Student Rappers Stir Controversy at Loyola Maryland

From the Loyola Greyhound, student offended at the use of the word n.....ger being sung by student rappers at a concert being held at Loyola Maryland

September 6, 2007 kicked off the first Coffee House of a brand new school year. Baby-faced freshmen entered the first time to the sounds of guitar and microphone as they helped themselves to freshly brewed coffee and danishes. As the night progressed the last two performers ended with Brooklyn's finest, the rapper Notorious B.I.G's "Juicy." With the appearance of an MC the performers sung the chorus as the crowd seemed to be enjoying the flow. However, the moment suddenly came to an abrupt halt when I heard the N-word.I second-guessed myself for a moment and had to ask someone if I heard correct. Here at Loyola College, a Jesuit institution I'm subjected to hearing a term many find offensive and one that is highly politically incorrect? I caught a few students looking at each other uncomfortably. The MC, wearing a New York fitted baseball cap, rapping to a Biggie song, and having friends who want to be seen as "urban" by playing the part of hype man, does not justify use of the word. In addition, at Loyola where the student body is predominantly white, the word may only resonate to some as a word in a hip-hop song, but to others it resonates as one that is deeply rooted in a bloody history. I don't know the relevance of the word even if it was in the song. What I do know is that Loyola's history is deeply rooted in a Jesuit Christian tradition and based on that tradition the word is not only politically incorrect but wrong to use, and therefore should not have been. Blog post link (here)