On Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, a Facebook group was created named “Boycotting Colonial, Dos Rios, Stone Fox, etc.” amid allegations of sexual assault against the owners of three Downtown Binghamton restaurants: The Colonial, Dos Rios Cantina and The Stone Fox. The next day, the restaurants made the decision to temporarily close for what would ultimately be a monthlong shutdown. That Friday, on Dec. 10, a now-deleted post from The Colonial’s Facebook page declared the business would not comment on the “baseless” claims of sexual assault and “cancel culture,” and the Binghamton Police Department (BPD) announced its investigation of a Nov. 28 “incident” involving owners of The Colonial. The following Tuesday, Dec. 14, a march titled “Downtown Shutdown” drew significant amounts of protestors to Court Street to express their support for victims of sexual violence with an hourlong speak-out.

As of today, all three restaurants have reopened with normal hours of operation, and they are on a desperate rebranding kick. The Colonial Facebook page features a post from Jan. 7 apologizing for the inadequate and offensive response to these allegations, stating “that is not who we are.” The same post claims that the restaurant has obtained a law firm to assist them in handling the allegations from then on as well as an independent HR firm for employees to consult. Just recently, The Colonial’s Facebook and Instagram pages ran a “Galentine’s Day” promotion which would provide free dessert to all groups of girls who dined in on Feb. 13. The promotion quickly circulated on social media for its tone-deaf targeting of the same demographic it has so blatantly harmed. On top of this, their newly modeled website touts their pride in what they call a “top-notch work environment.”

Despite the extreme public interest in these allegations around December, the intensity of both the boycott and its supporters seems to have died down over the past two months. Part of this is due to the extreme lack of transparency surrounding the entirety of the situation. Other than some information about The Colonial made available in a separate lawsuit, little to nothing can be officially confirmed regarding the number of women who originally came forward with allegations, which employees were put on leave, who still remains a restaurant partner or investor, who owns what percentage of each restaurant or the findings of the ongoing BPD investigation. Such muddled histories come off as calculated or deliberate, and this is further complicated by the fact that Binghamton Mayor Richard David originally owned 60 Court Street, which is the current location of Dos Rios Cantina. While David has presumably done business with these restaurants, he claims he never had interest in ownership. There have still been no arrests related to these allegations, or, as BPD prefers to call them, “incidents.”

As it stands, the Facebook group that planned the December protest, which has been renamed “Binghamton Believes Survivors of Sexual Assault,” has turned into more of a space for the sharing of resources than stories. News of investigations have also been complicated by a recent lawsuit filed by Kristopher Kasmarcik, a former investor in The Colonial, against ex-business partners Yaron Kweller, Alex Jaffe and Court Street Hospitality Group, Inc. for allegedly forcing Kasmarcik to give up his stake in the restaurant over marital disputes. According to WBNG, The Colonial owners Andrew Urso and Jordan Ringden are not listed as defendants in the suit.

Another reason that students may not seem as passionate as before may simply be because the restaurants conveniently reopened during BU’s winter break. After multiple reopening dates circulated only to fail, the three restaurants all eventually reopened in early January while most students were not around to protest or speak out about the issue. Unsurprisingly, the B-Line that administrators ran from Dec. 10 to Dec. 17 in response to the allegations was lackluster, simply directing students to sexual violence resources on campus without commenting directly on the allegations. The Student Association (SA) did address the allegations and state their support for survivors in a comprehensive Dec. 13 Instagram post, but had not addressed the situation again until about a week ago in the form of a written email response to Pipe Dream News expressing support for the boycott advocated by campus and community groups such as the Women’s Student Union (WSU). Yet, the SA stopped short of providing its own initiatives or additional advocacy, even currently. In the article, Samantha Carroll, SA vice president for student success, said, “I think these businesses need to recognize that earning back a community’s trust is not something that happens over the course of a month. They have a lot to prove and it’s unclear if that is even possible.” However, the SA itself also needs to recognize that it plays a role in supporting survivors and helping students to feel safe, and needs to take additional initiatives rather than simply support a boycott started by others. This correspondence makes it seem as though the SA cannot take meaningful action beyond their Dec. 13 statement, but this is untrue.

