This article was contributed by Gladys Gitau.
Black Student Union students are to host a new radio show on KWCW. The show, “Ratchet Radio,” will feature hip hop and rap music of a ratchet variety, an aspect of African American culture lacking on Whitman campus.
Juniors MC Mariah and Alisha Aforward will host the radio show on Wednesdays at 1 a.m., when they are tired of pretending that Whitman isn’t the whitest place on earth.
“How long do I have to pretend that I like folk music?” said Aforward, the club’s president.
For those unfamiliar with this subculture, Urban Dictionary defines “ratchetness” as “a celebration of Twitter beefs and twerking but a condemnation of swaglessness and bad weaves.”
Ratchet Radio will feature hits from Waka Flocka Flame, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne and other mainstream ratchet artists.
The show is a part of BSU’s newest campaign, “Does my ratchetness scare you?”, an educational endeavor to enlighten Whitman students about hood culture, one of the disparities that exist between white students and students of color on campus.
“My friends don’t get me. They didn’t know that I all I wanted for my birthday was a big booty hoe,” said a distressed Mariah.
One concern is that the show will offend people of color on campus. Aforward and Mariah have already thought ahead.
“There are not enough people of color to care,” Aforward said with a shrug. “Plus, people of color don’t listen to KWCW anyway because they only play, like, banjo music. They’ll be hyped.”
The idea for a ratchet radio show came up in a club meeting when someone noted the amount of times Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” was played at frat parties.
“Dis campus is boring AF. We finna tear this shit up #OnSomeReal,” said the official BSU minutes, which must be written in Ebonics and hashtags, according to BSU bylaws.
Big Daddy Bridges, aka Dha Boss, a rumored guest on the Ratchet Radio, approves of the show.
“Ratchet Radio is dope. Fuck what y’all jive turkey haters gotta say,” he said.
With so much hype around Ratchet Radio, some Whitties who are less acquainted with “#thatratchetlife” want in.
First-year Alison Price, who is from a rural Washington town near Canada, is curious but cautious about the inclusiveness of the new show.
“Can white people be ratchet, too?” Price asked Aforward.
Mariah answered her with little reservation and a lot of sass.
“Girl, with the right amount of alcohol, anyone can be ratchet.”
