6
redbrick.me/news
11th - 17th October 2013
News
The Guild of Students bans 'Blurred Lines' Ashley Kirk and Charley Ross report on the Guild's ban of the controversial song. Following bans by several British universities, the University of Birmingham's Guild of Students officially placed a ban on Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' on Friday 4th October. The controversial song, alongside its equally divisive video, has come under intense criticism due to its alleged misogynistic nature. Several specific lyrics have been placed under scrutiny, with several parody films posted online. This move adds the University of Birmingham to the growing list of universities which have banned the song on campus or in their unions, including Leeds, Derby, West Scotland and Kingston. The University of Edinburgh was the first to exercise a campus-wide ban of the song's playback, and were shortly followed by numerous other universities, including the University of Derby and the University of Leeds. In line with the Guild of Students' Zero Tolerance Policy, which condemns all forms of oppressive and discriminatory behaviour, the song will no longer be played within the student union building. This policy came into effect on the 23rd September, after six months of groundwork during the last academic year.
"It is an important and progressive step for our Zero Tolerance Policy" The song has sparked debate across campus and online for months, especially after Miley Cyrus' performance with Thicke at the VMAs last month. After several weeks of expectation, the Guild has deemed 'Blurred Lines' to be overtly distressing, which could potentially cause discomfort for a vast number of students. Vice President of Activities and Development, Molly Wright, told Redbrick that 'I fully support it. It is an important and
progressive step for our Zero Tolerance Policy at the Guild.' It has been reported that Thicke's infamous track has acted as a trigger for many individuals who have experienced sexual violence, or feel strongly about the danger it poses.
"It is not a case of engaging in a slippery slope of censorship, but one of reacting to a very real concern" The Guild's ban has seen a mixed response amongst students. Several took to Twitter and Facebook to issue strong opinions on either side. One Twitter user, Zak Bentley, argued that 'it's clearly a popular song but hasn't suited the agenda of those in the Guild'. Mae Rohani, the Guild's Women's Officer, commented that 'it is not a case of
engaging in a slippery slope of censorship, but one of reacting to a very real concern raised by many of our students in relation to a particular song which is triggering, not only due to its offensive and clear lyrics, but also because of the media attention it has received. 'This song has been put into the public eye where its blatant disregard for survivors of assault has been thoroughly examined.
The recent ban of the song ‘Blurred Lines’ forms part of our newly launched Zero Tolerance Policy. We are one of a number of Student Unions who have chosen to not play the song due to the potential harmful nature of the song to survivors of sexual assault. The protection and safety of our students has, and always will be, the Guild’s primary concern regardless of how popular the song is perceived to be.
Poppy Wilkinson, Guild President
We cannot and will not ignore the effect that this song has on our fellow students, and that is the deciding factor.' Following the ban, there were several reports that 'Blurred Lines' was played at a Stupid Tuesdays event which was hosted at the Guild on Tuesday 8th October. A student who was present on the night told Redbrick of how shocked they were when they heard the song begin, as the ban had been so widely publicised and talked about amongst students. However, the song was stopped midway after a request was made to the DJ, explaining the Guild's stance on the song. The Guild since published a statement, saying that 'we would like to reassure students that, as an organisation, we are working very hard to implement the ban, we inform any external DJ’s and artists of the ban and inform them that it cannot be played. Unfortunately, we have no direct control over the songs they choose to play but we hope that they will respect the decision made by the Guild. We have also contacted SubTV, the channel which plays on the screens in Joe’s bar, who informed us that due to the number of requests made to them to remove it they have chosen to remove it from their playlists entirely.'
Was the Guild right to ban 'Blurred Lines'?
We asked 72 people in Joe's Bar their opinion on the ban.