It is one thing to state your solidarity with survivors and post a list of campus resources, but the SA has the ability to offer more resources and assistance to students and must act on those words. There are several initiatives well within SA representatives’ power that could offer support, whether those be programs for survivors themselves or even promoting alternate restaurant choices for the general student body to turn to while boycotting these establishments. Carroll has established quite the impressive reputation after writing the SA Congress resolution calling for the establishment of the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center (VARCC). While this accomplishment is beyond commendable, we merely hope she and other members of the SA will take additional action beyond directing students to this existing service. This is especially true given the recent change in the SA E-Board position title from “vice president for academic affairs” to “vice president for student success.” The SA clearly recognized that student needs extend beyond academics, and a failure to adequately make those resources known and accessible in the face of such allegations does a disservice to all students. The reopening of these restaurants warranted follow-up statements or initiatives from the SA to reassure students their stance has not changed.

With such an unclear state of affairs, Pipe Dream’s own investigation efforts have been exceedingly difficult. When covering the initial closure of the restaurants, the News team was not able to receive responses from ownership or upper-level management. The most communicative sources, from the beginning of the allegations until the reopening of the restaurants, have been student servers. Following the restaurants’ reopening, an interview request made to The Colonial was responded to by a member of a communications team, who declined to comment. At a time in which students across the University were expressing concern and confusion, Pipe Dream’s news coverage was only able to quote sporadic Facebook posts made by the restaurants, two of which had been deleted shortly after posting. Despite stating a commitment to change their perception in the community in the Facebook post announcing their reopening, the restaurants did not communicate with a media outlet that serves as a primary source of information for much of their customer base: students. In addition, when conducting interviews with student servers and non-student sexual assault survivors, nearly all interviewees only spoke under the condition of anonymity — if at all — at times citing a fear of ownership or concerns about repercussions. It was clear from each interview conducted that the environment inside the restaurants was not one in which all students consistently felt comfortable. This was most apparent when interviewing non-student sexual assault survivors, who had openly stated their fear of repercussions from ownership and management.

Clearly, the influence of these restaurants makes it that much harder to bring such businesses down. And while there remain so many unanswered questions, let the members of the Editorial Board be clear: new management and HR does not, cannot and will not make up for the culture of sexual violence and harassment created or tolerated by Binghamton restaurant owners. For that reason, we unequivocally advocate for the continuation of the boycott against The Colonial, Dos Rios Cantina and The Stone Fox.

While the exact timeline of events and their potential consequences may be ambiguous, the injustice is not. Putting previous employees or owners on leave to bring in new — and evidently ineffective — teams of people made to better market your sexual assault allegations will never change the fact that these allegations exist in the first place. Nevertheless, we wish to remind students that it is the owners and business partners who are responsible for this culture of violence, not the wait staff. While enduring our boycott will inevitably affect wages, students should not shame those part-time workers who are still employed by these three restaurants, as we do not know how their financial situations may impact their decision to work there.

Once again, BU students deserve a safe Downtown environment, being just minutes away from popular off-campus housing spots and a short drive from our campus. Eating out at a local restaurant should never come at the expense of student safety. For administrators and student governments, speak up on behalf of the students you work for. For students, money talks. Continuing to boycott these establishments is the best way to express both our values and our worth when protests and news coverage inevitably dwindles.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, harassment or anything related, the Crime Victims Assistance Center (CVAC) or the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center (VARCC) are available resources. CVAC is located at 377 Robinson St. in Binghamton and can be reached by phone at (607) 722-4256 for a 24/7 crisis support line or by text at (607) 725-8196. CVAC services are also available at the VARCC office, which is located on the third floor of Old Johnson Hall and can be reached by phone at (607) 777-3010.

Pipe Dream was in contact with sexual assault survivors who opted not to share their story with the media out of a concern for their safety. Those interested in sharing their experiences can contact news@bupipedream.com.