CampusFest act degrading to women

Like many other University students and youths, I attended CampusFest two weekends ago, but I am very sorry to say that I felt disgusted at one of the acts, and I am sure that many others attending felt the same way.

It was during the act of Joe Demicoli, one of the 'artists' who was engaged to entertain during the evening. The audience - both men and women - was exposed to obscenities in language and images that likened the female person to a cow, and I am being quite discreet in my description.

The act's content was not acceptable in a developed society. Is this what we can call European or international standards? The aim of the entertainment was supposed to be music, not ridiculous imagery.

I believe in human rights, one of which is freedom of expression. Yet this should not be exploited at the cost of violating other fundamental rights. The artist in question is known to be a comedian by nature; however there is a limit that should be respected!

For those who are not so much into the university scene, CampusFest is a yearly festival held in the end of summer, organised by KSU, the University Student's Council. As part of these festivities, the Sunday evening was dedicated as a 'Maltese Night'. This is something to be praised, because appreciating and celebrating aspects of our cultural traditions and talents, is something that we should do more often.

I expect the KSU to be more responsible in the organisation and content of their activities. I also expect much more monitoring and control from the University authorities and the rector; after all, the activity was organised on the University premises for its students.

2007 happens to be the European Year of Equal Opportunities, so I was very surprised to see that on campus, where one expects a high level of education, the concept of gender equality is not being respected, not even as a concept.

It is against the law to harass an individual. In this case this could be considered as a public harassment. Action must be taken! I invite others who were present at this activity or who believe in these values to also write about this incident. I strongly believe that if we want the talk about having an equal society to be realised, then we should not have tomorrow's intellectuals exposed to such a ridiculous show.

I am expressing my concern both as a Maltese and a European citizen, and I expect a remedy and action in future activities. Malta cannot expect to achieve progress in matters concerning social development unless such key concepts are respected and promoted.

If we want progress in our society, such an incident should not be tolerated, and I feel that readers of this newspaper should be involved in this call to promote a more equal society.