Wyclef Jean,

whose performance on Friday at CU-Boulder has been pitched as an alternative to

the annual 4/20 smokeout on campus, has agreed to not directly mention

marijuana or 4/20 during his show at the Coors Event Center.

The

university’s March 1 contract with Jean shows that the hip-hop artist will be

paid $80,000, and there is a clause prohibiting the pot references.

“The Agency

shall ensure that the Attraction avoids making direct references to marijuana

and other illegal drugs or make 4/20 related remarks as this is a University

sponsored event.”

The University

of Colorado Student Government partnered with Program Council to put on the

concert. Jean has supported legalization of marijuana in the past, and his

lyrics reference the drug in songs like “Something about Mary.”

When asked if

specifically limiting the things that Jean could say at his performance was

censoring, CUSG Vice President of Internal Affairs Carly Robinson said, “I don’t believe that would

be censorship.”

By the way, the

dictionary definition of censorship is “the practice of officially examining

books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts.”

Robinson also

says that their limiting of speech is standard fare.

“We ask all

university events to not talk about anything illegal,” Robinson says. “No

university events are supposed to support illegal activities. That’s pretty

much standard for our events.”

When asked if

she knew of any other contracts prohibiting certain speech, Robinson said that

she did not know of any.

“It’s not so

much about censoring, we just wanted to give students an opportunity to have an

event that’s not about 4/20,” Robinson says. “So we didn’t want it to become

some kind of political concert where that’s what people were talking about

while they were there, we really wanted it to be focused on his music and not

about anything political.”

The $80,000

being used to fund the censored concert is completely funded by CU student

fees, Robinson says. These fees come from CUSG Proper’s fund balance, which is

approved by the CUSG Finance Board. When asked if CU students would support

CUSG using their fee money to censor an artist, Robinson said, “I believe so.”

“There was a

resolution passed through legislative council asking us to move 4/20 off our

campus, and that’s what we are trying to do,” Robinson says. “And I believe

that they would support our efforts in the way that we see fit.”

The signatories on the contract are CU purchasing agent

David Turner, on behalf of the Board of Regents, and Jean’s agency, Carnival

House Touring.