The fliers read, “Hear the males’ perspective on sex.” Instead, on Tuesday night, students who gathered in B.L. Perry heard nothing but profanity from fellow classmates and many women left feeling “disrespected.”
“There is a time and place for any language, however, when no holds barred, you can’t demand censorship.” said Brandon Mitchell, a panel member. “There were some pretty raw comments, and though I can’t say I agreed with many of the statements of my fellow panelists, I must respect their honesty.”
As questions were being read, most of the panelists sat with their heads bowed as they were on their phones texting or speaking with friends off to the side. There wasn’t an empty seat in the room, which required some to stand in the back.
“I loved the idea, but it could have been put on better,” said Latalia Seidner, a fourth-year English education student from Miami. “The panel took the event as a joke. Their answers to most of the questions were not only tasteless, but also embarrassing and disrespectful to me as woman.”
The panel consisted of student government Senator Anthony Siders, Rotimi Omosheyin, alumnus Christian Allen, Mitchell, Sherwood Brown and Asa Porter. They were supposed to give the male’s point of view about relations with women. Some audience members found the panel comedic, while others were distraught by their remarks.
“Women try to think for themselves and they can’t. What I mean is I’m going to think for the both of us,” said Siders.
Sharell Williams, the event’s coordinator, said, “I didn’t take offense to his statement. He has an old-school mindset. He was simply saying that the man should be the head of the household.”
When thinking of Student Government Association leaders, many didn’t expect to hear so much profanity. The seminar left one young lady looking at them in a different light due to their answers.
“Honestly, this event was pretty sad,” said Chimere Wright, a fourth-year elementary education student from Ft. Lauderdale. “It was a panel of intellectual men, so I thought; acting like niggas. All I took away from the seminar was every girl is either a bitch or a hoe in their eyes.”
Dia Blackman, the seminar’s host, was happy for the great turn out, but wished there were different questions and a different panel.
“I would switch out some of the guys for women so that the men could have had their questions answered from a female perspective,” said Blackman. “I would also have different questions being the ones we had were a bit redundant and pointless.”
Although most attendees left the event dissatisfied, some said they got exactly what they came for. Jasmine Williams, student at Tallahassee Community College, believes all the questions were answered the way they needed answering. She didn’t blame the panelists but those who came up with the questions.
“Maybe if the questions were on topics other than bitches and hoes, everyone would be happy,” said Williams. “But don’t be mad because they gave honest opinions on the topic the host asked them about.”
Williams continued, “I apologize if anyone was offended by the panelists’ statements and their choice of language. I am partially to blame because I didn’t express to them the importance of the message I was trying to get across. And never would I be an advocate for disrespect.”