Winter Carnival is a time that holds a special place in the hearts of all Tech students.  For those extraordinary women nominated as Queen candidates, the Queen’s Coronation is the event that starts this amazing celebration. While coronation draws its splendor from the smiles of the candidates and the roar of the crowd, this year will surely live in the memories of the audience for a completely different reason. The comedian, Eric Rivera, served as master of ceremonies and with him came an evening filled with sexual innuendos, explicit language and stereotype reinforcement.

Eric Rivera brought his nightclub act onstage with him for the Queens Coronation. Photo by Gabriela Shirkey

One example was when a contestant described her experiences traveling to Peru and in response Rivera made a joke about showing her his ‘Machu Picchu.’ This night is meant to show the contestants as more than just pretty faces, that they are in fact confident, intelligent, and talented young women. The sexist remarks used by Rivera counteracted the evening’s purpose. My problem was not with the style of the comedy itself but rather the context in which it was presented. It seems that the aim of Rivera’s routine was focused on college students, yet the audience was filled with parents and children.  Comments like “I’ll get you pregnant just by looking at you,” were poorly received and it was only after the co-host, 2012 Winter Carnial Queen Melissa Hawks, pointed out the children that Rivera cooled down.

Despite the overly raunchy nature of Rivera’s act, very little fault lies with him. Blue Key hired him knowing the nature of his profession as well as the nature of the audience. Their mistake in hiring a nightclub comedian for a family event is something that all organizations can learn from. Although this event was held in a college atmosphere, Michigan Tech is far from an isolated environment. Tech and Winter Carnival are important aspects of the community and, while it is good to have fun, doing so at the cost of others is wrong.