On Saturday, September 5th, the entire Greek community filed into the Weis Center for a discussion that they hoped would facilitate conversation on campus-wide binge drinking and sexual assault. But instead, “Drink Think: A Personal Approach to Alcohol” led by renowned college speaker Rick Barnes sparked an entirely new conversation within the student body. Humorous at first, Barnes’ lecture quickly turned sharply towards a more misogynistic, heterosexist, racist, and downright inappropriate viewpoint of the Greek community. For a school that has dealt with the pressing issues of race, sexual assault, gender discrimination and homophobia, the lecture was a disgrace to many. By the end of the presentation, nearly all of the Greek population had, at different moments, left the Weis Center. With the collaboration of our writers and staff members of SpeakUp Bucknell, we’ve created an open and honest discussion on the material in Barnes’ talk:
“The goal of this event was to discuss, in an open manner, issues related to drinking on campus,” read an email sent by IFC and Panhel presidents Richie Pisano and Issey Blaht later that day. Yet within the first ten minutes of his speech, Barnes made it clear that alcohol was not the only topic he would be discussing.
He quickly established a strong gender binary among the men and women in the audience. Instead of addressing the Greek community as a whole, he made a blatant point to segregate male and female members in the audience by generalizing masculine and feminine issues. The talk began with a slide show presenting facts on drinking trends among college students. However, one slide in particular read, “In the 1950s there were 5 or 6 alcoholic men to every woman. Now the ration is about 3 to 1. Evidently this is one area where women’s liberation…has gone too far.” Unfortunately, the sexist undertones of the slide only set the stage for what was to come later on in Barnes’ speech.
Barnes offended many members of the audience when he blamed the difference between how males and females handle their alcohol on women getting their periods. According to SpeakUp Bucknell member and staff writer Lindsey Ruff, Barnes presented a “misinformed and misogynistic analysis of the female anatomy.” Barnes’ interpretation of women’s menstruation cycle as the period of time when they go “cuckoo for a month” reduces a natural, regular process to something to be scoffed at.
Barnes’ lecture was also an attack on the male population in the room. His generalization of the entire fraternity population as irresponsible and reckless drinkers painted an offensive picture of male Greek members. As Ruff explains,
“A lot of his comments to the men in the room implied that men are prone to being homophobic, groping people non-consensually and fighting with one another. This ‘boys will be boys’ mentality is insulting and underestimates their capacity for maturity and respect.”
Barnes’ speech was also heteronormative, with the assumption that the entire audience, especially males, was straight. Many of his comments made a joke of queer male sexuality, suggesting that being gay is something to be ashamed of.
Barnes also struck a nerve when his casual discussion of things that are “normal” when students binge drink suggested incidents of sexual assault. “His insinuation that removing the clothes off of intoxicated individuals is a funny and common part of the college experience. Implying that it is acceptable to violate the basic dignity and bodily autonomy of an incapacitated human being perpetuates rape culture, and was triggering to audience members who are survivors of sexual assault,” explains Ruff.
Finally, Barnes’ assumption that only “people of color” can dance was an astonishing comment, especially in light of our campus’ and country’s growing awareness of racism and race relations. By singling out specific groups, Barnes forced audience members into stereotypical categories. For a discussion on something as universal as alcohol on college campuses, it was baffling that Barnes felt the need to separate the Greek community.
Although Barnes’ discussion was hurtful to most, if not all, members of the Bucknell community, it also brought out an important side of Bucknell students. At the new Greek member dinner that evening, President Bravman praised the Bucknell community for taking a stand against Barnes, who had been uninvited from the event. Bravman expressed his concern for the millions of college students who had listened to Barnes’ speech in the past and failed to take a stand against him. Certain things are expected once one becomes a member of Bucknell’s community, Bravman concluded, and standing up for what one believes in is among the most important.
As Ruff summarizes, “The problem [with the speech] was not that it was ‘politically incorrect.’ The problem was that it served to perpetuate injustice, and made large portions of the student population feel triggered, targeted and marginalized.” While Bucknellians have since questioned Barnes’ merit as a college-level educator, they have also reflected upon a sense of duty, integrity and purpose, not only as citizens of this campus, but also the world. Perhaps going forward Bucknellians will continue to learn from the mistakes of Barnes and his colleagues and further recognize that there is no place for bigotry, stereotyping, or sexism on this campus, or anywhere else.