The Ohio University marching band director has set a clear line for singer Robin Thicke: “Blurred Lines” is not welcome here.
Richard Suk originally selected the summer hit to be played during the halftime show at Saturday’s OU football game against Austin Peay, according to local news outlet WOUB. The band rehearsed the piece and its choreography for four days, but the piece was cut on Friday, after a wave of backlash prompted a meeting between Suk and other administrators.
He told The Columbus Dispatch that he didn’t want to upset people or make any sort of political statement.
“My only concern is where do we draw the line in the future?” he told The Dispatch.
The marching band director met with Chris Hayes, director of the School of Music, Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs, and Margaret Kennedy-Dygas, the dean of the College of Fine Arts on Friday to discuss the song selection. Suk agreed not to play “Blurred Lines” after “a consensus was reached,” according to a statement from school spokeswoman Katie Quaranta.
She also made it very clear that this was not a case of school censorship.
“We expect that this is an isolated incident and there is no interest or push on the institution’s part in censoring art at Ohio University,” Quaranta said in her statement to WOUB. “That is counter to our core values and respected freedoms at Ohio University.”
She added that Suk was unaware of the controversy surrounding the song. Since its release, some critics of “Blurred Lines” have argued that it depicts rape culture. OU senior Allie Erwin even penned a letter to the school newspaper asking the band not to play the song, calling it a ” triggering, sexist and demeaning piece of drivel.”
But Alana Newberry, a rape victim and alumna of the band, condemned the Suk’s choice to pull the song.
“I know people were saying that their problem with it is that it can be a trigger and stressful to people who have been raped,” Newberry, who is also the band’s current manager, told WOUB. “The problem with that is that that can apply to anything. I used to have panic attacks over people with a certain color of eyes. The world can’t be bubble wrapped.”
In place of “Blurred Lines,” the marching band again played “The Fox,” a pop hit they had performed during a halftime show on Sept. 14.
