Following CUSA’s announcement to make Rick Ross the upcoming Pandamonium concert headliner…
And the allegedly pro-rape lyrics in Ross’s song, U.O.E.N.O, reaction from all corners and of all opinions has flooded social media.
GSA (president) Kelly Black waded in with this tweet:
The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) is also taking an opposing stance. They request CUSA not use the name Pandamonium, which they say is associated with the SFUO. “Rick Ross has gained notoriety through misogynistic lyrics including those that explicitly depicts sexual assault through drugging women,” the statement reads.
(Click to go to the statement)
Calls for CUSA to join the SFUO are heard.
A staffer at CUPE 4600, which represents research and teaching assistants at Carleton, takes a blow at the concert and Carleton’s history.
Calls to boycott the concert go out.
CUSA vice-president (finance) Michael De Luca stands by the student union’s upcoming show.
Some are outraged by the executive’s stance.
And more are outraged by the concert in general.
Some feelings are mixed. Some oppose Ross’s new song, but not the concert entirely.
Ross’s fans react to the mounting opposition, and do not mince words. The discussion even surfaces on Carleton’s latest anonymous rant board.
CUSA released a statement the afternoon of Mar. 28 explaining they did not book Rick Ross originally, but were simply selling tickets to the event which was organized by an independent promoter.
“We would like to re-affirm our stance that we consider the lyrics in question to be repulsive and uncharacteristic of the views and beliefs of CUSA as an organization and its members,” said CUSA president Alexander Golovko in the statement.
CUSA said it is in the process of selling back the remaining tickets to the original promoter, Urban Jamz Entertainment. In an Ottawa Citizen article published the night of Mar. 27, Obed Okyere, who served as CUSA president before Alexander Golovko, speaks for Urban Jamz.
The Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre released a statement soon after the CUSA statement calling on the student union to formally apologize.
Spending student money on this concert is “an insult to both survivors of sexual violence and to students who have fought for their tuition money to be spent on peer support services, consent-based events and public education campaigns,” said the statement.
By 4:35 p.m. on Mar. 28, CUSA was no longer selling tickets in the university centre atrium.
