Presentation title ‘was different from what had been approved’
A Christian university passed the buck late Wednesday after students sat through a vulgar, partisan, expletive-filled presentation by a visiting music professor.
The name on Belmont University’s advertised lecture, which included hip-hop music that contained the lyrics “Fuck Donald Trump,” was “Popular Music and Presidential Politics.”
After a student shared photos and video of the presentation by Middle Tennessee State University’s Joseph Morgan, including a slide on the “Impending Tyranny of Donald Trump,” the administration said it contained content that was “different from what had been approved.”
The contact for the “convocation,” School of Music program coordinator Caroline Scism, told The College Fix in a phone call that she wouldn’t comment beyond the university’s written apology. She didn’t answer further questions before hanging up.
The historically Baptist Nashville university made clear in the event listing that Morgan’s lecture would discuss “musical resistances to Donald Trump’s campaign for President” across forms of music “including hip-hop, rock, country and Tejano.”
The event description continued that “by employing the concept of earned media, the talk investigates the way that these artists actually assisted the campaign they sought to defeat.”
‘The old white man is literally saying fuck and pussy’
Morgan’s content went much further than that, according to a Wednesday report by Belmont student Casey Dickinson in The Lone Conservative.
She contrasted the title of the event online with the title slide that Morgan used, “Popular Music and the Impending Tyranny of Donald Trump.” Dickinson said this title “more accurately” described the rest of the presentation.
A 14-second clip of the lecture on The Lone Conservative shows Morgan standing behind a podium while the song “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump),” by hip-hop artist YG, plays behind him.
Dickinson quoted an anonymous student who said Morgan showed “reprimanding videos of people bashing Donald Trump,” and that the professor was “talking about, describing, agreeing with” the videos, which included the n-word and phrase “Fuck Donald Trump.” Morgan also allegedly used the words “pussy” and “vagina” and “touched on topics Trump spoke about such as abortion.”
MORE: That time a student wore a Trump hat around campus for a week
https://twitter.com/caseydickinsonn/status/1090708346548695040
A text message displayed by Dickinson shows another unidentified student expressing shock that “the old white man [Morgan] is literally saying fuck and pussy and vagina and just dissing trump the entire time playing hate songs against trump.”
The Fix asked Belmont for its side of the story Wednesday night, whether it disputed anything in the Lone Conservative report, why a Christian college would sponsor a presentation that included repeated vulgar language, and why it sponsored the presentation as a “convocation” in the first place. (Dickinson claimed that students “must attend a certain number” of convocations to graduate.)
The university did not answer questions. It simply shared its blanket public apology that it had already posted on social media and given to the Lone Conservative after the report was published:
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by University officials, was outside the lines of what was expected. The University feels betrayed by the deception implicit in the actions of the guest speaker. Belmont University does not endorse the message that was delivered and also strongly objects to the obscene language that was used. We apologize to anyone who was offended as today’s event was not reflective of our Christian identity nor of our institutional commitment to civil political discourse.
MORE: U. Illinois instructor shouts ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ at conservative students
Please see the University's official statement below. pic.twitter.com/AW064sMcV8
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Some on social media have taken issue with Belmont’s apology. The Fix has counted more than a dozen Belmont responses to various tweets, seeking to ease the backlash it’s receiving, as of late Thursday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/devynduerig/status/1091018472480538627
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by… 1/4
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by… 1/4
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by… 1/4
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by… 1/4
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Earlier today an outside speaker appeared at Belmont University and shared content about politics and popular culture that was biased and disrespectful. Some of the content presented, including the presentation title which was different from what had been approved by… 1/4
— Belmont University (@BelmontUniv) January 31, 2019
Scism, the contact for the event, declined to tell The Fix who approved the event and what presentation details were originally shown to the school.
Morgan responded to an email from The Fix Thursday afternoon that asked for his thoughts on the criticism of his presentation, but it wasn’t clear if he intended to contact The Fix.
The full content of his response was “Another press request, including Belmont’s response.” The Fix included Belmont’s public response in its prior email to Morgan. He did not respond to a further email asking to clarify.
The university previously hosted a 2008 town hall style-presidential debate between candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, and was an alternative site for debate in 2016. The school is currently seeking to host one of the 2020 presidential debates.
MORE: Belmont offered same-sex health benefits years before Supreme Court ruling
IMAGE: Evan_El-Amin/Shutterstock
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