The Review

Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of Kathryn Kummer Students dance at the Little Caesars on East Delaware Avenue.

When sophomore Kathryn Kummer walked into Little Caesars Pizza on East Delaware Avenue last winter, she did not expect to find females grinding on the counter. But as she and her friends stepped inside the restaurant at 2 a.m., three girls were dancing to Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."

They were awarded free pizza.

"All of our guy friends were like, 'We want free pizza. Get up there,' " Kummer said. She asked a worker if she and another girl could also get free pizza for dancing. He said "yes," so they climbed on the counter.

"It's not like it involved any striptease," she said. "We were both in long-sleeved shirts. It's not something you wouldn't do at the party before."

This late-night dance fest is not an unusual activity at the Little Caesars near campus. Students hear by word of mouth that they can dance there for free pizza.

While many customers find the deal humorous and entertaining, others see it as sexist. The university's chapter of the National Organization for Women Campus Action Network is currently drafting a letter of complaint to the restaurant.

Little Caesars owner Clif D'Mello, who declined to comment in person, stated in an e-mail message that he does not promote any dancing at the store.

"We believe we are one big family and we let everyone who comes to our store have fun and have a good time as long as they respect our property at the store," D'Mello said. "We have gained a lot of trust from the college kids and we have got ourselves acquainted with most of them on a first-name basis."

When asked to clarify whether or not his Little Caesars gives away free pizza to dancing customers, D'Mello stated in a second e-mail message that "college students come to my store and do whatever they want and have fun. I think that includes both boys and girls."

Junior Stephanie Patterson, a member of NOW-CAN, said she danced on the counter one time, but quickly stopped. She said guys were staring at her and one was scoring each girl's dance moves.

"It sounds like fun at first, but it ends up feeling pretty degrading," Patterson said.

She said dancing at a private party is much different than being on public display at a restaurant.

"It's like 'Girls Gone Wild,' " Patterson said. "It's the same kind of transaction a prostitute would go through - booty for dough. It's always the women, too, you never see any men up there. They don't need to be sexual objects because that's how the women are expected to act."

Continued...

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