A recent article was published about the group on The Post's website and has since been the subject of online debate.
One Post employee was walking up Court Street on Wednesday night at about 10 p.m., when she happened upon a group of men seemingly serenading the residents of a sorority house.
An article was subsequently posted to thepostathens.com that included a video of a portion of the song.
Set to the tune of “Hey Jude,” the song referenced women sending nude pictures or ultimately letting the men down. We not only found those lyrics to be offensive, but also in dark contrast to Ohio University’s message of being a safe and welcoming campus.
Some readers quickly took to social media to draw attention to the fact that serenading is commonplace, and even a tradition for members of the Greek system.
Although we admit we acted perhaps too quickly when it came to reporting and publicizing the story that night, we felt it was imperative that our readers were aware that such actions were taking place on the most popular street in town — a few dozen paces from OU’s Baker Center.
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When approached regarding the incident, Alpha Delta Pi said the event was “taken out of context.” The sorority house is situated between two university buildings and many students, including all four of us, pass it on our walk home.
Last night’s event could have been a trigger for a survivor of sexual assault. Using the excuse that it was serenading (if it was indeed that) and a tradition isn’t enough to justify the offensiveness of the song.
Online, Facebook commenters and Twitter users had a lot to say about the video. One stated, “The women could have said go away and shut the door. They also have choices,” and other similar comments seemed along the same lines as victim-blaming rhetoric used to defend rape culture.
By all means, if you want to sing “Lovebug” or “My Heart Will Go On” on campus, go ahead if the person wants you to, but when you’re singing “Hey Jude” with the lyrics, “Send nudes, don’t let me down. Take my soft dick and make it harder,” you’re not serenading — you’re cultivating a sexist environment at OU.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes, Opinion Editor Will Gibbs and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
