Lincoln University should start taking a leadership role in sanctioning its homecoming activities in the wake of an LU event resulting in eight arrests and several visits the emergency room.
A line to get into the Boosie Badazz/Megan Thee Stallion concert on Oct. 19 got out of control, with people drunk, fighting, cutting in line and stealing tickets. A metal barricade was broken, a metal trash can crushed and the main doors to Jason Gym broken.
That was despite the fact LU's campus that night was staffed by 20 Cole County sheriff's deputies, 10 LU police officers, 15 private security personnel, in addition to an unknown number of Missouri Highway Patrol troopers.
Cole County sheriff's deputies used pepper spray to disperse the crowd, resulting in the ER visits.
LU, perhaps, knew the concert would need to be heavily staffed. The university's choice of homecoming entertainment was a rapper billed as Lil Boosie, though the artist previously changed his name to Boosie Badazz. Boosie, as he's often called, encourages killing cops in his songs, "F*** the Police" and "F*** the Police X 10." (The asterisks are ours.) The concert also featured Megan Thee Stallion, a female rapper with sexually explicit lyrics. The university paid $55,000 for the acts.
Boosie doesn't just talk the talk in his songs. He was found innocent of first-degree murder charges, but he was sentenced to eight years in prison on multiple charges of drug possession with intent to distribute. A few months ago, he again faced multiple criminal charges after police found him with a gun, marijuana and more than $20,000 in his car during a traffic stop in Georgia. In July, a U.S. district judge ordered him to pay more than $233,000 to a security guard he allegedly roughed up during a melee.
Why would LU - founded by black Civil War soldiers to empower blacks through education - host an entertainer like this?
The university, meanwhile, has downplayed the situation, saying the damage was minor, the issues were caused by people from "outside" LU and the late hours of the concert/party (10 p.m.-3 a.m.) wasn't a factor.
Also, LU President Jerald Woolfolk took no responsibility for the entertainment selection. The students generally make the choice, she said, and the university doesn't weigh in unless their choice is inappropriate. She said she doesn't believe bringing in Boosie contributed to the problems.
We respectfully disagree.
Boosie's expletive-laced songs glorify the "thug life" and killing cops. His lyrics use the N-word to describe blacks and refer to women using a vulgar term. If that's not inappropriate, what is?
This type of act doesn't attract the type of "outsiders" the university should want (the concert was open to the public), and it sure doesn't send the right message to the students.
Lincoln has brought in many respectable, well-attended homecoming acts over the years with no problems.
In the aftermath of the concert, LU said it will probably change how security is handled at events and consider whether to open some events to the public.
We also urge LU to take a more active role - and use better discretion - in sanctioning homecoming entertainment in the future.
News Tribune