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Thread: Jarod's school appropriating culture

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    Default Jarod's school appropriating culture

    Dammit Jarod, your school is ruining society for everyone. Words have meanings.




    A fraternity was told it was ‘appropriating culture.’ Administrators won’t say which.


    Don’t blame college students for their hostility to free expression. The fault ultimately lies with cowardly school administrations, who so often cave to student demands for censorship. Or as some now prefer to call it, “empowering a culture of controversy prevention.”

    Those are the actual, Orwellian words of an official at American University.

    Several weeks ago, a fraternity at AU, Sigma Alpha Mu, began planning a fundraiser for a veterans’ organization. Student groups often center fundraisers on athletic tournaments, fraternity president and sophomore Rocco Cimino told me, but all the popular sports had already been claimed. The fraternity members decided to go with . . . badminton.

    To jazz things up, they called their event “Bad(minton) and Boujee.” It’s a pun on “Bad and Boujee,” a popular rap song by the group Migos about being newly rich and hanging with materialistic women. Sigma Alpha Mu registered the fundraiser on American’s online scheduling system, required for all campus events.

    A few days later Cimino got a strange email from the school.

    Colin Gerker, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life, said the word “boujee” might be criticized for “appropriating culture.” He would not approve the event unless the fraternity changed the name.

    “I want to continue empowering a culture of controversy prevention among [Greek] groups,” Gerker wrote. He advised them to “stay away from gender, culture, or sexuality for thematic titles.”

    The students were perplexed.

    A brief etymology, for those not familiar with “boujee”: The word originates with the Latin for castle or fortified town, “burgus.” This evolved into the French “bourgeois,” for people who live in town rather than the countryside. Town dwellers were more likely to engage in commerce and craftsmanship, and so rose over time to achieve middle-class incomes. That’s why Karl Marx later used the term to derisively refer to the class that upheld capitalism. Over time, “bourgeois” morphed into a more generic description of middle-class (and eventually upper-middle-class) materialism and obsession with respectability.

    More recently, “bourgeois” was shortened to the colloquial “bourgie ,” alternately spelled “bougie” or “boujee,” used disdainfully to describe upper-middle-class or high-end tastes (driving your Prius to Trader Joe’s after yoga class, for example). The “boujee” variation is common when referring to middle-class or upwardly mobile blacks, as in the Migos song. That’s hardly this spelling’s exclusive usage, though, as is evident from its entries in the crowd-sourced slang glossary Urban Dictionary.

    So, in a way, “boujee” is indeed an appropriation — or rather an appropriation of an appropriation of an appropriation. That’s how language works. It’s fluid, evolving, constantly taking from other tongues, dialects and usages.

    When the fraternity was accused of “appropriating culture,” the obvious question was: Which culture? Latin? French? Marxist? Urban hip-hop? Maybe their own? After all, if you’re wondering who best epitomizes today’s upper-middle class, bear in mind that these are college kids whose parents pay extra money on top of tuition to throw parties.

    Figuring the administration misunderstood what “boujee” meant, Cimino challenged the school’s ultimatum. He explained the term, and added that this was just a regular sports tournament with a punny name. Otherwise it had nothing to do with the content of a rap song, in case that was the concern.

    But Gerker ceded no ground, reiterating that the fraternity was “appropriating culture,” and added that in the interim he had received “multiple complaints” about the event title.

    “I am awaiting a response from some folks on how they want to move forward with their complaints,” he wrote.

    Still puzzled, the fraternity asked whether they could see the complaints lodged against them, but they never heard back. With time running short, they canceled the event and posted a GoFundMe page instead.

    I reached out to the school to ask for clarification.

    A spokeswoman sent a statement about how the “sequence of events did not go according to our normal process for working with student organizations.” She said the administration should not have prohibited the fundraiser and that it usually focuses on “coaching” students about how to proceed when an event “could have a negative impact and unintended consequences on campus.” But I never got an answer to what was so objectionable about the event title in the first place.

