forbid them from speaking Spanish in the presence of students or eating in the Butler lounge during their lunch breaks. The workers in question staff Blue Java Coffee bar in Butler Library, the Columbia Spectator reports. Via Gothamist : Unsurprisingly, these rules have not yet been made public by Dining Services. The petition, which began circulating yesterday and was written in collaboration with Student Worker Solidarity, states that Vicki Dunn, the executive director of Columbia Dining, first announced the rules during an orientation session in August 2013. According to the petition, at the time workers were relegated to eating their meals inside a closet. A timeline in the petition suggests the closet issue escalated considerably this spring. According to the petition, the closet rule has been “temporarily reversed.” Here’s an excerpt of the timeline: Early April, 2015 : [Columbia manager] Hazel Clark tells Butler lounge workers that a student complained about trash being kept outside in the lounge area. Responding to this complaint, Clark ordered that workers move the trash to the closet, where they were also expected to sit when eating. April 13, 2015: SWS members send email to Vicki Dunn expressing concern about workers eating in the closet, where the trash was kept and schedule meeting to discuss the issue. In response to the email, Dunn emails Butler Lounge management rescinding the rule that workers should eat in the closet. April 15: SWS members meet with Columbia dining administration, who claim not to know about the closet rule. They do not confirm or deny the prohibition on speaking Spanish, but cite student complaints in justifying rules against workers talking amongst themselves An anonymous dining worker quoted in the petition reasons, “If it wasn’t for us, they wouldn’t be raking in thousands of dollars a day from Columbia Dining Services. They need to treat us differently.” Discuss….

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Hispanic Dining Hall Workers Not Allowed To Speak Spanish Around Columbia University Students