Why the lewd signs need to stop

There has been a lot of controversy regarding the new “tradition” of welcome week signs. University officials have made it clear they do not condone such behavior in the face of the university and that they want them to stop. Students, however, continue each year to push the envelope more and more.

When will enough be enough? Many argue that it is just a matter of being able to play along with it and see them as a joke.

However, it is not a matter of taking a joke.

Since when is showcasing things such as “Your baby is ready for a good time” and “Things we trust more than Hillary: your daughter’s birth control” just fun and games?

In college, one in five women and one in 71 men are victims of sexual assault. For parents, these statistics are heart-wrenching. On the day of drop-off’s, most parents are already terrified for the things they know their children are inevitably going to experience, and a drive down Lane Avenue would only worsen how they feel about dropping of their kids into a university that is alluding to such behavior.

It’s not an Ohio State tradition

At Old Dominion a fraternity was suspended after posting signs saying “Rowdy and fun, hope your baby girl is ready for a good time” and “Go ahead and drop mom off too.”  Other schools were even going as far as to having signs saying, “You taught your daughter morals now we will teach her oral.”

A Georgia Southern fraternity last year had a sign “21 to drink, 18(ish) to spend the night, #momsdrinkforfree.” Students at Western Illinois University with, “Freshman girl drop-off oral-ation,” and West Virginia University with, “We hope your sons pull out game is strong!”

Many universities around the country have taken onto this nasty trend. It’s not even original.

They allude rape culture

These signs suggest a blur in the lines of consent. Rape culture begins when someone disrespects another in a sexual manner. These signs are disrespectful and hinting at a lack of respect for women and men alike. Day in and day out there are sexual assault cases that are shoved under the rug because officials are making each case seem like it should just be taken less seriously.

Rape culture is not a laughing matter.

They aren’t funny

Many will argue that these signs are just in good fun and are not meant to be taken so literally. When I read these signs I feel disgusted and, frankly, unsafe. People try and argue that these are meant to be jokes, but what will happen when it becomes something more? As they always say, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.

Many agree this “tradition” needs to stop

Facebook comments have been coming up all over with people agreeing these signs are too much.

“There are so many great traditions at Ohio State. This is not one of them…Humor has context and in today’s context this sign is tone deaf and ignorant of rape culture and objectification of women,” writes Maureen Sullivan.

Recent OSU grad Gina DeSimone says, “These signs are offensive to people, men and women. College rape culture is not a joke especially at universities of this size. Telling people to take a joke is invalidating their feelings, especially those unfortunate enough to have been in situations that compromise their security. It starts with a joke. It starts with the topic not being taken seriously. It’s not funny to everyone and it’s not okay to joke about serious issues like this.”

These signs are offensive to both women and men. The empty argument of “other schools do it” is pointless. Ohio State should never be seen as just another school. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are the best in many ways, and continuing to take these “jokes” too far is putting an overlying tone of what Ohio State is about. Landlords have even taken initiative to threaten renters with hefty fines unless taken down.

A recent OSU grad and now Harvard student Trina Lang said: “At one point, I thought these signs were funny and innocent too. But my experience (literally one block away from Lane Ave, home of this ‘new tradition’, as you say) taught me to understand that every instance of objectification and ‘harmless jokes’ that put down women and/or devalue the importance of consent for any gender, contribute to the fact that this happens in our community at an all too alarming rate.”

All in all, these signs need to stop. What once was an amicable and welcoming tradition has turned completely sour and has tainted the image of what our university stands for. Just last year Ohio State began an organization titled BuckeyesACT which stands to educate all students on sexual violence and prevention programs. These signs are taking this initiative 10 steps back on the progress in which they are hoping for.

As for the students, there comes a line where things can be seen as a joke and when things are completely distasteful. I do not want to see welcome week signs go away completely, but I do believe the signs which allude to such behavior, especially in a world where sexual assault and rape culture is so prevalent, need to stop completely.