Northwestern: Panhellenic Critizes Paddy Murphy Party
 

Panhellenic's criticisms included allegations about demeaning language (regarding "race," sexual orientation, etc.). The future of annual Paddy Murphy parties at Northwestern may be cloudy; see

http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/cam...8#.T6Wf6cjNnpM

This is my favorite part by far:

"Blythe said another performer made references to a homosexual Paddy Murphy.
However, SESP sophomore and Pi Beta Phi member Kayla Hutchings said she did not think this performance negatively portrayed homosexuality.
“She was actually insinuating that Paddy Murphy was gay,” Hutchings said. “I don’t think that’s homophobic in its natural form. She didn’t say anything disparaging about gay people.”"

Um...?

So apparently this time it was women behaving badly in the name of philanthropy. Nice.

How stupid. It's not the fault of Paddy Murphy Week, it's the fault of the sororities who included those themes in their performances. The sorority members are the ones who should be criticized, not the event itself.

I am also amazed that there's a college-aged student named Clara. I thought that name went out with Bewitched.

I agree. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water when it's raising money for a worthy cause.

Certainly these women didn't just think, totally out of the blue, "hey, I'll say some racist or homophobic stuff" to be funny. The whole nature of the contest itself is a little bit suspect.

Even if historically those kinds of things were done, it's still in the sorority women's power to not do them.

Sure, but if the contest is to make the judges choose you, and every year, the judges choose the woman who says the most racist stuff, it certainly sounds like a bad event.

But the women are the ones who say it. If you say racist things and your excuse is "to win an event" - well, you're probably racist and the event has zero to do with it. They just didn't have the brains or ingenuity to think up something funny that didn't include slurs.

It's also just one part of the whole event. I agree that blaming the venue for the resulting language is crap. Does that excuse Neo-nazis for their racist lingo? Well, they're hanging out at Neo-Nazi events. Nope. You don't get a pass because others are spewing the same nonsense. If you can't be funny without being derogatory, don't enter the contest. (At least not representing your organization.)

But you also wouldn't condone the Neo-Nazi event, would you? I'm not saying these women are innocent, but I'm saying that the "Paddy's widow" thing may not be the best idea.

In and of it's self, the Paddy's widow doesn't have to be bad. It doesn't have to be about making fun of homosexuality, etc. There is a difference between poking fun at men and being offensive. I don't think I am funny enough to get up there and think of something to say, but I wouldn't do it. Honestly, this is a nice life lesson of what not to say when you are in public. We don't get to dictate the events that pop into our lives, but we sure as hell get to control how we present ourselves in these situations. Think about how you and those associated with you will be perceived before you speak.

BTW, the Neo-Nazi event is just an extreme example, so no, I wouldn't condone it, but Paddy's Widow is a far cry from that.

I agree with everything you are saying about the personal responsibility of the women involved. I am saying, however, that the event organizers, if they are creating a climate in which this is acceptable/condoned/rewarded by the judges, are not exempt from responsibility as well.

My understanding of this event is that it has been skirting the edge of inappropriate for some time now. Heck, even the SAE president admits that they need to rethink it.

ETA: Also, as I mention above, I think it is extremely telling that a sorority member ON THE RECORD didn't see why implying someone is homosexual for comedic purposes is offensive. That really speaks to the sort of privilege these students don't understand at all (and it's not at ALL limited to the greeks, I think it was the field hockey team that most recently got in trouble for mocking various ethnicities at a party).

I don't totally disagree with you, but I don't think it is good to let people off the hook because the "event made me do it".

That's not what I'm meaning to say. The women involved should absolutely face consequences.

This is not the first I've heard of this event, and it's not like every previous year has been a picture of decorum, and suddenly a few women took it off the rails. The organizers ALSO have responsibility, here.

Now, from the sound of the article, it sounds like the organizers are owning up to it more than the women involved, and THAT is certainly a problem. I hope most of them get thrown in front of their respective standards boards, and ideally they would LEARN something from the whole deal, but that may be a little optimistic.