There is a controversy brewing on the campus of UCLA, it appears, after the school’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Alpha Phi sorority threw a party with the theme “Kanye Western”, which sounds like it must have been racist as hell.
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UCLA students are demanding that the university take action after their peers dressed in blackface at a “Kanye Western” frat party, The Daily Bruin reports.
“We are concerned about these allegations and earnestly working to gather information about what occurred, talking to all those involved”.
A Sigma Phi Epsilon representative said in a statement that the organization has “zero tolerance for racist behavior” and that the fraternity will work closely with the school to determine the facts.
UCLA’s Media Relations also released a statement reminding students that they can party and celebrate but that “specific choices can cause harm and pain”. “Put simply: Just because you can do something does not mean you should”, the statement read, in part.
Alicia Frison, a student union member, told The Times a student notified her and other members about the party Tuesday night after photographing a few female partygoers who wearing gold and had soot on their faces.
Fourth-year political science student Jaimeson Cortez, who has seen multiple photos and tweets from the party, said he expected the fraternity to be conscious of existing issues with campus climate and refrain from dressing up in ways he said culturally appropriated a subset of the UCLA community.
Later today, October 7, civil-minded protestors are taking a stand at the Bruin Bear facility and using the hashtag #BlackBruinsMatter to raise awareness.
“It’s kind of insane to me”, said Adrena Collins, a UCLA student.
The Los Angeles Times reports that another student, Hanan Worku, was extremely offended by the attire worn by Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Phi and felt that it “demoralized, mocked and dehumanized African Americans”.
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[Photos Courtesy of David McNew, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images & Instagram].
