When a bouncer looks at your ID and says, “You have big ears, it will be easy to keep track of you,” do you casually laugh along with him or make a snappy comeback and risk being shut out of the club?
After a week of midterms, most students venture out to the local bars and nightclubs to get some R&R. As if the cold isn’t enough, students out on the town also have to deal with the aggressive and boorish attitude of bouncers, many of whom blatantly misuse their authority to belittle students.
The Brunswick House is one among many well-known established where students are berated by these “macho man” door personnel. Last weekend, instead of music blasting onto the streets, all you could hear was, “Get out of here, get out my bar!” as bouncers barred entry to several students, apparently at random. At around midnight last Saturday, one such confrontation took place between bouncers and a student from Ryerson.
“Put the money in the girl’s hand!” shouted the bouncer as the student tried to pay for his companion. Taken aback, the student asked the bouncer to “show a little respect to people coming into the bar.” The bouncer then grabbed him by the arms and threw him outside. According to a U of T student who witnessed the altercation from just inside the bar, “[The Ryerson student] wasn’t even drunk” and “the bouncer had no cause to throw him out.”
After the incident, the U of T student demanded his money back and headed for the exit. When he attempted to leave, the same bouncer tried to assert his authority. “I can do whatever I want,” he taunted. According to the student, the bouncer then grabbed him and shoved him down the stairs leading to the street.
Humiliated and outraged by the assault, both students called the police. Although the police collected statements from both the bouncers and students, it ended in a game of “he said, she said” and charges were not pressed against any of the Brunswick staff.
This is not the first time bouncers have touched a raw nerve with students, nor is it the last time they will get away with it. However, it is time for students to demand a little more respect from these garrulous gatekeepers. We don’t need the red carpet treatment, but we deserve something above impudent remarks and brawls instigated by bouncers.
