Philly charter school used as nightclub
PHILADELPHIA – Who knew a school cafeteria could be so much fun?
A space where hundreds of Philadelphia charter school students have been eating their lunches during mundane weekdays has been doubling in its off-hours as a nightclub, offering dancing and drinking despite an expired liquor license.
City and school officials are not happy about the arrangement between Club Damani and the Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, which serves about 450 children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said in a letter to Harambee on Monday that “a school and a nightclub cannot coexist in the same space and (the arrangement) must cease immediately,” according to a school district statement.
As a charter school, Harambee receives about $3.5 million annually in public funds but operates independently of the district. Officials at Harambee could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
A statement on the school’s Web site said recent media reports contain “slanderous and inaccurate allegations.”
Officers with the state Bureau of Liquor Enforcement visited Club Damani on Saturday, a day after WPVI-TV first aired a report on the building’s double-life. The segment included footage of liquor bottles and a YouTube video promoting the club in which a man refers to marijuana use.
No alcohol was being served when authorities arrived, bureau Sgt. William La Torre said Tuesday.
More Stories
USF won’t install more physical protections following recent on-campus suicide
USF will not be implementing additional physical safety measures over a month after a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, USF spokeswoman Althea Johnson said. The incident marked the third on-campus suicide since fall 2022. A week after a student fell from an upper floor of Beard Garage in 2022, […]
USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Related: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony […]
Photos: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Related: USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Gabrielle […]
President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights
Gearing up for the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden made a stop in Tampa to talk about reproductive freedom in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The speech comes just two weeks before the state’s six-week abortion ban comes into effect on May 1. Biden called on Floridians to vote for an amendment deciding abortion access […]
‘Genocide Joe has got to go’: Pro-Palestine protestors gather during Biden’s visit to Tampa
While President Joe Biden took 15 minutes to talk on the protection of reproductive rights in Tampa on Tuesday, pro-Palestine protests chanted against the United States handling “on-going genocide” in Gaza, and its alliance to Israel in the conflict. Related: President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights “The lack of coverage in the media […]
USF students can ‘Swap Shop’ their way into free items this week
USF’s Swap Shop is just around the corner. Literally. Bulls can stop by the Swap Shop, located in Holly J, to pick up some free items – from furniture to clothing. Students, staff and faculty had the opportunity to donate items for the Swap Shop earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday. But ‘shopping’ won’t […]