Manning Bar has booked metal band Slaughter to Prevail to play on 5 December this year. Slaughter to Prevail has been the subject of allegations of neo-nazism, homophobia and transphobia. These are allegations which the lead singer, Alex Terrible, denies.
Manning Bar is owned and operated by the USU, though bookings are made through a third-party.
Honi approached the USU about the booking on 25 October. USU President Naz Sharifi told Honi on 30 October that the “USU Board were appraised of some of the concerns about the band Slaughter to Prevail due to play at Manning in December. It has since been decided that the Band will no longer be playing at Manning or any other USU venues.”
Whilst the USU has cancelled their performance, it still appears as an event on the Manning Bar website. However, if you click through to buy tickets, it says that tickets are unavailable.
Manning Bar previously booked bands with Neo-Nazi and white supremacist links in December 2022, and cancelled them after students and staff criticised the decision.
Then-President Cole Scott-Curwood said at the time, “While the USU did not make this booking, the accountability for it is ours. A strategic programming meeting with the USU’s booking partner has been set up and we’ll be improving the vetting of acts playing at USU venues.”
Current President Sharifi confirmed that this programming meeting had occurred. Sharifi said that the “USU recognises our responsibility in ensuring that any event that occurs at our venues have an overarching alignment with our values. We have implemented a strong vetting process with our booking partner to have mechanisms of control and accountability and will be reviewing these frequently and where necessary.”
“USU management will be working closely with our booking partners to ensure that the processes currently in place are effective,” said Sharifi.
This article has been updated since it was included in the print edition.