Letters to Editor, Opinion

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Barron Roth should resign

Letters to the Editor do not reflect the editorial opinion of The Daily Free Press. They are solely the opinion of the author.

The Senate Chair of Boston University’s Student Government resigned after BU Students Against Silence found his old blog. His blog was racist and hurtful and insensitive. WE held him accountable. WE need to hold all of e-board accountable for their actions. Likewise, Executive Vice President Barron Roth should resign for what he did.

I found some very disturbing, sexist and misogynistic photographs posted by Barron Roth. In one photo, he is aggressively grabbing the leg of a woman in a sexual manner with the caption reading, “YES I’M A RAPIST.” He has posted photographs of naked women partying and at concerts drinking. He’s posted photographs of him grabbing a women’s butt while she pretends to “snort” applesauce that represents drugs. He posts photographs of young students “hooking up” at college parties. In another photo, he is in close proximity to other men, suggesting jokes about the LGBT community. This is UNACCEPTABLE.

Promoting a rape culture at BU is not a joke. Demeaning women is not art. Poking fun at the LBGT community goes against everything BU stands for. Posting misogynistic and sexist photographs is not acceptable. BU is against promoting this type of culture. We talk about it every year. I’ve participated in skits about it at orientation. I’ve received surveys from Student Government and Dean Elmore about the “rape culture” at BU.

If a fraternity gets suspended for making a sexist video, Barron Roth should be forced to resign for the many photographs he posts degrading women and women of color (WOC). It’s not right that the student body vice president is allowed to post these demeaning photos and not be held responsible. It’s hypocritical that he (a man) is allowed to post these things without repercussions but the two WOC on E-board are impeached for having a political opinion.

If he is not forced to resign by the senators then that is sexist and biased. Andrew Cho, the president, should call on Barron to resign. The senators MUST call on his removal from office like with the Senate Chair. If ANY senator does not call on his removal of office, they are supporting the second highest-ranking official in Student Government posting hurtful things about people in protected classes.

Barron Roth DOES NOT represent me!!! The BU Student Against Silence has to TAKE ACTION!

Emily Smiths, emsmiths2016@gmail.com 

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6 Comments

  1. I’m very comfortable addressing all of these claims.

    This leg-grabbing photo you refer to was from sophomore year of high school (2010), taken with a very close friend of mine, and we are close to this day. We are both smiling, clearly happy and comfortable with each other.

    Naked women partying? No. Concerts? Yes. I make my income with photography, and that includes concerts. These concerts might serve alcohol. That being said, let me segue to my next point.

    I do not drink alcohol, I do not do drugs. I do not smoke. I’m very comfortable stating this publicly because this is common knowledge among my social circles. I have never smoked, drank, or participated in any recreational use of substances. That being said, scenarios I find myself in will frequently have these vices. That’s fine, I can work without temptation. Snorting applesauce though, is not illegal.

    Young students tend to hook up. I get commissioned to photograph an array of events at BU. People will “hook up” at these events. I will photograph them because expression of affection is beautiful. Look into photography law, everything I do is fundamentally legal and an expression of my constitutional rights. If they ask me to take these photographs down, I will without a second thought. How can I be degrading intentions if I am being commissioned by the subject to take it?

    Claiming I make jokes about the LBGTQ community is outrageous. I carry the utmost respect for the LBGTQ community, and have several friends and family members that identify as LBGTQ. I love them unconditionally and their orientation has no effect on my perception.

    I may be an unconventional personality for a Student Government position, but that does not make me any less qualified. I have personally designed & built BUStudentGov.org & TerrierVoice.com. These two systems have proven invaluable for Student Government’s presence and voice on campus, and I’m sorry if you don’t appreciate them. Let’s not jump the gun. I will not resign, but please, feel free to reach out to me in person, via email (broth@bu.edu), or on social media if you have any concerns. I’d be happy to chat.

  2. I am so disgusted by this. Just because Barron says he was ‘paid to do it’ is not an excuse and just because he claim it’s ‘legal’ does not make it morally right. Sigma Kappa was suspended for “promoting excess drinking and taking advantage of women.” Your photos do the same thing as their video, especially when you say “Yes, I’m a rapist.”

    Dean Elmore is quoted as saying: “To me, this is about taking advantage of women, so it’s particularly troubling that we’ve spent a lot of time over the course of the last semester talking about sexual assault, talking about the larger scale issues in terms of peoples’ humanity and how we treat people, and that we still get a group of people who want to do this.”

    Barron should do the right thing and resign like the Senate Chair did after his comments were unearthed. This culture in Student Government needs to end.

    https://dailyfreepress.com/2015/02/26/bu-suspends-kappa-sigma-fraternity-for-questionable-party-promotion/

    P.S. I have seen the photos of naked women on Barron’s Facebook page. They do exist.

  3. Another day, another ad hominem attack on another senator.

  4. So now its a case of “he said, she said.” Can anyone upload screen grabs of the incriminating photos and postings? Let BU students decide for themselves if they think it’s inappropriate or disgraceful.

    • I sent many screen grabs to the Freep!! They REFUSED to release them and REFUSED to write an article about those photographs and IT’S IMPEACHABLE!!!!

  5. Your writing style is awful. You spell it LGBT once and LBGT another time. This is offensive. Please be consistent when discussing these sensitive matters.
    Get a life and stop looking through people’s pasts.
    You don’t decide what art is.
    We have a student government?