It's been less than a week since KU had been hit by a whirlwind of controversy because of a single Snapchat. The following picture depicts three male cheerleaders dressed in the KU "K" sweater lined up and posing for a photo. Athletic directors were made aware of the following picture during the KU men's basketball team's 83-63 victory over UAB. The snap was posted on the Snapchat account of KU Cheerleader, Lili Gagin. Since posting, she has issued a statement via her personal Twitter account that reads — “I’m appalled that a snapchat was put out on my snapchat and posted to my account,” Gagin tweeted. “I would never (have) done that & I apologize that it happened.”
Why is this dangerous to the KU Community?
Take the context away — we've got three white guys sporting sweaters that spell out KKK. Yeah, that's offensive on its own. 'Murica, right?
Put the context in and the story becomes complex in a painfully real way.
These three men, and Lili Gagin herself, represent the KU community in a unique way. They are leaders. Hell, it's in the name "cheerleader". These people are a representative of the spirit that binds KU Students, Staff, Alumni and Fans alike into a cohesive stronghold community and culture.
We are a diverse and beautiful group, and these leaders associating themselves with one of the very things that shame our multiple identities is absolutely ludicrous. While it may have been a joke, fueled by the empty beer cans that you can see at the bottom of this snap — there is no excuse.
We are the Jayhawks, named from the badass Jayhawkers that fought pro-slavery. Literally, John Brown must be rolling in his grave to see this.
This hurts.
We scroll through and have glimpsed at how terribly polarized and hateful our world has become on our lunch breaks. It is terrifying to me to think that this has entered my school and my home.
Who are these four individuals?
We know about KU freshman, Lili Gagin, who can be found on the spirit squad roster. It was her Snapchat account, indeed. Her name and picture have been surfing the internet on choppy waters. There is definite backlash — you can see it by simply writing "#LiliGagin on twitter.
Some of us are simply not convinced that her phone was stolen in this incident.
But what may be troubling furthermore is the fact that the three men's involvement has been made so minuscule to the public. We have gathered that all four individuals (one female and two male) have been suspended by KU cheer according to a tweet from KU Athletics. However, while Lili Gagin receives the weight of the backlash in her name for something she may or may not have done — these guys seem to be so out of the conversation.
There's no issue of apology on this very specific involvement.
Their names are unrevealed to the public.
In some articles, their faces are blurred and Lili Gagin's name is simply untouched.
Do you find this unfair? Should they receive the same amount of attention? Is suspension enough?
More importantly, how should we as a community deal with this issue and repair for a brighter future?
