Dear Editor,
On Monday, Sept. 17, Rao’s Cafe was unexpectedly closed for an unknown time period — perhaps forever — in response to the shop manager’s use of a racial slur at work.
We, the student employees, were given roughly 45 minutes advanced notice of the shop’s closure via email that simply read: “Due to the unfortunate situation with management, we have had to come to the hard decision to close down the Rao’s Cafe at MHC at this time.”
On Sept. 7, Rao’s employees were notified about an incident that had taken place at work. Our manager, Patrice Crevier, had used a racial slur in front of two employees and two customers. The incident was reported to LITS Director Alex Wirth-Cauchon and the College’s Chief Diversity Officer Kijua Sanders-McMurtry. Crevier was asked to remain off-campus while the situation was discussed so that a plan of action could be made.
Over the next week, Rao’s student employees had to work extra hours and perform extra duties due to the absence of a manager. We continued discussions about the incident and the future of the cafe with Wirth-Cauchon and Sanders-McMurtry.
On Friday, Sept. 14, several employees had a meeting with Sanders-McMurtry and Crevier to discuss options. During the meeting, we expressed our concerns and felt a mutual understanding that Crevier’s return to campus would be uncomfortable and possibly unsafe for employees. In order to ensure the safety of student employees and customers, Mount Holyoke staff suggested Crevier undergo bias training, which she was originally receptive of. During the meeting on Sept. 14, however, several past instances of her harmful language and actions were brought to light. Because of those issues, Mount Holyoke decided that Crevier was unfit to work on campus and suggested to Rao’s Coffee Roasting Co. that she be removed from her position.
On Sunday, however, Crevier texted employees to inform us that she would be returning to work as normal on Monday. Student employees collectively wrote a letter to Sanders-McMurtry expressing our disappointment with this news. Part of it read, “The entirety of the student staff is deeply disturbed and severely uncomfortable by this communication and assertion by Patrice. Many students are preparing to quit and find work elsewhere if Patrice returns without any implemented change.” In response, Sanders-McMurtry told Crevier not to return to campus.Only with her help, as well as that of Wirth-Cauchon and other Mount Holyoke staff, were Rao’s student employees able to ensure that Crevier would not return.
In response, Rao’s Coffee Roasting Co. decided to suddenly close the shop without notice or a future plan. As student workers, we are deeply saddened and troubled by the actions of Rao’s corporate office. We asked for the removal of a racist manager, and it cost us our jobs. The lack of information about the store’s closure left several students without the income they need to pay for their education.
Instead of attempting to alleviate the situation, or hire a new manager, the entire location was shut down. Without Mount Holyoke’s recommendation that Crevier stay off campus, we feel that Rao’s would have happily hired her back, even after hearing her history of harmful speech. LITS is currently attempting to find a solution to ensure that Rao’s student employees may have jobs again.
Rao’s, however, is refusing to take responsibility for their manager, and has continued to leave employees in the dark. During the entire mediation process, the Rao’s corporate office refused to comment on or apologize for the use of the racial slur. Furthermore, Crevier continued to contact student employees during this time. The company has yet to apologize for Crevier’s actions or for the store’s sudden closure.
Through this incident, Rao’s Coffee Roasting Co. demonstrated that it does not care about its employees’ work conditions, and that they accept racial bias. The sudden closure of the store reflected their disregard for students’ lives, as well as their tolerance for verbal abuse.
Sincerely,
Lily Reavis ’21
Phoebe Long ’19
Isabel Crane ’19
Note: Lily Reavis ’21 is a section editor for the Mount Holyoke News. She co-authored this letter as a former employee of Rao’s Coffee Shop.