University and college campuses across the country are finding themselves entrenched in a new and rising controversy. Theme parties have been appearing at large and small schools alike for years, but they have come under attack recently when a few parties at highly respectable schools were advertised with controversial names and hosted in a way that perpetuated negative stereotypes. Student groups were alarmed at how disrespectful, sometimes even racist, the organizers of these parties appeared.
At Santa Clara University in California for example, a party that was called ‘Business CEO’s and Office Ho’s’ was immediately shut down after students of the university made note of the clearly derogatory connotation of the title towards women.
More common still have been the ‘blackface’ theme parties where guests are told to paint their faces in order to appear as a different race. At a number of predominantly white universities including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Connecticut, students have attended parties dressed in what could be considered stereotypical African-American attire. Photos of the event have even arisen on students’ Facebook profiles.
While these ‘politically incorrect’ parties usually take aim at the African-American community, some have targeted other minority groups as well.
At Grand Valley College in Michigan, senior Alayne Chapman described an event that a white supremacy group held on campus. Students who participated were instructed to ‘dress up like immigrants and act like immigrants’ and then were given the task of trying to cross a fake border that was constructed for the ‘game.’
Stony Brook University has yet to be rocked by a scandal of that magnitude, but students were already weighing in on the issue.
Micheline Maroni, a Stony Brook student, ‘wouldn’t put it past people’ to hold a similar party here at SBU. The news did not come as a shock to her and fellow classmate Leeza Manon, who said that these titles and themes are made ‘out of a lack of consideration more than anything else’ by people who are ‘being ignorant’ of the facts.
There have also been heated debates on the issue as well. While many students feel that these theme parties are offensive, others argue that freedom of speech is applicable to these events. Manon feels that the burden rests with the guests as much as the hosts. ‘I think that its more the [people] who go to these parties’ that should be criticized. Maroni echoes this sentiment saying, ‘It is both [the guests’ and the hosts’] fault.’
Racism is clearly the bigger, underlying issue involved in these parties. At Grand Valley College, students have purchased flashing lights resembling the lights that police officers use in their vehicles and have pulled over African American students and harassed them. Similar racist activities have been reported all across the country as well.
The issue over race and racism has arisen again in recent weeks, partially because February is recognized as Black History Month across the nation, and also because of the recent announcement by Senator Barack Obama (D, Il) about his run for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. Sen. Joe Biden (D; De) was harshly criticized for making a botched compliment of Obama, calling him the first ‘articulate and clean’ African American to run for the presidency.
Stony Brook University prides itself on being a very diverse campus with groups for many different minority students. Could an event such as the ones at Johns Hopkins and the University of Connecticut happen here? Do they already? One freshman suggested that many parties that are held here have a ‘foundation rooted in the African American popular culture. And that is in no way a bad thing. After all, who doesn’t like to dance to a good hip-hop beat?’
