The Studio4 Story From FASA President

As some of you may have heard, an incident involving CSA, FASA, and Studio 4 nightclub occurred two Saturdays ago. On behalf of the two organizations involved that night, we would like to share with you information about some of the injustices committed against us that night. We feel it is necessary for you as individuals and members of our community to know, as something like this could have happened to any organization, and very well may happen again. What follows is a condensed version of the night's events. The full story and important details of the night are attached and at the bottom of this email. It is a much more vivid account of what happened; please take a look if you can. We really encourage that you read the attached testimony to gain a better understanding of the whole situation.

On November 8th, CSA and FASA held a collaborative club night to celebrate their respective events, Celebrasia and Philippine Culture Night, resulting in the party "Illuminous". Turnout was a success; many members and friends of the organizations attended. However, poor business practices and discrimination surfaced at the end of the night, causing an altercation between the owners of Studio 4 and the two organizations.

CSA and FASA had been contracted to promote the party that night; the terms that were signed off on were that the two organizations would receive "50% of all cover charge revenue for the night." However, the owner had also cross-promoted with another entity, "Social Studies", and though the owner reassured that the cross-promotions would not alter the terms of the existing contract, he subsequently failed to adhere to his word and the contract. As the organizations came to collect their dues at the end of the night, he claimed that due to advertisement on behalf of multiple parties, CSA and FASA would only be entitled to payment for those they brought in. In the owners' opinions, CSA and FASA only brought in "50 Asians" as evidenced by tally marks on a clipboard from the club entrance. Their "official" count of total persons paying cover fees amounted to 111 people. The situation escalated to the point where the disagreement became physical, personal, and extremely unprofessional in the form of pushing, name-calling, and spitting.

It should be said that at the very least, there was a breach of contract and ethnic and gender discrimination in effect. It is unjust to assume that organizations centered on ethnicities can only have friends of the same ethnicity, and it is even more reprehensible to count people according to ethnicity at the door of any establishment. These are just a few of our concerns, and we are currently taking steps to address this issue on several levels.

As fellow A/PIA organizations and leaders on this campus, we feel it is pertinent to disclose this issue with you so that you may make informed decisions as an individual and/or as part of an organization. Neither FASA nor CSA will attend Studio 4, nor will we engage in future business dealings with them. This is not only about injustice, but about being taken advantage of and disrespected as individuals, business partners, and members of the A/PIA community.

Please pass the word along. Knowledge is the first step to awareness, and the consequences of failing to act against an injustice like this is a violation of everyone's rights, regardless of race or identity. If you have had similar experiences with Studio 4 management in the past, please get in touch with either UAAO, CSA board, FASA board, Steve or me. We would like to hear your stories and take a stand against injustice that unfortunately still exists today.
~Ashley