If I had a dollar for every news story about how a fraternity or sorority threw a party with an “inappropriate” or “insensitive” theme, I’d finally be able to afford that classic black quilted Chanel I’ve been coveting for years. But, apparently those of us in Greekland aren’t the only ones guilty of throwing such parties, because some geniuses at Connecticut’s Fairfield University recently threw an offensively themed party of their own at a “private, off-campus house” last weekend. From what I can tell, Fairfield (a Catholic, Jesuit university) does not have Greek Life, so at least this one can’t be pinned on us.
As for what went down, I’ll let the tweets do the talking:
Fairfield having a "ghetto themed" party and dressing up as pregnant women saying whose the father. SHAMEFUL
— Bella Guanciale (@Bguanc) February 22, 2016
students at Fairfield U had a "ghetto" themed party where people wore corn rows and carried colt 45 and wore baggy jeans……… SMFH
— kaylaastos (@shewhocorruptss) February 22, 2016
Frankly, I go back and forth on what’s a bad joke vs. offensive in terms of gender/race/etc these days. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve gotten too sensitive as a culture and other times, I’m like, “Hey, idiots, how the fuck did you think THAT was a good idea?” Given the details, this is one of those cases that I lean toward the latter, which also seems to be the feelings of some Fairfield students, who spoke to the Connecticut Post earlier this week.
Anmol Tabassum, a Bridgeport resident and Fairfield University sophomore, said “It is truly disappointing to see my fellow students … behave in such a manner that mocks (another) race.” Joe Harding, a Fairfield University junior from Philadelphia, added, “The fact that there was even an idea to dress as ‘ghetto’ is an intrinsically perverted issue. When a party has a theme, the participants are expected to wear a costume. In this case, the partygoers chose to wear clothing and accessories that portrayed their conceptualizations of what it means to be ghetto … Ghetto is not a term of endearment.”
Here’s what the school’s response was:
Please read: Fairfield University's official statment on the matter.
Posted by Naa Akweley on Monday, February 22, 2016
Hey, I love a good party theme as much as the next person, but let’s all take note: ones that degrade a whole subset of the human race probably aren’t a good idea. Not because they are offensive — but because degrading anyone just makes you a shitty human being. So why don’t we stick to the classics like ABC (anything but clothes) and Mardi Gras and stay as far away from anything that could be perceived as offensive? It’s better to be safe than sorry, isn’t it?.
[via Coed.com]
Image via Instagram