Halloween is upon us, and so is this ever-pressing question: “Is my costume racist?”
Last year, social justice warriors flew into a tizzy over a college president wearing a sombrero for the holiday. On more than one campus, Halloween costumes spurred mobs of angry students. Some literally chased after professors, while others wrote pearl-clutching editorials that garnered national attention.
This Halloween, the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse isn’t taking any chances. The school held an event Thursday entitled “Is My Costume Racist?” to inform students of what are and aren’t acceptable Halloween getups. While the event wasn’t mandatory, about 30 students attended, and not one mocked it, according to The Daily Beast.
The campus has no policy restricting Halloween costumes, nor any guidelines on what constitutes a racist outfit. Wednesday night’s event was aimed at facilitating discussion among students to help prevent a nationwide fainting spell over a hat.
“One of UWL’s stated values is that of diversity, equity, and inclusion of all people and perspectives, and this event reflected that by providing the audience with an opportunity to consider the possible effects of actions, or the actions and reactions of others,” said Timothy Gongaware, interim chairman of the university’s Department of Ethnic and Racial Studies.
