"Die In Harvard Square" (ft. William Desmond & Victoria White-Mason)

(NOTE: Disclaimer regarding this blog's non-affiliation with Harvard is here.)

It's been ten years since the Harvard Law School Drama Society last mustered the courage to mock a black member of the Law School community in its annual Parody production.

In 2005, in our live production we included a reference to Professor Charles Ogletree being "stupid" for having hired incompetent ghostwriters who plagiarized from a Yale law professor. Later we elaborated on the point in a blog post.

Since then, no black on campus has done anything to draw as much negative attention, and invite ridicule, as Ogletree did with his use of inept ghostwriters. Until now.  Recently two black law students made themselves famous through their actions in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

William Desmond

In mid-December, a third-year black student, William Desmond, a/k/a "Captain Frisbee" (whose most impressive accomplishment to date is his service as the captain of Yale's Ultimate Frisbee team) published an essay arguing that Harvard's black law students should be excused, on mental health grounds, from taking exams, given the emotional turmoil they were suffering due to the deaths of two black criminals (Mike Brown and Eric Garner) who died as a result of their decision to resist lawful arrest.

Captain Frisbee was widely mocked for his essay, particularly by Harvard alumni such as law professor William Jacobson on Legal Insurrection; by Patrick Brennan on National Review; and by John Hinderaker on Powerline. Law professor Glenn Reynolds, who only went to Yale, joined in the fun, on Instapundit.

Victoria White-Mason

Also in mid-December, another third-year black student, Victoria White-Mason, a/k/a "Vicki Victim," led the "March on Harvard" protest, during which she incited an angry mob of hundreds of protesters to stage a "Die In" in Harvard Square, thereby illegally shutting down all motor vehicle traffic.

With Captain Frisbee and Vicki Victim virtually begging to be parodied for their attention-seeking hijinks, how could even the most politically correct parodist say no? The parody song virtually wrote itself. (Unfortunately, the song did not make the final cut for our live production, which opens tonight (buy tickets here!) -- the tune was retained, but the parody lyrics were totally revamped to be more politically correct.)

Apologies in advance for those with political sensitivities so extreme that they cannot find humor in the actions of Mr. Desmond and Ms. White-Mason, and of the Harvard Black Law Students Association of which they are a part.

So here is our newest creation, "Die in Harvard Square," sung to the tune of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi (YouTube video here). Lyrics are below. Enjoy!

LYRICS

"Die in Harvard Square"

(ft. William Desmond & Victoria White-Mason)

William captained Frisbee at Yale
Harvard Law has tests
He's down on his luck, it's tough
So tough

Vicki works for justice all day
Working 'gainst da man
She skips class each day for love
For love

She says "We gotta got to go down to Harvard Square"
"It doesn't make a difference if we take tests or not"
"They shot Mike Brown, and there was so much blood"
"Because he got shot!"

"We must die there!"
"Die in Harvard Square"
"Skip that test -- We'll die there I swear"
"Die in Harvard Square!"

William wrote, "Excuse us from tests"
So they made fun of him
For his mention of mental health
It's tough

Vicki dreams of dying each day
When she marches at nighttime
William whispers, "Vicki you're insane!"

"Insane"

She says

"We gotta got to go down to Harvard Square"
"It doesn't make a difference if we take tests or not"
"They shot Mike Brown, and there was so much blood"
"Because he got shot!"

"We must die there"
"Die in Harvard Square"
"Skip that test -- We'll die there I swear"
"Die in Harvard Square!"

"Die in Harvard Square!"

We gotta die there
Ready or not
Must die in the Square
'Cuz some black thug's been shot!

We must die there
Die in Harvard Square
Skip that test -- And we'll die there I swear
Die in Harvard Square!


We must die there
Die in Harvard Square!
"Skip that test -- And we'll die there I swear"
"Die in Harvard Square!"