Student DJ holds second silent protest of Deep End's Country Night

Deep End Bar is beginning to grow another group of regulars on Tuesday nights. But these students aren't there for “Country Night.”

A second silent protest of Deep End's “Country Night,” was held Tuesday night at the Peace and Justice Plaza on the corner of Franklin and Henderson Streets.

The protest, led by UNC senior and disc jockey Trevor Dougherty, drew nine participants and is the latest action in an ongoing campaign against clubs and bars that use different admission rates or policies for men and women.

Dougherty began the campaign with fellow student DJ and UNC senior Rob Sekay in August, and has since been featured on HuffPost Live and Fox News for his views on what he calls sexist bar culture.

Deep End's Tuesday night “Country Nights” feature a $3 cover charge for female patrons aged 21 and over and a $7 charge for male patrons aged 21 and over. For students aged 18 and over, the bar charges a $5 cover charge for women and a $10 cover for men.

Dougherty said a lot has changed since his first Deep End protest. 

“I think we’ll all be coming at it with a lot more confidence,” he said. 

“We’ve seen national media respond to these ideas, so we know that whether it's positive or negative, these ideas resonate with a lot of people, and that these ideas are powerful.” 

Dougherty and Co. held the first “Country Night” protest outside of Deep End on Sept. 16, but didn’t attain the participation they were looking for, drawing less than half a dozen protesters.  

While the previous protest relied on a Facebook event group to get the word out, Dougherty said this time around he's spread his voice through other media platforms to publicize the event, including Twitter, Instagram and even Snapchat.  

Aimee Bromwich Wickham, a junior political science major, was one of the protesters. She heard about the second protest through a mutual friend, and the cause sparked her interest.  

“I’ve always identified as a feminist, and I do find it a really interesting concept,” she said. 

Bromwich Wickham said though she has attended ladies' nights at clubs and bars in the past, Dougherty's campaign has caused her to think more critically about the practice.

“I think if I’ve gone to clubs in the past, it’s been just to go there,” she said. 

“I think from now on I would give it extra consideration just because it’s been brought to my attention, which I think is one of the great things about this project.”

Tuesday night's protest drew nine participants, this time donning signs that read, “I am a woman, not your prey,” “Drunk women, $5 a piece” and “Stop the objectification of women.”

Protesters also handed out fliers outlining their campaign and goals to people on the street and those headed toward Deep End. 

Jamie Lee, a 28-year-old resident of Stem, N.C., drives 45 minutes on Tuesdays to attend “Country Night” because she believes it's the best place to enjoy authentic country music in a fun environment.  

“I come out here to listen to country music, that's it,” she said. “The people here are here to sit, enjoy beer, talk and hang out.” 

Lee's friend, UNC alumna Sam Hodges, said though she understands where the protestors are coming from, she doesn't see these practices as problematic.

“I've never seen guys be creepy in Deep End — this is a good environment.” she said. “And girls are still going to go out for ladies' nights no matter how many activists there are.”

arts@dailytarheel.com