“Many of those who were up in arms contend that the girls knew the ‘n word’ was coming up in the song and all should have skipped over singing the word.”
A sorority at the University of New Hampshire has come under fire over a video posted to Snapchat. The video shows several girls in the Alpha Phi sorority loudly singing along to a Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” The video was posted to the All Eyes on UNH Facebook page—a group who says their mission is to expose injustices. The video is captioned with, “This is a showcase of ignorance and that the Panhellenic Council should do better in combating racism. The first step is addressing willful ignorance.”
Now college kids having fun at a party are put under the social justice warrior microscope for singing along to a popular song
Several Facebook users engaged in discussion under the comment section with divided points of view. While many claimed the women in the video were committing acts of racism, others defended their actions as harmless.
Sometimes I wonder how people make it through the day when literally anything can be seen as offensive. Apparently, the sorority is racist for singing along to a song containing the “n word.” The Facebook page claims there are somehow implications by singing along with all the lyrics. While I strive to approach arguments or debates with an open mind and listening ear, this is just insane.
Now college kids having fun at a party are put under the social justice warrior microscope for singing along to a popular song. The double standard here is not being upset that Kanye West used that language in his song to begin with. How can someone be racist for singing along with an artist who also uses the word?
If these sorority girls are being attacked for singing the “n word” as it appears in the music of an African-American artist, West should be put on trial as well. So long as influential artists continue to create material normalizing the word, there’s no place for anger or accusations of racism for simply singing along. Many of those who were up in arms contend that the girls knew the “n word” was coming up in the song and all should have skipped over singing the word.
The Alpha Phi New Hampshire chapter penned a letter to the university apologizing for the behaviors of the sorority sisters. The sorority denounced the actions depicted in the video and asked that the University of New Hampshire community respect confidentiality as the organization further investigates the matter. The sorority also added that they will implement education and awareness of social implications on communities on their membership.
Of course, All Eyes on UNH wasn’t happy with the hammer dropping on the girls shown in the video. According to this group, “UNH has decided to take the side of Alpha Phi and not the students of color who are most affected by this incident. The Dean of Students told students of color that UNH would be investigating the video. This is another failed promise to students of color at University of New Hampshire.”
That’s quite a stretch, seeing how the Alpha Phi sorority addressed the issue and apologized for it. The punishment seemed to fit the “crime” in this case. Now who’s going to demand an apology from Kanye West?
