Dallas resident Alexander Feinstein, 20, said he watched all the recent interviews in which celebrity Kanye West, now known as Ye, made anti-Semitic statements. The sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin thought something needed to be done. Feinstein, who is a university-wide representative in student government, introduced a resolution that would ban the use of Ye’s music at campus sporting events. It passed unanimously on Nov. 1.
Feinstein recalls that when he spoke in favor of the resolution, which was introduced the with help of fellow representatives Surekha Balakrishnan and Jerold Holman, the idea was met with applause. Feinstein noted that at the Oct. 29 college football matchup in Jacksonville between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs, someone projected “Kanye is right about the Jews” on the side of TIAA Bank Field. He felt something tangible needed to be done. “A statement doesn’t have the influence that it should,” Feinstein said. “When some actionable item is completed, it brings a lot more awareness to the issue and gives more power to the message you’re trying to portray.”