    Neither did the students. In a meeting Thursday, another administrator apologized to Cimino for not following protocol and pledged to help promote a future event for the veterans’ group. Still no explanation, though, of the “cultural appropriation” accusations beyond something like “we thought it could be controversial.”

    Schools were once charged with educating, challenging and setting an example for their wards. Today’s pupils must settle for controversy-prevention empowerment instead.


    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...0fb30#comments

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    Quote Originally Posted by cawacko View Post
    Dammit Jarod, your school is ruining society for everyone. Words have meanings.




    A fraternity was told it was ‘appropriating culture.’ Administrators won’t say which.


    Don’t blame college students for their hostility to free expression. The fault ultimately lies with cowardly school administrations, who so often cave to student demands for censorship. Or as some now prefer to call it, “empowering a culture of controversy prevention.”

    Those are the actual, Orwellian words of an official at American University.

    Several weeks ago, a fraternity at AU, Sigma Alpha Mu, began planning a fundraiser for a veterans’ organization. Student groups often center fundraisers on athletic tournaments, fraternity president and sophomore Rocco Cimino told me, but all the popular sports had already been claimed. The fraternity members decided to go with . . . badminton.

    To jazz things up, they called their event “Bad(minton) and Boujee.” It’s a pun on “Bad and Boujee,” a popular rap song by the group Migos about being newly rich and hanging with materialistic women. Sigma Alpha Mu registered the fundraiser on American’s online scheduling system, required for all campus events.

    A few days later Cimino got a strange email from the school.

    Colin Gerker, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life, said the word “boujee” might be criticized for “appropriating culture.” He would not approve the event unless the fraternity changed the name.

    “I want to continue empowering a culture of controversy prevention among [Greek] groups,” Gerker wrote. He advised them to “stay away from gender, culture, or sexuality for thematic titles.”

    The students were perplexed.

    A brief etymology, for those not familiar with “boujee”: The word originates with the Latin for castle or fortified town, “burgus.” This evolved into the French “bourgeois,” for people who live in town rather than the countryside. Town dwellers were more likely to engage in commerce and craftsmanship, and so rose over time to achieve middle-class incomes. That’s why Karl Marx later used the term to derisively refer to the class that upheld capitalism. Over time, “bourgeois” morphed into a more generic description of middle-class (and eventually upper-middle-class) materialism and obsession with respectability.

    More recently, “bourgeois” was shortened to the colloquial “bourgie ,” alternately spelled “bougie” or “boujee,” used disdainfully to describe upper-middle-class or high-end tastes (driving your Prius to Trader Joe’s after yoga class, for example). The “boujee” variation is common when referring to middle-class or upwardly mobile blacks, as in the Migos song. That’s hardly this spelling’s exclusive usage, though, as is evident from its entries in the crowd-sourced slang glossary Urban Dictionary.

    So, in a way, “boujee” is indeed an appropriation — or rather an appropriation of an appropriation of an appropriation. That’s how language works. It’s fluid, evolving, constantly taking from other tongues, dialects and usages.

    When the fraternity was accused of “appropriating culture,” the obvious question was: Which culture? Latin? French? Marxist? Urban hip-hop? Maybe their own? After all, if you’re wondering who best epitomizes today’s upper-middle class, bear in mind that these are college kids whose parents pay extra money on top of tuition to throw parties.

    Figuring the administration misunderstood what “boujee” meant, Cimino challenged the school’s ultimatum. He explained the term, and added that this was just a regular sports tournament with a punny name. Otherwise it had nothing to do with the content of a rap song, in case that was the concern.

    But Gerker ceded no ground, reiterating that the fraternity was “appropriating culture,” and added that in the interim he had received “multiple complaints” about the event title.

    “I am awaiting a response from some folks on how they want to move forward with their complaints,” he wrote.

    Still puzzled, the fraternity asked whether they could see the complaints lodged against them, but they never heard back. With time running short, they canceled the event and posted a GoFundMe page instead.

    I reached out to the school to ask for clarification.

