Ross’ Rants: MRU gets its own ‘rape chant’
MRU Confessions goes too far with borderline rape paraphernalia
Nathan Ross
Web Editor
MRU Confessions needs to stop.
I never wanted to be the one who became the face of anti-confessions, and I tried to make that clear with my last piece. But since then, the site has gone from annoying part of my day, to a proprietor of rape culture on campus. I will no longer sit idly by and watch this page become the unwelcome face of our school.
Not content to just let those who post on the page walk (and cross) the line between being kind and being creepy, the site is now starting a new gimmick — MRU Confession Condoms.
Would you feel comfortable sleeping with someone who kept these in their wallet or their nightstand? Would you feel safe? Photo courtesy: Facebook
If they were just going to hand out free condoms on campus like Health Services and the Pride Centre, it’d be helpful. Giving out condoms to university students is a great idea because they’re going to have sex anyway and they should, ideally, be protected.
However, as MRU Confessions has a habit of doing, they couldn’t just let what was a good idea in theory actually be a good idea. They have gone and plastered the condoms with the worst slogan they could have chosen.
“Anonymously Get Inside.”
Dr. Gaye Warthe, Chair of the Department of Social Work, suggested there were two ways to interpret that message, the first of which is acknowledging that the mantra does invoke a sense of rape.
“’Anonymous’ does not imply consent. Anonymous sex brings to mind unknown, or sex with a stranger, [or] date rape,” said Dr. Warthe, who is also the principal investigator of Stepping Up, a dating violence prevention program at Mount Royal.
“A second, much more generous interpretation might be casual sex, where there is less of an expectation of knowledge of the sexual partner. However, casual sex does not suggest anonymity, it requires a relationship where expectations are clear and stated,” she said.
“A condom alone cannot make anonymous sex safe.”
With the 2013-14 school year seemingly littered with sexual harassment and violence — with incidents like the rape chants at University of British Columbia and St. Mary’s University, as well as the numerous, connected sexual assaults making headlines at UBC — there is no excuse to go on pretending this is a non-issue.
While not as clear and pronounced as the rape chants at the aforementioned schools, Dr. Warthe believes that “Anonymous Get Inside” is one as well, in part because there are only male condoms and the message is clearly aimed at penetrators.
“I agree that the message is directed towards men and sexual activities where men “get inside.” To me the message implies power of one partner over the other. Again, this reinforces that the message is actually a ‘rape chant,’” she said.
With MRU hosting events like “Don’t Blame Me: Creating a Culture of Consent on Campus,” and “Project Unbreakable”, it has shown that it wants to be a progressive campus and reduce the chances of sexual assault on campus to zero per cent — as it should be.
The administrators of MRU Confessions have pitched the idea of producing Anonymous condoms towards students, even going as far as considering a Kickstarter to fund them. Photo courtesy: Facebook
While the administrators of the page have admitted that it isn’t the best slogan, they defended it in a comment on the photo, stating “’Anonymously Get Inside Pending Consent’ does not sound as catchy.” I’m sorry, but encouraging sexual assault isn’t fucking catchy either.
You can talk all you want about how the page gives out money prizes for tuition, and that would be really great if it wasn’t just recycled money from the students themselves. And furthurmore, how much of a profit do you think they made from their Halloween bash? To put it into perspective, they would have had enough for the tuition prizes they gave from just 75 early bird tickets. There’s no way they aren’t making money off of students.
Speaking of money, here’s the best part — they tossed out the idea of having students fund the condoms with a Kickstarter. Nothing says school spirit to me like giving money to help fund rape culture.
Sadly, there will be those that think that this is an overreaction to what some will see as a joke. To those of you who want Mount Royal to stay as a safe place, I encourage you to make your voice heard and no longer have pages, which encourage anonymously getting inside. Stop letting this site be one of the school’s biggest online presences.
This article is poor.
Nathan, I do see your point; however I think that the MRU Confession’s Condom slogan was taken much to literally! The slogan was a simple play on words, and should only be seen as such. These creators of MRU Confessions are not part of a international organization, a well-reputed company, nor do they hold any sort of stock with the general Calgarian Public! Why should they be blamed for a rash title that they undoubtedly thought up at 3 AM in their campus dorm rooms? We aren’t talking elite professional businessmen, here, versed in the art of slogan-creation and business management. These are college kids. And we are talking about Condom wrappers….Condom wrappers created as a gimmick for the MRU Confession Page’s party.
They have now issued a statement, to clarify their intent of the condom slogan, I urge you to read it.
