The D.C. college was in the news last week because it removed rapper Action Bronson from its Fling lineup for failing to adhere to university policies and procedures promoting inclusivity. Students, particularly Sarah Blugis, the opinions editor of the school's Hatchet newspaper, were in uproar over Mr. Wonderful's 2011 songs "Consensual Rape" and "Brunch," in which Bronson cooks a meal next to a woman's dead body, rolls her body up in a rug, puts her in a car trunk, and stabs her repeatedly while yelling gendered insults. "There are people on our campus who are likely afraid to even attend Spring Fling because of Bronson's hateful rhetoric, music videos and social media presence," Blugis wrote.
Anxious to get to the concert, I wondered how many of the people at the dorm party would migrate to Spring Fling at GW's University Yard. "Are you going to Fling," I asked a business major named Alex. She said, "Is that even still a thing?" "I was only going to hear Action Bronson, so now I don't think I will go at all," a bystander said.
Lanie Edwards, a member of GW's program board, indicated, "People literally said the only reason they weren't coming was because Action was cancelled. We expected a lower turnout. But, people should give artists they've never heard of a chance." If the students were aware of the musicality and showmanship GoldLink possess, more people would have rushed to hear the artist at Fling.
