“Y is for your sister … U is for underage, N is for no consent . . . .”
“SMU boys, we like them young.”
That’s just some of the lyrics sung at a recent pep rally freshmen orientation. It was chanted by about 80 students in front of about 400 students at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, and it was caught on film and widely circulated. The video quickly prompted campus officials to condemn the activity, the students and their activities director have publicly apologized, and those involved will now undergo sensitivity training.
Media outlets across Canada and beyond have reported on the recent incident, quoting people who called it sexist and offensive.
“SMU spokesperson Steve Proctor told The Canadian Press that a less sexist version of the chant has been performed on campus in the past,” reports CTV News.
The Star in Canada reports that:
Jared Perry, president of the Saint Mary’s Students’ Association, apologized Thursday for performing the chant with 80 male and female orientation leaders.
“We’re deeply sorry and we want to turn this around,” he told a news conference, as about 20 of the leaders stood silently behind him. “We’ve realized we made a huge mistake.”
He said they will launch an investigation into the incident and try to determine how the school can prevent sexual assault on campus, while addressing what he referred to as a “culture of sexism” at the university.
Perry added that the same chant has been part of frosh events since at least 2009 when he sang it as his initiation, with the lyrics being passed down on paper to orientation leaders. But he couldn’t explain why no one had raised concerns about it previously.
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IMAGE: Screenshot from video
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