UBC frosh-week chant leads to Commerce Undergraduate Society promise of better conduct

The Ubyssey student newspaper has revealed what set off the controversy

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      In a  public letter released to the Sauder School of Business and the UBC community, the Commerce Undergraduate Society has pledged to eliminate bad behaviour at student orientations.

      The letter—signed by CUS president Enzo Wo, vice president of engagement Gillian Ong, and FROSH cochairs Jacqueline Chen and Jonathan Li—states that the society has "always held a no-tolerance stance regarding activities and behaviour that condone harmful actions towards our students in any way".

      "It is difficult to determine to what exent inappropriate activities may have taken place in past years, but we will be taking all feasible steps going forward to ensure all unacceptable behaviour is fully eradicated from our orientation events".

      Ubyssey student newspaper reporter Arno Rosenfeld revealed a tweet allegedly from the @_Emmski account saying an actual UBC cheer included these words:

      “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.”

      The tweets on the @_Emmski account are protected, so this wasn't visible to the Straight at the time of this writing.

      The UBC controversy has erupted in the wake of a national news story involving a frosh-week orientation cheer at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. There, students used similar words—the only difference being that the letter "G" was for "grab that ass", not "goo to jail".

      The chant at Saint Mary's University that created a national uproar.

      According to the Ubyssey article, the Sauder School of Business's assistant dean, Pam Lim, has issued a written statement saying that a cheer along these lines is "completely inconsistent" with the school's values.

      Comments

      12 Comments

      BS

      Sep 6, 2013 at 9:32pm

      This is such bullshit. There are way worse things that happen at FROSH across the country, not just at UBC and not just at Sauder. Just because someone has caught it and posted it on social media this has blown way out of proportion. Those who have attended any FROSH event would understand.

      Just a woman

      Sep 6, 2013 at 11:40pm

      Actually BS, this chant creates an atmosphere of collusion towards sexual violence in a large group setting. How might someone who has experienced this type of abuse (ie non-consensual sexual activity or rape) feel if the organization they were joining as an first year university student was encouraging their members to chant about possibly the worst experience of their life? It's kind of a big deal, there should be an apology, and it needs to stop.

      BIG WIG

      Sep 7, 2013 at 12:54am

      Girl hating . The abuse of children , mostly female children . According to my ethos the lowest most vile part of life here on earth.And look at the girls taking part in this sexist mantra ! Words fail me .I am an old white guy who has seen this too many times.

      Know it all

      Sep 7, 2013 at 1:11am

      This kind of behaviour at UBC isn't new. This has happened multiple times in the past, especially at Sauder with some of the events that they run. This incident just happened to get picked up by the Straight (and good on you for doing so). If nothing is done this time, it will continue in the future.

      Hazlit

      Sep 7, 2013 at 8:29am

      Commerce? These are business students. I'm not AT ALL surprised. They're in the business of treating other people like numbers on a P & L statement.

      Kim

      Sep 7, 2013 at 9:41am

      Things are being done by both faculty and students at UBC - we are especially disappointed in the response from Sauder and from students involved who suggest (in the original Ubyssey article) that it's okay to promote rape as long as it's done privately and the larger attitude of "we have no control so what can be done".... that is unacceptable.

      Candace

      Sep 7, 2013 at 9:48am

      If it were up to me, the 'leaders' [and I use this term loosely] who thought this was OK would be finishing their education at a community college. End of story.

      Won Hung Lo

      Sep 7, 2013 at 11:16am

      Frosh chants that affirm the most negative thoughts and darkest actions of man, have no use in a civilized society. Good for UBC.

      Chris

      Sep 7, 2013 at 1:54pm

      Morons. Who are the losers raising these little assholes, anyway?

      Maybe Not

      Sep 7, 2013 at 2:32pm

      Apparently from the down votes on your attitude expressed here (and massive downvotes on similar comments posted elsewhere) says the public doesn't agree with you.

      This kind of defensiveness screams clueless or indoctrination. You are doing nothing to help your school's reputation. Don't you know that to most mature adults, cries of 'it was just a joke' or 'lighten up' is exactly what misogynists and racists always cry when they are called out for their inappropriate behavior. Can you imagine the uproar of your chants promoted racism against Chinese students? Do you get it now?

      This is truly shameful. And the fact that you don't even get it speaks volumes about yet another big problem with the culture and education of Sauder students. Thanks a lot, I'm embarassed to be associated with you.