What appears to be an attempt to use the word of the moment to remind students about consent isn’t going over well with the students at Columbia University. The campaign slogan, “Consent is bae #BeforeAnythingElse,” hasn’t even debuted yet (it should be revealed at the New Student Orientation Program), but students are already hating it.
A student at Columbia sent a photo of the picture along with some background to Jezebel, writing,
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other student activists I know on campus, this poster both trivializes consent and appropriates African American Vernacular English.
You’ll probably recall that Columbia University made headlines last year when former student Emma Sulkowicz protested the handling of her alleged rape by carrying a mattress around campus.
The campaign goes along with the school’s new curriculum and resources around teaching sexual respect and addressing complaints of sexual violence, but it looks like they have to go back to the drawing board on a slogan.
Check out the reactions to the poster on Twitter below.
Lololol somehow the gifted minds at Columbia University thought that this slogan would go over well. #ConsentIsBae pic.twitter.com/o8sHIytEw4
— Dan Hermle (@DanHermleMTV) August 27, 2015
wait wait wait sorry. Has @Columbia learned nothing? New student orientation program slogan reads: CONSENT IS BAE pic.twitter.com/ojFrmvb0Sq
— Anna Bahr (@anna_bahr) August 26, 2015
I love wordplay (and consent), but consent is not "bae". Consent is… consent. https://t.co/VRAA6sdyHr
— Anne Martinete (@annelazomart) August 26, 2015
https://twitter.com/potions5foxes/status/636913566369509376
Consent is Bae and drugs are NOT swag. #tytlive pic.twitter.com/THgsQPErYW
— Annie ❤️ MediCARE4All (@EggsNotWar) August 27, 2015
[Lead image via]
