Black OSU junior denied entry to bar for wearing Timberlands
Apparently a white male wearing the same shoes walked straight in moments after
21-year-old Ronnie Birchfield was denied entry to Bullwinkles on Friday night for wearing Timberlands. However, he claims a white male was allowed in right after him even though he too was wearing Timberlands.
Ronnie, a junior studying Nutrition going the Pre Med route, got ready as he did on any other Friday night. He says he was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt and a black button up/ jacket with Timberland boots. Ronnie is aware of the dress code and that Timberlands are not allowed at Bullwinkles, but he said he’s gone in wearing them before and never had a problem.
This is the outfit he had on, with Timberlands, however he did remove his hat
Ronnie was waiting to get in with his friends when he was denied entry because of his shoes. However, he claims a white male right behind him in line who was also wearing Timberlands walked straight in moments after.
The Tab talked to Ronnie about Friday’s events and he said he doesn’t want to directly point fingers about race but instead is upset about the cultural appropriation and lack of professionalism on Bullwinkles part.
“Considering the bar is located in an urban area which happens to be on one of the largest campuses in the country, you’d think they would be more tolerant of diverse populations. Especially since we try to advocate for cultures to express themselves freely on this campus,” he said.
Ronnie claims he saw both guys and girls wearing plain t-shirts and boots but none of them were denied entry, and none of them were people of color. He also mentions the fact Bullwinkles doesn’t have a contact number so he couldn’t even get in touch with them about this controversial incident.
“Somehow those affiliated with this bar are able to publicly express and explicitly their dislike of “urban” tastes, even though they selectively chose when to enforce their dress code and who to enforce it on.”
Several of Ronnie’s friends witnessed the incident. After denying Ronnie entrance, they claim the bouncer let in a white male wearing the exact same shoes. The bouncer also told Ronnie his shirt was in violation of the dress code, even though he had a jacket over it.
DuShuan Headd, 21, who witnessed the incident said “Wow Bullwinkles is a really fitting name since you have to deal with all of this bull.”
If a bar is not going to fairly abide by the dress code to everyone then why even have one? Bullwinkles has gone on to tweet that their dress code “only applies to guys.”
Bullwinkles has not yet responded to our request for a comment.