Hip-hop stars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will be appearing at Aliso Niguel High School after all, school officials announced Tuesday, ending a heated campus debate that led to online petitions and a spirited campaign by students.
Last week, students at the high school in Aliso Viejo found out they had won an online contest sponsored by Chegg.com, a textbook sales website. With the victory, the school won an appearance by Macklemore and Lewis along with a $10,000 grant for the music program.
But some parents raised concerns about the content of some of Macklemore’s songs, most notably references to drug use. School administrators, in turn, decided to decline the performance and the $10,000 grant.
That decision led to an uproar among students. Quinn Darling, the student body vice president, took to social media to contest the decision.
“I am personally offended by their decision as it is based off outdated evidence and our leaders have failed to see all the amazing movements and messages these artists have focused on spreading over the past few years which would be beneficial to every student at our school,” he wrote.
A petition was also started at Change.org, and more than 6,000 people signed it within 12 hours.
School officials announced Tuesday that they had reversed their position, and the Dec. 17 appearance will go on as scheduled. The event will be held after school hours, and students must have signed permission from their parents in order to attend.
“We have a lot of admiration for these students,” said Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg. “They beat every other high school and college in the country for the right to host this event and along with the artists, their administration, faculty, parents and community rallied around a positive message to create a great outcome.”
— City News Service