Gustavus Adolphus College has wasted our money and lost my respect: it selected the band 3OH!3 to perform at the bi-yearly spring concert (May 4, 2018).

My understanding is that the college chooses the bands to perform based on the values that Gustavus stands for.

Then why would Gustavus invite 3OH!3 to perform here?

While a student at Gustavus, I have witnessed the college standing up against rape culture, misogyny, and other disempowering beliefs.

Gustavus thereby empowers women–and men– by communicating that they are not sexual objects.

Please explain to me, then, why Gustavus would pay money, our money, for an artist to come here and contradict these values the college strives hard to achieve.

“Shush girl, shush your lips / Do the Hellen Keller and talk with your hips.”  This excerpt is taken from 3OH!3’s hit song “Don’t Trust Me.”

The lyric website Genius analyzes the line in the following way: “Helen Keller grew up deaf, blind, and effectively mute. To ‘do the Helen Keller’, a girl must not speak and communicate only through body language, like Helen Keller may have… ‘Talking with your hips,’ is a metaphor referring to dancing provocatively to get attention.”

Does 3OH!3 suggest that a girl that will shut up and dance provocatively for men because that’s what girls are here for: to remain silent and seduce men?

Or am I missing something?

“Bruises cover your arms / Shaking in the fingers with the bottle in your palm.”

Another excerpt from the same song.

It talks about a girl (hinted at being underage from earlier in the song) using heroin and shaking after the injection, a common side effect from heroin use.

Would Gustavus like to see drug use promoted?

The final lyric excerpt that I will cite is from the song “Richman.” “I’m ‘a spend it on a new whip, / new hat, new kicks / Bitches with the huge tits, new gat, new slips / I’ma do it how I always do / Sleep until the break of noon / Wakin’ up just to make it through another night of shakin’ you.”

This stanza is describing the party all night and sleep all day lifestyle that 3OH!3 portrays.

3OH!3 advocates men’s purchasing of expensive material goods in hopes of impressing women enough to sleep with them, which is how life works, right?

Both men and women are demeaned by these lyrics because it is stating women only seek men with expensive and status worthy items over anything else; the richer you are, the more women will flock to you like mindless sex machines.

These are just a few lyrics that send unhealthy messages. I could quote many more.

I’m not saying I don’t listen to songs that have these messages or themes–I do.

But why would Gustavus spend our money on a band where a majority of the lyrics support misogyny and reinforce rape culture?

Gustavus, in my eyes, is a school focused on empowering people and standing up for what is right.

Is 3OH!3 really a good fit for the Gustavus spring concert? I don’t think so.

– Ian Bachmeyer, Junior