Protests meet V-Day band

About 20 students lined up to protest a band that performed at NYU last night, calling its name racist.

The band - Ching Chong Song, whose members are white - was the opening act for the Valentine's Day event held at the Shorrin Auditorium in the Kimmel Center. In response to the criticism, the band met with the students, apologized during its performance and changed its name.

The event was organized by the Program Board, a student-run group that arranges entertainment for the NYU community.

The Asian Heritage Club responded to the band's booking by handing out flyers at Bobst Library with Google and Wikipedia definitions of "ching chong" - the term they found offensive - and then protesting its use outside the event before the doors opened, according to Stern senior Lily Yuan, who had a large role in organizing the protest.

"The name, Ching Chong Song, did not really relate to any of the lyrics in their songs," said CAS junior Frederick Wong, a member of the Asian Heritage Club. "So we thought it was completely unnecessary to have a racist name."

David Kinniburgh, the music chair of the Program Board, said he was afraid there would be controversy, but happy the offended students spoke to him so it could be addressed.

"I knew something was going to happen," he said. "I'm really glad they approached me."

Bryn Mawr College canceled the band's show on its campus in December because of similar complaints. Kinniburgh said he knew of the cancellation when he booked them to play at NYU.

Yuan said the Program Board had no idea what the term entailed, so she and other members showed them some articles about it.

Kinniburgh said he chose the band because of its music.

"They're a band full of love and have a really great message," he said.

During the band's apology, it invited the members of the club into the auditorium to speak.

Still, Wong said he believed the apology was insincere. He said the singer, Julia LaMendola, tried to cut off Yuan when she spoke, and Yuan "really had to press to continue what she had to say."

"The audience was really trying to figure if they should be applauding," Wong said. He added, "It was not what we had hoped to get from the band."

The members of the band, which will now be called Church of Lurch, said they never intended to offend anyone. LaMendola said she had no idea the name was offensive when the band came up with it.

Jeff Lewis, who is a friend of the band members, said the phonetics of the name matched the style of music they play.

"The sound 'Ching Chong Song' sounds like a zany collaboration of sounds," Lewis said.

The band originally started getting complaints in November, pianist and singer Dan Gower said. He said the name wasn't changed until now because of "all the action people have taken."

Wong said he was happy the band changed its name, but the use of the slur brings up a greater issue.

"It's really breathtaking when someone says the N-word," he said. "Why does that not apply to ching chong?"

Despite the incident, Yuan said the people on the Program Board "were supportive, and they understood where we were coming from."