Denny's dishes out discrimination

Students say local restaurant is homophobic

Four Oberlin students claim they may have been the victims of discrimination at Denny's in Amherst.

According to junior Matt Newburn, the group was first refused service and then shut out of the restaurant. Newburn said that although he couldn't prove the incident was homophobic, he felt strongly that he and his friends had been discriminated against.

Outrage Oberlin, a gay rights advocacy organization, has held a series of meetings to plan a response. A meeting on Sunday night drew more than 20 students.

"To me it's obvious it was a homophobic act," Newburn said. "There's no factual evidence, but it's a gut feeling that you get."

Denny's manager Don McElhaney denied the allegations. "We don't practice that at Denny's," he said.

Newburn said he and Double-degree sophomore Andre Morgan, first-year Jose Mellendez and another student stopped by Denny's late Saturday night after clubbing in Cleveland.

"We were dressed in particularly outrageous costumes," Newburn said. "I was wearing a tight lycra blue shirt. We were definitely out and camping it up. The hostess said 'I'm very sorry, but we won't be able to get to you for a half-hour.' She suggested we go across the street to Big Boy."

According to Newburn, the students found Big Boy had closed. When they returned to Denny's, a sign was posted on the door indicating the restaurant was temporarily closed.

"It said they were closed for maintenance," Newburn said. "But there were still people eating. There was a woman standing in the lobby."

McElhaney said a sign would not have been posted on a Saturday night. He said he did not remember the group of students from Oberlin.

Senior David Lin co-chairs Outrage Oberlin. Lin said, "We'd like to think this is illegal. We're researching right now. We have a lot of ideas."

"If we do this right, there will be one hell of a lawsuit," Newburn said. "But I'm afraid people in Oberlin will get a little over-anxious and make us look bad, and make Oberlin look radical. It has to be very downplayed."