To so rashly read into a simple slipup (unbeknownst to them, at the time!) is ridiculous. As well, to all out trash the Facebook page (which you must admit, probably has more readers than this paper.) is extremely unprofessional.
No one agrees with rape. These poor students running the MRU Confessions page certainly did not mean to support or implicate anything of that nature, through a simple gimmick for a party. They do not deserve to be trashed, and dragged through the mud by this paper. Although I do understand your concern, I would hope that you would now retract your statement, after reading what the creators of MRU Confessions has posted, in response to your article.
If I do have one last statement, it would be to implore you to thoroughly read your articles before you post them. One has much more credibility, and tends to be taken much more seriously, when they remove the grammatical, spelling, and quotational errors.
I this is taking it out of context. Obviously you hate MRU confessions and are antagonizing it publicly. In no way did they mean to support rape. It is clearly a play on words due to the fact confessions are anonymous. You seem to be the douchey one here, not MRU.
That’s a serious accusation that needs further evidence
This is an absolutely absurd article. The slogan on the condoms is just a play on words of the title of the page. This article simply proves that the over-sensitivity of people these days has gotten out of hand.
These are strong claims that are being made on loose grounds. Instead of the focus on rape culture, perhaps, the focus should be on libel and the role in which Mount Royal plays in allowing articles like this to be published.
Or maybe they say anonymously because they come from a page that the whole point behind is to post anonymously.
That was taken out of context! They are using the word ““Anonymously Get Inside” because it is a anonymous confession posting site! No one supports rape! It is not meant to come across as rape. You people are acting like teenage girls when a boy takes 2 hours to reply to her text message… A OVER REACTION.
I walked into Y wing about a month ago and there was a sheet of paper printed by MRU confessions (it just has their name and a spot to leave a confession on it). So I read the hand written confession and it said “to the two blondes sitting at this table: you’re lucky it’s not the end of the world or I’d rape you”. It wasn’t written to me as it was already sitting there before I sat down, however I was disturbed that someone would actually write such a thing. I agree that this contributors of this page are going way too far and it’s offensive.
Are you fucking kidding me? Get your head out of your ass, step down from your soapbox and take off your glittering white Armor. Bitching about the admins making money from the party? They put in a shitload of time and effort to making the page what it is and get nothing in return, I hope they made a killing off the party. Being 3edgy5me by accusing people who you know won’t step forward of supporting rape and encouraging sexual assault is sensationalist bullshit that even Glenn Beck would have a hard time swallowing.
I think everyone is missing the point. This isn’t about how the MRU Confessions page meant for the slogan to be interpreted, it’s about how OTHER PEOPLE interpret it. Just because the admins of the page meant for it to be harmless humour, doesn’t mean that’s how it’s going to translate in everyone else’s mind. All it takes is for a one person to interpret this message the wrong way before something terrible happens. Not everyone thinks in the same way, and not everyone will understand that this is just a “catchy slogan”. For those of us living in the real world, there are people who don’t even need this as an excuse to do something terrible to another human being. I don’t understand why everyone is getting so caught up in the innocent act of the admins of the MRU Confessions page. What they should have done is said they didn’t think through what consequences this slogan could have on some people, the general public, and the university itself. They should retract their condom campaign, or utilize the powerful following they have to come up with a campaign that will benefit the students, not aid in the possible demise of some. The MRU Confessions page has the potential to be a huge positive presence on campus, but they seem to be choosing not to use that power for the benefit of their peers.
The words, “Anonymously Get Inside” make absolutely ZERO sense to me.
I have no idea why this was chosen when there were [probably] better options. BUT WHO CARES?? As an MRU Communications Alum….people….you think TOO much! Let’s take a look at the big picture here…you’re in University…..FREE condoms. I wish I was still attending and handing out condoms to all you sexy students…that’s all…good luck with this.
Here, here.
While I agree that the slogan was not intentionally designed to perpetuate rape culture, I am beyond tired of the pathetic pleas for attention that come out of the MRU Confessions page. The idea itself could have many positive applications – ie. those looking for help or support, however, who in their right mind chooses to publish an anonymous comment about rape?
The people behind MRU Confessions need to pull their heads out of their asses and smarten the fuck up.
I could care less if people think it’s in poor taste to control/monitor the contents of an anonymous page. It needs to be done.
Nathan is absolutely right. This confessions page is one of MRU’s strongest online presences. It is by far one of the most talked about. As a student, is that how you want to be represented?
Can we get rid of MRU confessions? Im sick of people knot coming up to me and to say things. It seems like its a place for cowards to hang out and not say what they want to say to someones face. You don’t like how loud I am being in the library? Come say that to my face…I will probably tell you to go away.