    A spokeswoman sent a statement about how the “sequence of events did not go according to our normal process for working with student organizations.” She said the administration should not have prohibited the fundraiser and that it usually focuses on “coaching” students about how to proceed when an event “could have a negative impact and unintended consequences on campus.” But I never got an answer to what was so objectionable about the event title in the first place.

    Neither did the students. In a meeting Thursday, another administrator apologized to Cimino for not following protocol and pledged to help promote a future event for the veterans’ group. Still no explanation, though, of the “cultural appropriation” accusations beyond something like “we thought it could be controversial.”

    Schools were once charged with educating, challenging and setting an example for their wards. Today’s pupils must settle for controversy-prevention empowerment instead.


    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...0fb30#comments
    It must be bad if WaPo is criticising them.

    Sent from my Lenovo K52e78 using Tapatalk

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    Quote Originally Posted by Milagro View Post
    It must be bad if WaPo is criticising them.

    Sent from my Lenovo K52e78 using Tapatalk
    Maybe I'm too old to understand the new youth slang definition of this word but as the column states the word's been appropriated already. The school's actions are a joke.

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    That would not have happened when I went to Auburn. The Administration banned the AGLA, "Auburn Gay and Lesbian Association" when I was there because they promoted an unhealthy lifestyle.


    Glad to see the pendulum shift the other way, hopefully it will stop shifting so much and settle down to a fair place for everyone.
    4,487

    18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
    44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.


    LOCK HIM UP!

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    In English, I feel this is an overreaction to the history of the School.
    4,487

    18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
    44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.


    LOCK HIM UP!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jarod View Post
    In English, I feel this is an overreaction to the history of the School.
    So this is in response to a rap song?

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    Quote Originally Posted by cawacko View Post
    So this is in response to a rap song?
    no
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    18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
    44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.


    LOCK HIM UP!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jarod View Post
    no
    then what's the deal? what is offensive about the term?

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to cawacko For This Post:

    cancel2 2022 (04-25-2017)

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    Quote Originally Posted by cawacko View Post
    then what's the deal? what is offensive about the term?
    to me..nothing.
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    18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
    44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.


    LOCK HIM UP!

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    Why do I only hear about this term when it is "black culture"?

    Are we not a melting pot? I thought this is what libs wanted.

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    Looks to me like another example of PC gone wild. Score another point for the alt-right. When will the PC crowd learn? But they don't. Just hunker down with more mindless PC.

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    Quote Originally Posted by aloysious View Post
    Looks to me like another example of PC gone wild. Score another point for the alt-right. When will the PC crowd learn? But they don't. Just hunker down with more mindless PC.
    I hope they keep doing that forever, they'll never win again.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Guille View Post
    I hope they keep doing that forever, they'll never win again.
    Yeah that assistant director of fraternity and sorority life at AU probably converted several dim voters to Trump supporters.

    This should interest you: excerpts:

    One number in the Post-ABC poll really stood out to me as something that should worry Democrats pondering the party's future: Asked whether the Democratic Party is in touch with the concerns of the average person, just 28% of respondents said it is -- as opposed to 67% who said Democrats are out of touch. Those numbers are worse than the "in touch/out of touch" numbers for either the Republican Party or Trump in that same poll.
    More amazing to me is that only 52% of self-identified Democrats said their party was in touch with peoples' concerns, while 44% said it was out of touch. (Also of concern for Democrats: Fewer than 1 in 5 independents -- 18% -- said the Democratic Party was in touch with the average person.)
    Consider this: A billionaire businessman raised in New York City was able to successfully cast his Democratic opponent as the candidate of the elites in this country. How? Because there was already a preconceived notion within the populace that Democrats were coastal snobs -- shopping at Whole Foods, sending their kids to private school and viewing the rest of the country with utter disdain. That sentiment still very much exists in the country.
    But that won't solve the existential problem facing the party which, simply put, is this: Most people don't think Democrats "get" them.
    http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/politi...ic-party-poll/

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    That's because Democrats don't understand them.

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