Some find PB concert offensive

Four Dartmouth students were arrested by Hanover Police at the Three 6 Mafia performance in Alumni Hall on Friday. Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth said they found the band's behavior during the concert "misogynistic" and "offensive." Safety and Security officers assisted the police during the arrests, according to director of Safety and Security and College Proctor Harry Kinne. All of the students arrested were charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by consumption, Kinne said. One of the students was later transported by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Kinne said. "I believe the students brought themselves to the attention of the officers by their behavior," he said. Hanover Police officers usually assist with crowd control at College events that are likely to have a large turnout, Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth cited various instances in which they found band members offensive. "The band asked girls to come on stage, then make out with each other," Jill Cohen '12 said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. Cohen is a member of The Dartmouth Staff. Band members at one point directed the women in attendance to show the audience their behinds, rather than their faces. The group also made several references to sexually transmitted diseases and impregnating female members of the audience, Alyssa Penick '12 said. "My friend was pointed at [by a group member] and told that someone should get her pregnant tonight," Penick said. Penick said she had attended many rap concerts before and was familiar with Three 6 Mafia, but that the group's comments were harsher than she had anticipated. "Their comments were just offensive and didn't really contribute to their performance," she said. Not all of the group's comments were gender-related, and many advocated drug use, Penick said. Penick said that she chose to leave the concert early as a result of the comments and the group's decision to spend "more time just yelling at the crowd than playing music." Laura Irons '12, who was invited on stage, said she enjoyed the experience and did not consider the group's performance or comments offensive. "I was not offended because I'd heard Three 6 Mafia before," Irons said. "What they said was not out of line with my expectations." Programming Board does not place content restrictions on the acts it brings to campus, concert director Ann Elise DeBelina '10 said. "In terms of what the group says during their performance, we cannot really control that given free speech," DeBelina said. Programming Board selected Three 6 Mafia in response to student demand, DeBelina said. Board executives surveyed the campus during the interim period after Winter term by sending e-mails to student groups that represented a "diverse cross section" of the campus, DeBelina said. "There was clearly an audience here that wanted to see Three 6 Mafia," she said. DeBelina added that she thought the rapid ticket sale the tickets sold out in less than an hour confirmed the student body's interest. Staff writer Nathan Swire contributed to the reporting of this article.