1. Saint Mary’s Chant and Tweets
By: Thomas Reynolds, Jess Lynds,
Matt Malizia
2. Saint Mary’s Chant
Background information
• In a video posted on Instagram, Saint
Mary’s orientation officials lead
students in chanting: “SMU boys we
like them YOUNG! Y is for your sister.
O is for oh so tight. U is for underage.
N is for no consent. G is for grab that
ass.”
• Following a massive public backlash
from politicians, school
administrators and students, Jared
Perry, president of the Saint Mary’s
Students’ Association, apologized
Thursday for performing the chant
with 80 male and female orientation
leaders.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ghKIwCpzc
3. Tweets
Background information
• Members of the Saint
Mary’s football team
allegedly sent hateful,
racist and sexist tweets.
• "b**ch get on yo knees.“
• "to that b**ch that bit me
last night. Hope you're dead
in a ditch. you are scum."
5. Is it just a problem at Saint Mary’s
University?
6. Dalhousie Student
• “First of all, I do not think the people who partook in
that chant “believed” it was okay to chant these things.
Not being a part of the twitter community, I can’t
comment on how it was propagated on social media,
but I think it was a combination of peer pressure,
tradition, and ignorance that allowed this event to
happen. I think this event says something about the
system of habit and tradition that is hard to speak out
against more than the students that led and partook in
the cheer. I have been given no proof that those
students are misogynistic or sexually violent, so I look
instead to reasons no one has said something sooner. I
think the school should too.”
7. Dalhousie Student
• “I do not think this is an isolated incident. I read in the newspaper
not long after about a similar problem at a university out west. I
have never been a part of frosh events myself, but I have heard
horror stories about activities that are far more threatening to
human health than this chant. I can’t verify if they are true, but I am
sure most university students will agree they have been a part or
have witnessed something in a dorm room that is far worse than
this event. None of these are okay, and we do need to foster a
culture of saying no. I think it got so much attention because so
many people partook; I don’t know if dal does group events like
that. I think it is sad people are reading this as something inherently
wrong with SMU students; that is an ignorant assumption and
certainly not the case.”
8. Frosh Leader
• “In my own opinion, I do not think any of us
thought it was an appropriate thing to say. We
all knew what we were saying, and it definitely
wasn’t a judge of any of our characters. We
just didn’t think. It was something that had
happened previous years, and it was a lack of
judgment. When you are in a group where
nobody speaks up about an issue, it tends to
get overlooked in life and majority thought
takes over.”
9. Frosh Leader
• “Definitely not. This year alone, at least three
other schools were caught with similar
derogatory incidents. Culture promotes these
things and makes it seem okay, especially in
relation to universities.”
10. Discussion: Why do you think these students
thought it was okay to say/post these things?
11. Rape Culture
• Rape culture is a concept which links rape and
sexual violence to the culture of a society, and
in which prevalent attitudes and practices
normalize, excuse, tolerate, and even condone
rape.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5tFZbgxN6s
12. After the rape-chant incident at SMU many
people came forward wondering "what is the
difference between this chant and certain
music?“
13. Pop Culture
• Pop culture has influenced our lives in ways we could
never fathom.
• It creates social boundaries and norms among society.
• “Fashion industry tells us what to wear in magazines
and advertisements, these norms are reinforced over
and over again by television, actors, film, musicians,
and celebrities who embrace the fashion rends. Stores
begin to only sell a certain type of clothing, and it
becomes increasingly more difficult to not conform to
the fashion norm.”- The Phil
14. Pop Culture
• “Recently, Netmums published a survey
claiming that 80% of parents have found their
children copying explicit lyrics or dance moves
from music videos”
15. Pop Culture
• Pop Culture is way more
then just the music or
fashion business.
• Last fall, Tosh.0 made
jokes about rape.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isSJjwdXgho
16. Discussion
• What do you think it is alright for comedians
or to make jokes about rape? Is it crossing a
line?
• Why do you think the audience laughed at this
joke?
• Do you think this is similar to the frosh leaders
who said the chant?
17. Television and Rape Culture
• Rape culture is embedded into our T.V. shows
and films.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOKKzSnyFTo#aid=P-XXqNRwSs0
18. Television and Rape Culture
• Research has proven that these jokes in our
Pop Culture has impacted how we view
victims and rapists.
• These jokes also affect the Rapist in the sense
that there are degrees of rape and some
“don’t count”.
25. Song Lyrics Today and the Past
• Get Lucky – Daft Punk
- Record of the Year at the 56th Grammy’s
• Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
- Recorded in 1974
26. Get Lucky
Daft Punk
“She’s up all night til’ the Sun,
I’m up all night to get some,
She’s up all night for good fun,
I’m up all night to get lucky”
27. Case study: Blurred Lines
• “Blurred Lines” was named the Best-Selling
Single in 2013.
• This song was also nominated for two
Grammys.
• It was on top of charts in 14 countries,
including Canada.
• 706 000 copies were sold in Canada
28. Case Study: Blurred Lines
“Blurred Lines” did not only have success, but
also had critics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9bWuT-HcS4
29. Discussion
Robin Thicke’s response to the negative critique
of the song was “ Oh you know… that’s only for
extra religious people.”
Do you think it is only “extra religious people”
who were offended by the lyrics and their
interpretations?
30. Project Unbreakable
• Began in October 2011 in hopes to help
victims heal after their trauma.
• Grace Brown, 19, began this project with
thousands of images of victims.
• Since 2011, project Unbreakable has flooded
social media.
• http://project-unbreakable.org/
31. Christianity on the Decline?
• The former Archbishop
of Canterbury, Lord
Carey has warned that
Christianity is just a
“generation away from
extinction”
32. Pop Culture replacing religion?
• “Christianity will go, it will
vanish and shrink. I needn’t
argue about that. I’m right
and I’ll be proved right.
We’re more popular than
Jesus now. I don’t know
which will go first, rock ‘n’
roll or Christianity.”
- John Lennon
33. Parallels between Pop Music and
Religion
• Religion-like phenomena within youth culture
of pop music
• Young people's musical experiences are
adequate to religion
• Music has replaced religion as young people’s
form of expression
34. Pop Culture influence vs. Religious
influence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZkC_fNxmQk
35. Discussion
• Do you think that pop culture weighs heavy on
the actions of society?
• Do you think that the lack of religion in
Canadian society made the chant and tweets
seem okay to say/post?
