Yale Parody Video Deemed Offensive

A student comedy group is under fire after releasing a parody video that refers to the murder last year of a Yale graduate student.

The video, made by comedy group On Harvard Time, spoofs a much-viewed Yale admissions video that zoomed across the Internet earlier this year. In the On Harvard Time version, a prospective student asks a Yale admissions officer, “What happened to the girl that was murdered and stuffed in the wall?” The admissions officer brushes off the question.

The question is a reference to the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le, who was found in the basement wall of a medical research building last September—a crime that drew national media attention.

On Harvard Time said the video was not meant to be offensive, but the group replaced the video on Wednesday with a new version, in which the line about the murdered girl has been removed.

“The humor rested in the flossing over of significant event, and not in the event itself,” the group said. “The line was not meant to make light of the incident or those involved but rather to mock the university.”

But On Harvard Time’s video ignited a firestorm of criticism, both at Yale and in the national media. The New York Post said the video showed “heartless Harvard undergrads” practicing “a failed attempt at humor.” A Yale Daily News editorial said the video’s authors “exhibited a gross insensitivity.”

Yale senior Zachary Fuhrer said he found the comment to be a “low blow.”

“There are so many things you can rip off with regards to Yale,” Fuhrer said. “The Annie Le joke was just like, ‘Come on...Get real.’”

At Harvard, the video prompted mixed reactions.

“I thought it was really gross,” said Edirin E. Sido ’14. “Why would you parody something so serious and not even a Harvard-Yale issue. It’s someone’s personal life and they were murdered.”

On the other hand, Christopher K. Lee ’13 insisted the video wasn’t insensitive but, in fact, the best that On Harvard Time had put out.

“Given that you already have the Yale video, and how it came out, I thought it was very appropriate,” Lee said.

The Yale video that was spoofed, “That’s Why I Chose Yale,” was a collaboration between Yale undergraduates and recent alumni working in the admissions office. The video shows what appears to be a standard information session that turns into an over-the-top musical about what Yale has to offer.