Dear Editor,

I write this letter because I am most troubled about recent plans to have Valiant, a dancehall artiste who promotes scamming, violence, and drugs, perform on The University of the West Indies campus for UWI Carnival 2023 on March 18.

I am saddened and concerned that my university would choose to partner its brand with an artiste like this one, who produces many songs not even permitted on Jamaican radio.

Some say that “music is just art and does not impact actions in real life”, but does this hold true?

I am sure that we would not readily invite an artiste who glorifies rape or child molestation, which are also widespread negative features of our society.

We would never justify songs with this type of detestable content with the assertion that “music is just a reflection of life”. What we sing about matters, and what our youth are entertained by matters.

We should not hypocritically promote artistes, just because they are popular, when they glorify antisocial and illegal behaviour like scamming which destroys real people.

It is a glaring contradiction that a university would elevate an artiste who promotes being “dunce” and choosing a life of scamming, as seen in Valiant’s song Dunce Cheque.

While I believe that UWI Carnival already does more harm than good to college attendees, inviting Valiant and supporting his music is a line The UWI should not cross.

It is hard to take the work of the university seriously when in class we are taught about ethics but events like these are inconsistent with such standards. A university ought to be a place to discover truth and promote the flourishing of society.

I have written to the Guild, principal and vice-principal at The UWI about these issues but have received no response to date. I would implore the Guild and whoever else is involved in the approval of such events to think carefully about the message being sent to our students, to Jamaica, and to the Caribbean.

Is this the UWI we want?

Sarah

St Andrew