Various students at Princeton University in New Jersey have expressed their disapproval over Detroit rapper Big Sean being enlisted as the main act for their annual Lawnparties event, according to reports on The Daily Princeton.
After student Duncan Hosie saw the Undergraduate Student Government’s (USG) promotional video, which reportedly featured Big Sean repeating the phrase “stupid ass bitch,” he got in contact with fellow student Rebecca Basaldua to start a petition against Sean’s involvement with the event.
“After I saw that video, I started researching Big Sean’s language and I found language that was both misogynistic and homophobic,” Hosie said. “We wrote an op-ed piece that we published on Google Docs [on Sunday] and wanted to see the number of supporters. Right now, close to 500 people have signed.”
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The petition reads as follows:
“USG Should stop promoting rape culture and misogyny by rescinding the offer to Big Sean to headline Lawnparties Spring ’15. In the future, USG should strive to bring non-misogynistic acts to campus.”
According to USG’s social committee chairman Simon Wu, the board generates a list of five to ten names which are subsequently sent to an entertainment agent that connects USG with the artists in question.
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“We send them to the agent and then the agent will get back to us with prices and availability, and this is a process that happens about six or seven times before we can find somebody that works,” Simon Wu said.
The Daily Princeton spoke with various students to get their reactions to the petition.
Although he believes it would be stupid to try and remove Big Sean this close to the event, Diego Negron-Reichard did say that the protests could help to reform the artist selection process.
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“I think it’s ridiculous to try to boycott Lawnparties at this stage, but [the petition] does open up the conversation for next year’s act and not bringing people that have a possibly harmful message,” he said.
Posters have been hung around Princeton’s campus in protest of Big Sean’s selection.
A picture of one can be viewed below (via The Daily Princeton):
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For additional Big Sean coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
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