UBC outlines response to Sauder School of Business FROSH chant endorsing nonconsensual sex

by Travis Lupick on September 9th, 2013 at 3:02 PM

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The UBC Sauder School of Business is ending support for Commerce Undergraduate Society FROSH events.

That’s one of several actions the university is taking in response to an uproar over a FROSH chant that allegedly endorsed nonconsensual sex.

A September 9 media release outlines a number of other measures being taken by UBC.

“Starting this week, the Sauder faculty will be increasing emphasis in the curriculum on issues related to respect, dignity and ethics as well as the university’s respectful environment statement for students, faculty and staff,” the release states.

The university’s support for FROSH events will be replaced with other forms of assistance for Commerce Undergraduate Society “team building” events, “provided the School has credible assurances from the CUS that they will satisfy the university’s standard of appropriate student conduct.”

In addition, a “fact-finding” team will “look into reports of chants advocating non-consensual sex” and report back by Monday, September 16.

The story about the FROSH chant was originally reported by the Ubyssey student newspaper on September 6. That article included the contents of a message on Twitter that quoted the song in question.

That tweet reads: “Y-O-U-N-G at UBC we like em young Y is for yourrr sister O is for ohh so tight U is for under age N is for noo consent G is for goo to jail”.

Robert Helsley, dean of the Sauder School of Business, describes the students’ actions as “completely unacceptable.”

“What is reported to have happened at FROSH this year is deeply upsetting and is completely inconsistent with the values of the school and UBC,” Helsley is quoted as saying. “Based on initial information I have received, there is enough for me to conclude that the school should end its support for FROSH.”

On September 6, the UBC Commerce Undergraduate Society issued a public letter pledging to eliminate bad behaviour at student orientations.

Comments

4 Comments

Natty

Sep 10, 2013 at 7:48am

Maybe I'm too old to get it, but where's the humour in this chant? Or the relevance to the Sauder school? There are plenty of dirty or non-PC songs that have a laugh or two, but this YOUNG example is really stupid.

Ben Sili

Sep 10, 2013 at 8:59am

Next a ban on all drinking songs. Laughing will only be tolerated against Harper... But hey, be free, enjoy!

RUK

Sep 10, 2013 at 1:28pm

Just freewheeling here but maybe the intent of that chant was to say something so obscene that it binds the chanters through a shared taboo or transgression; that the very unacceptability of it was the point.

I hope that's it...if someone just thought it was a hilarious sentiment, that would show mental illness, to me.

Anyway, if froshes are required to perform humiliating activities, surely the sacrifice should be of one's own dignity, not that of underage females. That should be obvious. But then, it is also very hard to be the first to speak out against injustice; that is the nature of group psychology.