A concert sponsored by The Network, which members and Student Programs staff say is not Spring Concert, has drawn criticism from students who believe they booked a performer whose lyrics demean women.
Mickey Avalon is slated to perform before The Network’s Blacklight Party in Chapin on April 24 during Spring Weekend. As of March 31, a Facebook group called Mount Holyoke Students Against Mickey Avalon Performing had 93 members.
“We looked up some of his lyrics and we found them pretty offensive, so we thought it was a good idea to let other students know what this guy writes about and what he represents,” said Jacquie Veras ’11, the group’s creator. “The group is a way of getting those of us who want to talk about it and who want to be involved in dialogue to kind of bounce ideas off each other and discuss how we want to approach it.” Veras said the students might start an ad campaign or plan an alternative event.
Until last year, the Student Government Association (SGA) and the College donated to a Concert Fund to support the annual Spring Concert. Due to budget cuts, The Network held a new event, Spring Weekend, in 2009. This year, the organization worked with Student Programs to book Avalon for the Blacklight Party, of which The Network is the sole sponsor.
“Everybody has a right to go or to not go to this concert as they so choose,” said Network Chair Peggy Wefald ’10, “and people have a right to disagree with who we have brought.” She added that Spring Concert performers Kanye West and MIA drew criticism as well.
“We do understand that his lyrics are very controversial,” said PR Chair Meredith Nelson ’11. “We want to understand why people are upset, but we want to understand it in a fair, moderated environment.”
Wefald said The Network spends two months deciding on concert performers.
“We start out with a list of about 20 artists that The Network believes would be well-received on campus, by at least a majority, and we present those to Student Programs,” she said. Once the office contacts the artists, the group proposes ten acts within budget range. Depending on the artists’ touring schedules, that list is usually brought down to three artists. “From there, it’s who responds and gives us the best deal,” said Wefald.
“For months, we’ll sit in our meetings and we’ll brainstorm artists, we’ll search things, we’ll listen to their music, we’ll try to read their popularity on campus, discuss them with different groups of people,” said Nelson.
According to Wefald, the list of 20 artists ranged from Ingrid Michaelson to Little Boots, “but as the process continued, each one of those were eliminated due to scheduling conflicts, budgetary reasons, or the fact that we just didn’t have a venue or the weekend didn’t fit their persona.” The org’s research also found that Avalon headlined a concert called Rock for Choice at Wellesley College in 2009.
The Network also conducts a series of surveys within their org with questions about how members regard the artist. This year, there was some dissent within the group as to Avalon, a former male prostitute and heroin addict whose lyrics some students find inflammatory.
“Mickey Avalon was on our shortlist, but he wasn’t our top choice,” said May Yang ’10, a member of The Network.
According to Director of Student Programs John Laprade, The Network contended with a more restrictive budget this year, though several successful fundraising events allowed the org to add an extra program.
“While Student Programs certainly raised obvious concerns about this performer and his image and body of work to The Network, including the need to responsibly engage all potential concerns or complaints if they chose to proceed, the decision to present him was theirs to make,” said Laprade in an e-mail.
“We do not as a matter of course impose moral or political judgments or obstructions on the initiatives of students or student organizations, though we do always strive to advise and encourage the making of sound community-minded decisions by all student organizations and do work to support all students and orgs in their expression and initiatives.”
Some of Avalon’s song lyrics contain references to sexual violence, such as Dipped in Vaseline: “All up on the scene/Dipped in Vaseline/In a mask and jeans/Girl I’ll smash your dreams.” Some of his other songs are more explicit, such as So Rich, So Pretty: “I like a girl who eats and brings it up/A sassy little frassy with bulimia” and Roll Up Your Sleeves: “Avalon don’t care none for breasts/Less they cook and clean and wipe my ass.”
“Rape, physical abuse and substance abuse issues, all of which appear in his songs to some extent, should never be taken lightly,” said Maria Diaz ’10. “These are real issues that affect members of our community.”
“I’m just surprised that he’s being promoted and advertised on this campus, because the lyrics of his songs seem to be so openly offensive toward women,” said Jinsol Lee ’12.
“We’re not trying to make it seem like we are insulting The Network or doing this behind everyone’s backs,” said Veras, who posted guidelines on Facebook stating that her group will not condone any defacement of The Network’s posters.
“We are more than open to talk. It’s just that the group is so that we could get all of us together and figure out what we want to say and how we’re going to say it. And we want to make it very, very clear that there is a presence on campus that needs to be represented.”
Related posts:
- The Network looks for alternatives to Spring Concert
- Spring weekend replaces annual spring concert
- The Network to host DJ at Spring Concert
- Mickey Avalon speaks out: an interview with the artist
- M.I.A to come for spring concert
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