‘Bama Rush’ Documentary Reaction
The rumors of hidden microphones were “false,” Ms. Fleit said. She added that she “felt for” the students who were caught up in them.
Marina Anderson, 19, was one of the young women whose lives were affected by campus rumors. She said she was dismissed from rush in August after being wrongly accused of wearing a microphone. What caused suspicion, Ms. Anderson said, was a black hair tie she had wrapped around the back of her shirt to make it fit better.
Despite her repeated denials, some of her peers refused to believe she was not participating in the documentary, calling her “HBO girl” for months. (Those accusations came while Max was still known as HBO Max. The platform underwent a rebranding on Tuesday.)
“It was so uncomfortable,” Ms. Anderson said. “I had people recording me in public. It really messed me up my freshman year.” She added that she had come to enjoy her time at college and was excited to return as a sophomore in the fall.
Ms. Anderson, who was not interviewed for “Bama Rush,” watched the documentary shortly after it appeared on Max on Tuesday. Watching it was “bittersweet,” she said. In general, she found the film “anticlimactic,” saying that ultimately it “wasn’t about Alabama rush,” but rather the personal struggles of the women featured in it.
Ms. Anderson added that she had occasionally wondered what she might have missed out on because of the microphone paranoia. “I think the main thing is just that rumors are really dangerous,” she said.
Source: The New York Times
